New Bloodwork Results - Help Deciphering

[ReBilly]

Hi Gang,

So I got some bloodwork done again to match numbers to how I feel. Sex drive not high but sorta there, mood not bad but not great, not as good as I've felt at times during my TRT. Her are some of the numbers that stick out:


AST (SGOT): 68 I don't know what this is, but it says normal range is up to 44

Creatinine: 1.34 (0.76 - 1.27)

Sodium Serum: (135-145) -is this why my muscles spasm after a hard workout?

HDL Cholesterol: 39 (says that's low)

LDL Cholesterol: 116 (0-99)

Total Test: 948 (300-800)

Free Test (not tested)

Estradiol: 44.9 (7.6-42) - I seem to have an estrogen sensitive libido, so this makes sense

T4: 4.2 ( 4.5 - 12 ) -this is that one I know little about and I don't know if this points to a thyroid problem or not

T3 Uptake: 3.5 (24-39)

Free Thyroxine: 1.5 (1.2-4.9)


I am taking:
Test Cyp: 180 / week
HCG 250IU 2x / week
Arimidex .5 2x / week

My questions:

Should I add more arimidex? Like 3x weekly? 4x weekly?

What is is t4 and why is mine low? Does this point to potential secondary hypoganadism? If so, is this why I feel best on my HCG days, not on my highest testosterone days?

[sirupate]

I'm a noob and hopefully one of the experts will come along soon...but why wasn't free testosterone measured? I'd think that would be important given that you are already being treated with testosterone and HCG.

Liver enzymes are a bit out of the range (AST/SGOT). So, what is impacting your liver function? Is your doctor asking questions about causes? Cholesterol numbers aren't great, but shouldn't be impacting how you feel....more of a long-term issue. Wonder what your estradiol would be without the Arimedex?

sirp

[Vettester]

For starters, read this link on T4. It covers pretty much everything you want to know about it. http://www.labtestsonline.org/unders...t4/glance.html

No, I personally don't think you need to increase the adex. If anything, cut back your test dosage to 150mg/wk, which will help cut down the E2 conversion, plus you might find your "sweet spot" at a little lower test score (<800). Curious how your CBC panel looks ... RBC, hematocrit, etc.?

As mentioned, AST is an enzyme test to see how the liver is functioning. Elevated scores can indicate stress or damage taking place. The first question is: Are you drinking? Also, what other oral medications do you take? The good news is that the liver is resilient and can (in most cases) repair itself pretty quickly.

On the HDL/LDL subject ... I'm genetically plagued with not having good stats in this area. I would look into running Niacin B3, CoQ10, and up the oatmeal. I retained some excellent advise from members like nOObs, PPC, and the former rmacburn about this subject on a recent thread. http://forums.steroid.com/showthread.php?t=438007 Let me know if you have any questions about the protocol.

[ReBilly]

I'm drinking, but not nearly as much as I used to. Probably once a week now, and less than 10 drinks when I do. I used to drink way too much tho. Only other meds are buprion and cialis as needed. Lots of supplements tho. You think the liver damage could be from the past year of partying too hard?

[sirupate]

I'm drinking, but not nearly as much as I used to. Probably once a week now, and less than 10 drinks when I do. I used to drink way too much tho. Only other meds are buprion and cialis as needed. Lots of supplements tho. You think the liver damage could be from the past year of partying too hard?

Yes, it is possible. You could try to cut back even more, just to give the liver a rest. As Vetteman says, it will usually recover pretty quickly if not too damaged. My liver enzymes have been elevated for a while...about like yours. My doctor is also checking for Hep C (ex-wife has infected), but more likely that I need to cut back the weekend alcohol. Partying is fun though...

sirp

[ReBilly]

Hep C would be terrible, I hope to God I don't have that!

[ReBilly]

Oh and I hope to God you don't too, sorry for the selfish post!

[BillyBob210]

My AST levels have been elevated and I quit drinking totally 13 months ago. Down to about half of what they were when i was sauced (daily). Doc says alcoholic liver disease but never progressed into hep. If I was to drink again, it would easily progress. Also was on the bupropion. This was a lage cause of my Alcohol/drug induced hypogonadism. I suggest putting it down for good bro. It is hard but we are not as young as we used to be.

[zaggahamma]

Hi Gang,

So I got some bloodwork done again to match numbers to how I feel. Sex drive not high but sorta there, mood not bad but not great, not as good as I've felt at times during my TRT. Her are some of the numbers that stick out:


AST (SGOT): 68 I don't know what this is, but it says normal range is up to 44

Creatinine: 1.34 (0.76 - 1.27)

Sodium Serum: (135-145) -is this why my muscles spasm after a hard workout?

HDL Cholesterol: 39 (says that's low)

LDL Cholesterol: 116 (0-99)

Total Test: 948 (300-800)

Free Test (not tested)

Estradiol: 44.9 (7.6-42) - I seem to have an estrogen sensitive libido, so this makes sense

T4: 4.2 ( 4.5 - 12 ) -this is that one I know little about and I don't know if this points to a thyroid problem or not

T3 Uptake: 3.5 (24-39)

Free Thyroxine: 1.5 (1.2-4.9)


I am taking:
Test Cyp: 180 / week
HCG 250IU 2x / week
Arimidex .5 2x / week

My questions:

Should I add more arimidex? Like 3x weekly? 4x weekly?

What is is t4 and why is mine low? Does this point to potential secondary hypoganadism? If so, is this why I feel best on my HCG days, not on my highest testosterone days?

that is low....

Test/estro look pretty good...

i dont think it would hurt to take one more .5 dose of arimidex to try to bring that number down a little more....see how u feel with that and more bloodwork..

best of luck

[Vettester]

Your AST is high (I presume the ALT is too), I wouldn't take anymore oral anything than you have to. The sooner you drop the drinking, the sooner your AST value will improve. If you cut your Test down a little, you'll also cut down the amount being converted to E2 ... Give your body a chance to de-stress and detoxify, then find balance.

What's your long-term thoughts on the Bupropion? Was this prescribed prior to knowing you had low "T"?

[ReBilly]

Your AST is high (I presume the ALT is too), I wouldn't take anymore oral anything than you have to. The sooner you drop the drinking, the sooner your AST value will improve. If you cut your Test down a little, you'll also cut down the amount being converted to E2 ... Give your body a chance to de-stress and detoxify, then find balance.

What's your long-term thoughts on the Bupropion? Was this prescribed prior to knowing you had low "T"?

The Buproprion was prescribed before that, and once I find the balance with my hormones (if that is in fact THE root of the problem) then I planned on trying to come off it to see if I was just taking it to mask one of the symptoms.

I hate drinking truth be told. But that's what all my friends do, and all the girls I meet. I go to bars and drink water, but also alternate beers throughout the night now if I go out, so I end up at like 5 drinks in the course of a night with lots of water. Also don't go out frequently.

My GUESS is that my liver is not happy with me, and I agree on the orals. I need to do more research on my supps to find out which might be potentially hepatoxic as well. I'm on all the standards for BBers. Protein, creatine, l-arg, glutamine, multi v, extra zinc, lots of B complex, NO-Xplode daily before workouts, fiber supps, etc.

You might be right, I might need a good detox month or two. My poor body is getting slammed in the gym and from what I ingest.

[Vettester]

Going against my own advise on the orals ... There's a product called UDCA that you might want to check out. It's a great product for liver support. I can tell you this from my own personal experience with using it. You can get this product at ARR.