Latest HRT blood work results

[Nixter]

These are the results from 150mg test e and 1mg adex, split twice per week. Bloods were drawn exactly between injections. I think the numbers all look pretty decent. I realize this panel only has total T but I think the rest can be inferred with the SHBG number no? SHBG is lowish which I think is.... good?

I was actually kind of hoping something might explain some slight ED issues I've been having but E2 looks good/lowish, at least in terms of the range given. Basically I'm having some trouble maintaining. Libido might be down a bit too but hard to say. The whole thing could just be mental though as my solo game is fine. I had the same problem when I was younger, simply worrying about the issue made it an issue. I'm 42 btw so that could also be a factor.

Given the draw timing, would these numbers be a peak or a valley?

I stopped HCG back in  May because Im not having kids and I wasnt worried about ball size. They actually havent shrunk much anyways. Could HCG or lack thereof affect libido or blood flow? Google doesn't really give me a solid answer on this, mostly anecdotes.

[Nixter]

BUN and creatinine are a bit high but ratio is in range, (just). Is this anything to be concerned about? Glucose is elevated likely because I wasn't fasting.

[Nixter]

Anyone? I'm guessing the forum is still pretty new. I'm really wondering what to think of the bun/creatinine numbers. I tend to get sock marks/edema on my ankles so I'm concerned that it might be kidney function.

[DeviousD]

I'd be curious to see what your prolactin was at. I was having some high estro & edema symptoms too @ 150mg/wk. i lowered my dose to 120mg/wk a couple weeks before bloodwork & my estradiol came back @ 31.3pg/ml (near thew top of the range) & my prolactin came back above range @ 23.4ug/l with the top of the range being 17.4....that was with no AI

I took some adex and brought my estradiol down and am keeping my test @ 120mg/wk where it actually takes weeks for my estradiol to come back up higher where I can feel myself having higher estro symptoms. I took a couple caber for the elevated prolactin and now I actually feel better and have no estro or edema symptoms whatsoever. I did this on my own & did not consult with my doctor....I do have an open bloodwork requisition to do some follow up bloodwork but I haven't used it yet to see the actual numbers cause I actually started a little blast that i want to do for another 9 weeks....so I need to wait a few months lol 

[Nixter]

@DeviousDI'm also curious about prolactin and DHT.

I ended up increasing T to 200mg and adding HCG back in at 750iu/wk split mon/wed/fri and things got worse in the ED/libido department. I didn't increase adex past 1mg because my e2 was already lowish at 150mg/wk so. I guess there's a chance that the extra 50mg test/wk plus HCG put me in high e2 range. Anyhow, this situation is not cool. I've I've been unable to perform on multiple occasions now and cialis does not seem to help. I'm thinking I might try halving my trt to 100mg a week, see if i can find a dose that doesn't require any ai. At any rate, more test seems to hurt rather aid my soldier. The weird thing is that for some reason when I ran my first blast last year of 500g/wk I did't have any issues.

Edited November 16, 2018 by Nixter

[Rosconow]

True that with the higher test dose... my last blast of  750mg sust had my wife running for cover.

[eazy57]

Just for sake of conversation, do you think that your ED issues become somewhat of a mental thing? At 150-/200 mg per week i wouldn't think you should be that affected. But everyone is definitely different. Usually sprucing things up in the kink department with my wife helps. 

Back to dosages, do you need to stay on? Maybe you should come right off....

 

[Rosconow]

I have to agree with @easy57. Sounds mental to a degree. If your solo game is working, and if you get morning wood, or wood periodically throughout the day, it's not a blood flow issue (call it mechanical if you will). After that, you are just left with hormonal or mental causes of ed. Personally i thought your e2 @ 16.3 was a little low. 

 Always remember the estrogen see saw; e too high dicky no worky, too low dicky no worky. My sweet spot is in the 40's, a little higher than what's considered normal. But that's just me.

[Nixter]

I don't believe it's mental. Reason being is that I've suffered from psychological ED a few times in the past and i know what that's like. Yes, i can get there solo but it's more difficult than usual and sensitivity is down too. And no, I'm not generally getting morning wood, nor throughout the day. Also, when I've had psych ED, Cialis and Viagra helped. Now they do not. 

Before trt i was low/normal T. I don't have to be on but i definitely prefer it. Coming off would be an option though. My body does not like holding muscle naturally though so let's call it a last resort after i try a lower t dose. Ideally I'd cruise at a max t level where i don't need an ai and then toss in a blast or two throughout the year.

I normally pin Monday eve and friday morning. I will forgo this friday morning's test, hcg, and ai. On monday i will drop to 80 - 100mg/wk, no ai or HCG. Reason im skipping a day is to get my levels down faster. I graphed it out with steroid calc and it creates a pretty quick curve to a stable lower dose. I will get bloods once I'm stable. 

Pre trt my libido was healthy and my natural e2 level was highish.

[Allaaro]

Test/Estrogen level is a crap shoot honestly since it's person dependent. The Estradoil test itself has multiple flaws but we still use it anyway. Best way is to go by what you know. 

To me, for you, that sounds like a normal test level with higher e2 level then normal. Estradoil test levels ranges keep changing and some TRT docs are still fine with double the normal values. The key is going by how the person feels/any side effects(gyno?). 

 

Edited November 23, 2018 by Allaaro

[rhynoplanet]

Stan Efferding believes you should never take any AIs or SERMs. He says they hinder your performance and ability to build muscle and strength. I dropped my AI to 0.5 mg of arimidex twice a week and I don't increase it when I blast, I always keep it the same. I can tell you that I feel much better and my libido and erections are much stronger since allowing my estrogen to climb a bit. I haven't seen any negative side effects and I have been doing this for over a year or so now. Maybe try cutting your AI dose in half and see how you feel. My doctor also prefers higher estrogen, he wants it close to the top end of the normal range ideally. 

[Local Dipshit]

33 minutes ago, rhynoplanet said:

Stan Efferding believes you should never take any AIs or SERMs. He says they hinder your performance and ability to build muscle and strength. I dropped my AI to 0.5 mg of arimidex twice a week and I don't increase it when I blast, I always keep it the same. I can tell you that I feel much better and my libido and erections are much stronger since allowing my estrogen to climb a bit. I haven't seen any negative side effects and I have been doing this for over a year or so now. Maybe try cutting your AI dose in half and see how you feel. My doctor also prefers higher estrogen, he wants it close to the top end of the normal range ideally. 

I pretty much do the exact same thing while running asin. Totally by feel almost 

[Nixter]

A little update. I dropped to 90mg of subq test e/wk only, no ai. Things are great. Libido is back, ED is gone. Hooray. Ill get labs in a few weeks to check on things but i don't feel my e2 is high because my left ankle is very prone to e2 related edema and it's doing fine. We shall see.

 

[Nixter]

Things are still very good. Ive lost a few pounds already though. Cruising up to 100mg to see how that feels. I should probably wait longer but I'm impatient.