Just Got Updated BW. Any Advice Please?

[Titleesq]

Got BW done Monday @ 8:04 AM

Current Protocol is:

100mg Test Cyp EW
1-1.5 mg L-Dex EW
250 x 2 HCG EW

Cortisol 17.3 mcg/dL AM (4-22 mcg/dL) PM (3-17 mcg/dL)
DHEAS 292 (110-370)
TSH 0.87 (0.40-4.50)
Estradiol 18 (13-54)
SHBG 25 (10-50)
Total T 705 (250-1100)
Free T 145.2 (35-155)

E2 looks a touch low as does Total T, but everything else seems cool. I'm thinking about bumping my Test Cyp to 200 EW and adjusting L-Dex accordingly. Is that the right move here? I feel a ton better but still feel that there is room for improvement.

Thanks to everyone for all the help getting to where I am today. I totally could not have done it without you.

[Fred40]

Your Free T is great and that is WAY more important than your total. Your E2 looks perfect to me but it depends on how you feel also.

I don't see a need to change anything here but I guess you can try it and check your numbers again......as well as how you feel.

[GotNoBlueMilk]

Are you working out at all? If so what are you doing and how much?

As the numbers stand, I wouldn't change anything. When you say there is room for improvement, what symptoms are you talking about?

[NOSUPERMODEL]

If you do decide to change something. Change one thing at a time that way you know how it effected you. If you change your test to 200mg then leave everything else the way it is. That way if your E2 goes up then you know you need to add a little more AI to offset the 200mg.

[Titleesq]

Are you working out at all? If so what are you doing and how much?

As the numbers stand, I wouldn't change anything. When you say there is room for improvement, what symptoms are you talking about?

Right now I am sticking to a cardio only regimen of around 5-6 days per week. When the symptoms of low T started for me about 3 years ago I was in the best shape of my life. Had a great workout routine and diet and was in the best shape of my life. Now I'm fat. My goal is to lose weight through cardio and diet and once I don't look like I swallowed a watermelon, I'm gonna get my ass back in the gym.

The symptoms that are still nagging me are libido, fatigue, and motivation. Maybe my expectations are too high, but I expected to want to fvck every woman in site, and feel like superman. What gives?

[steroid.com 1]

What was you Albumin level?

Didn't you just start your protocol? They made a sticky on my thread on effects of Test; did you look at that?

You should see much improvement in libido, fatigue and motivation within the first 90-days. If not, there could be other things holding you down. Believe it or not is could be the low E2 level...what's the range for this on you assay (or all of them for that matter)?

[Titleesq]

What was you Albumin level?

Didn't you just start your protocol? They made a sticky on my thread on effects of Test; did you look at that?

You should see much improvement in libido, fatigue and motivation within the first 90-days. If not, there could be other things holding you down. Believe it or not is could be the low E2 level...what's the range for this on you assay (or all of them for that matter)?

G:

Dr. did not order Albumin. I started T injects 6 weeks ago. Added AI 4 weeks ago, and added HCG 2 weeks ago, and yes I definitely read your post and this is what worries me:

Effects on sexual interest appear after 3 weeks plateauing at 6 weeks, no further increments beyond.

I put all of the reference ranges in parenthesis after the actual value. What do you recommend G?

THANKS!!!

[steroid.com 1]

G:

Dr. did not order Albumin. I started T injects 6 weeks ago. Added AI 4 weeks ago, and added HCG 2 weeks ago, and yes I definitely read your post and this is what worries me:

Effects on sexual interest appear after 3 weeks plateauing at 6 weeks, no further increments beyond.

I put all of the reference ranges in parenthesis after the actual value. What do you recommend G?

THANKS!!!

Every man is different and impact on libido and things like motivation can take longer. It took me 3 months before I even felt or saw the results of my protocol. I'm into it now for almost a year and still seeing and feeling new changes. So, give it time my friend; it will work.

There could be other things holding you down. Conversion of T to DHT is important for libido as are Prolactin levels so there could be a bunch of other things that need to be considered IF things don't change for you in the coming months. In the mean time man, stop worrying about it as it will precipitate things...enjoy, you got great levels.

BTW, is your E2 a sensitive assay? This is important; if not you could be lower then the 18 that you're showing here and could possibly explain things.

Also, is your L-Dex a scrip from your Doc?

[Titleesq]

G:

OK, thanks a bunch for the reassurance. I really was pretty worried considering that I thought that the 6 week rule was hard and fast. You know, either your libido came back within 6 weeks or else you were fvcked. I have a couple of saliva tests at home that I can use to check out my DHT levels. Do you think that's a smart move? If so, when do I test? The day of my next inject prior to the inject?

As far as I know, the test that was ordered was Quest Lab's sensitive test with levels especially for men. The L-Dex that I am taking is from one of the board's sponsors, AR. My levels 6 weeks ago were 78 and they went all the way down to 18 in one month. Man, that is some real strong stuff. So, do I increase the weekly T injects or just leave everything alone and then reassess in another month or two?

Thanks!!!

[steroid.com 1]

G:

OK, thanks a bunch for the reassurance. I really was pretty worried considering that I thought that the 6 week rule was hard and fast. You know, either your libido came back within 6 weeks or else you were fvcked. I have a couple of saliva tests at home that I can use to check out my DHT levels. Do you think that's a smart move? If so, when do I test? The day of my next inject prior to the inject?

As far as I know, the test that was ordered was Quest Lab's sensitive test with levels especially for men. The L-Dex that I am taking is from one of the board's sponsors, AR. My levels 6 weeks ago were 78 and they went all the way down to 18 in one month. Man, that is some real strong stuff. So, do I increase the weekly T injects or just leave everything alone and then reassess in another month or two?

Thanks!!!

Test DHT before your next shot.

Rule of thumb: Dose 1 mg of AI for every 100 mg of test.

IMO, leave everything alone; just keep AI at 1 mg per week and same day as your injection (or next day, what ever you prefer).

Are you under a Doctor's care?

[Titleesq]

Test DHT before your next shot.

Rule of thumb: Dose 1 mg of AI for every 100 mg of test.

IMO, leave everything alone; just keep AI at 1 mg per week and same day as your injection (or next day, what ever you prefer).

Are you under a Doctor's care?

Ok G, I will test for DHT on Monday.

I have been dosing the AI at about 1mg, but I have been spreading it out evenly over 3 days. Is this wrong? Are you telling me that I should take the entire 1mg dose the same day as I inject?

YOU are my Dr., Gene. Just kidding. Yes, I am under the care of a physician and she is a really nice lady but doesn't really seem to know squat about TRT (would not prescribe either an AI or HCG ). I have an appointment scheduled with Dr. Adrian Dobs of John's Hopkins who supposedly is one of the "premier" endos in the country and happens to specialize in TRT. After reading a lot of talk on this board about supposedly great endos, I'm going into the appointment with low expectations. Also, because of her reputation, I could not even get an appointment until mid October (and I scheduled the appt. in JUNE). CRAZY!!!

I'm real hard headed so just to clarify things, just because I have not felt the great sexual effects of T after 6 weeks (this being based upon your post), that doesn't rule out the fact that it could happen a bit later for me?

Thanks for everything man!!!

[steroid.com 1]

Make no mistake; I AM NO DOCTOR!

I just understand basic protocols and I am not recommending you do anything. Anything you do is up to you.

[Titleesq]

I know you are not a doctor, BUT you are very knowledgeable in this area. You have provided me a number of extremely helpful insights into TRT. Some I have followed (after independent research and consult with Dr. of course), and others I have found are not for me.

If you will could you please clarify your opinion as to proper dosing of AI. In one of your above posts you seem to suggest a once a week dosing schedule. This is contrary to what I believed was appropriate, and I am dosing 3 days a week.

Thanks!!!

[steroid.com 1]

I know you are not a doctor, BUT you are very knowledgeable in this area. You have provided me a number of extremely helpful insights into TRT. Some I have followed (after independent research and consult with Dr. of course), and others I have found are not for me.

If you will could you please clarify your opinion as to proper dosing of AI. In one of your above posts you seem to suggest a once a week dosing schedule. This is contrary to what I believed was appropriate, and I am dosing 3 days a week.


Thanks!!!

I am a big believer in trying to mimic how the body operates naturally. That's damn near impossible with any TRT protocol but we can get closer. I also try to control E2 as much as possible.

Therefore, I spread my protocol out.

Monday AM: 60 mg T Cyp IM & .5 mg AI
Thursday PM: 60 mg T Cyp IM & .5 mg AI
EOD: 250 IU HCG

This protocol, in my personal opinion, levels things out. No big swings in Test levels, no big swings in E2, intratesticular E2 better managed...all around a more natural replication. In reality, a daily protocol with low doses of all 3 would be ideal but that's just not realistic. I find, for me, this is an ideal protocol.

Last BW had me:

Free T: 2.53%
Bio Avail: 64.4%
E2: 22.6 pg/ml

Ideal!