Need advice to keep test levels DOWN for blood test... I'll explain why.

[jeff7b9]

Hi guys, Newbie here but I didn't see this covered while reading, apologies if this was covered but it is a fairly specific question so here goes....

I have a blood test coming up in mid August. What can I do to get my levels down just a smidge so that my doctor doesn't try to put me on 2 week intervals again? (I want to stay on 10 day intervals between shots or go back to 8 days)

My doc is my regular internist and he is a bit stingy regarding my T levels. I am busting my ass trying to get into shape and I would like my levels to be high. My doc is very conservative and if my levels test high he always wants to pull me back, we have been through this a few times and currently I have gotten to the point where he is ok with me taking my shots every 10 days (200mg).

If it were up to me i'd like to take shots weekly, but when I tried it my levels were around 1200 and he wanted to increase the duration in between shots (until we settled on 10 which has me testing a little lower)

My thoughts were the following......Leading up to the test, would it help lower my levels a bit if I...?

Eat tofu and soy products? (I am a vegan anyway so this is easy for me)

Work out HARD to deplete myself? (and how should I time this? right before getting tested? anything specific that would be more effective?)

uhhmm, release my seed? A few times? (I'm not a teenager anymore but I could pop a few off

a combination of the above?



I'm 37, been on TRT for about 3 years because 8 shoulder surgeries (including 3 replacements and 5 total open surgeries) and 15 years of heavy pain meds (methadone, hydromorphone, phentanyl etc) lowered my natural testosterone production. Thankfully I am almost pain free and off of meds... almost.

Finally after all those surgeries and 1.5 years of steady acupuncture I am feeling pretty good again and back to exercising 5x a week and getting myself into decent shape. I have been working out for a year now and have had pretty solid results which I am well aware were helped by TRT.

THANK YOU greatly for any advice. This is a serious thread, not trolling here. I know it might sound bad but I am not trying to abuse testosterone- just working my ass off to try and get in shape and i know that having my levels a bit higher will help that so I am trying to do what I can to achieve that result. I work out 5x a week, about 1/2 hour cardio then an 1-1.5 hr of resistance training (a program I have designed specifically to work with my shoulder problems)




* I am going to be adding a LOW dose of Nolvadex soon. I assume it would make the most sense to wait on this until after the upcoming test so that is my plan. After that I will do a more complete blood test to see how the Nolvadex is working, along with monitoring how I feel and my results and response to it. I have a friend who is a nurse who can help me to interpret my levels and stay healthy.

 

[halfwit]

None of that will do anything to exogenous testosterone. Natural testosterone? Sometimes. But stuff from a vial? Nooope.

Your best solution is to find a real doctor that has a clue WTF a half-life is, and how it's retarded to have you dragged out so far. E3.5D is perfect for many, and will keep things nice and steady. Find a new doc that gets this.

For now, just get the blood test as far from the day you injected as possible.

Nolva for..?

 

[Mprtz]

I take it then you're not self injecting at home?

 

[juced_porkchop]

nolva for what exactly? your on hrt... its like trying to open a door while your closing it... unless trying have kids on hrt i see no point

 

[joecoolredbarron]

None of that will do anything to exogenous testosterone. Natural testosterone? Sometimes. But stuff from a vial? Nooope.

Your best solution is to find a real doctor that has a clue WTF a half-life is, and how it's retarded to have you dragged out so far. E3.5D is perfect for many, and will keep things nice and steady. Find a new doc that gets this.

For now, just get the blood test as far from the day you injected as possible.

Nolva for..?

X2 - find another Doc. and I can vouch as for the 3.5 day intervals as that's what I do. No part of your treatment is in line with today's best practices.

Good on you for all the hard work and recovery though!

 

[IMT staff]

When we are trying to get levels down we will just have our clients skip a week of T

Or just call us

 

[jeff7b9]

Thank you for the replies.

When you say you are taking shots every 3.5 days (or twice a week) what is the dose? and what testosterone level does that tend to keep you at?

Also- are you getting your shots from a regular Doctor or going to a hormone clinic/specialist? Just curious as I could see someone who is more specialized in hormone studies having a more modern approach to TRT.

From my personal experience, more is more when it comes to testosterone levels, so the higher my levels (aka the more frequent my shots) the better I feel and the better results I get. I do not seem to be having major issues with estrogen, but lately my nips are hard quite a lot- no noticeable gynecomastia yet but that is what I am looking to head off preemptively with the low dose of Nolvadex.

If I was not incredibly happy overall with my dr I would consider finding someplace else to take over my TRT, however I absolutely love this office. They take my insurance so it is a mere $10 a visit for shots, bloodwork, etc and they monitor my a fib and have kept everything in line with a reasonably complicated balancing act between Afib/pain meds/trt- a very smart doctor who knows his stuff but he is not an endocrinologist and is conservative regarding test.

They have helped me get back into shape and turn my health around. After shoulder surgeries 4-7, I was up to 270+ lbs, 40%+ body fat and absolutely miserable, at the time taking over 130 mg of narcotic pain meds daily plus a fentanyl patch and still in agonizing pain. Currently I'm 220, 16% bf and at 6'3 I am fitting into a size 34 waist which is what I wore in high school, 37 years old and in the best shape I've been in since college.

 

[jeff7b9]

I am not injecting at home. A nurse gives me a shot at the office.

 

[joecoolredbarron]

Thank you for the replies.

When you say you are taking shots every 3.5 days (or twice a week) what is the dose? and what testosterone level does that tend to keep you at?

Also- are you getting your shots from a regular Doctor or going to a hormone clinic/specialist? Just curious as I could see someone who is more specialized in hormone studies having a more modern approach to TRT.

From my personal experience, more is more when it comes to testosterone levels, so the higher my levels (aka the more frequent my shots) the better I feel and the better results I get. I do not seem to be having major issues with estrogen, but lately my nips are hard quite a lot- no noticeable gynecomastia yet but that is what I am looking to head off preemptively with the low dose of Nolvadex.

If I was not incredibly happy overall with my dr I would consider finding someplace else to take over my TRT, however I absolutely love this office. They take my insurance so it is a mere $10 a visit for shots, bloodwork, etc and they monitor my a fib and have kept everything in line with a reasonably complicated balancing act between Afib/pain meds/trt- a very smart doctor who knows his stuff but he is not an endocrinologist and is conservative regarding test.

They have helped me get back into shape and turn my health around. After shoulder surgeries 4-7, I was up to 270+ lbs, 40%+ body fat and absolutely miserable, at the time taking over 130 mg of narcotic pain meds daily plus a fentanyl patch and still in agonizing pain. Currently I'm 220, 16% bf and at 6'3 I am fitting into a size 34 waist which is what I wore in high school, 37 years old and in the best shape I've been in since college.

My dose is 200mg /wk so 100mg per shot 2x per week. - High 800's - high 900's depends on when I do the draw vs shot

Nope - self administered shots, do them at home in my bathroom. First one sucks, after that its easy and part of life

A lot of guys here will attest to is that for TRT less is more. Guys tend to stick to the lowest dose possible to achieve normal-high testosterone ranges and a feeling of well being.

Sooo - your doc sucks at TRT but they did a pretty good job with your recovery and helping you get back in shape - what does that have to do with your hormones? Either make them treat you properly or find another doc, can't complain about their methods then defend them