I started TRT two months ago and I just had my levels checked again and they have dropped from 312 TT and 5.2 FT to 199 TT and 3.8 FT. I am very confused and disappointed! they put me on 40mg of Fortesta daily. I expected at least a small rise but for it to have actually gotten worse has me wondering if there isn’t something else wrong. Has anyone else had their levels drop after TRT? Thanks!
Dub
Please read the advice for new guys sticky.
There you will see that inability to absorb transdermal T is a symptom of low thyroid function aka subclinical hypothyroidism. You will also see that you can evaluate your overall thyroid function by checking your oral body temperature.
Transdermals simply do not work for some guys. Having T levels drop can and does happen. Increasing transdermal T dose will not help. You will need to switch to T self-injections. You also need to read up on estrogen management. If you are younger, need to preserve fertility or avoid shrinking testes, you need to inject hCG.
The biggest challenge one has to deal with is finding a doctor who is not an idiot when dealing with men’s hormones. You need to understand these things in self defense. There are 7 stickies in total and you man need to read “finding a TRT doc”.
Thanks for the response! I literally just found this out and I haven’t had a chance to explore the site in detail. Due to being diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder I have had my thyroid function checked numerous times in the last year and they have all come back normal. i just had a plethora of labs drawn this morning. Probably 10 vials and yes, they are checking my thyroid again. They even gave me a pregnancy test (yes, I’m a man). Because I’m in the army I don’t always have a lot of control over what docs I see but my PCM admits this is not his area of expertise and may end up referring me to an endocrinologist. He is also stopping the TRT until we get more answers. Thanks again for your response and I am always open to additional advise or medical problems to explore that might be the cause.
V/R
Dub
Please post lab results with ranges.
Thyroid normal ranges are really stupid.
TSH should be near 1.0
T3, T4, fT3, fT4 should all be near mid-range, perhaps a bit higher.
evaluate your overall thyroid function by checking your oral body temperature
evaluate your overall thyroid function by checking your oral body temperature
evaluate your overall thyroid function by checking your oral body temperature
evaluate your overall thyroid function by checking your oral body temperature