Acne on back & stomach - E2 problem?

ChronosOceanus

ChronosOceanus

New member
Hey all - long time no post!

Things have been going awesome with my TRT. I feel a lot better than I have in a long time. I've been on TRT for just about 10 months now and my physical and mental state is great. My shoulders and chest finally grow when I lift weights, and I am slowly losing body fat from dieting, when in the past I was never able to lose the fat on my chest and belly even from strict dieting.

The one issue I AM now having is acne issues on my back and stomach. I have always had some pimples on my upper back, but after about 6 months on 100 mg Test per week (50 mg E3.5D) it has spread to my lower back, flanks, and stomach which has never happened in the past. It's not crazy dense, but every week I seem to get a few new big pimples in each area that leaves red marks for a few weeks.

I have had slight nipple sensitivity and itchiness a few times in the past, but I think it's when I go a bit higher on my dose than 100 mg per week (occasionally I'll do like 110 or so per week if I feel like it).

My latest blood test was on 5/31/2016 and E2 was measured at 34.8 pg/mL (no male range) and Test was at 848 ng/dL (no range). Prior to that on 2/24/2016 E2 was 29 pg/mL and Test was 991. So it looks like it is slowly raising a bit, but it's not crazy out of range (at least as of May). At my last appointment in September my doc lowered my dose to 90 mg/week (45 mg E3.5D), but it hasn't changed anything with the acne - it's actually gotten a little worse. I haven't had any nipple sensitivity though.

Should I consider getting started on an AI? I'm not sure my doctor would be on board - he has mentioned in the past that "we don't really understand Estrogen in males that well" which makes me think he isn't up on the latest info. But there's always RUI (are they still a site sponsor?). My next blood test is in mid-December. Also, I'm in NJ so I can't easily get my own bloods done without driving several hours.
 
look up african black soap... its done wonders for me in terms of dealing with acne.. im on trt as well and actually blasting right now and have no acne issues thanks to this soap!
 
3J said:
look up african black soap... its done wonders for me in terms of dealing with acne.. im on trt as well and actually blasting right now and have no acne issues thanks to this soap!
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Thanks for the rec, CJ, but wouldn't this be treating the symptom rather than the cause? I guess I'm assuming that my rising E2 is causing the increased acne. Would you say this is a possibility?
 
its not just e2.. acne happens when your hormones change.. my first year of trt i saw alot of acne.. then it started to settle a bit.. regardless, using something to keep yourself from getting acne is important.. which is why i recommend the soap
ChronosOceanus said:
Thanks for the rec, CJ, but wouldn't this be treating the symptom rather than the cause? I guess I'm assuming that my rising E2 is causing the increased acne. Would you say this is a possibility?
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i think your not aromatizing enough. nonsentive e2 test of 36 assuming they did the lab right means you might be crashed and have imflammation. get a sensitive test before you go the AI route. if you are under 25 e2 using the sensitive test then you might need to pin weekly instead of every 3.5days to get the e2 up a little.
 
in 20 to 30 years theres gonna be a ship load of trt patients with weak bones and torn up joints because they crashed their e2, and falsely thinking it was high took even more dex. since socialized medicine will have its tenticles everywhere they wont get much support other than a ssri and a hydro. what a way to enjoy retirement.
 
3J said:
its not just e2.. acne happens when your hormones change.. my first year of trt i saw alot of acne.. then it started to settle a bit.. regardless, using something to keep yourself from getting acne is important.. which is why i recommend the soap
Click to expand...

X2 - had lots of issues when trying to dial in my TRT, has since subsided by 90% (still have the random zit here and there on my arms). I've been using oxy cream and acne wipes when i spot em and it's short lived. Good looking out on the soap 3J - i'll have a need for it real soon :)

OP - This is fairly regular as your body gets used to TRT and E2 and T level changes (in fact its a good indicator to me to go get my blood checked and maybe adjust dosages). Lowering your T when you feel awesome and are under the "high" mark is probably not the best answer. And how in the name of hell are you measuring .05mg levels?!?! Are you using slin pins or the standard 3ml syringe?

edit - no way i'm good enough to read my 3ml's to that level of detail...why I'm asking.
 
Thanks for the input ya'll. I picked up some African Black Soap. I like the smell - I'll let you know how it goes after a couple of weeks.

Daleb - thanks, I'll look into getting a sensitive test. Does my doc have to request that one specifically? Usually I get my bloods done through the hospital's lab, but I can use Labcorp or whoever if I want to. Would they do sensitive automatically? Keep in mind I'm in NJ and I can't get bloods done without a script.

Joecool - I use 1mL Leur Lock syringes that I found online. They are a little pricier and harder to find, but since I pin so little each time it's easier to measure out smaller variations.
 
And about my joints - I have had lingering hip and shoulder issues for years now even though I'm only in my mid thirties. My docs chalk it up to my anatomy and lots of sports played as a kid. Guess it could be low E2 though...
 
just print the page out and give it to the doc. dont do the total cortisol urine test, where basically they collect all the urine from the day and see how much cortisol metabolites are in it. it has to be the saliva 4pt.
 
If I wanted to switch back to injection E7D to see if more aromatization would help would I feel a difference that first week, or does it usually take a couple of weeks to rebalance?
 
daleb said:
Low and high cortisol can also lead to collagen issues in the joints. The best way to test cortisol is the 4part saliva test kit. The cheapest cortisol test is at Diurnal Cortisol 4x (ZRT) Saliva Hormone Kit Tests for C1 C2 C3 C4
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Why do you say it's the best? My doc sent me to an endo who's having me do a 3 part blood draw test tomorrow morning. Base line, then injection, draw at 30 minutes and then another draw at an hour. Why would saliva be better than blood?
 
Cap'n said:
Why do you say it's the best? My doc sent me to an endo who's having me do a 3 part blood draw test tomorrow morning. Base line, then injection, draw at 30 minutes and then another draw at an hour. Why would saliva be better than blood?
Click to expand...

interested to hear why saliva is better than blood test?
 
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