Years of HRT and Still Having Issues!

Hi, I’m 30 years old 5’7" 165lbs. and have had low T for about 9 years. I have been on and off HRT for 8 years. I eat a very clean diet, exercise and live a healthy lifestyle. I am currently on 200mg of test cyp. a week. I still feel very week and tired (the story of my life).For example I will exercise on monday and be completly worn out all week. I am always fatigued with some rare ocassions of feeling good.

My t levels are always testing low around the 150-200ng/dl range. My E-2 levels are low just tested 12.8. My Dr. put me on Anastrozole .5mg twice a week. Do I need that? My most recent lab work was done 3 weeks after my last shot of t-cyp. Total Test 132ng/dl, Free test 4.2 ng/dl, TSH 3.13, Estradiol 12.8, DHEA 317, SHBG 27.4. one thing that always stands out in my lab work is my low white blood cell count.

I went to a hemotalogist for that and he did some more lab work and basically told me it was chronic fatige/epstein bar. I still have many more questions sorry for the rambaling I’m new to the forums and any help would be great, Thanks!

[quote]Quad45 wrote:
Hi, I’m 30 years old 5’7" 165lbs. and have had low T for about 9 years. I have been on and off HRT for 8 years. I eat a very clean diet, exercise and live a healthy lifestyle. I am currently on 200mg of test cyp. a week. I still feel very week and tired (the story of my life).For example I will exercise on monday and be completly worn out all week. I am always fatigued with some rare ocassions of feeling good. My t levels are always testing low around the 150-200ng/dl range. My E-2 levels are low just tested 12.8. My Dr. put me on Anastrozole .5mg twice a week. Do I need that? My most recent lab work was done 3 weeks after my last shot of t-cyp. Total Test 132ng/dl, Free test 4.2 ng/dl, TSH 3.13, Estradiol 12.8, DHEA 317, SHBG 27.4. one thing that always stands out in my lab work is my low white blood cell count. I went to a hemotalogist for that and he did some more lab work and basically told me it was chronic fatige/epstein bar. I still have many more questions sorry for the rambaling I’m new to the forums and any help would be great, Thanks![/quote]

Post up your blood work results with reference ranges.

What was the reason for your 3 week gap between injections? You say you take 200mg weekly how are you dosing that, 1 shot per week or multiple shots? Is this Testosterone you are buying pharmaceutical grade stuff or are you sourcing yourself? With 200mg each week of testosterone going into your system your numbers are very low.

But if you are injecting irregularly this is probably causing some of your problems.

Explain everything in detail how you are dosing and how you are going about things. Right now your initial post is confusing. Since you say you inject 200mg weekly and then you say your last test results were 3 weeks after injection.

Sorry for the confusion. The reason for the 3 week break was do to a switch in doctors, and he told me to stop my current HRT to get a more accurate measure on the lab work. Yes, the test cyp. I am using is from a pharmacy and I inject once a week. My labs were as follows:
Results Range
Free and total test,serum 132ng (249-836)
Free Testosterone 4.2pg (8.7-25.1)
DHEA 317 (160-449)
TSH 3.130 (.450-4.500)
Estradiol 12.8 (7.6-42.6)
prostate-specific ag 0.3 (0.0-4.0)
IGF-1 265 (117-329)
Vitamin D,25 Hydroxy 34.9 (32.0-100.0)
Triiodothyronine,free serum 2.7 (2.0-4.4)
SHBG 27.4 (14.5-48.4)

Were you ever diagnosed with a reason for your low T?
I can’t be of any help, sorry. I’m just a newbie trying to get answers to my potential problem.

If you feel like crap and want to try a different approach and use what others do on here with success.
Take your testosterone over at least 2 days or better yet 3 days.
M-W-F

Since your E2 is pretty low you could probably take a little less arimidex maybe try .25mg EOD/E3D. See how that fairs.

Taking your testosterone over the coarse of 3 days you may find you can take a lower dose overall. You might be alright with 120mg a week if you schedule your dosing better.

Definitely inject more frequently than 1x per week, with the Arimidex you may want to lower the dose and see how it goes and adjust accordingly.

I would expect your T to be really low if they had you taking shots then stop it for 3 weeks to get a test. That is retarded - your body is not producing T because you are taking it exogenously, so when you stop cold turkey and have low natural production, it’s going to be rock bottom. You should get blood drawn halfway between injections.

TSH indicates potential, I would even say probable hypothyroid which would explain why TRT isn’t working for you. The thyroid and adrenals need to be strong enough to support the demands that additional Test puts on the body. Get a full thyroid lab (TSH, Free T3, Free T4) as well as 8am cortisol.

Read the “lab work” and “advice for new guys” stickies a few times. It will give you a good knowledge base from which you can do more research on your own.

Also, start taking Vitamin D (oil-based capsules) 4-6,000iu/day. You want that number to be 70-90.

Your new doctor is an idiot. Find a different one. Your lab results are meaningless due to the long gap since last injection. Even a marginally competent doctor should be aware of this.

1 Like

Thanks for all the responses guys. Even after months off my T levels never bounce back and are in the 200-300 range. I have used deca,test and Pro-hormones(not at the same time) when I was 20(stupid), 10 years ago which I think contributed to my problem. I have had many tests done including an MRI of my pituitary. My system just never returned to “normal”.

I will start injecting the test cyp. 2-3 times a week and lower the Arimidex and supplement with Vita D. My cortisol levels were also very high at one point 18.6 (2.3-19.4). I am usally very stressed which I'm sure contributes to that. Once again thank you for your input.

[quote]Quad45 wrote:
Thanks for all the responses guys. Even after months off my T levels never bounce back and are in the 200-300 range. I have used deca,test and Pro-hormones(not at the same time) when I was 20(stupid), 10 years ago which I think contributed to my problem. I have had many tests done including an MRI of my pituitary. My system just never returned to “normal”.

I will start injecting the test cyp. 2-3 times a week and lower the Arimidex and supplement with Vita D. My cortisol levels were also very high at one point 18.6 (2.3-19.4). I am usally very stressed which I'm sure contributes to that. Once again thank you for your input.[/quote]

If that was an 8am draw that’s actually an ideal level. You want it right at the top of the range at 8am (but not out of range). If it was later in the day, not so good.

I vote for a complete thyroid workup as well - a number that high screams potential issue to me. And yes, you need a new doc.

Are you depressed? Can you retain muscle/put on muscle? Does your temperature always seem to be low? How are your breasts? Nipples puffy?

Your thyroid is sluggish definitely. You should buy some kelp tablets and take like 4 a day. Should give you a boost of energy. You will also most likely need some thyroid supplementation as your thyroid hormone level is barely in range. Your doctor will say your TSH is fine (which it is) but the thyroid is not producing adequate hormone levels.

Have you gotten a prolactin test ever?