Dhickey - Work in Progress

[dhickey]

I've been lurking here for awhile. I figured it's about time I posted. I'm 37 and have been on HRT since November. I was in rough shape for years before that. I knew I had Adrenal, thyroid and endocrine issues but I couldn't find anyone that would treat me. I started to make incremental improvements by getting off ADs, addressing sleep issues and cleaning up my diet. Those things provided marginal short term improvements, but I started to fall apart again early last year. 15 years in a high-paced high-stress job had me burnt to a crisp.

September of 2012
Total T - 243 ng/dl (300-1600)
Free T - 15
LH - 2.5 (.8-7.6)
FSH - 3.6 (.7-11.1)
E2 - 15 pg/ml (10-30)
SHBG - 12.1 nmol/L (13-71)
Prolactin - 2.7 ng/ml (1.9-25)
DHEA-S - 470 ug/dl (80-560)

I also had thyroid issues that Urologist thinks is early Hashis.
TSH - 1.8
T4 - 6.8 ug/dl (4.5-12.5)
T3 - 101 ng/dl (84-172)
FT4 - 1.2 ng/dl (0.8-1.9)
FT3 - 3 pg/ml (1.5-4.1)
TBG - 14.2 ug/ml (13-39)
Thyroglobulin - 11.1 ng/ml (.8-68)
Anti-TPO - 24 Iu/ml (10-35)
Anti-thryoglobulin - <20 (20-40)

I did a 4x saliva cortisol test a few months before. It thought I had mono, that's how shitty I was feeling around this time.
AM - 1.5 ng/ml (3.7-9.5)
Noon - .4 ng/ml (1.2-3.0)
Evening - .2 ng/ml (.6-1.9)
Night - .3 ng/ml (.4-1.0)

I made some reasonable improvements to adrenal issues with some different supplements, but it always felt like a house of cards.

I finally found a Urologist that would treat me. He's not much for diagnostics on underlying causes, but I can tell him what I want tested and how I would like to be treated. I've done my homework, so this works fine for now.

He wanted to treat T first. Thyroid work starts in a couple months. He wanted to start high and work down. I started with:
T - 100mg x 2 IM
HCG - 250IU EOD, then just x2
Adex - 1mg x 2 - Added this a month in, after E2 got to 80. Knew that was going to happen but played along.

Results - morning before thurs injection. After adding Adex.
Total T - 1223
E2 - 14.5

Results were fantastic. I felt unbelievable. It definitely saved my marriage and probably my job. Life changing. After the first couple weeks the roller coaster ride began but I still feel better than I did before. I started having ED issues out of nowhere and was planning to tweak down a bit anyway, so I started
T - 60mg x 2 SQ
HCG - 250IU x 2
Adex - .5mg x 2

This was a step in wrong direction. I started to feel quite a bit worse. My libido, energy and mood all took pretty big hit.

Total T - 508
E2 - 36.7

This is where I'm at today. I'm going to tweak again. Not sure if I'm going to go to 100mg x 2 SQ or 60mg x2 IM. I'd like to see if SQ just isn't going to work for me. I do prefer it, but the results were not what I expected.

My diet is pretty clean. I work from home, so breakfast and lunch are clean. The wife is a good cook,so dinner is clean as well. The weekends can be a challenge, but diet is the least of my concerns right now. Sleep seems good to me (9hrs), but I do have to take a few things to make that happen. Right now Z-12, melatonin, Prog cream and magnesium oil do the trick. The wife says I snore and I know if have sinus issues, so a sleep study and sinus surgery may be in my future.

I do all the staple supplements plus Preg, Prog and DHEA.

Anyway, that's my current story. More tweaking to come....

[sparverius]

I understand the urge to make it work NOW, but it's better to change one thing at a time. Right now you don't know if it's the Adex, T amount or injection method that's made things worse.

To add one more factor, I have found that taking adex only 2x a week puts me on a serious roller coaster. I'll have good days and bad days. I'm trying 1/8 every day. But I have a fast metabolism and may not be typical.

[dhickey]

I understand the urge to make it work NOW, but it's better to change one thing at a time. Right now you don't know if it's the Adex, T amount or injection method that's made things worse.

To add one more factor, I have found that taking adex only 2x a week puts me on a serious roller coaster. I'll have good days and bad days. I'm trying 1/8 every day. But I have a fast metabolism and may not be typical.

I'm going to stick with SQ for now. I've upped my T to 80mg x 2. That's certainly not going to bring E down, so a bump in adex is going to be needed. 1mg x 2 was too much and .5mg x 2 was too little, so I'm going to try .7mg x 2. I'll retest in couple weeks and tweak again if needed.

I obviously didn't need 50mg of DHEA, so it makes sense to drop that down to 25mg. I'm pretty comfortable this will be the dose I stay at.

I already have 100mg Preg on hand from a misorder, and my levels weren't spectacular, so that's going in the mix. I'll should have T and E levels stable by the time the bottle's gone. I've done transdermal in the past but never tested, so I want to try that again and test.

[flyrs]

I like reading logs like yours, you listed some symptoms of how you used to feel before extra test and now your struggles of trying to get dialed in.....if you haven't yet, you could maybe try sleeping with a nasal strip on...I've read sleep apnea knocks T down.

[dhickey]

I have issues further up my sinus cavity, so strips never did much for me. I'll do a sleep study at some point. Issues there could have certainly contibited to my original state, but It's not going to lower T now that I'm injecting it.

[nyjetsfan]

Maybe missed it but are you on anything for thyroid?

[dhickey]

No. Doc thinks I have hashis, but we haven't done anything yet. One thing at a time. I've also had serious adrenal issues, but hrt seems to have improved this. Go back to the doc in a couple months to reassess.

[dhickey]

I have another related (I think) issue that's really starting to become a problem. About the time I really started to have issues with adrenal insufficiency, I would get blurred vision out of nowhere. It started happening occasionally in afternoon after a full day of work. It gradually started happening earlier and more frequently. Eventually it was pretty much all day every day. If you make your eyes go blurry by relaxing them a bit, that's what it's like only I have no control over it.

It seemed to get a bit better when I started treating adrenal issues and then going on TRT, although I didn't tract it like I should have. Just going by memory.

I'm now a few months into TRT and it's starting to get really bad again. It kind of crept up on me, but now my vision is very blurry most days. It's starting to be a real challenge to read a computer screen, which is what I do all day at work.

Not sure if it's related to adrenal issues, my supposed Hashimoto's or maybe a growth on my pituitary which could explain my issues with T, adrenals and thyroid. I've found blurred vision as a not so common symptom of all these things.

Anyone else experienced blurred vision associated with adrenal issues, hahsimoto's or pituitiary growths?

[Trific]

A friend of mine recently had vision problems and found out he has diabetes...should have blood sugar in your BW.....

[dhickey]

I typed up a response but it bouncing because of spam rules for users with less than 25 posts. I'm going to bump this a few times to get my post count up a bit.

[dhickey]

Vision was terrible all day yesterday. Today it's fine.

I've had my fasting glucose tested quite a bit. When cortisol is out of whack I definitely have issues. Glucose is mg/dl and probably shouldn't be above 85. Insulin is ulU/ml and should probably be <5.
6/09 - 99
7-09 - 94
3/11 - 88
7/11 - 97 - Insulin at 14.5
10/11 - 92
7/12 - 90 - Started getting skin tags on my eyes which suggests insulin sensitivity.
9/12 - 78 - Insulin at 7.7. I was treating adrenals at this point and had modest improvement in that area. Insulin still a little high. This was my pre-TRT BW. Stopped adrenal supps after taking T. Felt a little overstimulated. that has since gone away. Guessing I could have adrenal issues again.
11/12 - 88
12/12 - 93

Definitely have insulin sensitivity issues. Guess I'm not really sure how to reign this in other than looking at adrenal issues again. I don't see huge holes in my diet. I'm not going to step on stage anytime soon, but diet isn't terrible. It's been consistent for at least a year and wasn't much worse for at least a couple before that.

[dhickey]

Breakfast
Huge handful of spinach sauteed in coconut oil.
Add one serving ham
Add 4 eggs and a splash of whole milk
Two slices of Ezekiel toast with smart balance peanut butter on lifting days.

Lunch
Ham, turkey and some other meat (roast beef, salami) sandwich.
Whole wheat or recently Ezekiel toast. Occasionally wrap with regular tortilla shell.
One slice of pepper jack.
Spicy mayo
Spinach or lettuce.
Sometimes sprouts.

Dinner - Wife is a good cook. Always some sort of meat and vegetable (Cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, brussel sprouts or beans) and starch (potato, sweet potato, rice). I do binge on certain nights. Taco night for sure.

Usually a protein shake or two with fiber.

Weekends are the same or similar for breakfast and lunch. Add more than a few beers with neighbors and pizza or chinese delivery once on the weekend.

[dhickey]

Supplements
Probiotics
Digestive enzymes with every meal
LEF multi
Vit D - 4000-8000 per day
4-6g Omega3
extra mag via oil or epsom salt bath on lifting days.
extra zinc and copper during cold and flu season.
extra selenium
extra iodine until the bottle is gone.
Ginseng
LEF DHEA
Preg
Just started LEF green tea with green coffee bean.
Tadalafil
T
HCG
AI

[dhickey]

Exercise at the moment
2m on the treadmill 4x per week. 4% at 3.3mph.
5/3/1 full body template 3x per week.

Guess it was the just the at sign I had in this part that was making it bounce.

[Trific]

I've read several times how TRT can help a person control their blood sugar better....sometimes they can even get out of the diabetic range....

[dhickey]

I feel like It's gotten better but no testing to prove that. glucose is the same but haven't tested insulin . Improving cortisol output probably has a huge effect and trt has definitely improved that.

I'm feeling better at my new T and AI dose. Time to order some bloodwork and see where I'm at.

[dhickey]

Edit: Fixed DHEA dosing

Updated blood work.

T - 80mg x 2 weekly. SubQ
Adex - .3mg day after T. .2mg other days.
HCG - 250IU day before T.
Preg - 100mg LEF
Prog - Kal transdermal.
DHEA - 25mg LEF
Cialis - 6mg

Total T - 745 (348-1197). Was 508
Free T - 31.1 (8.7-25.1). Was 23.6
E2 - 27.8 (7.6-42). Was 36.7
Pregnenolone - 28 ng/dl (<151). Was 65 on 100mg on different brand, no micronized.
Progesterone - 1 ng/ml (.2-1.4). Using slightly less.
DHEA-S - 364 (89-427). Was 519 @ 50mg.

I feel pretty good in general. Not like a younger man, but a lot better than where I was 6 months ago. It's not a grind just to get though normal daily activities.

Almost positive I'm still having adrenal issues, so energy isn't consistently good. I get flushed every afternoon around 3:30pm. My ears get bright red and energy gets pretty low. I need to sort this next.

Libido is back to normal and I'm not moody. Acne on chest and shoulders comes and goes. E2 control seems to be the key here.

Strength gains seem to have tapered or stopped since starting treatment. Could be related to adrenal issues. I feel a little burnt-out in the weight room. I can't remember the last time I was actually fired up during a workout. I just seem to get through them. I am starting to lose a bit more body fat though. Body hair seems thicker and to be growing faster.

This was on Wednesday morning, so 48hrs after my last shot. Given the way I feel, I probably shouldn't mess with T does, but it would be nice to reduce the Adex. I'm thinking about just doing .5mg the day after my twice weekly T shot. I wouldn't have to mess with the liquidex and could just cut my scripted pills in half. I could reduce T dose to get the desired E2 levels. Even though my total T wasn't that high at 50mg x 2, my free T was still good.

I go back to the Endo in 2 weeks. Go in for testing on Monday before my appt. Might have them add serum cortisol just to see where it's at. Will also be interesting to see if my thyroid panel has changed at all. My body temps are a little low again despite continued supplementation with iodoral, iodine in my multi and using iodized salt. Doc wants to sort thyroid and apparent Hashis next. I'd like to address adrenal issues first, but not sure he's the guy to help me there. Should have probably gone back on some of the sups that helped adrenals in the past ahead of my appt. to see if that had any effect on thyroid. Just feel like I have a few too many balls in the air right now.

[steroid.com 1]

Your latest blood work looks pretty good to me.

Would like to thyroid labs as well.

[dhickey]

BW from the Urologist. Note that ranges are a bit different than the LEF tests I do on my own. Testing was Monday morning, so right before my Monday injection.

T - 80mg x 2 weekly. SubQ
Adex - .3mg day after T. .2mg other days.
HCG - 250IU day of T.
Preg - 100mg LEF
Prog - Kal transdermal.
DHEA - 25mg LEF
Cialis - 6mg

Total T - 870 ng/dl (300-1600)
Bio T - 268 pg/ml (250-300)
Pregnenolone - 111 ng/dl (23-173)
SHBG - 10.5 nmol/L (13-71)
E2 - 33.1 pg/ml (10-30)
Albumin - 5 g/dl (3.5-5)
Cortisol - 12.3 ug/dl (5-25)
TSH - 1.24uiU/ml (.4-2.5)
Total T4 - 6 ug/dl (4.5-12.5)
Total T3 - 103 ng/dl (84-172)
Free T4 - 1.1 ng/dl (.8-1.9)
Free T3 - 2.8 pg/ml (1.5-4.1)
TBG - 11.8 ug/ml (13-39)
Thryroglobulin - 6.4 (.8-68)
Anti-TPO - 18.9 Iu/ml (10-35)
Anti-Thryoglobulin - <20 (20-40)

Nothing extraordinary to note here. Cortisol is low, which wasn't much of a surprise. Thyroid function is less than optimal but doc seems to think it's not quite bad enough to start messing with things.

Also get genetic testing results back. Going have them interpreted and see if there's anything to address there. Did a bit of research on my own and it seems there's at least a couple methylation and detox mutations.

Not much new to report on symptoms. Still issues with body acne. Not much for energy. Strength is down a bit.

Vision issues don't seem to bother me as frequently. Weight is still coming off. I'd no longer consider myself fat. I'd say I'm probably cruising past chubby to just soft.

[dhickey]

Updated blood work.

T - 30mg EOD. SubQ. (Was 80mg x 2 weekly)
Adex - .2mg ED. (was .3mg day after T. .2mg other days.)
HCG - 125IU EOD. (was 250IU day before T).
Preg - 100mg LEF
Prog - Kal transdermal.
DHEA - 25mg LEF
Cialis - 6mg twice daily.
Added some additional zinc /B and some Calcium d-glucarate since last time.

Total T - 469 (348-1197). Was 745
Free T - 19.5 (8.7-25.1). Was 31.1
E2 - 9.7 (7.6-42). Was 27.8. Would like to settle in to around 20.
DHEA-S - 526 (89-427). Was 364. Adrenals must be back online.

I've had pretty low SHBG and seem to metabolize T pretty fast. It was suggested that I try EOD injections and try to get E2 down a bit more to stay inline with SHBG.

I like the EOD schedule. Should be able to knock the AI down again. I hate to chase numbers, but I wouldn't mind getting my free T a little closer to the top of the range.

Might give 40mg EOD a shot and see what happens. I'll probably drop back down to 30mg and try increasing HCG to 250IU EOD. I'd like to compare results just for shits and giggles. Mostly interested in E2 response, so I'll keep my current AI schedule while I experiment a bit. Will HCG increase E2 disproportionately to the increase (if any) in T when compared to increasing T dose? If not, I'd rather increase HCG. If so, I'd rather increase T. My goal is to use as little AI as I can get away with.

I'm a little puzzled by the DHEA-s results. The big increase would seem to suggest that my adrenals are producing a bit more, but I can't say I feel any difference in energy levels. Feels like I'm still having some adrenal issues. Waiting on 4x cortisol results. Also doing another neurotransmitter test.

[dhickey]

Saliva Test Results

DHEA - 648 pg/ml (137-336)

Cortisol

AM - 11.59 nmol/L (5.1-40.2) Optimal = 18-35
Noon - 3.51 nmol/L (2.1-15.7) Optimal = 6-12
Evening - 4.66 nmol/L (1.8-12) Optimal = 4-8
Night - .72 nmol/L (.9-9.2) Optimal = 2-6

I've been taking ashwaganda. Obviously not a solution. Might try licorice root again. I have neurotransmitter test I need to take. Will probably wait to see what that looks like first.

[dhickey]

More lab work.

T - 40mg EOD. Was 30mg EOD
HCG - 125IU EOD. Same.
Adex - .2mg ED. Same.
DHEA - none. Was 25mg ED
Pregnenolone - none. Was 100mg ED.
Progesterone - small dab at night. Same.

Total Test - 536 ng/dl (348-1197). Was 469
Free Test - 25.5 pg/ml (8.7-25.1). Was 19.5
DHEA-s - 367.3 ug/dl (88.9-427). Was 526
E2 - 11.6 pg/ml (7.6-42.6). Was 9.7
Progesterone - .7 ng/ml (.2-1.4). Was 1

E2 didn't come up that much. Seems like the EOD schedule is working much better for me. I think I'm going to try dropping adex down. Maybe .3mg on T inj days.

[dhickey]

Updated BW

40mg T EOD - Same
125IU HCG EOD - Same
.3mg Adex EOD - was .2 ED
Transdermal Progesterone - Same
15mg Transdermal Preg - Was 100mg capsules.
Added 25mg Trazadone for sleep.
Added 300mg Buproprian

Total T - 643 ng/dl (348-1197) - Was 536
Free T - 29 pg/ml (8.7-25.1) - Was 25.5
DHEA-s - 393 ug/dl (89-427) - Was 367
E2 - 20.6 pg/ml (8-43) - Was 11.6
Progesterone - .9 ng/ml (.2-1.4) - Was .7

Cholesterol Total = 209 - Not too bad.
Triglycerides = 132 - should be less than 80
HDL = 42 - should be greater than 50
VLDL = 26 (5-40)
LDL = 141 - should be less than 80
Total Chol ratio = 5 - should be less than 3.4

I like this protocol. I'm feeling better than I have in a very long time. Still having energy issues, but not bad since starting the Buproprian and Trazadone. I'm sleeping at night and have adequate (not great) energy during the day. Increased DHEA and Progesterone might suggest my adrenals are picking up a bit. I'm going to order another cortisol test to see.

I still might try knocking T back down to 30mg EOD and bumping HCG back up to 250IU EOD, just to see what numbers look like.

Because of my cholesterol results, I also did a panel for Glucose, Insulin and Hemaglobin A1c to see how my insulin resistance is doing. Feel like it's still an issue, but that could just be my adrenal issues. Also did a c-reactive protein test. This has been high for years. Also did a CoQ10 test. Still waiting on all these results.

[dhickey]

More results...

Glucose - 82 mg/dl (65-99)
Insulin - 9.3 uIU/mL (2.6-24.9)
Hemoglobin A1c - 5.7% (4.8-5.6)

CoQ10 - 1.18 ug/mL (.37-2.2)

Glucose is ok. Insulin is a bit higher than I'd like to see. LEF recommends less than 5. HA1c is also a bit high.

I ordered some CoQ10 to see if I can get levels up a bit.

Nothing earth shattering here, just wanted to see where I was at. Looks like insulin resistance is still a bit of an issue despite a decent diet, plenty of exercise and improved hormone levels.

[dhickey]

feel like I'm in much better health, so I decided to try and restart again for shits and giggles. 60mg Torem ED for a little over 3 weeks.

LH - 8.1 mIU/ml (1.7-8.6)
FSH - 6 mIU/ml (1.5-12.4)
Test - 244 ng/dl (348-1197) - Pretty much where I was when I started TRT.
E2 - 11.4 pg/ml (7.6-42.6)

Torem worked but it doesn't look like my nuts are going to produce. If T would have been closer to 400, I probably would have given it a few more weeks to see if it would continue to creep up. I've been on TRT almost a year and have used HCG the entire time. I would think the HCG would be enough to keep my nuts active and allow a restart, so don't see much point in waiting a few more weeks. Look like I'm on it for the long haul.

[powerlifterty16]

dhickey(nice name btw lol) what lab did u use in your first post? 300-1600 is quite the range?!?!

[powerlifterty16]

feel like I'm in much better health, so I decided to try and restart again for shits and giggles. 60mg Torem ED for a little over 3 weeks.

LH - 8.1 mIU/ml (1.7-8.6)
FSH - 6 mIU/ml (1.5-12.4)
Test - 244 ng/dl (348-1197) - Pretty much where I was when I started TRT.
E2 - 11.4 pg/ml (7.6-42.6)

Torem worked but it doesn't look like my nuts are going to produce. If T would have been closer to 400, I probably would have given it a few more weeks to see if it would continue to creep up. I've been on TRT almost a year and have used HCG the entire time. I would think the HCG would be enough to keep my nuts active and allow a restart, so don't see much point in waiting a few more weeks. Look like I'm on it for the long haul.

sep 2012 your t was 243 before trt, and after a year of trt you are at 244 off of it...just goes to show you that it is possible to come off of trt and be no worse for the wear. Im not saying 244 is good, but it takes some of the risk away...and your lh and fsh are great!

[dhickey]

Urologist did the Sept lab work. Not sure what lab they use, but the ranges are a bit different.

[powerlifterty16]

Urologist did the Sept lab work. Not sure what lab they use, but the ranges are a bit different.

ya that's a crazy range....was it also in ng/dl?

[dhickey]

Updated Blood work.

40mg Test EOD SubQ
250IU HCG EOd
.5mg Adex MWF
25mg DHEA EOD
Progesterone cream at night.

Total Test - 591 ng/dl (348-1197)
Free Test - 27.3 pg/ml (8.7-25.1)
DHT - 44 ng/dl (30-85)
DHEA - 454.6 ug/dl (102-416)
E2 - 20.2 pg/ml (7.6-42.6)
Progesterone - 0.9 ng/ml (.2-1.4)

I still can't believe how fast I metabolize T. My SHBG has been really low for quite awhile. Wondering if this has other ill effects.

I'm going experiment a bit. I'm pretty sure my E2 is bouncing around. I get symptoms of low and high E2 on occasion. I'm also fighting body acne that I've never had before and thinning hair. I think I'm going to dial it back as far as I can and still feel decent. I'd like to get off the AI all together and reduce other compounds to only what's absolutely necessary. I use that as my base line. The plan for the next round:

30 mg Test EOD. Was 40mg
250IU HCG Mon and Thurs. Was EOD
25mg DHEA Mon and Thurs. Was EOD
Progesterone Cream at night.
9mg Boron ED
200mg Calcium d-Glucarate ED. Maybe a little extra before and after a night of drinking.
Up Zinc to 100mg ED.

We'll see where this puts me. If E2 is high (probable) I might try 20mg Test EOD. I really wish I wasn't metabolizing it so fast. Not sure where it's going. Not to DHT or E2. If nuts are still good, maybe 125IU HCG.

[dhickey]

My urologist got into some trouble and retired, so I tried a local endo. Certainly not the most progressive, but he's really nice and seems ok letting my stay the course. No script for an AI or HGC, but that's not much of an issue.

30mg Test C EOD
250IU HCG on Mon Wed
25mg DHEA on Mon Wed
Progesterone cream at night
10mg Boron ED
500mg Calcium d-Glucarate

Total T - 473 ng/dl
Free T - 22 pg/ml - try and stay in the 20s
TSH - .61 uIU/ml - lowest it's ever been.
Free T4 - 1 ng/dl - would rather be 1.3-1.8
T3 - 92 ng/dl - would rather be 130-180
Cortisol - 14.1 mcg/dl - A little higher would probably be better. This was probably higher than normal. I was stressed to the max that morning. Passed the stim test with flying colors. got up to 35.

Not the most comprehensive testing. I just ordered my own so I can see where E2 and DHEA-S are. Overall I feel better than at higher T levels. I feel more level. I don't have great energy overall, but I don't have any really bad days. Libido is hit or miss. Recently separated/divorced, so I guess that's ok. Not getting it 4-5 times a week anymore. I don't feel too bad for no AI.

I think it's time to shift towards optimizing adrenal and thyroid levels now. I'm not terribly low, so I don't want to do anything too drastic. Need to do a bit more research on some supplements that might help. Might try pregnenolone cream again. Maybe some desicated thyroid?

[dhickey]

Updated BW. Phase 1 of the restart. Libido is down a bit. Strength is down a bit. Weight is up a bit. Energy levels seems fine, pretty good when I actually sleep.

HCG - 500IU daily for a couple weeks. Missed a couple days in there.
Aromasin - 6mg daily
Formasuge - Two pumps, once or twice daily.
Boron - 9mg daily
Multi-V, extra D, calcium d-glucarate, Alpha GPC, Melatonin, Z-12, Magnesium oil.

Total T - 378 ng/dl (348-1197)
Free T - 19.4 pg/ml (8.7-25.1)
DHEA-s - 425 ug/dl (102.6-416.3)
E2 - 26.4 pg/ml (7.6-42.6)
Progesterone - .7 ng/ml (.2-1.4)
IGF-1 - 248 ng/ml (83-233)

Crazy that my Free T is so high given my low Total T. That's been the case for awhile, so I'm just focused on Free T. Wouldn't mind it being a few points higher, but I'm not going to complain if I can eliminate the T shots. DHEA-s is still pretty high for not talking DHEA. Transdermal magnesium helps. E2 could be a little lower. Aim to match my Free T. Progesterone could be a little higher, so I'm going start taking that (cream) at night again. IGF-1 looks pretty good, but I've started Mod 29 and GHRP-2 every night. We'll see what happens to IGF-1. Sleep seems to be better, but I take a ton of shit to sleep, so who knows.

I had some Torem, so started 60mg ED last week. When that's out, I have 25mg Clomid tabs that I can use. We'll see where that puts me. I think I might have had some bunk HCG. Ever since I got this batch, 250IUs just wouldn't cut it. Balls were a little smaller and up tight. Maybe it was old?

If the SERM doesn't work, I'll just go back to HCG and play around with dosage.

[dhickey]

Preliminary results from SERM restart.

Feb 2
25mg Clomid ED
4mg Aromasin ED
Boron, Calcium d-Glucarate
100mg Mod GRF and GHRP-2

LH - 6.3 (1.7-8.6)
FSH - 5.6 (1.5-12.4)
Total Test - 391 ng/dl (348-1197)
Free T - 11.4 pg/ml (8.7-25.1)
DHEA-S - 364 ug/dl (102-416)
E2 - 34.9 (7.6-42.6)
Progesterone - .7 (.2-1.4)
IGF-1 - 195

Lowish libido, body acne and some weight gain. Looks like a SERM is going to work if I can get E2 down. As advertised, the SERM seems to have knocked IGF-1 levels down. I expected the peptides to counteract that. No such luck. Next step is to start reducing Clomid to see how little I can use and still get the desired effect.

2-26
25mg Clomid EOD
6mg Aromasin ED
Boron, Calcium d-Glucarate, DIM
100mg Mod GRF and GHRP-2
10mg DHEA

LH - 8.6 (1.7-8.6)
FSH - 6.4 (1.5-12.4)
Total Test - 595 ng/dl (348-1197)
Free T - 16.6 pg/ml (8.7-25.1)
DHEA-S - 392 ug/dl (102-416)
E2 - 39.2 (7.6-42.6)
Progesterone - .6 (.2-1.4)

Low libido, body acne and some weight gain. SERM continuing to work well. Going to reduce Clomid to 12.5mg EOD. Still need to get a handle on E2. Going to up Aromasin.

[dhickey]

25mg Clomid 2x weekly.
10mg Aromasin ED
2 pumps Dermacrine ED
100mg Mod GRF and GHRP-2
Boron, DIM, Calucuim d-Glucarate

LH - 13.1 (1.7-8.6) was 8.6
FSH - 4.8 (1.5-12.4) was 6.4
Total Test - 536 ng/dl (348-1197) was 595
Free T - 15 pg/ml (8.7-25.1) was 16.6
DHEA-S - 340 ug/dl (102-416) was 392
E2 - 33 (7.6-42.6) was 39.2
Progesterone - .6 (.2-1.4) was .6

LH up, FSH down. T, Free T despite E2 being down a bit. DHEA-s down. Not impressed with the dermacrine, but going to keep running it at least until the next test. Should probably go to clomid MWF, but I'm going to keep it 2x weekly until I get E2 down to the low 20s. Bumping Aromasin to 15mg ED. Kind of sucks I have to take that much. If this protocol is going create problems with E2 management, I'll go back to HCG and play around with dosing. At least that way I can use Anastrozel, and quite a bit less.

Libdo still not great, but I can always rise to the occasion. Other E2 sides are obvious. Night sweats, sleep issues, short temper, weight gain. I really need to be around 20.

[dhickey]

125IU HCG ED
25mg Aromasin MWF
2 pumps formasurge ED
4 pumps Dermacrine ED
100mg Mod GRF and GHRP-2 at night.

Total T - 529 ng/dl (348-1197)
Free T - 22 pg/ml (8.7-25.1)
E2 - 27 pg/ml (7.6-42.6)
DHEA-S - 315 ug/dl (102-416)
Progesterone - 1 ng/dl (.2-1.4)

TSH - 1.37 uIU/ml (.45-4.5)
T4 - 6.3 ug/dl (4.5-12)
Free T4 - 1.11 ng/dl (.82-1.77)
Free T3 - 3.1 pg/ml (2-4.4)
Rev T3 - 14 ng/dl (9.2-24)

Seems to be a good dose for HCG and Aromasin. Not impressed with dermacrine. Going back to micronized oral. Time to start dealing with thyroid. Going to start dessicated thyroid.

[dhickey]

Update. Odd SERM results. I've always had to be on an AI. Before starting any of this, my E2 was a little high with no hormone manipulation. I was coming off an HCG mono run where I was taking 25mg aromasin MWF to keep E2 under control. Started Adex instead because I had some on hand.


Feb 26th.

20mg Nolva ED
Tapering off HCG - can't recall what I was taking.
Adex .5mg twice a week.
Mod GRF and GHRP-2 at night for sleep. Maybe 3 of 4 nights a week.
Frag 176-191 at night and before workouts.
Cialis 5mg per day or as needed.

Total T - 422 ng/dl (348-1197)
Free T - 13.2 pg/ml (8.7-25.1)
DHEA-S - 435 pg/ml (102-416)
E2 - <6 (7.6-42.6)

Pretty standard AI dose for me, so I was surprised E2 was so low. Always had issues with E2. DHEA is usually on high end even with no supplementation.


March 20

20mg Nolva ED
NAC and IC3 for liver support because I was worried about running no AI
Mod GRF and GHRP-2 at night for sleep. Maybe 3 of 4 nights a week.
Frag 176-191 at night and/or before workouts.
Cialis 5mg per day or as needed.
Just started taking Forskolin to support DHEA to T conversion.

LH - 8.6 (1.7-8.6)
FSH - 6.4 (1.5-12.4)
Total T - 612 ng/dl (348-1197)
E2 - <6 pg/ml (7.6-42.6)

I have absolutely zero libido. Hot girlfriend with a healthy libido and mine is completely absent. So bizarre that E2 is that low. The only thing I can think of is that my research chem cialis was mislabeled and is an AI. Unlikely, but this is just baffling. I'll definitely stop the IC3, but doubt that will make a difference. I suppose I could take some DHEA to try and bump E2 but I'm already on the high end there. Any thoughts?

[dhickey]

Only other change has been liposomal Vit C. Maybe 3g per day or so. Also take Metagenics licorice plus for adrenals, but I've taken that before in the past.

[lovbyts]

Damn and I though I was going to have to reprimand a newbie for bumping an old post.

Good job on updating.

[macmathews]

Old post..
But I have followed him before and would love to know what his protocol is today

Mac

[ryobi1]

you thyroid results are optimal imho...i would die for those stats.
FT3 FT4,,,right in range, wouldnt worry about TSH with mid range
totals on 3 and 4...right where you want to be....trouble is, most
dos look at tsh for the deciding factor, at least in Canada...