TRT Since June, Test is Still Low with Labs

Hi all new here, first post. Have a couple questions. I started in June on gels and they didn’t work seem like they helped and then I crashed totally gone. Started injecting 200mg every 2 weeks.( 100 ea week. ). I’m def way hornier and feeling better but Not great. Did labs today , Confused why my Test total is 386? I started at 240. She didn’t think I need an estrogen test but I marked it on the blood test order form haha and it Seems high can anyone check the tests and make sense of them for me. Thanks. image|666x500 ![image|375x500]

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Seems like 100/week ought to get your levels up there. If you can pin 50 2x week that should help stabilize your levels. Having a low SHBG should help you by not binding up too much Test.

A lot of guys disagree but I think you should be above 750 total test to feel good. Your doc may need to bump your dose and continue to test you until you stabilize. Don’t let her shove anti E on you. Nolvadex will prevent the negative impacts of estrogen but will help you with the benefits that estrogen can provide

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Thank you doesn’t the total seem pretty low for 3 months of pinning and 2months of gel? Will she bump up more then 100mg per week or? After I use it I feel good for a couple days and it goes away. I also want to have another kid what should I ask her. My LH is low

You need to be firm in that HOW YOU FEEL is more critical than your lab numbers. She needs to titrate your dose until she hits the magic spot.

You may need to pin more frequently to keep levels steady

Are you pinning every 7 days or every 14 days?

Every 7 100 mg

Good.

26 for estradiol is not high at all. However your test result is low. From what I read on this page you need to inject more frequently with loc SHBG which you have. Try maybe twice 2x50 and see how that will do for you.

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I would call what you are doing TRT, injections every 2 weeks is blasphemy in the world of TRT!

You are low SHBG like myself, our ability to hold onto testosterone is compromised, testosterone binds to SHBG and when low you are forced to inject frequently, lower the SHBG, the more frequent the injections need to be. Your levels are swinging and this is why your levels are so low on lab day and why you don’t feel great.

You need to keep levels stable and inject your doses EOD or everyday, less fluctuations means you feel better. You shouldn’t be targeting a high total testosterone.

My SHBG is 22 and I noticed when injecting twice weekly and slight crash 2.5 days after my injection. I didn’t start developing muscle until I started injecting EOD. I’m currently on a daily protocol and searching for the right dosage. 10mg everyday is too much for me.

Low thyroid hormones can explain low SHBG (Free T3/ high Reverse T3), other times it’s just genetic.

Thyroid is is good and she said my shbg was fine at that number. Also my total is low still and She says I dont go by numbers I go by how people feel. She prescribed 125mg a week and it was like pulling teeth we getting hcg and she says shouldn’t use for long. Still want another kid soon. Maybe time to find a new doc?

Do you know how many guys come in here saying thyroid labs are good only to find out they are not? A lot.

SHBG is below range, it isn’t good and can complicate dialing in TRT.

Finding a competent doctor under your insurance is next to impossible. You want expert level hormone doctors you must go private. An experienced TRT doctor would have suggests more frequent injections because they understand the implications of low SHBG.

Most of what you inject is excreted into your urine, literally ends up in the toilet. If you were to measure testosterone in the urine, it would be way higher than if you measured testosterone in the blood.

200mg every 2 weeks is something doctors did during the clinical trials years ago, any doctor doing old school protocol is saying your doctor doesn’t prescribe TRT very often, that’s because endocrinologists specialize in a different field of medicine. Endocrinologists specialize in thyroid and diabetes, not TRT.

I know a guy with SHBG of 5. He was taking 400mg every two weeks. Seven days after taking a 400mg injection, his total test was 380. Moving to 100mg every 3.5 days resulted in an 800 total test at 3.5 days.

You possibly/probably need more than 100mg a week and certainly need to go to twice a week injections.

Don’t pay for FSH and LH testing any more.

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It also depends on how fast a person metabolizes testosterone, I metabolize it faster.

My first protocol was 200mg every 3 weeks and 10 days later I was scoring 400’s and 600’s on two separate tests, when I was injecting 75mg weekly, 3rd day scored 550 and a day before my injection I scored 440 and I’m low SHBG (22).

What needs to be closely monitored is Free T, because for me every 100 ng/dL decrease equals huge reduction in Free T.

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That’s what saves low SHBG guys from really feeling terrible. Total test may be low, but they get more free test out of it. Like a guy with 800 total test, high SHBG, and 90 free, will be very similar to a guy 400 total, low SHBG, and 90 free.

The doctor needs to consider this when designing protocols. We’re all different.

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I have been testing thyroid through 2 diff drs for couple years, Because I haven’t felt great. she is an endocrinologist. Anyone in so cal Pasadena area with a good dr?

I’m still new to all of this so my thoughts are scattered. but she was hesitant to give the hcg saying no proof you should use it long term without problems arising. I had big balls and they def have shrunk atleast half and I want another kid soon so I just had to say we are trying now. even though won’t be for like 5 months . I have good insurance do they usually cover hcg?

[quote=“dodgers23, post:16, topic:247980, full:true”] she was hesitant to give the hcg saying no proof you should use it long term without problems arising. I have good insurance do they usually cover hcg?
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I wonder what she considers long term and what problems she is referencing. Regarding insurance, tough to say. They generally try to raise premiums and reduce claim payments. My guess is if part of treatment for a documented infertility issue, maybe. As part of a TRT program, probably not.

Do any of you have blue cross blue shield in ca? . We are trying to figure out which kind of hcg is covered if any.