Hi guys. I posted this in the steroid forum at first but figured it wouldn’t hurt to post it here as well as some guys on trt might be having the same issues.
Im currently cruising on 500mg of test a week and having some libido/erection issues.
What would be the proper blood work to do to figure out what is causing these issues?
Ive gotten e2 and prolactin tested before and my e2 was 89 and I played around with the adex to no avail. My prolactin was a bit elevated as well and I ran two weeks of caber but that didnt seem to help either. Ive had some regular cbc/general labs and everything checked out fairly normal. My mean corpuscular hemoglobin/albumin/and alka phosphate were slightly elevated. I tested for TSH and free thyroxine and they came out normal as well. Ill list the labs Ive had done below for reference.
. Pre Testosterone Use
CBC
WBC 6.8 Range 4.5-11.0 k/ul
RBC 5.0 Range 4.7-6.1 M/UL
HGB 15.7 Range 14-18 GM/DL
HCT 45 Range 42-52 %
MCV 90 Range 80-100 FL
MCH 32 Range 27-31 PG
MCHC 35 Range 33-37 G/DL
RDW 12.2 Range 11.5-14.5 %
Platelet Count 156 Range 130-400 K/UL
Chemistry
Glucose 85 Range 70-110 MG/DL
BUN 14 Range 9-20 MG/DL
Creatinine .90 Range .60-1.30 MG/DL
Sodium 141 Range 136-145 MMOL/L
Potassium 3.8 Range 3.5-5.3 MMOL/L
Chloride 102 Range 98-110 MMOL/L
CO2 30 Range 22-31 MMOL/L
Albumim 5.1 Range 3.5-5.0 G/DL
Alka Phos 108 Range 32-92 IU/L
ALT (SGPT) 37 Range 21-72 IU/L
AST (SGOT) 32 Range 17-59 IU/L
Bilirubin T .7 Range .2-1 MG/DL
Calcium 9.8 Range 8.4-10.5 MG/DL
Protein Total 8.4 Range 6.4-8.3 G/DL
GFR (MDRD) 115
Thyroid Testing
TSH .81 Range .46-4.68 uIU/ml
Free Thyroxine 1.14 Range .78-2.19 NG/ML
Testosterone
Testosterone Total 436 Range 280-800 ng/dl
. Lab tests while on 500mg test a week
Prolactin 14.1 Range 4.0-15.2 ng/ml
Estradiol 87.9 Range 7.6-42.6 pg/ml
Im staying on 500mg testosterone for quite some time and wanted to know what blood tests I should have done to figure out what the root of my libido/erection issues are. Thanks for the help.
I think the steroid forum would be able to give you the best advice. No one here (that I am aware of) uses anything close to that level. We caution guys against anything over 150mg weekly since we are talking about replacement levels of hormones and not cycles.
I doubt many of the principals of replacement HRT come into play when your taking cycle levels.
not trying to blow you off, it’s just I have no knowledge of cycles or of the effects of such massive doses of Testosterone. We’re struggling to simply balance all of our interconnected systems with much lower doses and trying to keep up with all of the possible variables and side effects. I can’t imagine the implications of or how to balance within a cycle.
[quote]PureChance wrote:
I think the steroid forum would be able to give you the best advice. No one here (that I am aware of) uses anything close to that level. We caution guys against anything over 150mg weekly since we are talking about replacement levels of hormones and not cycles.
I doubt many of the principals of replacement HRT come into play when your taking cycle levels.
not trying to blow you off, it’s just I have no knowledge of cycles or of the effects of such massive doses of Testosterone. We’re struggling to simply balance all of our interconnected systems with much lower doses and trying to keep up with all of the possible variables and side effects. I can’t imagine the implications of or how to balance within a cycle.[/quote]
Point taken. I wasnt getting too much feedback on the steroid forum so I figured I would post it here. Thanks anyways.
[quote]averagebro wrote:
[quote]PureChance wrote:
I think the steroid forum would be able to give you the best advice. No one here (that I am aware of) uses anything close to that level. We caution guys against anything over 150mg weekly since we are talking about replacement levels of hormones and not cycles.
I doubt many of the principals of replacement HRT come into play when your taking cycle levels.
not trying to blow you off, it’s just I have no knowledge of cycles or of the effects of such massive doses of Testosterone. We’re struggling to simply balance all of our interconnected systems with much lower doses and trying to keep up with all of the possible variables and side effects. I can’t imagine the implications of or how to balance within a cycle.[/quote]
Point taken. I wasnt getting too much feedback on the steroid forum so I figured I would post it here. Thanks anyways. [/quote]
I’m not sure if the E2/T ratio is more important for libido or whether it is the total level that drives it. Your E2 of 89 is sky high compared to what most of us on trt are used to.
What are you running with the test, anything? Although “high” in comparison to TRT levels, 500/wk is a pretty mild cycle.
I’m betting you need to get that E2 down a bit. “Playing around” with adex is probably not the best way to go about it either. As far as bloodwork, I’d shoot to get a complete panel done.
[quote]catfish74 wrote:
What are you running with the test, anything? Although “high” in comparison to TRT levels, 500/wk is a pretty mild cycle.
I’m betting you need to get that E2 down a bit. “Playing around” with adex is probably not the best way to go about it either. As far as bloodwork, I’d shoot to get a complete panel done.
[/quote]
Nope, test only. Money is sort of an issue. What would be a good list of hormones to have checked. T, FT, E2, Prolactin, and Progesterone sound good? Am I missing anything?
[quote]averagebro wrote:
[quote]catfish74 wrote:
What are you running with the test, anything? Although “high” in comparison to TRT levels, 500/wk is a pretty mild cycle.
I’m betting you need to get that E2 down a bit. “Playing around” with adex is probably not the best way to go about it either. As far as bloodwork, I’d shoot to get a complete panel done.
[/quote]
Nope, test only. Money is sort of an issue. What would be a good list of hormones to have checked. T, FT, E2, Prolactin, and Progesterone sound good? Am I missing anything? [/quote]
If we just assume that you will need 5mg anaztrozole per week it will cost you around $40 every 6 weeks if you buy research chemical. Buy a bottle of liquid anastrozole, an adapt-a-cap, and an oral syringe to accurately dose the liquid.
For trt level doses it is recommended in the stickies to start with 1mg Anastrozole per week for every 100mg of test. I’m not sure what happens in the aromatase factory when you are on 500mg per week so I would be cautious, but you do need to get your E2 under control unless you want a nice set of boobs. You have a current blood test that says your E2 is 89. Getting that tested again seems like a waste of money to me. (getting the other labs is really important however) I didn’t even stay at a holiday inn express last night, but if I were in your shoes I would start the AI at a reasonable dose for a week or two before getting follow up E2 labs and adjust from there. Getting my E2 in the zone makes the difference of being as horny as a two dicked dog, or not even thinking about sex.
just my unprofessional opinion of course.