Total T Went from 500 to 1400 with 50% Dose Increase. What Gives?

I’m on the cream (I know) and my previous labs were 500 now they’re at 1400 just going from 100mg/day to 150mg/day. What gives? The differences are now I’m on the ketogenic diet and taking sustained-release T3. Can fixing thyroid cause an increase in testosterone even while HPTA suppressed? Or somehow the 250iu EOD injected HCG I was taking EOD I get more bang-for-my-buck out of?

Fixing thyroid increases SHBG which then allows you to hold onto more of your testosterone, testosterone production doesn’t change.

Thank you. I’m young, would this mean that if I succesfully do an HPTA restart that I’ll see improved testosterone levels than pre-trt (~250). I’ve also lost 15 pounds.

Probably not, realistically successful restarts are rare. I’m not saying don’t try I’m saying don’t get your hopes up. Typically we see levels fall right back down to lower levels after a couple of months, then it’s back on TRT.

According to KSMan’s HTPA Restart thread I should be able to know in 6 weeks of tamoxifen through testing LH/FSH/TT/FT/E2? Even before tapering if labs look good then HPTA is retstarted?

Also wondering if the cause of low-T is factored into your opinion? KSMan diagnosed it as ‘adrenal fatigue’ and I also had mild sleep apnea. I feel like I’m missing whether HPTA restarts are typically unsuccessful because the cause was never fixed or simply because TRT causes HPTA damage. Also wondering if time is a factor. I’ve been on TRT for 3 years. Wonder if the longer you’re on it the less likely you’ll be able to do a restart…

The causes of low T are plentiful, genetics, overtraining, poor sleep, depression and toxic environment etc. TRT doesn’t damage your HPTA, it only shuts it down until you stop it. In my opinion men waste too much time with restarts and years later their right back on TRT.

Sometimes stuff just breaks and you have to move on with your life. Your number could be up tomorrow, next week, few years, maybe 10 years, perhaps 30 years or maybe you believe you’ll live forever. Do you really want to waste that time on restarts when your chances are slim to none?

You have a higher chance at winning big in Vegas.

There are a couple of reasons I want to quit:

  • “adrenal fatigue” is so nebulous. It’s hard to measure if it’s “cured” or not. All my symptoms started after 2 years of panic attacks and ‘emotional stress’ over dealing with messed up parents and people that I had attracted into my life. Before that stuff I could see my T levels being pretty good - I’d felt confident, motivated, and was skinny
  • Testosterone isn’t very portable. Especially with HCG needing to be refridgerated. Hard to just up and go somewhere if I have a week or so off of work.
  • I have a lower sex drive on TRT. Before it, I’d masturbate daily. On it, maybe once a week if that. This is even when I got labs of e2 = ~22 like KSMan suggests, and total T being in the 600’s. Even when my labs came up with these insane numbers: Total T = 1400 free T being 350 on a range going up to 200 and elevated E2 (40) I still don’t have a sex drive.
  • Social stigma. It’s not like telling people you have a thyroid condition and I haven’t had a girlfriend since I got on it, but I feel like it could be very ackward them knowing and maybe using it against me, like it’s ‘artificial masculinity’ or something, or blaming my TRT.
  • I’m not sure I needed it since the cause was probably sleep apnea + chronic stress messing up my HPA-axis
  • I hate the complexity that thinking about hormone levels has on social interactions - ‘did they not take me seriously because my T is low?’ ‘am I feeling meek because my E2 is too high?’

This gives me enough motivation for wanting to try getting off. I really didn’t notice a huge difference in how I felt between total t of 600 vs 1400, but maybe the E2 complicated that. I AM, however, switching back to injections and waiting a while to try and get off of it since I have a lot of change going on in my life right now.

I support you. You will never know if you don’t try. Good luck.

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You have 10 threads and I don’t know what we have covered before…


Please read the stickies found here: About the T Replacement Category - #2 by KSman

  • advice for new guys - need more info about you
  • things that damage your hormones
  • protocol for injections
  • finding a TRT doc

Evaluate your overall thyroid function by checking oral body temperatures as per the thyroid basics sticky. Thyroid hormone fT3 is what gets the job done and it regulates mitochondrial activity, the source of ATP which is the universal currency of cellular energy. This is part of the body’s temperature control loop. This can get messed up if you are iodine deficient. In many countries, you need to be using iodized salt. Other countries add iodine to dairy or bread.

KSman is simply a regular member on this site. Nothing more other than highly active.

I can be a bit abrupt in my replies and recommendations. I have a lot of ground to cover as this forum has become much more active in the last two years. I can’t follow threads that go deep over time. You need to respond to all of my points and requests as soon as possible before you fall off of my radar. The worse problems are guys who ignore issues re Thyroid, body temperatures, history of iodized salt. Please do not piss people off saying that lab results are normal, we need lab numbers and ranges.

The value that you get out of this process and forum depends on your effort and performance. The bulk of your learning is reading/studying the suggested stickies.

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