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!