Lab results - T improving, need help with E2

[Youthful55guy]

Hi everyone,

30 yrs old Been on TRT for about 3 months now after testing very low a few different times (265 and 232 with a range of 320-910).

The doc made me inject in the office for the first month and do every 2 week injections (which I know is horrible). Once I got to inject myself I immediately switched to 100mg a week, split up into 2x doses of 50mg IM. I’ve been on that protocol for 8 weeks. My energy level is definitely up, but I have seen no improvement in morning wood, libido, or general erection quality. Just did labs:

Total test: 626 ng/dl (265-916)
SHGB: 27.8 nmol/l (16.5-55.9)
E2 Serum: 31 pg/mL (8-35)

I an wondering if my higher E2 levels are hurting libido / erection. I have been reading a lot and have added 50mg zinc daily but was also wondering if I should be adding a DIM to try and get E2 a little lower?

Thanks for any help

No, your problem is not with E2 by the labs you are posting. I would not attempt to do anything other than adding a normal dose of DIM as you indicated. DIM helps convert E2 (Estradiol) to E1 (Estrone). Estrone (E1) has much less estrogenic activity than E2 and is more easily eliminated from the body. Additionally, E1 has the unique ability to displace T from SHBG and help to increase Free T.

I also recommend adding zinc too. I haven't researched that one much, but my original TRT doc (one of the big names in the industry) recommends it to help control E2. He recommended 200 mg per day, but I felt that was a bit high, so I take 100mg (50 AM and 50 PM). Make sure you balance that with an intake of 2 mg of copper for every 50 mg zinc. Otherwise, you may end up with a copper deficiency.

Given your labs, I'd also consider bumping up the T just a little. I'd adjust the dose to 120 mg and consider going to an every 3 day (E3D) protocol for injections. That will help smooth out the peaks and cause less conversion to E3 and DHT than a 2X per week protocol. It will also make the intervals between injections consistent, which means that you can choose any injection day to do your labs rather than a specific day of the week as you need to do with a 2X protocol.

[Slick88]

No, your problem is not with E2 by the labs you are posting. I would not attempt to do anything other than adding a normal dose of DIM as you indicated. DIM helps convert E2 (Estradiol) to E1 (Estrone). Estrone (E1) has much less estrogenic activity than E2 and is more easily eliminated from the body. Additionally, E1 has the unique ability to displace T from SHBG and help to increase Free T.

I also recommend adding zinc too. I haven't researched that one much, but my original TRT doc (one of the big names in the industry) recommends it to help control E2. He recommended 200 mg per day, but I felt that was a bit high, so I take 100mg (50 AM and 50 PM). Make sure you balance that with an intake of 2 mg of copper for every 50 mg zinc. Otherwise, you may end up with a copper deficiency.

Given your labs, I'd also consider bumping up the T just a little. I'd adjust the dose to 120 mg and consider going to an every 3 day (E3D) protocol for injections. That will help smooth out the peaks and cause less conversion to E3 and DHT than a 2X per week protocol. It will also make the intervals between injections consistent, which means that you can choose any injection day to do your labs rather than a specific day of the week as you need to do with a 2X protocol.

Thanks for the advice. I was not aware of copper, so I’ll definitely add that in. The only issue I’m having with zinc is that every once in a while it makes me feel incredibly sick (even taking it with food). I’ve been breaking up my 50mg dose in half, which helps. I’ll definitely look to up it and see how things go

[Youthful55guy]

Thanks for the advice. I was not aware of copper, so I’ll definitely add that in. The only issue I’m having with zinc is that every once in a while it makes me feel incredibly sick (even taking it with food). I’ve been breaking up my 50mg dose in half, which helps. I’ll definitely look to up it and see how things go

yeah, I hear you. However, when I take it with food it does not bother me. On an empty stomach it's a killer.