4 Months of TRT, LOOOOW levels still

[campbellflage]

Been on cyp 200mg biweekly for the past 4 months, initially felt great but lately been feeling moody, trouble sleeping, no libido. Was scheduled for labs for this week and my test was 205, ref 360-1500 norm. Don't get to see my doctor till next wed, any thoughts on what i should be asking for as far as dosage increase? He has no idea about test, I had to go outside the VA to get a script for it, and then he wrote me a script for the same dosage. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Megatron28]

Pinning once every 14 days is your problem. Pin more frequently. Read my sticky post in this forum, Basic TRT Overview for more on the subject.

 

[campbellflage]

I am an RN, i understand the peek/trough of sticking biweekly with the half life the way it is, this was one week after injection, i would expect a higher test level. I have only been staying with his plan of biweekly injectionns because the guy wouldnt give me enough needles to increase the pinning frequency, so until i source some needles..

 

[Megatron28]

I just tell my pharmacy that it would be cheaper and more convenient to place a bulk order. They give me a box of 100. Just talk to your pharmacist where you fill your prescription. If that doesn't work, you could try places like RUI or search the TRT forum for other places to order needles that guys have had success with.

I am not that surprised that you hit TT of 200 if that is a trough reading. When I was pinning 100mg once a week, my range was something like 1000 peak and 350 trough. I can't remember the exact numbers.

Are you taking an Aromatase Inhibitor to prevent aromatization of the test? Pinning 200mg all at once is probably giving you an estradiol spike and causing your E2 to spike shortly after you pin.

You are going to be on a bad rollercoaster ride with your TT and E2.

BTW: are you keeping your hematocrit in range?

 

[campbellflage]

I have to talk to him again about labs i want, i did have a complete cbc, cholesterol, and urine done. Hematocrit was normal but i plan on donating anyways, i usually donate frequently even before trt was started. Do you think that the dose should be increased?

 

[Megatron28]

I have to talk to him again about labs i want, i did have a complete cbc, cholesterol, and urine done. Hematocrit was normal but i plan on donating anyways, i usually donate frequently even before trt was started. Do you think that the dose should be increased?

100mg a week is a good starting point for TRT. It gets a lot of guys in the normal range. Start there and get blood work about 6 weeks later and see where you are at. You can make adjustments based on your blood work.

For reference, I take 160mg/week (split into two doses every 3.5 days) and it puts my trough TT around 1100ng/dl. I have to use arimidex at that dose to keep my E2 in the sweet spot (20-40pg/ml). I take .25mg of arimidex every 3.5 days.

 

[campbellflage]

Shouldnt 7 days after pinning 200mg be close to my peak.Half life is 5-7 days, but it takes 2ish days for im absorbtion. I was thinking more like 200mg a week is more what i need, then retest.

 

[campbellflage]

Thoughts on that?
Btw- i really appreciate the imput. Thank you

 

[Megatron28]

Shouldnt 7 days after pinning 200mg be close to my peak.Half life is 5-7 days, but it takes 2ish days for im absorbtion. I was thinking more like 200mg a week is more what i need, then retest.

General consensus (and what I have seen in my blood work) is that peak is about 2 days after injecting and trough is on the day you inject but prior to actually doing that injection. So if I pin every 7 days on Monday evening, my peak is around Wed evening and my trough is around late Monday before doing the next injection.

 

[campbellflage]

General consensus (and what I have seen in my blood work) is that peak is about 2 days after injecting and trough is on the day you inject but prior to actually doing that injection. So if I pin every 7 days on Monday evening, my peak is around Wed evening and my trough is around late Monday before doing the next injection.

Thats faster than i expected. Ok guess I should focus on frequency of injections over a doseage increase, i would love to be at the 1100 range. Highest i have ever tested is a 320 at age 25, now 31.

 

[campbellflage]

Ok went to the doctor today, and levels were 205. I asked for 150mg/week instead of roller coastering with the 200mg/2 weeks, at first he said yes then changed his mind and said only 100mg a week. The VA is soooo anoying when it comes to testosterone. I am not trying to be that guy abusing it, but I want a competant doctor that knows what he is doing. Instead of my plan 150mg/week and retest in 6 weeks for levels, he decided 100mg/weekly and retest levels in 6 months is a better idea. So stupid, and he didn't even know to add estridiol to the labs. Sorry had to vent.