When to do Blood labs for T level while on TRT?

Spunkey71 said:
I understand what you all are saying but my doctor and I have had several conversations on this, he knows exactly where I stand. I don't pay anything, my insurance covers everything, office visits, injections and blood work. I am in my third month of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and to be honest I like going in and speaking with my doctor every week and discussing my treatment and the long term plan. I have made it clear that once I am dialed in if he does not let me self inject I will be leaving.

If I have learned anything in my years it is that nothing is ever black & white, and no one can compare their life and situation with anyone else, each person's situation is unique!
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3 months into testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) you are pretty dialed in.
It's up to you bro...if you're o.k. with it that's fine!
:)
 
APOLLON said:
3 months into testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) you are pretty dialed in.
It's up to you bro...if you're o.k. with it that's fine!
:)
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Not really, I am due for labs at the end of the month, depending on my levels there will need to be some adjustments made with either my Test C dosage, my Aromatase inhibitor (AI) dosage or both. Then I will need to do bloods again a couple months down the road to see what difference the changes have made. I have done a lot of reading on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and it is not uncommon for it to take 6 month to a year sometimes to get dialed in, it is different with every person. You have to remember that I have primary hypogonadism and my total T level when I started was 64.
 
Spunkey71 said:
Not really, I am due for labs at the end of the month, depending on my levels there will need to be some adjustments made with either my Test C dosage, my Aromatase inhibitor (AI) dosage or both. Then I will need to do bloods again a couple months down the road to see what difference the changes have made. I have done a lot of reading on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and it is not uncommon for it to take 6 month to a year sometimes to get dialed in, it is different with every person. You have to remember that I have primary hypogonadism and my total T level when I started was 64.
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When do you go in for labs usually ?
How many "days" after injection?
What have your levels been for T.T. thus far if you don't mind me asking...
 
Guys tell me what "dialed in" means to you....lol
Dialed in (as I interpret it is a desired consistent optimum T level)
 
APOLLON said:
Guys tell me what "dialed in" means to you....lol
Dialed in (as I interpret it is a desired consistent optimum T level)
Click to expand...

Dialed in means that you have a dose which provides an optimal balance of testosterone and estradiol. It may also mean addressing other hormones such as thyroid (T3/T4), DHEA, Pregnenolone, Cortisol, Insulin, and many others that are influenced by testosterone administration. Three months is just getting his feet wet still. I demanded self-injects off the bat as I did have to pay 40 bucks every visit and wanted to do injects E3.5D, but for folks that want that personal touch with the doc and have it paid - I can't fault one bit.
 
APOLLON said:
When do you go in for labs usually ?
How many "days" after injection?
What have your levels been for T.T. thus far if you don't mind me asking...
Click to expand...


I do not have my labs with me at work but my first test showed my TT at 64 and E2 was at 19, retested two days later to verify and TT was still 64 and E2 was the same as well. Started on 120mg a week and 1/2mg Aromatase inhibitor (AI) once a week and after 4 weeks retested just prier to my 5th injection and my TT was at 240 and my E2 was at 40. Doctor increased my dosage from 120mg to 160mg of Test C and increased my Aromatase inhibitor (AI) from 1/2mg a week to 1/2mg twice a week. I get labs done again at the end of the month which will be after three full months on TRT.
 
Spunkey71 said:
I do not have my labs with me at work but my first test showed my TT at 64 and E2 was at 19, retested two days later to verify and TT was still 64 and E2 was the same as well. Started on 120mg a week and 1/2mg Aromatase inhibitor (AI) once a week and after 4 weeks retested just prier to my 5th injection and my TT was at 240 and my E2 was at 40. Doctor increased my dosage from 120mg to 160mg of Test C and increased my Aromatase inhibitor (AI) from 1/2mg a week to 1/2mg twice a week. I get labs done again at the end of the month which will be after three full months on TRT.
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Yeah but how many days after the shot was this reading of 64 ?
Are you going for blood work a day before your next shot?
 
My doctor does the testing in house, has results within 15 minutes. They do the blood draw prier to my injection, we are after the trough level not peak.
 
Spunkey71 said:
My doctor does the testing in house, has results within 15 minutes. They do the blood draw prier to my injection, we are after the trough level not peak.
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So he measures the lowest levels(furthest from shot) as opposed to the highest levels(closest to shot)?
Interesting...
 
How long can we be on ADEX for?
I knocked it down to 0.25 mg 2 times per week now...
Doesn't ADEX increase LDL after being on it a certain amount of time?
I been off and on it for 8 years now....in small doses along with my testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) or HCG mono protocols..
 
I crashed by the 5th or 6th day at first but the last couple of months I have not experienced that, I feel the same (good) every day. I have also been eating clean for a couple of months as well so I am sure that factors in too.
 
APOLLON said:
How long can we be on ADEX for?
I knocked it down to 0.25 mg 2 times per week now...
Doesn't ADEX increase LDL after being on it a certain amount of time?
I been off and on it for 8 years now....in small doses along with my testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) or HCG mono protocols..
Click to expand...

Ideally you should try to avoid an Aromatase inhibitor (AI), but there isn't really any research done on long case studies for men.
It's a womens cancer drug. Having said that they would have to be on it for life.
Depending on the person you might not need arimidex, you might be able to get away with 200mgDIM/50-75mg Zinc/2-4mg copper or no Aromatase inhibitor (AI) at all!
I'm 5 months into my testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and still working on getting dialed in. I don't seem to need an Aromatase inhibitor (AI) on 100mgs a week split into two dosages. This gives me a trough total t of 9-1000.

Also you shouldn't be starting your testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) with an Aromatase inhibitor (AI). You don't even know if you need one. Especially if you aren't even on hcg.
Testing 2 weeks in is pretty silly as well as it takes 6 weeks for testosterone levels to stabilize. Sure you might get a good reading of test but it also takes time for estrogen to balance as well. 3 weeks into my original testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) (200mgs a week) my estrogen was fine, 6 weeks it was high with the same protocol
What I've learned through the last 5 months is that less is more,

If you really want the best out of your testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) I'd recommend following what all the top testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) docs do nowadays.

Start with 100mgs per week split into two doses ideally 3.5 days apart. Most of the top testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) docs are even starting guys on dosages as lowa s 60-80 per week to avoid an ai.
Test bloods in 6 weeks
If estrogens too high, consider lowering dosage by 20mgs.
If everything's okay add in hcg if atrophy or fertility is an issue.
Re-test bloods in 4 weeks.
Adjust from there

Rememeber 80mgs puts most guys around a 800 test level. The average test level for a 21 year old today is around 700. Don't be greedy thinking you need to be at the top.
Trt is about how you feel, you aren't a number on a piece of lab work. If you can have free test in the upper 1/3 range without using an Aromatase inhibitor (AI) this is ideal.
 
Last edited:
jomamma007 said:
Ideally you should try to avoid an Aromatase inhibitor (AI), but there isn't really any research done on long case studies for men.
It's a womens cancer drug. Having said that they would have to be on it for life.
Depending on the person you might not need arimidex, you might be able to get away with 200mgDIM/50-75mg Zinc/2-4mg copper or no Aromatase inhibitor (AI) at all!
I'm 5 months into my trt and still working on getting dialed in. I don't seem to need an Aromatase inhibitor (AI) on 100mgs a week split into two dosages. This gives me a trough total t of 9-1000.

Also you shouldn't be starting your trt with an Aromatase inhibitor (AI). You don't even know if you need one. Especially if you aren't even on hcg.
Testing 2 weeks in is pretty silly as well as it takes 6 weeks for testosterone levels to stabilize. Sure you might get a good reading of test but it also takes time for estrogen to balance as well. 3 weeks into my original trt (200mgs a week) my estrogen was fine, 6 weeks it was high with the same protocol
What I've learned through the last 5 months is that less is more,

If you really want the best out of your trt I'd recommend following what all the top trt docs do nowadays.

Start with 100mgs per week split into two doses ideally 3.5 days apart. Most of the top trt docs are even starting guys on dosages as lowa s 60-80 per week to avoid an ai.
Test bloods in 6 weeks
If estrogens too high, consider lowering dosage by 20mgs.
If everything's okay add in hcg if atrophy or fertility is an issue.
Re-test bloods in 4 weeks.
Adjust from there

Rememeber 80mgs puts most guys around a 800 test level. The average test level for a 21 year old today is around 700. Don't be greedy thinking you need to be at the top.
Trt is about how you feel, you aren't a number on a piece of lab work. If you can have free test in the upper 1/3 range without using an Aromatase inhibitor (AI) this is ideal.
Click to expand...

You're right...
I've heard guys be on up to 240 mg/week of T...
That would be way too much energy for me...imo
It feels like this pharma grade stuff is double the strength of any UGL lab stuff I used.
Some people get jittery with high dose of T...
lots of guys feel well in the 600-800 ng/dl range and that is understandable.
If you had anxiety in your past or are sensitive to stimulus maybe too much T isn't a good thing???
Just thinking...
 
I am no expert but from what I have learned Test does not give you energy and isn't a stimulant. Being tired, no motivation and down right lazy are sides T with TRT the energy you feel is from having normal hormone levels.
 
Spunkey71 said:
I am no expert but from what I have learned Test does not give you energy and isn't a stimulant. Being tired, no motivation and down right lazy are sides T with TRT the energy you feel is from having normal hormone levels.
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Uuhhhh..don't know about that. Being on TRT vs. Crap Low T...is like night and day energy wise.
 
APOLLON said:
Uuhhhh..don't know about that. Being on TRT vs. Crap Low T...is like night and day energy wise.
Click to expand...


That is true but Test is not a stimulant and is not a energy booster by definition, low energy when you have low T is a side effect of low T, TRT allows you to return to normal hormone levels and you no longer feel the side effects of low T, energy levels are restored.
 
Spunkey71 said:
That is true but Test is not a stimulant and is not a energy booster by definition, low energy when you have low T is a side effect of low T, testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) allows you to return to normal hormone levels and you no longer feel the side effects of low T, energy levels are restored.
Click to expand...

Close enough...lol
The conclusion is Low T...crap energy!
 
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