46 y/o male, 6’ 8", 220, BF 10%, former heavy lifter in my 20s, did two foolish cycles (no labs or PCT, one test only, one deca only *yikes)) in my late 20s although I did better before cycle. Hard gainer, started at 170lbs then, got up to 300lbs naturally in 7 years (10 meals/d, 10,000 cals, 500 g protein/d, very determined). Not exactly sure when I started having BPH symptoms but it was around that time or in my early 30s (weak stream, splitting of the stream etc.)
Fast forward to age 46. Basically only doing push ups and pullups to failure alternating EOD for the past year, not terrible physique, look athletic but thin overall with some typical abdominal/waist male distribution fat. I did have a small amt of gyno from the previous cycles but only the nipple slightly affected ie no SC fat. I’ve increased my meal intake and work out intensity. My regimen is on the high side for TRT but the low side for a true “cycle”. All meds are pharmaceutical grade, as stated this is the end of wk 2:
-Test cyp 80mg SC M/W/F
-HCG 250iu SC M/W/F
-Adex began at 0.5mg M/W/F now 1mg M/W/F
My very first injection I developed significant lower extremity edema (+2 pitting) by the end of the day. I initially had a 2 year old bottle of arimidex which didn’t seem to be working as well as it might, at least there was room for doubt, though the edema did subside later the next day. By the 1st Wed, I added the HCG in, within an hour or so I felt an uncomfortable sensation in my prostate. Whether that was TC or HCG mediated or both idk. I obtained a new Adex scrip and went to 0.75mg that W and 1mg that F. The following week (this week) I went with 1mg M/W/F as I attributed symptoms to high E2, I actually took another 1mg today for a total of 4mg during wk 2. My urine stream/ejactulation has diminished force, diminished glans sensation and I have a naggingly uncomfortable sensation in my prostate and unable to achieve full erection and the semi erect state is brief.
Now I’m stuck wondering in the following order: is E2 too high? is E2 too low? and as you will see with my labs, did the exogenous test drive my SHBG lower and DHT higher and the combination is exacerbating the prostate E2 exposure? I hate to bail on this 8-12 week intended cycle but prostate has to come first. It took 15 years to reconsider another cycle in first place and I’m regretting it already. Unfortunately I did have the ultrasensitive E2, and the labs are from Quest, early am and several months prior to initiating the KSMAN’s protocol:
A1c 5.5
FT3 2.8 pg/mL (range 2.3-4.2)
FT4 1.1 ng/dL (0.8-1.8)
LH 5.6 mIU/ml (1.5-9.3)
FSH 4.0 mIU/mL (1.6-8.0)
Cortisol 6.0 mcg/dL (4-22)
CRP <0.10 mg/dL
DHEA (not -S) 149 ng/dL (61-1636)
Progesterone 0.7 ng/mL (<1.4)
UA incl micro/CBC/CMP all WNL
B12 and D high end of normal
HDL 61 mg/dL
LDL 106 mg/dL
Non-HDL 138 mg/dL calc.
TG 158 mg/dL
I cut out my nightly pint of ice cream and daily sweets btw. Now the meat and potatos:
TT 611 ng/dL (250-827)
FT 52.3 pg/mL (46-224)
Estradiol, US 25 pg/mL (</= 29)
SHBG 76 nmol/L (10-50)
PSA 1.3 ng/mL (</= 4.0) has been 1+ for years, DRE a few years back est 30g
Clearly states Quest at the top of the report but next to the tests ordered is Estradiol, sensitive (NG140244) which seems to be a lab corp test number but the range matches the Quest 30289. If I go with Quest which my insurance covers, I should have Estradiol 4021? This is a frustrating point to research on this site or any other.
To me this looks like a typical aging male, well the numbers aren’t so typical, but the syndrome of SHBG driving a deceptively high/compensatory TT is clear as obviously the FT is low. I was formerly able to achieve better erections, not those of my youth but much superior to the present.
The main reason for trying this cycle was to improve prostate issues as I’ve read a good bit about T:E ratio being the real culprit here and clearly there is some inflammation of the prostate prior to 2 weeks ago going by PSA.
I’m sure there will be a tendency to think the unpleasant prostate sensation is psychogenic. I have to disagree there. 10 years ago I started some tribulus and experienced the same result. I certainly didn’t imagine the pitting edema although I was quite surprised how quickly that manifested.
I’m still game to try a lower dose of Adex and a lower dose of TC or HCG for that matter. I have nolvadex on hand as well. The alternative is let this wash out and progress to PCT. Labs of course would be helpful but at exactly 2 weeks it is hard to know how to gauge them, especially given the estradiol lab chosen, and to a lesser degree, the lack of DHT.
I’m not very far off Adex to TC ratio of 1mg to 100mg/wk at 3mg and 240mg. Then again I could be an over-responder and it may have crashed. I seem a bit achier in the shoulders but I’ve also upped my training intensity. If the E2 US is way off and my estrogen was sky high to begin with, that also makes sense with the prostate issues and modern theory. The HCG may be doing way too much in the testicles and it could be worth seeing what happens with a week or two of no HCG. At least I could eliminate one variable before either adjusting the Adex lower or possibly (but doubtfully) higher, thereafter possibly lowering the TC.
The alternative is stopping now and proceeding into PCT, getting back to normal for a period of time and seeing where my baseline E2/DHT are. I’m sure everything I’ve put down is a bit scattered but I’m happy to clarify any points. At any rate, thanks for reading and thanks for all the effort to those who have posted such a wealth of info.
Peace