Bloodwork low igf1

[GearHeaded]

try upping your TRT dosage and if your taking an AI try lowering your dosage or removing it all together (as higher serum levels of estrogen will increase IGF)

[Youthful55guy]

try upping your TRT dosage and if your taking an AI try lowering your dosage or removing it all together (as higher serum levels of estrogen will increase IGF)

Agree with both recommendations. At your level of T, there is absolutely no need for an AI or E blocker. You could stand to boost your E by increasing your T slightly so that it is closer to the upper 75th percentile of your age range (30 to 40 Y/O).

[SilverTest]

Agree with both recommendations. At your level of T, there is absolutely no need for an AI or E blocker. You could stand to boost your E by increasing your T slightly so that it is closer to the upper 75th percentile of your age range (30 to 40 Y/O).

Guys i already said im not on trt. One point worth mentioning is that my doc actually thinks my test level is on the low side for my age and should be in the 700 range he gave me a treatment protocol of HMG at 75 ius twice per week for 3 months. What do u think guys?

[Youthful55guy]

Guys i already said im not on trt. One point worth mentioning is that my doc actually thinks my test level is on the low side for my age and should be in the 700 range he gave me a treatment protocol of HMG at 75 ius twice per week for 3 months. What do u think guys?

It's highly unusual to prescribe HMG for a TRT monotherapy. Commercial HMG is essentially purified FSH, a hormone with no ability to stimulate T production, has a relatively short half life, and is extremely expensive.

Some docs prescribe HCG as a monotherapy. HCG at doses approaching 1000 IU per week may stimulate adequate T production is individuals with secondary hypogonadism, but it is a very expensive form of TRT therapy and the outcomes are generally disappointing in terms of T levels. Also keep in mind that both HMG and HCG will feedback negatively on the hypothalamus and pituitary to decrease endogenous secretion of T, so you probably will not be any further ahead then without it.

I suggest you read the first sticky on the front page of the forum for best practices in TRT. Many of your questions will be answered there.

Regarding IGF-1 (the original question), there is definitely an interaction between T levels, E levels, and IGF-1 levels. You need normal E levels to stimulate production of endogenous GHRF (the releasing hormone for GH). GH stimulates the production of IGF-1. Since E is made from T, lowish T levels will mean lowish E levels, which in turn will result in lowish IGF-1 levels. Bottom line, straighten out T levels with a well thought out protocol and IGF-1 levels should increase.

[SilverTest]

It's highly unusual to prescribe HMG for a TRT monotherapy. Commercial HMG is essentially purified FSH, a hormone with no ability to stimulate T production, has a relatively short half life, and is extremely expensive.

Some docs prescribe HCG as a monotherapy. HCG at doses approaching 1000 IU per week may stimulate adequate T production is individuals with secondary hypogonadism, but it is a very expensive form of TRT therapy and the outcomes are generally disappointing in terms of T levels. Also keep in mind that both HMG and HCG will feedback negatively on the hypothalamus and pituitary to decrease endogenous secretion of T, so you probably will not be any further ahead then without it.

I suggest you read the first sticky on the front page of the forum for best practices in TRT. Many of your questions will be answered there.

Regarding IGF-1 (the original question), there is definitely an interaction between T levels, E levels, and IGF-1 levels. You need normal E levels to stimulate production of endogenous GHRF (the releasing hormone for GH). GH stimulates the production of IGF-1. Since E is made from T, lowish T levels will mean lowish E levels, which in turn will result in lowish IGF-1 levels. Bottom line, straighten out T levels with a well thought out protocol and IGF-1 levels should increase.

Isnt hmg a mix of lh AND fsh?? Ive read a lot that it increases both test nd sperm count. By the way do you think my test level is low for my age?

[Youthful55guy]

Isnt hmg a mix of lh AND fsh?? Ive read a lot that it increases both test nd sperm count. By the way do you think my test level is low for my age?

HMG is a relatively new hormone medication. My understanding of it is that it is collected from the urine of post-menopausal women. When women stop ovulating, they stop producing a small peptide hormone found in the follicular fluid called inhibin. The purpose of inhibin is to feedback selectively on the pituitary to cause it to shift release of gonadotropins (LH and FSH) in favor LH for a given amount of gnRH received from the hypothalamus. When the inhibin signal is lost at menopause, the production of gonadotropins shifts in favor of FSH. Therefore, post-menopausal women produce much higher levels of FSH than LH.

So, yes, the drug is a mix of LH and FSH, but the amount of LH is relatively insignificant. Making it even more insignificant is that the half-life of LH is only 20 minutes. FSH is not a whole lot longer (3-4 hours). This is why the drug is not all that effective for TRT. You need a lot of it and you need to inject many times per day.

Regarding your T level, you appear to be mid-range based on what you originally posted, but Total T is not the best indicator of T. Free T is a much more important number and I don't see that in your post.