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Testosterone Replacement, Low T, HCG, & Beyond
Testosterone Basics & Questions
The benefits of low dose T injections . . .
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<blockquote data-quote="Blackhawk" data-source="post: 278832" data-attributes="member: 16042"><p>Likewise.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I am sorry I can’t give simple answers to your questions. There is too much to unpack.</p><p></p><p>I cannot attribute how I feel today compared to how I felt on higher dose during or prior to the cancer and its many severe complications. The symptomatic baseline was wildly shifting for the last 4 years because of the disease. I was seriously damaged by the illness, and do not expect to ever recover back to the pre cancer normal baseline.</p><p></p><p>I started injections in 2017 at 150mg/week. It was too much, my total and free T were too high and yes I was symptomatic with high E2 and a short round of high HGB/HCT. Lowered to 100mg the first drop. Then repeatedly further trying to get to a point that E2 symptoms were resolved without AI. The HCT remained fine for a couple years without intervention. My happy place pre cancer was 84mg/week dosed every other day. I had mild E2 symptoms, but HCT was fine. My Total testosterno and Free T levels remained above normal range. Through that period on Dr’s advice We were trying to maintain Free T at or just above high end of normal. (I respond well to TRT, and don’t need that much to feel well)</p><p></p><p>Cancer hit in late 2019. HCT went through the floor due to destroyed bone marrow from the cancer. I was transfusion dependent anemic, received over 80 units of blood over 2.5 years, and had dominoes in terms of further complications, not pertinenrt to the topic at hand. TRT may have helped marginally to help stimulate RBC production, but it was tanked.</p><p></p><p>When anemia resolved, RBC numbers rebounded too high. I also had transfusional iron overload. When the transfusions ended, the therapeutic phlebotomies began, both for excess iron (ferritin over 3000ng/ml) and for high HCT. I have had around 40 in the last couple years.</p><p></p><p>We (my doctors and I collectively), don’t think current high hematocrit is driven by the super low dose of TRT I am on currently. The speculation is that after the prolonged anemia, when I rebounded, my erythropoetic set point had changed. I also have been living at altitude >40 years (won't be much longer) and had sleep hypoxia (Not apnea) more recently treated by nighttime oxygen. These factors did not previously cause the HCT issue. But bottom line, yes, HCT/HGB is the main reason I have reduced dose this low after anemia resolved..</p><p></p><p>I do believe that TRT helped keep me alive. I lost serious weight even while taking T during the illness, and think I would have perished from wasting without TRT. Once remission started, I believe it has helped me rebuild my body. I am back to normal weight, and was able for a while last year to actually push the weight training. Other medical issues knocked that down again, and I am at the point once again to start weight training. It has been 4.5 years now getting through the cancer (The first round, it is incurable) and doing my best to try to rebuild.</p><p></p><p>My latest labs on 7mg daily subQ were:</p><p></p><p>Testosterone Total 783.5 ng/dL 264.0-916.0 LC/MS/MS</p><p></p><p>Testosterone, Free 19.74 ng/dL 5.00-21.00</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Blackhawk, post: 278832, member: 16042"] Likewise. I am sorry I can’t give simple answers to your questions. There is too much to unpack. I cannot attribute how I feel today compared to how I felt on higher dose during or prior to the cancer and its many severe complications. The symptomatic baseline was wildly shifting for the last 4 years because of the disease. I was seriously damaged by the illness, and do not expect to ever recover back to the pre cancer normal baseline. I started injections in 2017 at 150mg/week. It was too much, my total and free T were too high and yes I was symptomatic with high E2 and a short round of high HGB/HCT. Lowered to 100mg the first drop. Then repeatedly further trying to get to a point that E2 symptoms were resolved without AI. The HCT remained fine for a couple years without intervention. My happy place pre cancer was 84mg/week dosed every other day. I had mild E2 symptoms, but HCT was fine. My Total testosterno and Free T levels remained above normal range. Through that period on Dr’s advice We were trying to maintain Free T at or just above high end of normal. (I respond well to TRT, and don’t need that much to feel well) Cancer hit in late 2019. HCT went through the floor due to destroyed bone marrow from the cancer. I was transfusion dependent anemic, received over 80 units of blood over 2.5 years, and had dominoes in terms of further complications, not pertinenrt to the topic at hand. TRT may have helped marginally to help stimulate RBC production, but it was tanked. When anemia resolved, RBC numbers rebounded too high. I also had transfusional iron overload. When the transfusions ended, the therapeutic phlebotomies began, both for excess iron (ferritin over 3000ng/ml) and for high HCT. I have had around 40 in the last couple years. We (my doctors and I collectively), don’t think current high hematocrit is driven by the super low dose of TRT I am on currently. The speculation is that after the prolonged anemia, when I rebounded, my erythropoetic set point had changed. I also have been living at altitude >40 years (won't be much longer) and had sleep hypoxia (Not apnea) more recently treated by nighttime oxygen. These factors did not previously cause the HCT issue. But bottom line, yes, HCT/HGB is the main reason I have reduced dose this low after anemia resolved.. I do believe that TRT helped keep me alive. I lost serious weight even while taking T during the illness, and think I would have perished from wasting without TRT. Once remission started, I believe it has helped me rebuild my body. I am back to normal weight, and was able for a while last year to actually push the weight training. Other medical issues knocked that down again, and I am at the point once again to start weight training. It has been 4.5 years now getting through the cancer (The first round, it is incurable) and doing my best to try to rebuild. My latest labs on 7mg daily subQ were: Testosterone Total 783.5 ng/dL 264.0-916.0 LC/MS/MS Testosterone, Free 19.74 ng/dL 5.00-21.00 [/QUOTE]
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Testosterone Replacement, Low T, HCG, & Beyond
Testosterone Basics & Questions
The benefits of low dose T injections . . .
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