Yeah, in retrospect my actions were very stupid. Friday night I didn’t sleep at all (I was wired, likely a buildup to the panic attack), but Saturday we had big plans with family and I wanted to be present so I decided to have some caffeinated coffee for the first time in 3 months. 3 cups in, the panic ensued. As I said: in hindsight, I can see how dumb it was. I was just really enjoying the coffee lol
Everybody is different, but to me coffee has an amazing positive effect for 1 hour or so then I crash and the feeling is ugly, every single time is the same, therefore I don’t drink coffee anymore to me it is a high price to b paid for a short period feeling amazing
Damn. Well, at least it should be an easy thing to avoid in the future at least… I’d be awake for days with that much caffeine.
I think you’ll be able to recognize it now and know to stay away from caffeine, etc so that’s good for sure.
100%. I was supposed to have it last Thursday but pushed it to January. Hate to max my out of pocket max in November and have it reset in January. If I get super miserable between now and then I’m going to go ahead and do it. They can get me in with 5 days notice.
Update: feeling way better! Per the chart @readalot shared, I should be reaching my peak T level this week, and indeed, I’ve found myself in a way better mood, less sore, more motivated to work out, etc. So glad I switched back to injections at this high dose!
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On vacation down in FL this week and planning to check out Ben Pakulski’s Mi40 gym in Tampa tomorrow. Looking forward to it — big fan of Ben, and looks like an awesome gym! Any recommendations for other things to do around here?
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@readalot @ncsugrad2002 @dextermorgan @enackers @NH_Watts
New labs! Since switching back to injections @ 68 mg EOD (238 mg/week), I have felt much better. Sex drive isn’t off the charts, but definitely better.
Numbers look better, too, though I wish Labcorp would be more specific with total T and there are somewhat concerning cholesterol numbers that I’ll continue to monitor:
HCT 51.1 (Ref 37.5-51.0)
HGB 17.3 (13.0-17.7)
HDL 38 (>39)
LDL 121 (0-99)
Cholesterol 172 (100-199)
Triglycerides 70 (0-149)
Total T >1500 (264-916)
Free T 40.7 (9.3-26.5)
SHBG 75.4 (16.5-55.9) – interesting, didn’t move much at all though Free T jumped from 11.1-40.7
Estradiol 86.9 (8.0-35.0)
What do y’all think? Anything to worry about? Hard to draw a great conclusion about free:total ratio without a precise Total T.
If you back into the number your TT is approx 2250 ng/dl. Your numbers for TT/FT now appear too high to be considered TRT. I would back them down a bit. Maybe aim for 200mg/wk and retest in 8weeks.
Really interesting – how were you able to back into the number?!
Assuming an albumin # since you didn’t post a CBC.
In regard to the HDL that is probably due to your high T.
“Studies have found that testosterone doesn’t seem to have any effect on LDL– “bad” – cholesterol. But higher testosterone can lead to lower levels of “good” cholesterol in healthy men between the ages of 20 and 50.”
Sources cited:
Just an insight cos I read this yesterday, the lab-tested FT can be very inaccurate. Said that if you run 4 samples from the same draw you’ll get 4 different answers.
Just a thought
Edit: also, you can request the TT LC/MS test, it has no upper limit.
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My bad, brother – should’ve included that. It’s 5.2.
I’d say that’s consistent with what I’ve seen. Pre-TRT, my HDL was 51. Since then, it’s hovered around the low to mid 40s, and now 38 – pretty consistent downward numbers. LDL, however, has been more sporadic – no clear method to the madness.
Sounds like COVID 
Which, by the way, I had a couple months ago
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Then your TT is about 2400 by calculation method
Hmm, so the ratio is 1.7%. That’s not bad but my best was 2.2%. I had Danazol in the mix when I got there.
Nothing to worry about any of that IMHO. End of day the resolving of symptoms and what dose accomplishes that is what matters.
Your sex drive being so so is a conundrum . How often are you jamming?
Study isnt worth the reference after reading this brother.
All the research I’ve read is that T is cv protective and every man benefits quite a bit on TRT .
This study says nothing of the dose or current health of men except what they say. Maybe they didn’t even give them a good dose. Maybe they were given once every two weeks 100mg or some shit.
“In 2010, researchers cut short a study of testosterone supplements in older men who had problems getting around. Of the 209 men in the study, 23 men who were getting testosterone treatments developed high blood pressure or abnormal heart rhythms or had heart attacks.
Since the trial involved a small number of men who were older and unhealthy in other ways, scientists said they couldn’t learn much from the results.
The bottom line is that more study is needed for doctors to better understand the risks and benefits of using testosterone supplements.”
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