Lost Insurance, Forced to Do It On My Own. Estrogen Help?

Hey guys and maybe a few gals. I’ve been doing as much research as I can these last couple of months on this topic but I still have some confusion. I really hope some of this does not come off as ignorant.

31 years old. 6,2 180lbs. Finally Diagnosed with hypogonadism after a couple years of struggling with severe depression and other symptoms of low-t at 28 years old. Not sure what caused it, did have some testical and head injuries as a teen and young adult from motocross. Did the cream for about a year and a half then finally was able to switch to the injection. Felt the best I ever had in my entire life on 120mg a week of test cyp for a little over a year. Then got laid off. I was able to keep my insurance and continue treatment until I found another job. However the insurance with this new job is limited until I put in some time here, it does not cover this treatment. Due to cost I decided to handle it on my own. Actually attempted to come off for two months and that was a huge mistake.

From January to February I stopped. I felt fine until February when obviously I began to crash. Honestly wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be except for two things, labido and ED. Even before treatment I never really had labido issues. In March I started back up on 120mg a week(split 60mg/2x a week). Started to feel better mood and energy but still labido and ed issues. Did some research and learned a lot about AI’s. My endo Dr never had me on any AI’s throughout my treatment! I quickly learned this was likely my problem. I got a hold of generic Anastrozole and ordered a blood test. I got the anastrozole before the blood test shipped in and I started on 1mg EOD. After a week of the anastrozole my dick came back with a vengeance. It was awesome! Hadn’t seen the guy in two months. I continued the Anastrozole for another week, but by the end of that week it went back to how it was before… So I stopped the AI. After stopping the AI for a week I felt worse than before. So bad so I drove two hours away to a lab clinic to get my blood tested. I was certain I had crashed my estrogen with the AI. My blood test for that are as follows:

Test Total: 1390 ng/dl (380-1080)
Free Test: 609 pg/ml (47-244)
SHBG: 24 nmol/L (16.5 - 55.9)
PSA: 0.94
Estrodial: 49.7 pg/dl (Less than 60)
(This test was also done less than 24 hours after my last injection, so I believe the test levels are incorrect)

The time of this blood test I had what I thought were symptoms of crashed estrogen. High anxiety, sleepy all the time, no labido, no water retention. However I also had redness of the face and moody which I know can be from high estrogen. What I learned from this blood test is I cannot tell the difference between too high or too low estrogen. But I do have some questions to confirm that.

-Most people I see discuss E2 levels. But this blood test just has “Estradiol”. Is that the same as E2? I’m assuming 49.7 is still high considering optimal levels for E2 is 22-27 or so? Can estrogen levels be incorrect in a blood test if the test is done so soon after an injection?

I’ve started back on the anastrozole 1mg after each injection, so 2mg a week. This is the first week of that new protocol. My confusion here is my blood test here shows different values than what I see commonly posted. I am in the process of finding a new doctor, but in the meantime any help discerning this blood test would be appreciated. I have an at home test I can take that I’m thinking I’ll try in the next couple of weeks.

Thanks!

You can find a private doc like defy or Dr Keith Nichols or Nelson virgil and etc.

Using insurance is asking for trouble anyways.

Why the ai? Lower your dose man. You have very high free t. Drop that free t by 30% and estrogen will drop. You’ll feel better to.

Thyroid can cause fatigue so make sure that’s checked out.

You need to read around the boards here and research. You are not doing that. Otherwise it would be obvious what the answers are. Spend some time and get after your health.

I’d drop the anastrozol, even if you need it, 2mg a week is way to much. The idea that there’s an “optimal” level for estrodiol seems to be fading. The newer ideas in the field is to let it run wild unless you’re symptomatic. You may or may not have been, this is where working with an expert is useful.
The blood work was only 24 hours post injection so that’s peak value rather than trough. I’d test right before you give yourself an injection, within a few hours before is fine. But I wouldn’t do that until you’ve been on a stable protocol for 6 to 8 weeks. If you have trouble dialing it in its probably worth trying to find a specialist, they usually don’t take insurance, but how much is feeling great worth to you?

Just some thoughts.

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Thank you guys very much for your reply’s. I live about two hours away from any T-clinics or specialists. But I agree it is worth my time to take that road trip every now and then.

You may not have gotten the sensitive E2 test and that is why you are seeing different values. A lot recommend only the sensitive test as it will supposedly reads the lower levels of men better.

Telemedical. Only trip you will take is to the mailbox other than blood work and a yearly physical

Update: Lowered my dose to two 50mg shots per week, found a clinic much closer and just pay out of pocket.

Everything has stabilized and I feel SO much better!

Thank you for the replies and support.

You will find no help going to regular doctors in the sick care system, you need a private doctor to manage your TRT from here on out. Most men need optimal levels to feel good and sick care isn’t in the business of optimizing health, most sick care doctors are perfectly happy with suboptimal levels.

Your Free T is more than double the reference ranges and you have plenty of room to lower your dosage and decrease estrogen by at least half.