23 yo, testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) for 6-7 months, latest labs

[trttom55]

23 yo, trt for 6-7 months, latest labs

no history of steroid use or anything

used accutane in high school, and shortly after began ssri's for about 4 years

libido completely shot, ejaculatory anhedonia etc....

tested a handful of times in the 149-350 ngdl range

off of everything now aside from the testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) stuff

PROTOCOL
-initially 120 mg test cyp IM ew
-month ago started 60mg 2x/w, subq
-arimidex .5 eod
-hcg 250iu day before each shot





.5 arimidex eod
was doing one weekly IM shot, about a month ago I switched to two subq injections/week

my latest labs


Testosterone Serum : 449 ng/dl (348/1197)
Testosterone %Free and weakly bound: 43.3 (9-46)
Testosterone F+W bound: 194.4 ng/dl (40-250)

DHEA Sulfate: 326 ug/dl (211-492)

Testosterone Total: 472.4 ng/dl(348-1197)

Vitamin D. 25 Hydroxy: 37.5 (30-100)

Estradiol, sensitive: 5 (3-70)

SHBG: 16.2(16.5-55.9)

im bumping up the test cyp to 140(two 70 mg cyp subq shots) and going to .5 arimidex e3d opposed to eod


any thoughts/advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[halfwit]

no history of steroid use or anything

used accutane in high school, and shortly after began ssri's for about 4 years

libido completely shot, ejaculatory anhedonia etc....

tested a handful of times in the 149-350 ngdl range

off of everything now aside from the testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) stuff

PROTOCOL
-initially 120 mg test cyp IM ew
-month ago started 60mg 2x/w, subq
-arimidex .5 eod
-hcg 250iu day before each shot





.5 arimidex eod
was doing one weekly IM shot, about a month ago I switched to two subq injections/week

my latest labs


Testosterone Serum : 449 ng/dl (348/1197)
Testosterone %Free and weakly bound: 43.3 (9-46)
Testosterone F+W bound: 194.4 ng/dl (40-250)

DHEA Sulfate: 326 ug/dl (211-492)

Testosterone Total: 472.4 ng/dl(348-1197)

Vitamin D. 25 Hydroxy: 37.5 (30-100)

Estradiol, sensitive: 5 (3-70)

SHBG: 16.2(16.5-55.9)

im bumping up the test cyp to 140(two 70 mg cyp subq shots) and going to .5 arimidex e3d opposed to eod


any thoughts/advice would be greatly appreciated

Are you working with a doc on this, or are you self-prescribing TRT? You might have to drop that adex even lower than you plan on going. I bet your joints hurt like a mother with 5ng/dl E2!

 

[IMT staff]

Your TT numbers are low for the amount your taking. This is common with guys who have a low vitamin D like you do. It would be better to have that around 50-60.

You should talk to your physician about testing 1,25 Dihydroxy as well. This is the active form, or more active form of vitamin D.

I also agree with halfwit, your E is dangerously low, and making your SHBG low which can add a host of other issues, including throwing off your thyroid.

 

[trttom55]

Your TT numbers are low for the amount your taking. This is common with guys who have a low vitamin D like you do. It would be better to have that around 50-60.

You should talk to your physician about testing 1,25 Dihydroxy as well. This is the active form, or more active form of vitamin D.

I also agree with halfwit, your E is dangerously low, and making your SHBG low which can add a host of other issues, including throwing off your thyroid.

i started taking 4, 1000IU vitamin D daily recently
i dont have a clue about how the IUs work with vit D, should i be taking more than this?

also, I'm going to stop arimidex for a week and then start either .25 e3d or ......? any suggestions

 

[trttom55]

Are you working with a doc on this, or are you self-prescribing TRT? You might have to drop that adex even lower than you plan on going. I bet your joints hurt like a mother with 5ng/dl E2!

i am working with a dr but not really getting a lot of guidance

my E2 was less than 1 when I was taking .5mg eod, and i started taking less on my own without a suggestion from doc

as far as the latest being 5, he said bumping the test cyp up should boost my e2 as well

 

[ScottyB28]

I would bump up the test to 200 a week, split it if you want, and take .25 arimidex e3d. Try that and get blood work done and see where you at.

 

[trttom55]

I would bump up the test to 200 a week, split it if you want, and take .25 arimidex e3d. Try that and get blood work done and see where you at.

do you think that's necessary with my SHBG being that low?

In other words does it even matter the amount of exogenous test I'm injecting if theres that little shbg

 

[trttom55]

do you think that's necessary with my SHBG being that low?

In other words does it even matter the amount of exogenous test I'm injecting if theres that little shbg

bump

anyone care to explain this for me?

does the fact I have low shbg mean that adding more test won't do anything further for me or what?

I don't understand what binds with what and whether being bound is negative or positive

 

[ScottyB28]

I'm not real sure on that. Hopefully IMT will respond and help you out.

 

[trttom55]

Okay so current protocol is 140mg test cyp/week, 250IU Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) 2x/week, and .25 arimidex e3d

these are my latest labs, this is the first time i did a 24 hour urine lab

Estrone(E1) 1.8 LOW Range = 3-12 ug

Estradiol(E2) .9 Range = 0-7 ug

Estriol(E3) 1.2 = Range = 1-16 ug

Total Estrogens 3.9 LOW Range = 4-22 ug

Testosterone 122 HIGH Range = 45-85 ug

DHT 5.4 Range = 0-13 ug








Androsttenetriol(5-AT) 558 Range = 42-710 ug

Androsterone 3377 Range = 798-4705

THA 113 Range = 52-257 ug

Cortisol 71 Range = 35-168 ug

THF 1112 Range = 942-2800 ug

5a-THF 2846 HIGH Range = 796-2456 ug

Main thing I can say physically is that my joints are very very clicky. My libido is a bit low most of the time. In the gym i'm kicking ass making strength gains but I am definately feeling fatigued.

So my next move would be to discontinue arimidex completely?

 

[trttom55]

i think i'd like to reduce my .25 e3d dosage opposed to no Aromatase inhibitor (AI) at all, I just don't know how I could reliably cut the pill another 1 or 2 times

 

[Megatron28]

i think i'd like to reduce my .25 e3d dosage opposed to no Aromatase inhibitor (AI) at all, I just don't know how I could reliably cut the pill another 1 or 2 times

Did you just start taking Aromatase inhibitor (AI) right off the bat or did you have problems with too much aromatization? Your E2 looks really low and that is probably causing your joint discomfort.

So in other words, how high was your E2 when you were not taking any Aromatase inhibitor (AI) while you were on TRT?

 

[trttom55]

Did you just start taking Aromatase inhibitor (AI) right off the bat or did you have problems with too much aromatization? Your E2 looks really low and that is probably causing your joint discomfort.

So in other words, how high was your E2 when you were not taking any Aromatase inhibitor (AI) while you were on TRT?

e2 was 51 at 120mg test cyp/week

then was prescribed .5 eod -> ~.5-1 e2

.25 eod -> 5 e2

.25 e3d -> latest lab


although blood test that read 51 may have been day or two following a weekend of heavy drinking if that would have that much of an impact, this was July

 

[Megatron28]

I think you need to back off the Aromatase inhibitor (AI). Maybe just take .25mg on the day you inject and leave it at that. Give it 3-4 weeks and get new blood work done to see where you are at.