Please help a noob to trt with a potential bad doc

[Carrascopa]

Hello, I've been on TRT for 2 months, and I feel like my doctor is clueless about what she's administering me. Looking for some guidance.

I'm 35, and requested my doc to send me to labs to get blood work done to test my testosterone.

It came back at 167. From what I read that's really on the low side. She prescribed me TRT injections, first it was once per month, 200m. After I thought I was feeling a crash on like day 9 I requested 100m injections every 7 days and she said Ok. To me this was still a modest dosage but I'm still kinda lost. I've been feeling great, best I've felt in years, I'm not having to watch my weight so much, I'm seriously a lot happier, not depressed or moody. It's been a welcome change.

Now my doc had my blood drawn again and I did my blood work on day 5 of a new injection and it came back 1047.

This was at my 2 month mark.

Now she's backed me back down to 100m injections every 14 days and I'm back to being more grouchy and more lethargic, almost as if I'm not even on trt anymore. I fee good for the first couple days then back to bla...

Do I need a better doctor? Or is she right on with her approach. I'm not trying to get all buff or abuse it, I just wanna feel normal honestly.

Thanks for any help.

 

[one way step]

Yes you need a better doctor. If you feel great on 100mg test every 7 days then that should be your regime. That is a perfectly safe and acceptable TRT dose.

 

[Mprtz]

It sounds reasonable until the last part... she should have dropped you down to 80mg per week, not 100mg per two weeks.

What are her goals for your levels? Some would be fine with a 1047 after 5 days.

I'd argue to keep 100mg per week until the next test, and if it's still high (as defined by her I guess) drop down to 80mg per week but don't go longer than 7 days between injections.

Is she testing anything besides total test? Estradiol?

She doesn't seem very knowledgeable about TRT, but if you otherwise like her and she is generally cooperative you can make up for it by knowing what you need and giving the appropriate guidance.

 

[Megatron28]

Give the Basic TRT Overview thread a read. It is at the top of this forum.

And I agree with Mprtz.

 

[juced_porkchop]

It sounds reasonable until the last part... she should have dropped you down to 80mg per week, not 100mg per two weeks.

What are her goals for your levels? Some would be fine with a 1047 after 5 days.

I'd argue to keep 100mg per week until the next test, and if it's still high (as defined by her I guess) drop down to 80mg per week but don't go longer than 7 days between injections.

Is she testing anything besides total test? Estradiol?

She doesn't seem very knowledgeable about TRT, but if you otherwise like her and she is generally cooperative you can make up for it by knowing what you need and giving the appropriate guidance.

EXACTLY!

OP tell her you want to make it 80-90mg e7d and see I would say. but 100mg ew is really not bad in my opinion and if you feel good you feel good.

 

[Carrascopa]

Can anyone explain to me why the 7 day rule applies? What is wrong with going 14 days between Injections?

And thank you for all the useful information.

 

[Megatron28]

Can anyone explain to me why the 7 day rule applies? What is wrong with going 14 days between Injections?

And thank you for all the useful information.

Testosterone and Estradiol levels would fluctuate too much due to the half life of the injectable's ester.

 

[IMT staff]

Tell her to call us we can teach her

 

[Havasu]

Also, that test should have been taken the morning of your next injection, before the injection. This would be your true trough level. The lowest it will ever get, right before injection. That would have dropped that level some more. It's awesome that 100mg gets you to 1047 at day 5. If you aren't gyno sensitive/prone, you may not even need an AI. At 100mg I didn't need any estrogen control, but I was also in the mid to high 700's at trough, and 140mg a week split into two injections got me to around 1010 at trough. I need mild estrogen control at this dose.

 

[Carrascopa]

Thank you for all the info. I went and saw a new doctor and he kind of believes the theme of this thread, said ignorance is to blame and I should be doing 200mg injections every 7-10 days depending on how I feel. But he recommended 7 days. That's basically x4 what my primary has me on currently since dropping my dosage.

Like I said prior my initial labs came back in the mid 100's so I'm really low naturally but is 200mg per week a safe dosage? Don't get me wrong, I'm all for more. Stuffs cheap so why not, just looking for some feedback on the new dosage.

I was two weeks out today from my last injection so he gave me 200mg, I feel fine. I was getting really irritable on the 100mg per 14 days dosage.

 

[Carrascopa]

Nice to have my patience and rational back... Those 14 day stretches were killing me emotionally. Not like out of control, but I was holding a lot in internally.

 

[Megatron28]

100-200mg per week is a typical TRT dosage. Will you be self-injecting?

Did you guys discuss estradiol and hematocrit management?

 

[Havasu]

Thank you for all the info. I went and saw a new doctor and he kind of believes the theme of this thread, said ignorance is to blame and I should be doing 200mg injections every 7-10 days depending on how I feel. But he recommended 7 days. That's basically x4 what my primary has me on currently since dropping my dosage.

Like I said prior my initial labs came back in the mid 100's so I'm really low naturally but is 200mg per week a safe dosage? Don't get me wrong, I'm all for more. Stuffs cheap so why not, just looking for some feedback on the new dosage.

I was two weeks out today from my last injection so he gave me 200mg, I feel fine. I was getting really irritable on the 100mg per 14 days dosage.

It's great that you have a doc that is willing to work in reality for your TRT, however I don't necessarily agree that you can look at someone and say you need 200mg per week. 140mg per week puts me my test level around 1010, or so. 200 would put me at a superphysiological level, which isn't good for long term use. So, I'm not sure what you were using before, or if you even know what your trough level was at no more than a week. If not, you're starting from scratch. You could start at around 100mg-140mg per week, split the doses into 2x a week if you're at 120mg or above, and test at trough. I inject on Monday morning and Thursday evening, and I get my blood tests on Monday morning first thing before I take my next injection. That is my trough, the lowest I'll ever be. Then you can adjust from there.

Also, as Megatron asked have you discussed estradiol, hematocrit, hcg?

 

[IMT staff]

don't forget HCG, you need that too.

 

[Carrascopa]

I'm glad I came here. I appreciate all the help. No, no one discussed HCG or estradiol with me at all.

Why wouldn't these guys be more on point? I have my next appointment with the doc in 5 weeks. Is that too long to wait to address those things?

I live in Hawaii on the big island so healthcare is limited out here, and the doc is pretty far.

Is there anything else I should know before I go back in there? Lol

 

[Megatron28]

There is a lot to know and think about. And unfortunately, a lot of docs out there are t up to date on the latest TRT protocols. Reading this may be helpful. Bit waiting the 5 weeks should be OK. Just make sure you tell them what blood work you want run for that appointment. I always try to have blood work run prior to the actual doctor appt. so that we can have something objective to discuss.

http://www.steroidology.com/forum/testosterone-replacement-therapy/662394-basic-trt-overview.html

 

[cybrsage]

Depending on where you live, you will probably need an endo for HCG and an AI. My urologist (who administers my TRT) said he is not authorized, by law, to dispense them.

 

[Mprtz]

Depending on where you live, you will probably need an endo for HCG and an AI. My urologist (who administers my TRT) said he is not authorized, by law, to dispense them.

I thought you were in the US? Sounds like a crock to me. He doesn't need to dispense the meds, only prescribe them.

Ask him what law is preventing him.

 

[Carrascopa]

There is a lot to know and think about. And unfortunately, a lot of docs out there are t up to date on the latest TRT protocols. Reading this may be helpful. Bit waiting the 5 weeks should be OK. Just make sure you tell them what blood work you want run for that appointment. I always try to have blood work run prior to the actual doctor appt. so that we can have something objective to discuss.

steroidology.com/forum/testosterone-replacement-therapy/662394-basic-trt-overview.html

Thank you, and thank you everyone else for the advice!

 

[cybrsage]

I thought you were in the US? Sounds like a crock to me. He doesn't need to dispense the meds, only prescribe them.

Ask him what law is preventing him.

Yeah, I am in the US. All I know is when I mentioned HCG to him he said he would have to send me to an endo for it. I instead just went to an underground lab and bought some. It is so cheap I did not care to fight him over it. He does not know a lot, but he overprescribes my Test-Cyp on purpose/ He considers 25% of the bottle to be wasted either through the seal failing (he told me to use an 18g to draw - so yeah, seal failure is a real threat) or being unable to get the liquid out of the bottle because it is too low. I get almost every last drop out of the bottle every time, so when I went to bulk I literally had 7 bottles of pharma grade test-cyp sitting around. He also adds anything to my blood test I ask him to add, no questions asked. He does not check E2 levels, but when I asked him to add it, he added it immediately and has done so every time after that.

He is too good to me to fight about something so cheaply purchased on my own.