Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and Cholesterol

[Spid3rAlex]

TRT and Cholesterol

Any of you guys have an trouble with cholesterol levels while on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT)? I'm doing .5ml per week, and unfortunately my bone headed doctor never really tested this. It's now been a couple of years. When I first started therapy, I had low cholesterol, very optimal levels. I also had low T (obviously lol). Anyway, I have been taking fish oil, omega 3's for about a year though and I hear that helps a lot. I'm getting labs done on tuesday and will have all the cholesterols, estrogens, and t levels checked, then post back to see what everybody thinks. In the meantime, is there anything you guys recommend that's otc? I hear niacin works well, but I'm leery about that since a relative of mine had niacin flush once.

Edit: Sorry about the dupe threads, mods please delete this one.

 

[Megatron28]

Niacin raises HDL but does nothing for LDL. And yes, you have to build up your tolerance to it or you will get very painful flushing. Be careful with slow release as that can actually prolong the flushing should it occur. You need to taken something like 3000 mg or something for it to do any good, which is a lot. I can't remember the exact dosage though.

There was a study done a year or two ago that showed while niacin does in fact increase your HDL that there was no proven positive outcome on reducing corronary disease. In other words, it did no good despite increasing your HDL. So an illustration of confusing cause and effect. I wouldn't take it. Doesn't actually do anything and the flushing is extremely painful when it does occur. That's my two cents.

 

[Spid3rAlex]

Niacin raises HDL but does nothing for LDL. And yes, you have to build up your tolerance to it or you will get very painful flushing. Be careful with slow release as that can actually prolong the flushing should it occur. You need to taken something like 3000 mg or something for it to do any good, which is a lot. I can't remember the exact dosage though.

There was a study done a year or two ago that showed while niacin does in fact increase your HDL that there was no proven positive outcome on reducing corronary disease. In other words, it did no good despite increasing your HDL. So an illustration of confusing cause and effect. I wouldn't take it. Doesn't actually do anything and the flushing is extremely painful when it does occur. That's my two cents.

Thanks man! Good avice, I'm going to hold off on that for a while.

 

[James David Manning]

Any of you guys have an trouble with cholesterol levels while on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT)? I'm doing .5ml per week, and unfortunately my bone headed doctor never really tested this. It's now been a couple of years. When I first started therapy, I had low cholesterol, very optimal levels. I also had low T (obviously lol). Anyway, I have been taking fish oil, omega 3's for about a year though and I hear that helps a lot. I'm getting labs done on tuesday and will have all the cholesterols, estrogens, and t levels checked, then post back to see what everybody thinks. In the meantime, is there anything you guys recommend that's otc? I hear niacin works well, but I'm leery about that since a relative of mine had niacin flush once.

Any of you guys have an trouble with cholesterol levels while on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT)? I'm doing .5ml per week, and unfortunately my bone headed doctor never really tested this. It's now been a couple of years. When I first started therapy, I had low cholesterol, very optimal levels. I also had low T (obviously lol). Anyway, I have been taking fish oil, omega 3's for about a year though and I hear that helps a lot. I'm getting labs done on tuesday and will have all the cholesterols, estrogens, and t levels checked, then post back to see what everybody thinks. In the meantime, is there anything you guys recommend that's otc? I hear niacin works well, but I'm leery about that since a relative of mine had niacin flush once.

Edit: Sorry about the dupe threads, mods please delete this one.

Another niacin story. I've always struggled with borderline low HDL, even before testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), and I eat a very clean diet. Usually it sits right at 39 (except when I take armidex, which screws with my whole lipid panel and HDL drops to 34). My doctor prescribed me some niacin a few years ago, and I decided to try it a couple of months ago when I had the HDL drop. I knew the side effect was "flushing", but never really knew what that meant until I popped a couple of 500mg tabs. For fucks sake, my whole body started tingling, I turned red as a beet, and was so nauseous I has to lay down for 20 minutes! I couldn't imagine going through that three times a day so that was the end of that experiment.

As an aside, my wife got her blood work back today and her HDL was 128!

 

[Megatron28]

Getting flushed hurts like a bitch and there is nothing you can do but wait it out. And you look like a lobster.

If you ever want to punk a friend, slip them some niacin.

J/K because I am sure someone has died from doing that.

 

[NimbusTim]

Niacin is good for you. Reduce the amount of Niacin taken per dose and add more doses to help allieve/reduce the Niacing flush. The "flush" you're referring to is dilating the blood vessels (capillaries)on the surface of the skin.

Take it with some food, spread out with smaller doses more often.....and you will see the "flushes" dramatically decrease. After a couple of weeks they will be pretty much all gone.

 

[NimbusTim]

And don't fall into the hype of "Non-Flush" Niacin as it's pretty much useless.