New Lab Results...Very troubling

[willnorthwest]

Hey guys, I finally got my labs back, and to say the least, i am very disturbed and upset. What is going on here? Can anyone help?
These labs were taken 2 days after my last cyp injection, in the morning.

Testosterone, Total 906.1 348-1197
Free Testosterone 37 8.7-25.1 FLAGGED HIGH
SHBG 11.5 16.5-55.9 FLAGGED LOW
TSH .960 .450-4.500
Estradiol Sensitive 13 3-70
Thryoxine (T4) 8.1 4.5-12.0
Triiodothyronine(T3) 113 71-180
Triiodothryonine, Free 3.8 2.0-4.4
RBC 5.81 4.14-5.80 FLAGGED HIGH
Hematocrit 51.4 37.5-51.0 FLAGGED HIGH

Megatron, Half-wit, Riprock, etc.......please help me out here!!!!! Im still feeling bad with no energy, low libido, anxiety, and deprression. I have heard that abnormally low SHBG levels is the "kiss of death" on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). Am i fucked?

 

[willnorthwest]

heres my current protocol. cyp100 every 5days, with a 500iu shot of hcG the day before, and .50mg adex the day after. I have read on other forums that people who have abnormally low SHBG do not respond well to testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), and that I might have to either back down on the cyp amount, and/or inject more frequently. also, hematocrit is high, which is troublesome, I went ahead and donated a pint of blood yesterday when I got those results.

 

[bigben34]

I'll let the experts handle your questions but I will say that in my own experience with testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) so far, I can't function with E2 that low when my T is that high. I know everyone is different but since those are your peak levels, your E2 seems too low to me. Personally, I feel best with E2 in the 30-40 range with a peak of 1100 total t.....If I were to take .5mg of adex I get the same symptoms you are describing.

 

[willnorthwest]

Estradiol Sensitive was 47 on May 1st. That's when i initiated the Adex. Maybe lower Adex to .25 instead of .50????? What about this abnormally low SHBG, and abnormally high Free T? I think this is the real culprit

 

[bigben34]

Estradiol Sensitive was 47 on May 1st. That's when i initiated the Adex. Maybe lower Adex to .25 instead of .50????? What about this abnormally low SHBG, and abnormally high Free T? I think this is the real culprit

How did you feel when your E2 was at 47? Were you still having these issues or are they new?
Sorry, I don't know a whole lot about low SHGB but I'm sure one of the guys will chime in soon..

 

[halfwit]

I'll let the experts handle your questions but I will say that in my own experience with testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) so far, I can't function with E2 that low when my T is that high. I know everyone is different but since those are your peak levels, your E2 seems too low to me. Personally, I feel best with E2 in the 30-40 range with a peak of 1100 total t.....If I were to take .5mg of adex I get the same symptoms you are describing.

You're actually probably right on the money on what is making poor will not feel so well. That is a pretty low E2 my brother, I'd definitely lighten up on the Aromatase inhibitor (AI) dose. This can also drive down your SHBG if kept at low levels for too long as you're seeing.

It's definitely time to get to donating blood willnorthwest. Your hematocrit and RBC's are starting to get to the point where the Red Cross might turn you away, which means "therapeutic" blood draws which have to be prescribed by your doctor. I've heard they are free now, but I wouldn't count on it given the greedy nature of our society. You're going to have to donate regularly too, this isn't something you can do once and forget about as each donation only drops you down a hair each time.

Your Free Test corresponds with a low SHBG and I wouldn't worry about it to be honest. I'd give it a few months at a lower Aromatase inhibitor (AI) dose and see how you feel. I bet your SHBG returns to normal with your E2 levels and you'll see much better results not only in a blood draw, but on a whole.

My .02c

 

[GoPro]

^^^THis, halfwit always gives good sound info. I would go with what he says.

 

[willnorthwest]

halfwit....thank you for the advice. i did donate blood yesterday, and i will go every 2 months from here on out. maybe i should just back down the adex to .25mg the day after my cyp inject and see if that helps raise the Estradiol to the 20's and in turn raise the shbg level a bit too. i have heard that raising E also raises shbg. is this true?

 

[halfwit]

halfwit....thank you for the advice. i did donate blood yesterday, and i will go every 2 months from here on out. maybe i should just back down the adex to .25mg the day after my cyp inject and see if that helps raise the Estradiol to the 20's and in turn raise the shbg level a bit too. i have heard that raising E also raises shbg. is this true?

I hazard to say "yes" as there are a bajillion different factors regarding SHBG and we really don't fully understand it yet. It *should* go up as your E2 levels stabilize at a healthy level. .25mg sounds like a great dose to me.

 

[willnorthwest]

okay....that is exactly what i will do then. should i change anything else up? if not, the new protocol will be: 100cyp every 5 days, with 500iu hcG the day before, and .25 Adex the day after. sounds good?

 

[Megatron28]

okay....that is exactly what i will do then. should i change anything else up? if not, the new protocol will be: 100cyp every 5 days, with 500iu hcG the day before, and .25 Adex the day after. sounds good?

Halfwit and BigBen are on the money with their feedback!

You may want to switch to injecting every 3.5 days. Makes it easier to manage E2. My only hesitation is that when I make a change in my protocol, I prefer to only change one variable at a time if possible. That allows me to see the impact that change alone had. Maybe for now stay on the every 5 day schedule and adjust your Aromatase inhibitor (AI) dose lower. See how that works. If that doesn't get you dialed in and feeling good then consider changing your injection frequency.

 

[willnorthwest]

MEGA.....it seems like You, Halfwit, and BigBen are all in agreement here. I will take ya'lls advice and try lowering the Adex to .25 every 5 days, instead of .50 every 5 days. I'll give it another 3 weeks or so and see how i feel, and take new labs. Thanks guys! Getting dialed in isnt as easy as I thought it would be!!!!!!

 

[Megatron28]

Increasing your E can be harder than lowering it. It might not happen as quickly as three weeks.

I was similar to you. My E2 recently came in at 15 (sensitive assay). I cut back on the Aromatase inhibitor (AI). I went from 1.00mg per week to .50mg per week. I'm taking 200mg of test cyp per week split into two injections for reference. I just got a lab test done this week and my E2 (non-sensitive assay) bounced up to 39. I feel like I have more energy now. My acne is a little worse too but not out of control. Backing off on the Aromatase inhibitor (AI) actually appears to have lowered my TT. It went from about 1300 to 1100. I suppose more of it lost to aromatization now. It's a balancing act that takes time to figure out.

Good luck. You'll get it nailed down. Don't give up.

 

[willnorthwest]

so....do i need to worry less about this whole low shbg/high free t issue i got going on? if you google "low shbg and trt" you will see that alot of forum discussions basically say that people with low shbg simply wont benefit from trt.

 

[halfwit]

so....do i need to worry less about this whole low shbg/high free t issue i got going on? if you google "low shbg and trt" you will see that alot of forum discussions basically say that people with low shbg simply wont benefit from trt.

One thing at a time imo. SHBG is a complex and often misunderstood (I still don't fully understand how it works) component of our endocrine system and I'd first see how raising your E2 impacts everything.

 

[IMT staff]

SHBG and E2 usually rise and fall together. It seems like too much adex, it can suppress SHBG, this is how it increases your free T.

I think you may have jumped the gun on your last E2 test.

 

[newtohrt]

I also have low SHBG

One thing at a time imo. SHBG is a complex and often misunderstood (I still don't fully understand how it works) component of our endocrine system and I'd first see how raising your E2 impacts everything.

I agree with everything that has already been suggested.

However, I too have low SHBG and testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) does next to nothing for me. It doesn't help me with libido or with building muscle and it barely gives me slightly more energy vs. not being on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). I wish I had happier news to report, believe me...I have been trying to "dial in" for 2 years now, and its not really happening.

 

[1693]

I don't think everyone with low SHBG does poorly with TRT.

Think vitamin d lowers SHBG so probably don't want to overdo the d...

 

[halfwit]

I agree with everything that has already been suggested.

However, I too have low SHBG and testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) does next to nothing for me. It doesn't help me with libido or with building muscle and it barely gives me slightly more energy vs. not being on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). I wish I had happier news to report, believe me...I have been trying to "dial in" for 2 years now, and its not really happening.

Ya know, one of these days I'm going to see you post that you've found the answer to why you're a complete non-responder, and I'm gonna have to give my monitor a big hug. (no homo) It kills me knowing people are out there that cannot benefit from testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), which has changed my life so drastically.

 

[willnorthwest]

Thank you everyone for taking the time to chime in and give your feedback. Hopefully ill start feeling better soon!