Test levels way down on same dose

[Joepaul39]

i was on 175 mg test once a week. On trough day a few months ago I was measured and my total t was 901 with an Estradiol sensitive of 24.5. I was then tested a few months later and my total t reading went way down on the same dose to 429 total t and 18.7 on the Estradiol sensitive test! My dr. then upped my dose to 200 mg and I was retested a month later and my total t was 551 with an Estradiol sensitive test score of 31.4. I do not understand what is going on here! The office said sometimes your body can start metabolizing the testosterone faster, is this true? What can explain this? Please note, unfortunately I do not have SHBG or Free t readings.

 

[Vince]

It would be nice to know what your shbg is. Were you using the same vial of testosterone?

 

[Joepaul39]

The office nurse injects me as I prefer not to give my own shots. Have you ever even heard of readings fluctuating so wildly? Been on trt a little over a year.

 

[Joepaul39]

Almost makes me wonder is they are measuring it out wrong or injecting it into my butt incorrectly, but I think that would be a highly improbable explanation.

 

[Cataceous]

It's likely not the only reason, but declining SHBG may be a contributing factor. It's common for SHBG to go down with TRT, and if nothing else changes then total serum testosterone is lower for the same dose.

 

[Joepaul39]

I think I will get my SHBG measured through discounted labs. Have you guys seen readings like this happen before? Anything that can be done to raise SHGB?

 

[HealthMan]

It took months until my testosterone levels were stable in terms of dosage x levels. At the beginning for the same dosage my TT levels would be much higher and that changed over time. SHBG unchanged the whole time

 

[Joepaul39]

That’s good to know I am not alone.

 

[Vince Carter]

Are you receiving the injections on the same day and time? That goes for the blood draw for your tests...I'm wondering how consistent that all is from one shot to the next.

 

[Vince]

The office nurse injects me as I prefer not to give my own shots. Have you ever even heard of readings fluctuating so wildly? Been on trt a little over a year.

You need to learn to self inject. It makes trt so much simpler, I use it Easy Touch 29g half inch syringe. Pretty much painless. Nelson has a video of how he inject testosterone and HCG, you should watch ita and learn.

Testosterone Replacement Videos from ExcelMale.com

 

[Systemlord]

Please note, unfortunately I do not have SHBG or Free t readings.

So you have no idea where the free portion of testosterone circulating in the blood sits, difficult to judge a protocol without it. SHBG is another crucial lab test which usually tells you what type of injection frequency you need for optimal results.

If SHBG is low and you are injecting once weekly, I expect TRT to be less effective.

The office nurse injects me as I prefer not to give my own shots.

It's not hard to understand why you don't like injecting yourself using large gauge syringes that the nurse uses that is likely 18 gauge, I use 29 gauge insulin syringes and inject in the shoulders and quads and is painless, I feel nothing.

Going to an office for weekly injections 52 times a year for the rest of your life has got to get old quickly.

 

[Vince Carter]

Crucial error:

I do not have SHBG or Free t readings

 

[Joepaul39]

Shots and blood draws are given same day each week on trough day. I will get SHGB tested. Not going to argue with folks who believe going to a doctor’s office for the injection is the cause of the varying test ranges as dosage amounts and the day of the week the shot and blood draw were given did not change so It is irrelevant who is shooting me in the as$ (I.e myself or a medical professional).

 

[Vince]

Shots and blood draws are given same day each week on trough day. I will get SHGB tested. Not going to argue with folks who believe going to a doctor’s office for the injection is the cause of the varying test ranges as dosage amounts and the day of the week the shot and blood draw were given did not change so It is irrelevant who is shooting me in the as$ (I.e myself or a medical professional).

I would have to disagree. If you self inject, you know exactly how much you are injecting. If someone else is doing it, you have no way of knowing if they're doing it right or wrong.

According to a recent study by Johns Hopkins, more than 250,000 people in the United States die every year because of medical mistakes, making it the third leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer.Feb 22, 2018

US Top News and Analysis › 2018/02/22
Medical errors third-leading cause of death in America - CNBC.com

 

[Systemlord]

Shots and blood draws are given same day each week on trough day. I will get SHGB tested. Not going to argue with folks who believe going to a doctor’s office for the injection is the cause of the varying test ranges as dosage amounts and the day of the week the shot and blood draw were given did not change so It is irrelevant who is shooting me in the as$ (I.e myself or a medical professional).

Please note, unfortunately I do not have SHBG or Free t readings.

These are the same medical professionals who started you on TRT without proper testing. I believe we as a society put too much faith in our doctors.

 

[tareload]

i was on 175 mg test once a week. On trough day a few months ago I was measured and my total t was 901 with an Estradiol sensitive of 24.5. I was then tested a few months later and my total t reading went way down on the same dose to 429 total t and 18.7 on the Estradiol sensitive test! My dr. then upped my dose to 200 mg and I was retested a month later and my total t was 551 with an Estradiol sensitive test score of 31.4. I do not understand what is going on here! The office said sometimes your body can start metabolizing the testosterone faster, is this true? What can explain this? Please note, unfortunately I do not have SHBG or Free t readings.

Here's you a real world example of how the [SHBG]-[metabolic clearance rate of testosterone] works (also includes some literature references):

Oxandrolone Troche Experience: Potential Atherosclerosis Marker WMD

Unless you measure your SHBG you are flying blind as the guys have indicated. Hypothesis to test would be that TRT has significantly reduced your SHBG unless your timing of tests relative to injections changed.

 

[Joepaul39]

I would have to disagree. If you self inject, you know exactly how much you are injecting. If someone else is doing it, you have no way of knowing if they're doing it right or wrong.

According to a recent study by Johns Hopkins, more than 250,000 people in the United States die every year because of medical mistakes, making it the third leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer.Feb 22, 2018
View attachment 7906
US Top News and Analysis › 2018/02/22
Medical errors third-leading cause of death in America - CNBC.com

Your operating under the faulty assumption a “medical error” (in this case injecting testosterone) is more likely to occur if done by a trained Registered Nurse with a bachelors degree who literally gives the injections all day as opposed to a layman with no medical experience, only does one or two infections a week, and never on another person other than himself. Pure logic dictates the one more prone to am injection error is the layman. At any rate, many thanks to the numerous posters who threw the discussion off topic in their zealous eagerness to condemn someone for choosing not to inject themselves. I can understand a lecture on having no SHGB or free t readings as relevant to the topic at hand and is something that that needed to be addressed, but the unjustified self righteousness displayed by those who condemned me as somehow “wrong” for electing to not self infect is uncalled for. Choosing to inject yourself or have a medical professional do it for you is neither a “right” or “wrong”, but a decision by the person based on their personal preference that therefore should be respected.

 

[fifty]

Don’t trust anybody... especially not clinics that make you come in every week all to end up with suspect results and no shbg data. Maybe they switched you to propionate (kidding but who knows).

 

[Systemlord]

At any rate, many thanks to the numerous posters who threw the discussion off topic in their zealous eagerness to condemn someone for choosing not to inject themselves.

There was no ill intent, I didn't know you were totally against the idea to self injection. I was hoping I could get you to see how easy it can be when using small gauge insulin syringes to inject at home.

I didn't see anyone condemning you, we are only here to offer advice.

 

[CaptianCurious]

to go back to your original question - yes, blood levels can fluctuate on the same dose and the same day by a surprising amount.

Consider this:

600 ng/dl = .006 mg/l

5 liters of blood in the body = 600 ng/dl * 5 = .03 mg total in blood.


It turns over really fast it seems. 100 mg cyp = 70 mg free or 10 mg/day average.