TRT Dose question

sh1973 · Sunday at 2:11 PM

These were in May of this year. I’ve never checked ferritin and these labs were after a couple weeks of 80mg per week. Everything would be a little lower in the ranges I told you earlier doing 60mg. 80mg made me feel worse.

madman · Sunday at 2:58 PM

Yes the most accurate assays were used for TT and more importantly FT reference range 0-<45 years. (4.46-17.1 ng/dL).

RBCs, hemoglobin. and hematocrit look good not sure where your iron/ferritin sit!

Missing SHBG.

https://www.mayocliniclabs.com/test-notifications/attachment.php?id=73010

madman · Sunday at 3:05 PM

sh1973 said:
These were in May of this year. I’ve never checked ferritin and these labs were after a couple weeks of 80mg per week. Everything would be a little lower in the ranges I told you earlier doing 60mg. 80mg made me feel worse.

these labs were after a couple weeks of 80mg per week. Everything would be a little lower in the ranges I told you earlier doing 60mg. 80mg made me feel worse.

If those were your labs at trough after a couple of weeks on 80 mg T/week then you would not have even reached steady-state (4-6 weeks) yet so your true trough TT/FT would have been higher.

2 weeks in you are hitting a high trough FT.

Even then your trough TT is in the 800s but more importantly your trough FT is high which also means your peak TT and more importantly FT would be sky-high!

On your current protocol 60 mg T/week you are hitting a healthy trough FT 18 ng/dL.

As you should know your peak TT and more importantly FT would be much higher.

sh1973 · Sunday at 3:31 PM

madman said:
these labs were after a couple weeks of 80mg per week. Everything would be a little lower in the ranges I told you earlier doing 60mg. 80mg made me feel worse.

If those were your labs at trough after a couple of weeks on 80 mg T/week then you would not have even reached steady-state (4-6 weeks) yet so your true trough TT/FT would have been higher.

2 weeks in you are hitting a high trough FT.

Even then your trough TT is in the 800s but more importantly your trough FT is high which also means your peak TT and more importantly FT would be sky-high!

On your current protocol 60 mg T/week you are hitting a healthy trough FT 18 ng/dL.

As you should know your peak TT and more importantly FT would be much higher.

The last shbg was 66nmol

madman · Sunday at 3:42 PM

sh1973 said:
The last shbg was 66nmol

This is why testing using an accurate assay especially in cases of altered SHBG is critical.

Definitely seems odd that even with a robust trough TT 800s and high SHBG 66 nmol/L you were still hitting a high trough FT

Yes even when using the most accurate assays there is always the chance of lab error as the testing procedure is technically demanding but if you are using a reputable lab and had it tested numerous times using the same lab/assay and your results were consistent than I would not fret!

Seeing as. you have tested it numerous times through a reputable lab and your results have been consistent than you are clearly hitting a high trough FT.

This is if you are testing at the true trough 7 days post-injection.

sh1973 · Sunday at 3:49 PM

madman said:
This is why testing using an accurate assay especially in cases of altered SHBG is critical.

Even with a robust trough TT 800s and high SHBG 66 nmol/L you were still hitting a high trough FT

Yes even when using the most accurate assays there is always the chance of lab error but if you are using a reputable lab and had it tested numerous times using the same lab/assay and your results were consistent than I would not fret!

Seeing as. you have tested it numerous times through a reputable lab and your results have been consistent than it is a given that you were hitting a high trough FT.

So in your best guess would it be prudent to try a lower dose weekly in one shot or spilt a lower dose?

sh1973 · Sunday at 3:53 PM

I think even at 60 mg I’m still going too high for a few days or at least that’s the way it feels.

madman · Sunday at 4:02 PM

sh1973 said:
So in your best guess would it be prudent to try a lower dose weekly in one shot or spilt a lower dose?

Seeing as you have been injecting once weekly for so long and fared well overall I would just drop the dose slightly and retest once you reach steady-state.

Just need to be mindful of how much lower you bring down your trough FT as again I would prefer to keep not around 15 ng/dL but you might still do well having it fall between 10-15 ng/dL because your levels post-injection/early in the week would. still be robust.

Otherwise split the dose and inject more frequently but agin you will most likely need to lower the dose slightly as you stated previously when you kept it the same 60 mg T/week spot you were still hitting a very high TT and most likely FT.

When you have your blood work done using the same lab (Mayo Clinic)/same assay (LC-MS/MS) make sure you include your SHBG as I want to see where it truly sits.

I would throw in iron/ferritin too!

Make sure to post a screen shot when you get your results!

sh1973 · Sunday at 4:07 PM

madman said:
Seeing as you have been injecting once weekly for so long and fared well overall I would just drop the dose slightly and retest once you reach steady-state.

Just need to be mindful of how much lower you bring down your trough FT as again I would prefer to keep not around 15 ng/dL but you might still do well having it fall between 10-15 ng/dL because your levels post-injection/early in the week would. still be robust.

Otherwise split the dose and inject more frequently but agin you will most likely need to lower the dose slightly as you stated previously when you kept it the same 60 mg T/week spot you were still hitting a very high TT and most likely FT.

When you have your blood work done using the same lab (Mayo Clinic)/same assay (LC-MS/MS) make sure you include your SHBG as I want to see where it truly sits.

I would throw in iron/ferritin too!

Make sure to post a screenshot when you get your results!

Yeah for some reason I thought ferritin was only necessary if donating blood? I can definitely get it and see where it is. I’ve never had iron checked either just normally cbc and cmp.

madman · Sunday at 4:11 PM

sh1973 said:
Yeah for some reason I thought ferritin was only necessary if donating blood? I can definitely get it and see where it is. I’ve never had iron checked either just normally cbc and cmp.

Should be included in a panel as you want to know where it sits.

Some will run into issues with ferritin on exogenous T without donating if they do not take in enough iron through diet/supplementation let alone have absorption issues.

sh1973 · Sunday at 4:38 PM

Now that you mention low ferritin MCHC this last set of labs was at the bottom of the range which is related to iron. Could this be causing the fatigue?

madman · Sunday at 7:46 PM

sh1973 said:
Now that you mention low ferritin MCHC this last set of labs was at the bottom of the range which is related to iron. Could this be causing the fatigue?

Borderline low.

Iron deficiency would be the most common cause for low/low-normal MCHC.

Seeing as your RBCs, hemoglobin and hematocrit are normal/within range it could indicate an early or mild form of iron deficiency.

Where did your RBCs, hemoglobin and hematocrit sit at baseline (pre-TTh)?

FunkOdyssey · Sunday at 7:50 PM

sh1973 said:
For those that have known me over the years know that in the past, I definitely had my struggles with TRT and I’ve tried pretty much everything there is to try. I have now been on TRT the better part of 16 years and for the last several years, I’ve been using 60 mg once per week of testosterone cypionate. This has been via the intramuscular route. This normally puts my seven day low point somewhere between 700–750ng. Even if it’s overdose, I still have the phenomenon a feeling sort of bad the day after the injection and always feeling the best to wear the end of the week. This has been something no matter what the dose that has transpired I’ve tried splitting the dose over the years, but even Doing 30 mg twice per week, My lowest point is still well over 1100ng. I do not feel good with levels as high in any regard whether it’s topical or injectable. I’ve been contemplating lately trying an even lower dose, such as 15 to 20 mg twice per week and see if NFL will even further even things out. I have also contemplated just staying with once weekly and lowering it even further to 40-50 mg per week. I would be curious if others have ever dealt with this and if you have found a better solution to get a more even feeling throughout the week for whatever reason in the past, when I have split the dose it seems like my levels keep climbing. As I said, even at 60 mg per week divided into two injections, My levels were very high.

My vote would be 25 mg twice weekly.

sh1973 · Sunday at 8:03 PM

madman said:
Borderline low.

Iron deficiency would be the most common cause for low/low-normal MCHC.

Seeing as your RBCs, hemoglobin and hematocrit are normal/within range it could indicate an early or mild form of iron deficiency.

Where did your RBCs, hemoglobin and hematocrit sit at baseline (pre-TTh)?

They were always normal but I’ll have to look back at some older labs to see exactly where they were.

Systemlord · Sunday at 9:54 PM

sh1973 said:
Some of the literature states statins can lower SHBG but really doesn't elude to what extent.

I thought you found success with 50 mg once per week.

sh1973 · Monday at 5:51 AM

Systemlord said:
I thought you found success with 50 mg once per week.

I’ve been at 60mg per week for several years. All in all I do feel really well but still think it’s a bit too much and it has seemed to change since starting a low dose statin.

Cataceous · Monday at 2:03 PM

sh1973 said:
I’ve been at 60mg per week for several years. All in all I do feel really well but still think it’s a bit too much and it has seemed to change since starting a low dose statin.

If you're sufficiently motivated then a logical progression in the experimentation is daily injections of a cypionate/propionate blend. Then you remove the variation across different days and you can focus on how each day should be. With a blend you can control how much daily variation you want to have. Some default values discussed here:

W

Thread 'Tips on how to blend propionate with enanthate (or cypionate)?'

May 26, 2021

I have been having some success with low dose daily propionate for the last several months. Dose levels have ranged from 8-10 mg injected every morning after waking. Overall, it has been a far better experience than my previous cypionate protocol of 80-100 per week (split every 3.5 days). Evidently, I am one of those guys who responds better to daily variation versus steady state (along with smaller, more frequent doses).

However, straight propionate hits hard and fast as you many of you know, resulting in a steep daily drop-off from peak to trough. I enjoy the energy it brings, but it...

sh1973 · Monday at 2:33 PM

Cataceous said:
If you're sufficiently motivated then a logical progression in the experimentation is daily injections of a cypionate/propionate blend. Then you remove the variation across different days and you can focus on how each day should be. With a blend you can control how much daily variation you want to have. Some default values discussed here:

W

Thread 'Tips on how to blend propionate with enanthate (or cypionate)?'

May 26, 2021

I have been having some success with low dose daily propionate for the last several months. Dose levels have ranged from 8-10 mg injected every morning after waking. Overall, it has been a far better experience than my previous cypionate protocol of 80-100 per week (split every 3.5 days). Evidently, I am one of those guys who responds better to daily variation versus steady state (along with smaller, more frequent doses).

However, straight propionate hits hard and fast as you many of you know, resulting in a steep daily drop-off from peak to trough. I enjoy the energy it brings, but it...

Willyt

blend daily low dose propionate

Replies: 137

Forum: Testosterone Basics & Questions

I feel like the more frequent my injections in the past, the higher my levels climb.

Cataceous · Monday at 2:51 PM

sh1973 said:
I feel like the more frequent my injections in the past, the higher my levels climb.

Trough levels on testosterone cypionate do tend to rise with a higher injection frequency—and variation decreases. A propionate blend given daily is a different animal. You would adjust the dose to give you an appropriate peak level, which you get within a few hours of the injection. The hypothesis is that the peak delivers many of the benefits. Levels can then fall as much as 40% over the day without causing problems, while the lower average level reduces side effects. Some of us find that the lower levels at night help with sleep. It is a somewhat more natural dosing pattern than that provided by most forms of TRT, other than a particular patch, I believe. The main difference is that instead of having levels rise in the very early morning hours, they begin rising when you inject at awakening. They also climb faster than is natural, but this also means you get "caught up" to the natural pattern fairly quickly.

Willyt · 2025-07-22T12:01:11-0500

sh1973 said:
I think even at 60 mg I’m still going too high for a few days or at least that’s the way it feels.

I remember envying your success on 1x weekly 60mg. Loved the simplicity of it.

Since you seem to do well on it other than first 1-2 days, I would agree with some of the other posters to a modest dose reduction with moving to 2x weekly to blunt that peak.