More labs... not what I was expecting... would appreciate some feedback.

[Torqued]

My original thread is here. Not posting all of the other labs as they're basically in line with previous results posted.

I drew some additional baseline labs (LabCorp) last Thursday before starting 50mg Test C IM 2x/wk... just got the results in. Definitely was NOT expecting the estradiol results. Especially with me being overweight. I have psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, too, and have been having a lot of joint pain this past week... I wonder if the low estradiol is aggravating that. Have also been having libido/ED issues as well. Would appreciate any insight you guys might have on the low T vs "normal" Free T vs hihg % Free T. I'm hoping estradiol will come up now that I'm supplementing with exogenous T.

I'm 6'3", 290lbs. <cartman>Beefcake! Beefcake!</cartman> Working on cleaning up the diet. Exercise has been a problem due to multiple health problems this year (kidney stones - still fighting with this one. Right kidney likes to make stones for some reason... working through this with my uro. Also had an adverse neurological reaction to some medication that screwed up my sight pretty bad for about 4 months... have recovered about 95%) Trying to get back into some sort of exercise regimen - even if it's just walking.

Currently taking 2400mg of Fish Oil 2x/day, 500mg extended release niacin 2x/day for lipid issues. Maybe add red yeast rice and CoQ10?

Lipid Panel
Cholesterol, Total		257		[100-199]
Triglycerides			282		[0-149]
HDL Cholesterol			42		[>39]
VLDL Cholesterol Cal    	56		[5-40]
LDL Cholesterol Cal		159		[0-99]

Thyroid Panel
TSH				2.060	       [0.450-4.500]
Thyroxine (T4)			8.8		[4.5-12.0]
T3 Uptake			31		[24-39]
Free Thyroxine Index    	2.7		[1.2-4.9]

Testosterone, Serum		236		[348-1197]
Testosterone, Free		10.45	[5.00-21.00]
% Free Testosterone		4.43	[1.50-4.20]

PSA				0.4		[0.0-4.0]
IGF-1				177		[64-210]
Estradiol, Sensitive      	13		[3-70]

Thanks in advance, guys.

[bass]

well your thyroid look fine from what I can see. yes your aggravated arthritis could be due to low E2, but now that you're on TRT your E2 will go up and hopefully get rid of the low E2 negative sides. I've had problems with kidney stones, used to get them all the time, and once I stopped drinking sodas they stopped. when do you plan to do follow-up BW? BTW, you got to work on your cholesterol, vey bad!

[Torqued]

Have been largely off of sodas for a couple of years now. Maybe drink one once a week, now. Next appointment with endo isn't until March, but planning on doing my own bloodwork in 6 weeks. Just started IM Test C last Thursday.

[bass]

what are your creatinine and eGFR levels?

[Torqued]

Creatinine, Serum	1.00	[0.76-1.27]
eGFR if NonAfricn Am	92	[>59]

[38onTRT]

Hemoglobin and Hematocrit?

[38onTRT]

HEMOGLOBIN 15.6 13.2-17.1 g/dL
HEMATOCRIT 47.3 38.5-50.0 %

Got it from the previous post..

Those values are high! I would say I am 99% sure that is where your joint pain is coming from.. I had the same values, gave blood and the next morning my joint pain was about gone...

[Torqued]

Gotta disagree with you on the joint pain assessment. I've had psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis for almost 30 years - it's sort of like rheumatoid arthritis in that my immune system is jacked up and causes inflammation issues. Regardless, I'm giving blood next week anyway @ a blood drive here @ work just to get started on a regular donation schedule.

[bass]

Creatinine, Serum    1.00    [0.76-1.27]
eGFR if NonAfricn Am    92    [>59]

your kidneys are very healthy, if these values stay the same in your future BW then there is nothing to worry about. how's your calcium level, most kidney stones are cause by high calcium! something to look into.

[Torqued]

Calcium has been normal. Most recent calcium was 9.4 [8.7-10.2]. My urologist isn't sure why I'm making so many stones in that kidney. CT shows that it's a little swollen/inflamed and has some cysts. Uro wants to do another 24hour urine and then a CT with contrast. Going to have to do the 24hr urine over the Christmas holiday. He also started me on extended release potassium citrate to change urine pH so it's harder for stones to form.

[SD3000]

As a life-long sufferer of kidney stones before leaving soda's , I can say I'm sure glad to be free of that shit now!

[SD3000]

Also, chugging some lemon juice every now and then while passing a stone sure seemed to help me dissolve them.

[38onTRT]

I see.. I missed that part of the post.. However, having that much iron running in your body is not a good thing at all. It may help, you never know.. Hoping it does for your sake!

Gotta disagree with you on the joint pain assessment. I've had psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis for almost 30 years - it's sort of like rheumatoid arthritis in that my immune system is jacked up and causes inflammation issues. Regardless, I'm giving blood next week anyway at a blood drive here at work just to get started on a regular donation schedule.

[Torqued]

38:

No problem. Thanks for taking the time to consider my situation and offer some input. Who knows, maybe that is too high for me. We'll find out next week! It's all extra data points in trying to figure out how to un**** my body.

[Torqued]

Also, chugging some lemon juice every now and then while passing a stone sure seemed to help me dissolve them.

Potassium citrate does the same as drinking lemon/citrus juice. Increases urine pH to make it harder to form stones.

[Torqued]

I see.. I missed that part of the post.. However, having that much iron running in your body is not a good thing at all. It may help, you never know.. Hoping it does for your sake!

Donated blood at work today. Hgb was 15.8. Also discovered that there's an independent blood bank on my way home from work. Will be interesting to see how I feel over the next couple of days.

[Torqued]

Update:

I did feel a little better after giving blood.

Doc didn't want to see me for 3 months, so I decided to get my own labs. These labs were exactly 6 weeks after starting treatment and 3.5 days after one of my injections (I'm injecting 50mg Test C 2x/week - Sun PM/Thu AM). Lipids look a little better. I did have a couple weeks of Red Rice Yeast in there, but had to stop due to pretty severe muscle aches. I've had problems taking statins in the past. Have been cleaning up diet and have been back to exercising regularly for about the past 4 weeks.

Overall, I feel a LOT better. Depression, mental fog, lethargy are gone. Hopefully all of this will help me to get back on track with improving my whole diet/exercise situation. Libido and bedroom activities have improved some.

My main concern at this point is that my estradiol went from 13 to 46 in just 6 weeks. What would you guys recommend here? Also, it doesn't look like the estradiol was a significant contributor to my arthritis issues. Even though it's come up, some of my joints still hurt like hell.

RBC's seem to be creeping back up fairly quickly after donating blood... I'm technically not "eligible" to donate again until 2/14. Contemplating donating next week and then every 6 weeks by rotating between a couple different blood banks near me. What do you guys think?

My current protocol:

50mg Test C every 3.5 days (Sun PM/Thu AM)
250u HCG every M-W-F
5000 u Vit D 2x/day
2400 mg Fish Oil 2x/day (recently "upgraded" to better quality fish oil)
500mg Extended Release Niacin 2x/d
300mg COQ10 1x/d
50mg DHEA 1x/d
50mg Pregnenolone 1x/d

WBC          5.8     [4.0-10.5]
RBC          5.64   [4.14-5.80]
Hgb         15.8    [12.6-17.7]
Hct         48.4    [37.5-51.0]

Chol, Tot     191     [100-199]
Trig          158      [0-149]
HDL            35     [> 39]
VLDL           32     [5-40]
LDL            124    [0-99]

Test, Total   631    [348-1197]
Test, Free    29.09  [5.0-21.00]
%Free          4.61  [1.50-4.20]

Estradiol      46     [3-70]

SHBG           10.4  [16.5-55.9]

[booku]

I would definitely wait until the veterans chime in here, but have you considered adding an AI? You could also try injecting sub-Q. According to Dr. Crisler, most of the time he sees his clients E2 levels go DOWN after switching to sub-Q.

[Torqued]

I would definitely wait until the veterans chime in here, but have you considered adding an AI? You could also try injecting sub-Q. According to Dr. Crisler, most of the time he sees his clients E2 levels go DOWN after switching to sub-Q.

Yeah. That's what I'm thinking. I already have some Liquidex ready to go. Those labs were drawn last Thursday and I felt better the week before that. I feel OK now. Definitely better than before I started TRT, but not as good as I felt a couple of weeks ago...

This is my 1st 6 weeks on IM Test... so I'm thinking I might let it ride for at least 2-3 months to see how my body responds before thinking about switching to SQ.

[Torqued]

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