Background history: Used anabolics (poorly designed cycles) on and off when I was 19 and 20. No pct. During that time built up from 140 to 173lbs. May not sound like a lot but there was little fat (mainly muscle), plus I’m 5’5’’ with tiny joints. Never was the same. Continued training but lost most of my gains. Evaluated by multiple endos in my early 20’s. testosterone always came back low or low normal. The endos tried restarts but never took. I was told to just give it time. Continued training but turned up going to grad school. Just lived with it, continued training and watching my diet. Fast forward to turning 40. Got ahold of some test cup. Injected 100mg and felt like my old self.
Got with a trt doc who way overcharged me and thought he was God’s gift. Tried all different protocols. Used the 100mg test cyp once per week with Hcg 250 units two days in a row prior to next test injection. Arimidex 1/2 twice per week .Caused too high rbcs, fluctuating estradiol and high Shbg(I HAVE ALWAYS HAD HIGH SHBG) TT high with FT normal range. Turned to splitting test dose in half (50mg) twice per week. Hcg twice per week 250 units day before each test injection with various arimidex doses based on labs. Still didn’t feel right. Could never get stable labs. Now I’m 57 and still trying to get it right!!! Loosing ground. Decreased appetite, not motivated to train, hard to keep weight up. Two years ago went to EOD test cop injections 25mg per injection alternate with Hcg 250units and arimidex (1/8th) of a 1mg tab (thats hard to do!). This dosing helped stabilize my levels, keep my estrogen and hgb easier to control. My SHBG is still high. My latest labs are a mess. I just don’t know what to do. Take a look: Quest Labs
Total cholesterol 197. 125-200 mg/dl
HDL 62. > or= 40mg/dl
Triglycerides. 99. <150 mg/dl
LDL. 115. < 130 mg/dl
Glucose. 76. 65-99 mg/dl
Creatinine. 1.19. 0.70-1.33 mg/dl
AST. 35. 10-35 U/L
ALT. 38. 9-46 U/L
The rest of the metabolic panel is normal
Hemoglobin. 16. 13.2-17.1 g/dl
Hematocrit. 49.5. 38.5-50.0 %
The rest of the CBC is normal
Estradiol, ultrasensensitive 64. HIGH. <or= 29
DHT. 347. HIGH. 16-79 ng/dl
PSA. 1.0. <or= 4.0 ng/ml
SHBG. 85. HIGH. 22-77 nmol/L
Tot Test 4204. HIGH. 250-1100ng/dl
FT. 699.8. HIGH. 35-155 pg/ml
T3 uptake. 38. HIGH. 22-35%
T4 total. 4.1. LOW. 4.5-12 mcg/ dl
TSH. 1.79. 0.4-4.50 mIU/L
Some unique facts about my labs: certainly don’t look hypothyroid!!! I have a history of having slightly “off” thyroid function test which normalize later. I’ve also read that total 4 levels will frequently show low on labs when you are taking androgens.
My SHBG is always high. I have driven my estradiol into single digits for months an my SHBG still stays elevated. Increasing testosterone doesn’t reduce it.
My dilemma is that if I space the test injections (using SQ method) further apart, like you should with a high SHBG, my estrogen an Hgb become hard to control. If I use the EOD method my levels seem more stable and in the past my estradiol levels were easier to control. Now my estradiol levels are harder to control and my TT levels are through the roof. Remember I’m only taking 25mg EOD test cyp. When I drop to 20mgEOD my TT levels start to get unstable. Any ideas???