help with blood work

[thewarrior8845]

i am on 140mg test cyp, 250iu hcg 2 per week, and 50mg t4.these are my lab results two days after my testosterone injection.

testosterone total-1431ng/dl (348-1197)
testosterone free- 38.7 pg/ml (9.3-26.5)
t4 free- 1.21ng/dl (.82-1.77)
cortisol- 20.6ug/dl (2.3-19.4)
estradiol- 78.8pg/ml (7.6-42.6)
t3 free- 3.0pg/ml (2.0-4.4)

i obviously need to adjust my testosterone dosage. im thinking i should lower it to 120mg and do another blood draw. how long should i wait before another blood draw?

[bass]

at least 4 weeks. and you should draw blood one day prior to you injection. how are you managing your e2? I highly recommend to split your does to twice a week to help manage your e2. BTW that e2 test is not the correct one, you need to do a sensitive assay.

[thewarrior8845]

so if i did 70mg monday and thursday, what days would i inject hcg ? i did my blood work through life extension. the estradiol test i used is the one recommended for males.

[bass]

yea that's what my x clinic did too for e2 test, but its the wrong one, it has to be the sensitive assay. labcorp sensitive assay range is 3-70.

you can take hCG either MWF or twice a week one day before you test injection. and when you do BW next time draw blood the same day of your injection prior to injection.

[thewarrior8845]

why is it better to draw blood on the same day as my injection? thanks for your help bass

[bass]

if not all most do it this way, basically it will show how you metabolize testosterone , you could be crashing by the time the next shot takes effect. remember, half life is 5-7 days, and peek is 48-72 hours, so the high number you show is at your peek. the doc may cut back your dose because its way too high then you can end up at 250-400 couple of days before you next shot, and even lower by the time your next shot takes effect.

it is best to split your dose to avoid rollercoaster effect, every 3.5 days is ideal.

[kelkel]

Excellent advice by Bass! And remember, splitting your dose and injecting twice per week will reduce your E2 in and of itself. You still need to drop your dose a bit but but it will help you. Basically less injected at one time = less spike in E2. Win-Win.

Labcorp Sensitive Assay Codes: E-Sensitive 140244. CPT Code 82670

[thewarrior8845]

should i add an AI if i dont have symptoms or high estrogen?

[kelkel]

First, get the proper test done. Then add if needed. Always start as low as possible if you have to use an AI. The goal is always to not have to use one. Hence the suggested twice weekly injection protocol.