You should know what I’m gonna suggest, daily injections. These small injections produce the least sides including water retention because you’re using less Test to get the job done…
When you have to use large injections every couple of days, you’re having to compensate with more testosterone do to the decline that happens between injections.
This should do, 12-14mg daily.
Thanks @systemlord . I have a question about syringes, would a 30ga insulin syringe be appropriate for daily injections? The concern I have with daily injections is with the increased sticking, would that create some kind of scar tissue? My thinking is, the smaller the better in this case, just don’t know if 30ga is too small, and if it’s OK to go subq as well to minimize scar tissue.
You’re welcome. A 30 gauge will do the job, but will take longer to fill, about 1 minute as the 29 gauge syringes take about 30 seconds. These insulin syringes are much better than the 18 gauge harpoons I was originally prescribed!
I inject in shoulders and quads to minimize scar tissue, I could probably imagine finding other places to inject.
So, I got my Estradiol-S back. It seems a little low to me, but I’m still a novice novice on the subject. How does it look to you guys? As far as symptoms go, I feel great over all. I do notice sometimes I have more libido than others, mostly a couple hours after my injection. And I feel tired others. But overall, really good. The problem is, this is compared to how I felt before, and I don’t know how much better I can feel at any given time. I have nothing to compare it to, I felt like shit for so long.
Estradiol-S: 14.4pg/mL (Range 8.0-35)
Here are the other results so you don’t have to scroll up:
All LabCorp
Total T: 443ng/dL (Range 264-916)
Free T: 13.3pg/mL (Range 8.7-25.1)
SHBG: 18.2nmol/L (Range 16.5-55.9)
Thanks for your input! @systemlord @hardartery
Those numbers are all low. Your description of how you feel, coupled with the labs, would indicate that you need to up your dose.
Hey, thanks for getting back to me.
So, I upped my dose from 50mg/3 days to 75mg/3days. I believe it was your suggestion, and I got permission from the doc to do so. I believe @systemlord suggested I try every day injections at the same dosage, but I’m not yet ready to do ED injections. These numbers are for 50mg/E3D. Getting more blood work done in 2-3 weeks.
These levels are low, you need at least 600 ng/dL or Free T high normal. These levels still put you at risk for cardiovascular disease.
This has to do with your injection frequency being too far apart, you need at a minimum EOD injections, otherwise no day will you feel the same and these swings will get bigger with more time and little relief from TRT.
No matter what protocol I was on, I always felt the same for the first two days, it was after this time thing would always change. This is how I arrived at EOD injections, but found I feel even better on daily injections.
You want to feel good, go for 35mg EOD, you want to feel amazing, choose 16mg daily injections.
Hmmm…Okay, couple questions here. I’m taking 75mg every 3 days right now. Can I just split that up and do 25? Because 16MG ED would be if you split my previous dose into 3.
Is it okay if I pre-load the syringes a week at a time so it’s easier to dose, or would keeping it in the bottle work better?
Also, when you say my levels are low, you are referring to T and Free T, right? What about the others, will they rise as the T rises?
Shouldn’t be a problem to pre load syringes for a week. Just be as clean about it as possible.
That is fine, keep them in a cool dry place, no refrigerator.
Both are low, you should learn to focus on Free T, Total T is useful when looking at the picture as a whole. Total T rises, Free T increases and right now Free T is closest to the bottom and we want it at the top end of the ranges or higher do to the testing methods usually available overestimating Free T.
Daily injections is another animal, big moves equals large changes in levels. Also injecting daily you will find you need a lot less because you are injecting every 24 hours, it takes 36-48 for testosterone to peak and daily injection sees little decline in levels.
You are no longer compensating for decline in levels between injections, you need less T. I accounted for your low levels when I recommended the 16mg daily protocol, you may need more but 16mg is a place to start and is a moderate daily dosage.
You could do 25mg EOD but I do not think it will be enough to get your Free T to the high normal ranges, daily has a better chance do to less decline in levels.
Testosterone Threshold for Increased Cardiovascular Risk in Middle-Aged and Elderly Men
The locally weighted regression showed that total testosterone levels of 440 and 480 ng/dL were associated with increased Framingham CVD risk and an increased probability of increased hsCRP, respectively. Men with sexual dysfunction (poor sexual performance, decreased morning erection, and loss of libido) had significantly greater CVD risk.
Preloading is the way to go.
At 185mg/week doing daily sub-q my total T was 2000 & free was 36. My testosterone level before TRT was higher than yours is currently. Definitely start doing daily injections. I felt best on daily. The exciting thing is you are only going to feel better so you have a lot to look forward to. It took me about two months doing daily injections to feel optimal so hang in there.