4everyoung
New Member
Hello All, hopefully this is the right place to dump all this...
I’ve been lurking around these forums and doing a lot of reading on TRT lately since I began to suspect I was low after some blood tests, wondering if anyone could give me some feedback on my plans and bloods so I can make the best decisions going forward.
A little about me, I'm 37yrs old, 5,11", 175lbs at about 15% body fat, do weight training about 1.5 hours a day 5 days a week.
I have some but not all symptoms related to TRT:
I did gain about 15 to 20 lbs of fat back in 2015 which I later lost through dieting, but that was probably more due to a change in my diet at the time.
I do still get morning wood pretty regularly.
I intend to initially work up to a regiment of 35mg-T (probably E) and 400iu-HCG E3D over the course of probably 2 or 3 weeks slowly increasing my dose until I reach the stated level and then order blood work after 6 weeks at the full dose (standard TRT follow up panel from discountedlabs.com) which would be about 9ish weeks in total.
I want to start low and slowly adjust upward and I want to initially ease into the treatment as well as it just seems like a better idea than throwing a ton of hormones at my body all at once.
Question:
Does anyone know how long it takes for the body to shut down production of LH after starting TRT? I was unable to find a timetable on this and the reason I’d like to know is because I would actually like to start the testosterone first and as my body starts to shutdown LH production then I would start introducing HCG, slowly ramping it up over however long it takes for LH to shut down to the 400iu E3D regiment...it may shutdown immediately but I just don’t know.
Here are my current bloods...they are a little mixed up and I should have probably gotten my Testosterone tested again with the most recent LH/FSH/Estradiol test, are they less relevant without a side by side comparison to my testosterone?
Looks like my total testosterone fluctuates in and out of the low to mid range but the free T has been low both tests.
Date, Time, Test, Level, Range, Measurement
01/25/18, 8:00 AM, Total Testosterone, 265, 240 - 871, ng/dL
02/01/18, 7:50 AM, Total Testosterone, 474, 240 - 871, ng/dL
07/05/18, 11:53 AM, Total Testosterone, 551, 264 - 916, ng/dL
07/05/18, 11:53 AM, Free Testosterone, 8.4, 8.7 - 25.1, pg/mL
07/24/18, 9:50 AM, Total Testosterone, 321, 265 - 916, ng/dL
07/24/18, 9:50 AM, Free Testosterone, 4.3, 8.7 - 25.1, pg/mL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, ALBUMIN, 4.5, 3.6-5.1, g/dL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, GLOBULIN, 2.8, 1.9-3.7, g/dL (calc)
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, ALBUMIN/GLOBULIN RATIO, 1.6, 1.0-2.5, (calc)
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, HEMATOCRIT, 45.4, 38.5-50.0, %
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, DHEA SULFATE, 234, 106-464, mcg/dL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, PROLACTIN, 9, 2.0-18.0, ng/mL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, "PSA, TOTAL", 0.5, < OR = 4, ng/mL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, SHBG, 20, 10-50, nmol/L
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, TSH, 2.13, 0.40-4.50, mIU/L
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, "T4, FREE", 1.4, 0.8-1.8, ng/dL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, "T3, FREE", 3.3, 2.3-4.2, pg/mL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, "T3 REVERSE, LC/MS/MS", 14, 8-25, ng/dL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, THYROGLOBULIN ANTIBODIES, <1, < or = 1, IU/mL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, THYROID PEROXIDASE ANTIBODIES, 1, <9, IU/mL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, "VITAMIN D, 25-OH, TOTAL ", 34, 30-100, ng/mL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, "VITAMIN D, 25-OH, D3 ", 34, 30-100, ng/mL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, "VITAMIN D, 25-OH, D2 ", <4, 30-100, ng/mL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, GLUCOSE, 88, 65-99, mg/dL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, UREA NITROGEN (BUN), 28, 7-25, mg/dL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, CREATININE, 1.39, 0.60-1.35, mg/dL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, eGFR NON-AFR. AMERICAN, 64, > OR = 60, mL/min/1.73m2
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, eGFR AFR. AMERICAN, 75, > OR = 60, mL/min/1.73m2
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, BUN/CREATININE RATIO, 20, 6-22, (calc)
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, SODIUM, 138, 135-146, mmol/L
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, POTASSIUM, 4.4, 3.5-5.3, mmol/L
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, CHLORIDE, 99, 98-110, mmol/L
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, CO2, 28, 20-32, mmol/L
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, CALCIUM, 9.5, 8.6-10.3, mg/dL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, "PROTEIN, TOTAL", 7.3, 6.1-8.1, g/dL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, "BILIRUBIN, TOTAL", 1.8, 0.2-1.2, mg/dL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE, 60, 40-115, U/L
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, AST, 33, 10-40, U/L
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, ALT, 24, 9-46, U/L
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, MAGNESIUM, 2.3, 1.5-2.5, mg/dL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, WHITE BLOOD CELL COUNT, 5.1, 3.8-10.8, Thousand/uL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, RED BLOOD CELL COUNT, 5.16, 4.20-5.80, Million/uL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, HEMOGLOBIN, 15.8, 13.2-17.1, g/dL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, MCV, 88, 80.0-100.0, fL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, MCH, 30.6, 27.0-33.0, pg
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, MCHC, 34.8, 32.0-36.0, g/dL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, RDW, 12.6, 11.0-15.0, %
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, PLATELET COUNT, 107, 140-400, Thousand/uL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, MPV, 14.4, 7.5-12.5, fL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, ABSOLUTE NEUTROPHILS, 2968, 1500-7800, cells/uL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, ABSOLUTE BAND NEUTROPHILS, DNR, 0-750, cells/uL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, ABSOLUTE METAMYELOCYTES, DNR, 0, cells/uL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, ABSOLUTE MYELOCYTES, DNR, 0, cells/uL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, ABSOLUTE PROMYELOCYTES, DNR, 0, cells/uL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, ABSOLUTE LYMPHOCYTES, 1413, 850-3900, cells/uL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, ABSOLUTE MONOCYTES, 490, 200-950, cells/uL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, ABSOLUTE EOSINOPHILS, 189, 15-500, cells/uL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, ABSOLUTE BASOPHILS, 41, 0-200, cells/uL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, ABSOLUTE BLASTS, DNR, 0, cells/uL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, ABSOLUTE NUCLEATED RBC, DNR, 0, cells/uL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, NEUTROPHILS, 58.2, %,
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, BAND NEUTROPHILS, DNR, %,
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, METAMYELOCYTES, DNR, %,
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, MYELOCYTES, DNR, %,
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, PROMYELOCYTES, DNR, %,
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, LYMPHOCYTES, 27.7, %,
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, REACTIVE LYMPHOCYTES, DNR, 0-10 %,
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, MONOCYTES, 9.6, %,
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, EOSINOPHILS, 3.7, %,
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, BASOPHILS, 0.8, %,
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, BLASTS, DNR, %,
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, NUCLEATED RBC, DNR, 0/100, WBC
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, "FOLATE, RBC", 479, >280, ng/mL
08/15/18, 9:33 AM, LH, 4.3, 1.7 - 8.6, mIU/mL
08/15/18, 9:33 AM, FSH, 1.7, 1.5 - 12.4, mIU/mL
08/15/18, 9:33 AM, "Estradiol, Sensitive", 20.4, 8.0 - 35.0, pg/mL
What do you all think? Do you have any advice or suggestions? Would love any and all input!
I’ve been lurking around these forums and doing a lot of reading on TRT lately since I began to suspect I was low after some blood tests, wondering if anyone could give me some feedback on my plans and bloods so I can make the best decisions going forward.
A little about me, I'm 37yrs old, 5,11", 175lbs at about 15% body fat, do weight training about 1.5 hours a day 5 days a week.
I have some but not all symptoms related to TRT:
- Lack of motivation
- Fatigue
- Brain fog
- Analysis paralysis
- Moderate ED (believed to be at least partly psychological)
- Lack of sex drive
- Slower healing
I did gain about 15 to 20 lbs of fat back in 2015 which I later lost through dieting, but that was probably more due to a change in my diet at the time.
I do still get morning wood pretty regularly.
I intend to initially work up to a regiment of 35mg-T (probably E) and 400iu-HCG E3D over the course of probably 2 or 3 weeks slowly increasing my dose until I reach the stated level and then order blood work after 6 weeks at the full dose (standard TRT follow up panel from discountedlabs.com) which would be about 9ish weeks in total.
I want to start low and slowly adjust upward and I want to initially ease into the treatment as well as it just seems like a better idea than throwing a ton of hormones at my body all at once.
Question:
Does anyone know how long it takes for the body to shut down production of LH after starting TRT? I was unable to find a timetable on this and the reason I’d like to know is because I would actually like to start the testosterone first and as my body starts to shutdown LH production then I would start introducing HCG, slowly ramping it up over however long it takes for LH to shut down to the 400iu E3D regiment...it may shutdown immediately but I just don’t know.
Here are my current bloods...they are a little mixed up and I should have probably gotten my Testosterone tested again with the most recent LH/FSH/Estradiol test, are they less relevant without a side by side comparison to my testosterone?
Looks like my total testosterone fluctuates in and out of the low to mid range but the free T has been low both tests.
Date, Time, Test, Level, Range, Measurement
01/25/18, 8:00 AM, Total Testosterone, 265, 240 - 871, ng/dL
02/01/18, 7:50 AM, Total Testosterone, 474, 240 - 871, ng/dL
07/05/18, 11:53 AM, Total Testosterone, 551, 264 - 916, ng/dL
07/05/18, 11:53 AM, Free Testosterone, 8.4, 8.7 - 25.1, pg/mL
07/24/18, 9:50 AM, Total Testosterone, 321, 265 - 916, ng/dL
07/24/18, 9:50 AM, Free Testosterone, 4.3, 8.7 - 25.1, pg/mL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, ALBUMIN, 4.5, 3.6-5.1, g/dL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, GLOBULIN, 2.8, 1.9-3.7, g/dL (calc)
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, ALBUMIN/GLOBULIN RATIO, 1.6, 1.0-2.5, (calc)
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, HEMATOCRIT, 45.4, 38.5-50.0, %
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, DHEA SULFATE, 234, 106-464, mcg/dL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, PROLACTIN, 9, 2.0-18.0, ng/mL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, "PSA, TOTAL", 0.5, < OR = 4, ng/mL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, SHBG, 20, 10-50, nmol/L
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, TSH, 2.13, 0.40-4.50, mIU/L
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, "T4, FREE", 1.4, 0.8-1.8, ng/dL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, "T3, FREE", 3.3, 2.3-4.2, pg/mL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, "T3 REVERSE, LC/MS/MS", 14, 8-25, ng/dL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, THYROGLOBULIN ANTIBODIES, <1, < or = 1, IU/mL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, THYROID PEROXIDASE ANTIBODIES, 1, <9, IU/mL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, "VITAMIN D, 25-OH, TOTAL ", 34, 30-100, ng/mL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, "VITAMIN D, 25-OH, D3 ", 34, 30-100, ng/mL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, "VITAMIN D, 25-OH, D2 ", <4, 30-100, ng/mL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, GLUCOSE, 88, 65-99, mg/dL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, UREA NITROGEN (BUN), 28, 7-25, mg/dL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, CREATININE, 1.39, 0.60-1.35, mg/dL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, eGFR NON-AFR. AMERICAN, 64, > OR = 60, mL/min/1.73m2
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, eGFR AFR. AMERICAN, 75, > OR = 60, mL/min/1.73m2
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, BUN/CREATININE RATIO, 20, 6-22, (calc)
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, SODIUM, 138, 135-146, mmol/L
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, POTASSIUM, 4.4, 3.5-5.3, mmol/L
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, CHLORIDE, 99, 98-110, mmol/L
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, CO2, 28, 20-32, mmol/L
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, CALCIUM, 9.5, 8.6-10.3, mg/dL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, "PROTEIN, TOTAL", 7.3, 6.1-8.1, g/dL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, "BILIRUBIN, TOTAL", 1.8, 0.2-1.2, mg/dL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE, 60, 40-115, U/L
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, AST, 33, 10-40, U/L
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, ALT, 24, 9-46, U/L
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, MAGNESIUM, 2.3, 1.5-2.5, mg/dL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, WHITE BLOOD CELL COUNT, 5.1, 3.8-10.8, Thousand/uL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, RED BLOOD CELL COUNT, 5.16, 4.20-5.80, Million/uL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, HEMOGLOBIN, 15.8, 13.2-17.1, g/dL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, MCV, 88, 80.0-100.0, fL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, MCH, 30.6, 27.0-33.0, pg
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, MCHC, 34.8, 32.0-36.0, g/dL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, RDW, 12.6, 11.0-15.0, %
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, PLATELET COUNT, 107, 140-400, Thousand/uL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, MPV, 14.4, 7.5-12.5, fL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, ABSOLUTE NEUTROPHILS, 2968, 1500-7800, cells/uL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, ABSOLUTE BAND NEUTROPHILS, DNR, 0-750, cells/uL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, ABSOLUTE METAMYELOCYTES, DNR, 0, cells/uL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, ABSOLUTE MYELOCYTES, DNR, 0, cells/uL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, ABSOLUTE PROMYELOCYTES, DNR, 0, cells/uL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, ABSOLUTE LYMPHOCYTES, 1413, 850-3900, cells/uL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, ABSOLUTE MONOCYTES, 490, 200-950, cells/uL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, ABSOLUTE EOSINOPHILS, 189, 15-500, cells/uL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, ABSOLUTE BASOPHILS, 41, 0-200, cells/uL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, ABSOLUTE BLASTS, DNR, 0, cells/uL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, ABSOLUTE NUCLEATED RBC, DNR, 0, cells/uL
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, NEUTROPHILS, 58.2, %,
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, BAND NEUTROPHILS, DNR, %,
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, METAMYELOCYTES, DNR, %,
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, MYELOCYTES, DNR, %,
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, PROMYELOCYTES, DNR, %,
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, LYMPHOCYTES, 27.7, %,
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, REACTIVE LYMPHOCYTES, DNR, 0-10 %,
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, MONOCYTES, 9.6, %,
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, EOSINOPHILS, 3.7, %,
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, BASOPHILS, 0.8, %,
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, BLASTS, DNR, %,
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, NUCLEATED RBC, DNR, 0/100, WBC
08/06/18, 7:43 AM, "FOLATE, RBC", 479, >280, ng/mL
08/15/18, 9:33 AM, LH, 4.3, 1.7 - 8.6, mIU/mL
08/15/18, 9:33 AM, FSH, 1.7, 1.5 - 12.4, mIU/mL
08/15/18, 9:33 AM, "Estradiol, Sensitive", 20.4, 8.0 - 35.0, pg/mL
What do you all think? Do you have any advice or suggestions? Would love any and all input!