Low E2 Question (with a link to kelkel's experience)

[ZenFitness]

Hi all,

So here's the scoop in a nutshell. Please keep in mind that I have never had a sensitive E2 test but will have my first in a couple of days

1. Started TRT with pellets just under a year ago (June 1, 2012)
2. After a month of being on them, I felt like shit and my blood work showed an E2 (non-sensitive) of 11 (early July 2012)
3. Switched to injections a couple months later. Started daily Cialis to try and get my pre-trt "erection at will" functionality back (early Sept. 2012)
4. The following two months showed E2 (non-sensitive) in the mid-twenties, felt better and at least my unit functioned well (thru Nov. 2012)
5. Fast forward four months without any blood tests in between: libido weakening and erection quality going downhill fast. One nipple had a small lump just to the side of it that was sore but went away. Another lump on the other nipple a couple weeks later with minor soreness - that went away too while on Arimidex (below). (Feb - March 2013)

One month ago I went to a new doctor because I've been on the hunt for hCG and an in-network doctor. He wanted me on Arimidex 0.5 mg a day (yes, that is not a typo, high dose). This was pre-blood work but he claims that some guys show high E2 symptoms without having sky-high E2. I was irked but want to hear him out as he will potentially give me a hCG script and something is obviously not right. So I take 0.5 mg Arimidex for five days straight, lay off it, then go in on my own for a blood test at my old doc (who won't do the sensitive assy) a couple of days later. In the interim for the results, I switch my Arimidex dosage 0.5 mg every other day (a lower dose after speaking with my new doc on the phone). I do my test injects on Friday AM (100 mg) and have noticed that Sunday night - Monday night I feel pretty good over the past couple of weeks but the rest of the week is pretty shitty.

The next week the blood results from my old doc after Arimidex 0.5 mg for five days straight come back with E2 (non-sensitive) at 9. Yuck. Since it is not a sensitive test, I assume the results are probably higher than my E2 levels actually are.

The following week I take Arimidex 0.5 mg on Saturday night (this is a couple of days ago) - the day after my inject. That will be my last dose... I have been taking a decreasing amount per week leading up to my blood test and have tried to consistently wean the dosage down after learning how powerful Arimidex is (the new doc knows this). I'm going in for a whole host of tests on Thursday because this new doc will let me write my own blood work and it is 100% covered by insurance - so I will get E2 sensitive assay, DHEA, DHT, the list goes on.

My libido is okay but my erections now take a decent amount of manual stimulation to get going and very rarely happen spontaneously (maybe 1 - 2 a week). Morning wood is there and erections can happen easy with a couple of kegels upon waking after the morning wood subsides. However, my wife hasn't been too interested in sex at all over the past 2 - 3 weeks and is actually getting her own hormone levels checked, so my sexual experience during this time has been strictly solo .

Due to the low erection quality, I do fight a bit on the libido front. If I had the "at-will" erections I had a few years back, then I would still be a raging storm of male sexual desire. The low erection quality dampens that, so I hope to get it fixed. In other words, I don't like the situation of feeling sexually "all hands on deck" without my body following suit. Makes the libido fluctuate a bit.

Sorry for the encyclopedia of TMI here, but the bottom line is I suspect I naturally run low E2 and think it's currently in the tank.

I'm reading kelkel's experience with low E2 a year ago here: http://forums.steroid.com/hormone-re...-crashing.html

So I have some thoughts/questions:

1. Why would Nolvadex be useful for someone with low E2?

2. I want to start introducing hCG and plan to push the doc in a couple of weeks when I see him for a script. I'm thinking 250 iu's MWF. I expect this will cause my E2 to rise a bit.

3. Would increasing my test levels be okay (i.e. something to bring up with my doc)? I'm 100 mg 1X a week but thinking about 60 mg 2x a week instead.

4. If all the above means a change in protocol, would it be better to take things one step at a time? If so, which one first (I'm leaning towards the hCG first since it's almost been a year on TRT with no hCG whatsoever).

Thanks for the help!

[bluskiblacdeth]

Not to hijack this thread but I have some questions about high E2. After reading your link of Kelkels, I have the symptoms of low E2 but suspect I have high E2. Are the symptons the same?

brain fog
lack of libido
erection quality slipping
hair falling out
moody
fatigue
bloated/fat feeling
joints aching
depression
appetite increase
nipples sensitvie
dry skin

my symptons after two months on Test C, pregneolone and without HGC

[steroid.com 1]

"Since it is not a sensitive test, I assume the results are probably higher than my E2 levels actually are".

Correct, the default E2 lab (designed for women) tends to overestimate a males E2 reading...so you could be lower than what's presented on these labs.

That's why it's critical to get a Sensitive assay done.

Why was your Doc so reluctant to run the Sensitive lab anyway?

[steroid.com 1]

Not to hijack this thread but I have some questions about high E2. After reading your link of Kelkels, I have the symptoms of low E2 but suspect I have high E2. Are the symptons the same?

brain fog
lack of libido
erection quality slipping
hair falling out
moody
fatigue
bloated/fat feeling
joints aching
depression
appetite increase
nipples sensitvie
dry skin

my symptons after two months on Test C, pregneolone and without HGC

Yes, both elevated and suppressed levels of E2 share many of the same symptoms and neither are good.

[ZenFitness]

Why was your Doc so reluctant to run the Sensitive lab anyway?

My old doc ran labs through his office, and when I asked for the sensitive E2 test their response simply was "We don't offer that test." I asked them multiple times and try to push a little but to no avail.

The new doc uses LabCorp, gives me a write-up for an appointment, and told me to add whatever I want. It will be interesting to see my E2 test (what the new doc ordered) vs. the sensitive E2 test (what I added).