Effects of test on cholesterol and A1C

[teedoff]

So, had labs pulled this week....they didnt test my test levels....long story..idiot PA.

But, she suggested I schedule an appointment with some kind of diet or lifestyle counseling. lol

She is worried about my cholesterol and A1C being high. But, both are down since my last blood work a few months ago.

As for the counseling, I told her that I eat better than her and all the ppl working in her office. Not sure what I could do differently diet wise to improve those numbers. And I work out hard 4 or 5 days a week.

I pulled my labs history and noticed both of these values went up right around the time I started trt in 2019. While I have been reading that higher testosterone in older men should lower both, I have to wonder what's going on.

Wondering if anyone has experienced these numbers being higher since using gear or even trt, which is what im doing now. Just cruising. Trt isnt supposed to have adverse effects on these, but something is off here.

I'm switching Dr's and will have blood work done next week hopefully, so I will know where my test and est are.

FYI, my A1C is 5.7 and my total cholesterol is 178.

[powerliftmike]

Cholesterol can absolutely be elevated and total skewed toward LDL with testosterone and AAS. Upload your lab results. What were your historical values pre 2019? What was your fasting blood glucose level? 5.7% Hemoglobin is upper limit normal, and any higher is prediabetic range. There could be some underlying metabolic dysfunction going on. I wouldnt be so arrogant about your diet either, there are many factors, and even if you "eat clean" the sheer number of calories athletes consume can be problematic, not to mention insulogenic whey protein powders. Uploading your diet can help as well.

[Cuz]

Total cholesterol of 178 is literally fine. I cant speak for A1C, but i find it odd a medical professional would refer you to a dietician with a number like that. Generally speaking jst about ALL aas raise cholesterol testosterone included. Blood production is increased as well. Seems strange to me but Im no dr. I would get a second opinion and show them your medical records.

[Cornish]

So, had labs pulled this week....they didnt test my test levels....long story..idiot PA.

But, she suggested I schedule an appointment with some kind of diet or lifestyle counseling. lol

She is worried about my cholesterol and A1C being high. But, both are down since my last blood work a few months ago.

As for the counseling, I told her that I eat better than her and all the ppl working in her office. Not sure what I could do differently diet wise to improve those numbers. And I work out hard 4 or 5 days a week.

I pulled my labs history and noticed both of these values went up right around the time I started trt in 2019. While I have been reading that higher testosterone in older men should lower both, I have to wonder what's going on.

Wondering if anyone has experienced these numbers being higher since using gear or even trt, which is what im doing now. Just cruising. Trt isnt supposed to have adverse effects on these, but something is off here.

I'm switching Dr's and will have blood work done next week hopefully, so I will know where my test and est are.

FYI, my A1C is 5.7 and my total cholesterol is 178.

If you're over 50 they are on autopilot when it comes to looking out for Coronary Artery Disease andtor Diabetes Mellitus. The two biggest health problems of Americans that can also be prevented. So that's where all the thinking and all the $ goes. There really is not healthcare in America. I work in it and have been educated by those who have both worked within it and outside of it in other countries. It is symptom treatment via medicine. In America, we have a medication system...NOT a healthcare system.

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[Cornish]

That being said, what that practitioner is actually doing is indeed healthcare. Instead of immediately prescribing you a medicine, he/she is trying to prevent the need for the medicine in the first place. But...yes I too have had my cholesterol and A1C numbers elevated woth AAS use.

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[teedoff]

Cholesterol can absolutely be elevated and total skewed toward LDL with testosterone and AAS. Upload your lab results. What were your historical values pre 2019? What was your fasting blood glucose level? 5.7% Hemoglobin is upper limit normal, and any higher is prediabetic range. There could be some underlying metabolic dysfunction going on. I wouldnt be so arrogant about your diet either, there are many factors, and even if you "eat clean" the sheer number of calories athletes consume can be problematic, not to mention insulogenic whey protein powders. Uploading your diet can help as well.

Thanks for the reply Mike!

Hopefully, I'll get another complete blood work done this week and I'll upload them then. I tried to find a new primary care and found another Dr in the same group of clinics. lol But he came highly recommended, so I'll give him a shot.

As for the pre trt levels, it seems the A1C as far back as 2017 has remained around the same range...5.6 average.

The total cholesterol like I said in April of 2019, which I believe was before starting trt was 178 mg/dl. My next lab result, it went up to 177. Peaked at 199 in April of 2021 and now latest is 172.

My diet has been pretty consistent the last 3 years. I lost 63 lbs in 2019 the first three months of that year. Before that April lab work I think.

I pretty much eat the same thing every day, but admittedly have cheated a few times a week the last few months.

1 egg and 3 egg whites with sliced tomatoes every morning. Lately I've been drinking about 12oz of coffee with sugar or xylitol when I have it.
I go through spells of having 1 cup of oatmeal with some fruit a couple hours later.

Lunch is usually 6oz grilled salmon or shrimp, and either a sweet potato with a little butter, and cinnamon and xylitol, or a1cup of basmati rice. Also some cucumbers or broccoli as well pr some kind of vegetables.

Dinner, I'll have shrimp or some protein, and a salad, or Ill do the eggs again.

Haven't drank a protein shake in a year or so.

Weekend I will splurge and have some cookies or icecrean, Sunday i'll also have some kettle corn.

Thats it.

So as you can see I'm in a calorie deficit yes. I put on about 25lbs of that 63lbs I lost, so trying to get that back off.

FYI im 56
214lbs and 5'9"

[teedoff]

Total cholesterol of 178 is literally fine. I cant speak for A1C, but i find it odd a medical professional would refer you to a dietician with a number like that. Generally speaking jst about ALL aas raise cholesterol testosterone included. Blood production is increased as well. Seems strange to me but Im no dr. I would get a second opinion and show them your medical records.

Well thats what I was wondering. But seems some research I was reading suggested that a person with low T would have higher cholesterol and that trt might lower those numbers.

It just bugs me that Dr's or PA's in this case prescribe ppl things, then when side effects creep up, they don't seem to think its related!

[powerliftmike]

Well thats what I was wondering. But seems some research I was reading suggested that a person with low T would have higher cholesterol and that trt might lower those numbers.

It just bugs me that Dr's or PA's in this case prescribe ppl things, then when side effects creep up, they don't seem to think its related!

Low T can place one at higher risk of heart disease, but high T can also. Of course the goal of TRT is to achieve normal range, so one would expect to be of normal risk in this group with this factor alone.

[powerliftmike]

Thanks for the reply Mike!
As for the pre trt levels, it seems the A1C as far back as 2017 has remained around the same range...5.6 average.

The total cholesterol like I said in April of 2019, which I believe was before starting trt was 178 mg/dl. My next lab result, it went up to 177. Peaked at 199 in April of 2021 and now latest is 172.

You likely just have a little insulin resistance built up. Those numbers are mostly within lab value margins of error and random noise as well. You can likely improve the cholesterol just by dropping sugar, cookies, ice cream kettle corn, and lower fruit intake (avoid juices). The egg yokes or not shouldnt move the needle, even though logically you would think they would, research says otherwise.

[Franco C]

cholesterol seems fine. The way my labs charts it is anything <200 is good. I take citrus bergamot as its known to help with cholesterol. Try supplementing with that if you'd like to lower the # and see where it stands with the next labs.

[teedoff]

You likely just have a little insulin resistance built up. Those numbers are mostly within lab value margins of error and random noise as well. You can likely improve the cholesterol just by dropping sugar, cookies, ice cream kettle corn, and lower fruit intake (avoid juices). The egg yokes or not shouldnt move the needle, even though logically you would think they would, research says otherwise.

Thanks again. I agree the cookies and crap need to go and will go. Even when I was very strict with my diet and didn't eat anything like that for a year straight, my numbers have been consistent for 3 years.

[Test Monsterone]

I’m not sure about my HBA1C numbers before starting TRT, but it now sits around 4.6. My glucose, however was 98 before I started TRT and is now 88, or thereabouts. Total cholesterol was 168, now around 200.

There is an enzyme (HTGL) that gets stimulated by TRT which catabolizes good cholesterol, HDL. LDL should remain relatively unchanged. Also, part of the free floating cholesterol gets used to make endogenous testosterone in men who don’t use steroids, which can account for some of the increase in cholesterol. HCG is said to help by stimulating endogenous testosterone production, but I don’t have any before and after blood panels to confirm.

Citrus bergamot did help my cholesterol levels.