New labs

[teedoff]

So after several months of my current dose, which has been .3ml twice a week, had labs done at work for my wellness check up.

Even at around 125mg week, my test levels are still "high" by her definitions.

Total test is 1151 and free test is 25.5.

I assumed my labs would have included estrogen but guess not.

Also my hematocrit is on the high side as well and RBC. 52.3 and 5.94 respectively.

I feel good, but wondering if I should drop my does to 100mg a week for a while and see what that results in. I don't feel like my test is crazy high, but per the medical establishment it is above range I guess. And given my gyno, I guess even this high may be what's impacting that as well.

My a1c is still 5.8 and my total cholesterol is still a bit high at 227.

Honestly, I'm starting to wonder if it's the eggs. Lol. I eat one whole egg and 3 egg whites every day. Sometimes twice a day. Maybe I'll cut out yolks altogether.

[< <Samson> >]

How old are you? How are you feeling?

When I’m on juice I keep myself at 1.3-1.5k < high? Sure - but, at those levels is where I feel excellent

I pulled it down a tad under 1k for a while & it wasn’t the same

[Cuz]

Lol you eat a entire whole egg and three whites a day huh? Thats not your cholesterol problem btw. Call and ask where your estrogen is thats important on trt. You need to donate blood ASAP. Get it below 50 i like mine around 48.

[teedoff]

How old are you? How are you feeling?

When I’m on juice I keep myself at 1.3-1.5k < high? Sure - but, at those levels is where I feel excellent

I pulled it down a tad under 1k for a while & it wasn’t the same

57. Like I said, I feel pretty good. But, given that I do have the small gyno lump, perhaps trying an even lower dose might be wise. If I don't like how I feel I can go back up.

[teedoff]

Lol you eat a entire whole egg and three whites a day huh? Thats not your cholesterol problem btw. Call and ask where your estrogen is thats important on trt. You need to donate blood ASAP. Get it below 50 i like mine around 48.

No the eggs are about the only thing I can think of that I started eating every day, since my cholesterol went up. Although lately I've been hitting the cookies too much. Still my cholesterol wqs in good shape until about the time I started trt gel and now injections. I've been pretty good diet wise for over 3 years.

As far as donating blood, is my hematocrit high just on trt doses?

Just looked at my history labs and my hemo was around 40 up until this year. I would say since going on the injection, my test levels have been higher than they were on the gel.

[< <Samson> >]

Yeah, that gyno stuff does suck - after having my shit removed I completely forget about estro sides(might be a bad thing)

But, agreed on that - pull your e2 #'s


You can drop your dose too, if you're good with it

[teedoff]

Yeah, that gyno stuff does suck - after having my shit removed I completely forget about estro sides(might be a bad thing)

But, agreed on that - pull your e2 #'s


You can drop your dose too, if you're good with it

Honestly i tried a lower dose a few months ago and didn't like it. Might try it once more and see.

I'm just baffled at my cholesterol and a1c. I mean I eat so restrictive now, other than my cookies. Lol. I just find it hard to believe my diet is the culprit. Can't eat raw green veggies alone.....might as well die! Lol

[< <Samson> >]

Ah, it the juice - it always is

Do you ever donate blood? Donating blood is the only thing that kept me intact this long - it drops your RBC, hemoglobin & cholesterol


Donating too often can become an issue also tho. . . .Where I run my numbers, 3-4 months was right on the money

[teedoff]

Ah, it the juice - it always is

Do you ever donate blood? Donating blood is the only thing that kept me intact this long - it drops your RBC, hemoglobin & cholesterol


Donating too often can become an issue also tho. . . .Where I run my numbers, 3-4 months was right on the money

This is the third medical type person I've tried to confirm my high cholesterol is a result of the trt. They won't day it, and would rather blame genetics or my diet.

No, I've never donated blood. Didn't know that would have an impact on cholesterol levels. I knew from reading here it helps with rbc. I can try that and see if my numbers improve as well. I think my next lab pull is in late Jan. Maybe too far out to see if donating has a good impact? I can have labs done when ever I want at the trt clinic though.

[< <Samson> >]

After a decade of juicing I kind of gotten my shit dialed in

Donate, it’s pretty much a juicer(of any form)a must

TrT clinic shit never sounded too promising to me. But, I might try to get an rX from my PCP - but, I’m not sure she can prescribe test < she just gave me months worth of Clomid though cause I’m trying to knock up my wife up.

[teedoff]

So plan is to donate blood tonight. How long after can I pull labs again and see if my cholesterol and other numbers have improved?

[< <Samson> >]

So plan is to donate blood tonight. How long after can I pull labs again and see if my cholesterol and other numbers have improved?

I’d say two weeks - just my non medical opinion

[teedoff]

So I asked our on-site nurse, who pulled labs a few weeks ago for our open enrollment wellness plan, about getting labs pulled again. She asked my why, what was I looking for. I told her I had donated blood as well as lowering my trt dose and wanted to see my test levels and also if my cholesterol and a1c had gone down any.

Her response was basically, there's no scientific evidence that suggests donating blood will lower cholesterol. And said she could check my test levels after a month of my new dose level.

So, I have an appt with my trt guy for labs next Friday 16th.

[TheDRG]

So I asked our on-site nurse, who pulled labs a few weeks ago for our open enrollment wellness plan, about getting labs pulled again. She asked my why, what was I looking for. I told her I had donated blood as well as lowering my trt dose and wanted to see my test levels and also if my cholesterol and a1c had gone down any.

Her response was basically, there's no scientific evidence that suggests donating blood will lower cholesterol. And said she could check my test levels after a month of my new dose level.

So, I have an appt with my trt guy for labs next Friday 16th.

Donating blood will reduce blood volume, blood pressure, and red blood cell count. Although I understand that there are researchers who believe that donating blood lowers cholesterol also, I have never had that experience -and- I spent about three years in a medically supervised cholesterol study. My cholesterol labs never changed after donating blood but my blood pressure and RBC did change.

[< <Samson> >]

So I asked our on-site nurse, who pulled labs a few weeks ago for our open enrollment wellness plan, about getting labs pulled again. She asked my why, what was I looking for. I told her I had donated blood as well as lowering my trt dose and wanted to see my test levels and also if my cholesterol and a1c had gone down any.

Her response was basically, there's no scientific evidence that suggests donating blood will lower cholesterol. And said she could check my test levels after a month of my new dose level.

So, I have an appt with my trt guy for labs next Friday 16th.

Medical professionals aren’t all created equal

[teedoff]

So talked to my TRT guy today to get my latest labs that were done last friday. Specifically, my total cholesterol dropped about 10 points or so. He's supposed to email me the results and I'll post them up here to compare with the pre donation results.

Also, my test levels were down a bit of course as well, since I lowered my does to 100mg per week. Don't want to list the wrong numbers as my memory is crap, so I'll post the results when I get them.

[teedoff]

20221227_134223.jpg20221227_134322.jpg

Ok above are my labs from 11/02 this year. My total cholesterol was higher than I was remembering.

Below are the labs from Dec 16th, a little over a month after the previous labs, and about 2 weeks after donating blood. Seems to be a HUGE difference between the two. I really want to take this back to our on site nurse and suggest she do some research, since nothing scientifically has suggested that donating blood lowers cholesterol....(her words). Also I'll say this. I can honestly say I ate worse between the two labs than before the Nov one......

[teedoff]

Update after recent labs and new pcp.

New dr keeps suggesting I stop trt completely. Called today and said my psa is kind of high. Up from past labs, and my hematocrit is high again as well. I donated blood back in November. Day before Thanksgiving to be exact.

Not sure why my psa is up. It's been around 2.0 and lower, but now at 3.0.

It pisses me off. I really wouldn't have gone on trt had my previous pcp not suggested it to see if it helped with my low energy levels and fatigue. She knew I wqs diagnosed with apnea as well! Now that my nuts are the size of almonds my new dr wants me to go off of it!

[teedoff]

I do have a referral to a sleep specialist the new dr recommended. But if it involves a mask, my sinus issues kind of prevent me from going that route completely. So not sure what to expect.

[Cylon357]

Update after recent labs and new pcp.

New dr keeps suggesting I stop trt completely. Called today and said my psa is kind of high. Up from past labs, and my hematocrit is high again as well. I donated blood back in November. Day before Thanksgiving to be exact.

Not sure why my psa is up. It's been around 2.0 and lower, but now at 3.0.

It pisses me off. I really wouldn't have gone on trt had my previous pcp not suggested it to see if it helped with my low energy levels and fatigue. She knew I wqs diagnosed with apnea as well! Now that my nuts are the size of almonds my new dr wants me to go off of it!

PSA moves around some on trt, especially if you change your dose. Mine lives in the 3.X range, I just deal with it. Anyhow, this movement is related to DHT, you can either lower dose, add finasteride at microdoses, or just live with your new normal.

HCG will fix nut size and function, 250 to 300iu, 2 to 3 times a week, subq.

[956Vette]

New dr keeps suggesting I stop trt completely.

Agreed. It's unbelievable how resistant you have been to good advice.

[teedoff]

Agreed. It's unbelievable how resistant you have been to good advice.

What are you talking about? I've taken all the advice given to heart for the last three years and adjusted my protocol accordingly. I come here and report what the Dr advises, and I get some of the same advise or completely opposite advice. My trt clinic says one thing and my Dr days another. I've reduced my dose several times. Spread my doses to 2 times a week, then back to once a week after ppl here suggested it was not worth 2 weekly injections.

So specifically which advice have I been resistant to take??

Perhaps, the original PA should never have put me on trt to begin with. That's the part I'm pissed about. The fact remains my test was <300 before I started and I do feel better now somewhat.

[956Vette]

What are you talking about? I've taken all the advice given to heart for the last three years and adjusted my protocol accordingly. I come here and report what the Dr advises, and I get some of the same advise or completely opposite advice. My trt clinic says one thing and my Dr days another. I've reduced my dose several times. Spread my doses to 2 times a week, then back to once a week after ppl here suggested it was not worth 2 weekly injections.

So specifically which advice have I been resistant to take??

Perhaps, the original PA should never have put me on trt to begin with. That's the part I'm pissed about. The fact remains my test was <300 before I started and I do feel better now somewhat.

Do you really want an accounting? You're the guy with (untreated) sleep apnea and (poorly managed) gyno who overdoses on testosterone , right?

[teedoff]

Do you really want an accounting? You're the guy with (untreated) sleep apnea and (poorly managed) gyno who overdoses on testosterone, right?

I started at 200mg per week initially yes. And after advice here, I've dropped it several times and am now at 100 per week. I guess I could lower it even more, but my levels are in range.

Yes I had gyno, and after advice here, I started some anti estrogen and it's since not an issue. Not sure the small lump went away completely, but it's no longer painful and I can barely tell if there is a limp now.

Yes I have "untreated" sleep apnea, but Dr's told me if I lost weight it may go away. That was 22 years and 65lbs ago. I talked to my new dr and I have a referral to a new sleep specialists.

What else you got?

I appreciate good advice I get here. I take what you guys say and what my Dr's say to heart, but f the two are in conflict, i have to pick one. Maybe I choose the wrong option or have chosen the wrong one in the past. Like I said, knowing what I know now, maybe I'd been better off not going on trt. But I'm here now.

I was also told here that I was basically stuck with it now. That after 3 years, my normal hormones would probably not return to normal without trt.

And poorly managed gyno? No not true. Perhaps I took too much test, but certainly no cycle level doses. And the gyno snuck up on me pretty much by the time I realized what it was.

[teedoff]

PSA moves around some on trt, especially if you change your dose. Mine lives in the 3.X range, I just deal with it. Anyhow, this movement is related to DHT, you can either lower dose, add finasteride at microdoses, or just live with your new normal.

HCG will fix nut size and function, 250 to 300iu, 2 to 3 times a week, subq.

So anyway. My psa. I guess I can try even lower dose. I did stop trt completely for about a month and didn't like how I felt. Perhaps if I'd given it longer I might have started feeling more normal.

Not sure about finasteride. I've been following the thread about it here. Seems some guys handle it well, some don't. With sides I mean.

I was surprise to hear a mainstream dr suggest donating blood though.

[< <Samson> >]

Geez, give the guy a break - I don’t remember where my psa is at

200mg a week of test ain’t shit - as soon as my heart issues subside, I’ll prob just start pumping heavy roids again

Just watch your BP & donate blood regularly

[Cylon357]

So anyway. My psa. I guess I can try even lower dose. I did stop trt completely for about a month and didn't like how I felt. Perhaps if I'd given it longer I might have started feeling more normal.

Not sure about finasteride. I've been following the thread about it here. Seems some guys handle it well, some don't. With sides I mean.

I was surprise to hear a mainstream dr suggest donating blood though.

Mainstream docs aren't usually the most informed when it comes to trt, but blood donation is most definitely a thing we do in this thing we do.

PSA... eh, I just live with it in the 3.X range. Age and DHT will drive it. I'm not telling you not to worry about it, just saying that I don't unless it spikes to over 4. Even in that case, my first assumption now is prostatitis, which antibiotics start knocking out in like 36 hours.

Your most recent numbers don't look horrible, though I didn't see ranges on everything. I would start pulling DHT and estradiol sensitive going forward.

If I were in your shoes, I would fix my protocol for 2 months. Say, 100 to 125mg per week, split that into 2 injections. Pick one dose and stick to it for two months. Then pull blood work at trough. That is, if you inject Monday mornings and Thursday night, pull bloods Monday morning before your injection. Bring that blood work here and let's see where you land.

We can talk gyno protocols if we need to, I'm not sure if it is still an issue.

[teedoff]

Mainstream docs aren't usually the most informed when it comes to trt, but blood donation is most definitely a thing we do in this thing we do.

PSA... eh, I just live with it in the 3.X range. Age and DHT will drive it. I'm not telling you not to worry about it, just saying that I don't unless it spikes to over 4. Even in that case, my first assumption now is prostatitis, which antibiotics start knocking out in like 36 hours.

Your most recent numbers don't look horrible, though I didn't see ranges on everything. I would start pulling DHT and estradiol sensitive going forward.

If I were in your shoes, I would fix my protocol for 2 months. Say, 100 to 125mg per week, split that into 2 injections. Pick one dose and stick to it for two months. Then pull blood work at trough. That is, if you inject Monday mornings and Thursday night, pull bloods Monday morning before your injection. Bring that blood work here and let's see where you land.

We can talk gyno protocols if we need to, I'm not sure if it is still an issue.

Thanks. Like I said. My current dose is 100mg once a week. On Saturday. I have tried that same dose broken into twice a week 50mg doses. Not opposed to doing that again if needed.

This lab was pulled Tuesday afternoon around 3pm after my normal Saturday dose.

Here is the graph of my psa and other results.

[< <Samson> >]

Triple that shit + .5g of tren ace + .5g of mast weekly and just blast!

Jk jk


Lol

I don’t exactly promote anything past trt

[teedoff]

Triple that shit + .5g of tren ace + .5g of mast weekly and just blast!

Jk jk


Lol

I don’t exactly promote anything past trt

Lol. Add 75mg of dbol too.

[Honkey_Kong]

I started at 200mg per week initially yes. And after advice here, I've dropped it several times and am now at 100 per week. I guess I could lower it even more, but my levels are in range.

Yes I had gyno, and after advice here, I started some anti estrogen and it's since not an issue. Not sure the small lump went away completely, but it's no longer painful and I can barely tell if there is a limp now.

Yes I have "untreated" sleep apnea, but Dr's told me if I lost weight it may go away. That was 22 years and 65lbs ago. I talked to my new dr and I have a referral to a new sleep specialists.

What else you got?

I appreciate good advice I get here. I take what you guys say and what my Dr's say to heart, but f the two are in conflict, i have to pick one. Maybe I choose the wrong option or have chosen the wrong one in the past. Like I said, knowing what I know now, maybe I'd been better off not going on trt. But I'm here now.

I was also told here that I was basically stuck with it now. That after 3 years, my normal hormones would probably not return to normal without trt.

And poorly managed gyno? No not true. Perhaps I took too much test, but certainly no cycle level doses. And the gyno snuck up on me pretty much by the time I realized what it was.

I'll say it once. The point of TRT is to alleviate the symptoms of low-t. It's to lead a normal life. TRT is not some indefinite blast. It's to replace what is optimal for your body to have under normal living conditions. If your dose of test is causing your estrogen to be high enough where you're getting bitch tits from it and/or if it's causing your RBC, cholesterol or other blood levels to go so high, your probably need to lower the dose. Especially since your free and total test levels are high from what you're taking.

[teedoff]

I'll say it once. The point of TRT is to alleviate the symptoms of low-t. It's to lead a normal life. TRT is not some indefinite blast. It's to replace what is optimal for your body to have under normal living conditions. If your dose of test is causing your estrogen to be high enough where you're getting bitch tits from it and/or if it's causing your RBC, cholesterol or other blood levels to go so high, your probably need to lower the dose. Especially since your free and total test levels are high from what you're taking.

Yup. Which is why I've lowered my dose as mentioned above already, to now 100mg a week. No gyno symptoms any longer though not sure the lump is fully gone. It's pretty much though.

I started at 200 as a starting point. Seems trt is kinda find what works for you. At least that's been my experience.

But in saying that. If I ever did do a test blast, given my gyno at only 200mg, I'm not sure what to expect.

If that day comes, I'll make sure I have a good plan in place with ancillaries and such.

[Honkey_Kong]

Yup. Which is why I've lowered my dose as mentioned above already, to now 100mg a week. No gyno symptoms any longer though not sure the lump is fully gone. It's pretty much though.

I started at 200 as a starting point. Seems trt is kinda find what works for you. At least that's been my experience.

But in saying that. If I ever did do a test blast, given my gyno at only 200mg, I'm not sure what to expect.

If that day comes, I'll make sure I have a good plan in place with ancillaries and such.

Are you administering your TRT? Or is some doctor/clinic? Because I think it's malpractice to start somebody off on a dose that high, if they don't already know how the patient is going to respond to it. The idea is to use the lowest possible dose in order to correct the symptoms. It's not so much what your free and total test levels are.

Some people respond to test better than others. If a total test of 400ng/dl is enough test to correct your issues, then there's no sense from a medical perspective to bump you to a dose that gives you 500ng/dl. In fact, it puts you at a higher risk for complications and the benefit is 0.

[teedoff]

I started out with the gel. One pump daily. That was prescribe by my PCP at the time. I then moved last year I think to injections and that was through the hormone clinic. He gave me a script for 150mg weekly. I was initially doing the whole vial or 200mg a week. So that was on me.

Yes I was still having the trt clinic pulling labs, at really at the time there wasn't any numbers that were crazy. My test levels sure were up around 1400. Dont remember what free was. But my estrogen was I think around 95, which is when I was starting to notice the gyno. Dropped my dose to 150 a week for a while, then down to 125, now at 100.

Of course I liked how I felt on the higher dose, but its apparent I dont tolerate it well it seems.

[< <Samson> >]

Lol. Add 75mg of dbol too.

No, not dBal - dRol + Var, or if you wanna be conservative - just 75mg of Var


Man, I wanna be prescribed 150-200mg weekly

[teedoff]

No, not dBal - dRol + Var, or if you wanna be conservative - just 75mg of Var


Man, I wanna be prescribed 150-200mg weekly

I like my hormone guy. He's very knowledgeable. Big on peptides as well. I just think he's of the mindset of start with more then adjust if needed. I mean if I could run trt and keep my test levels 1200, I'd love that! But I can't i guess. Or maybe not without 2 or 3 or more other compounds to handle the sides.

Edit: And yes. Maybe if I get my apnea under control that all changes as well.

Honestly I don't think my apnea is that bad or an issue at all. I NEVER sleep in my back, which would be when my tongue would drop and block breathing, yet the sleep study forced me to sleep on my back because of all the crap they had attached to me. So i feel like the twst was skewed anyway. Lol

Anyway we'll see what this new dr says about it.

[Cylon357]

@teedoff, is the gyno still an issue? We've been all over the place and I'm not sure any more lol!

[teedoff]

@teedoff, is the gyno still an issue? We've been all over the place and I'm not sure any more lol!

I know. I'm sorry. That's sometimes the pitfalls of s forum. Threads get confusing.

At my current dose, I no longer have sensitivity in my left nipple area. I "think" the lump is smaller, but could still be a small bit left. Hard to tell as the underlying tissue isn't smooth there anyway.

[< <Samson> >]

It’s so nice being titless - I still definitely don’t look perfect by any means. But, that constant nag & ache sucked ass

But, at the same time it was a reminder to turn down the juice

Now, I can’t tell if my estro is way out of wack without blood work


now I’m on a aI - and “normal” doses(for now)

But, the juicer/addict in me just wants to let it rip - i skipped last summer from my usual. I’m very aware its detrimental to my health - but, yeah

GL, you’ll figure it out - my preaching days are behind me

[Cylon357]

I know. I'm sorry. That's sometimes the pitfalls of s forum. Threads get confusing.

At my current dose, I no longer have sensitivity in my left nipple area. I "think" the lump is smaller, but could still be a small bit left. Hard to tell as the underlying tissue isn't smooth there anyway.

Run your trt for a couple of months then get bloods. We can circle back then and figure out what to do about the gyno. I would say get your numbers good first, but there are definitely options before surgery if it isn't too bad.

And we're you officially diagnosed with gyno? Sometimes it is hard to say for sure.