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I think you have the right idea: Retest testosterone, and also LH and FSH. Make sure it's done not too long after waking. Throw in SHBG if you're not also testing free testosterone via equilibrium dialysis. Estradiol should probably be in there too. Your 2021 results do hint at testicular...

The point is that if you open the door to anecdotal evidence then there are examples suggesting faster SC absorption in some cases. However, I have much more confidence in the controlled studies measuring AUCs. No, it takes >40° C to invoke non-negligible degradation. That's not happening...

It may be far-fetched, but less so than some mysterious and unelucidated mechanism of testosterone destruction.

If with both SC and IM you ensured you had no injection site leakage and you measured free testosterone at enough time points in an injection cycle to accurately estimate AUC then you'd have some grounds to claim reduced bioavailability. What I've been saying is that measuring testosterone at...

Fair enough, since there's little, if any, hard data. Anecdotal reports appear to favor it. Grok says this: Injection site leakage, where a small amount of the oil-based medication (such as testosterone enanthate or cypionate) seeps out from the puncture wound after needle withdrawal, appears...

Occam's razor. There's injection site leakage, a known phenomenon that's almost certainly going to be more prevalent with SC injections. Then there's some mysterious, never directly observed, testosterone-destroying interaction that disappears under controlled conditions—and worse, is assumed to...

Somehow you forgot about the Xyosted study. Meanwhile there are no controlled studies pointing to dissimilar bioavailability for SC and IM. I presume if I were trying to support an argument with anecdotes that did not even measure the parameter in question then you would jump on that. But now...

As long as we're fantasizing that someone's going to fund such a study then of course it should include enough samples to generate accurate AUCs. But first, if you're rejecting the explanation involving injection site leakage then you should come up with a remotely plausible alternative...

Have to re-emphasize: "Clinical data consistently shows that SC administration of testosterone esters achieves comparable bioavailability to IM." Under controlled conditions the bioavailability is the same. What you're left with are basically three things: • Localized side effects. Ok, some...

Query to Grok: Someone asserts that testosterone esters have less bioavailability when delivered subcutaneously (SC) versus intra-muscularly (IM). I disagree, pointing to Xyosted clinical trials that show similar areas-under-the-curves. He then points to a study showing that hCG does have less...

If you stop there one might think that elevated prolactin equals more dopamine activity. Nope. Modestly high levels of prolactin can reduce dopamine activity in men. Prolactin and dopamine have an inverse relationship in the brain, primarily regulated through the hypothalamic-pituitary axis...

Let's keep this in perspective: The lab measurement error is probably around the same size as or greater than the daily variation you see in levels. It's not something to even think about unless you shift to less frequent injections.

Your lack of understanding suggests either a problem with reading comprehension or else deliberate trolling. I've never said anything like that and yet here you are with a third admonishment in a two week period. The point is that with the long half-life of cypionate—actually more like five...

This is unnecessary. Men on daily cypionate will usually not see much variation.

Prolactin works against dopamine, so it can contribute to the symptoms you describe. According to Dr. Saya, and also in my experience, in some men even prolactin over 10 ng/mL can cause issues. Perhaps it depends on the level that's appropriate for the individual's physiology. There's a simple...

Interesting that we used almost identical numbers to test this. I had SHBG of 40 and 27 nMol/L, FT of 13.6 and 13.1 respectively, the latter well within margins of error. Of course I also searched for the full text, but so far even the abstract only shows up on this page. It would be...

That doctor is way too pessimistic. The studies suggest that a significant majority of men can regain fertility. It can take as long as one or two years, however. If you're wanting to hang onto the cypionate as long as possible then you might be interested in this speculative treatment...

This study should not be used to suggest that subcutaneous administration is less effective than intramuscular. First, free testosterone would be the more definitive measurement, and that was not used. Second, there's no mention of dosing. Then there's the hint of bias in the total testosterone...

To further elaborate on the low-and-slow philosophy: The key thing is to establish a solid reference point at reasonable levels, which is where you are now. Later on, if you think improvements are possible then you will have a point of comparison as you gradually raise the dose. It's common to...

I agree with @Seagal: Those are stellar numbers for just starting out, right in the midrange for healthy young men. Do give it some more time. If you haven't already, skim through this article to get a sense of the time frames for various improvements. Remember that TRT is not a cure-all, and...

I will continue to advise newcomers coming to this site with problems that a low-and-slow approach is preferred, backed up by scientific and anecdotal evidence. If you're going to keep butting in with contrary and harmful advice that is unsupported by any serious evidence then you can expect...

You can repeat this misinformation forever, but the study does not compare physiological to non-physiological doses, and therefore does not support your claim. The fact that a particular dose is tolerated in a short-term dose-response study does not indicate that it is suitable for long-term...

Which works in this fantasy world of yours where you can only choose between 125 mg/week and 50 mg/week in one dose. As I implied, there's plenty of evidence that physiological doses are safe and effective. It's up to you to prove that non-physiological doses are better, especially because you...

I wouldn't expect enanthate to be much different from cypionate on similar dosing schedules. But it's perhaps harder to evaluate propionate if you're not measuring area-under-the-curve. Are you saying your E2/T ratio was the same? The limited propionate data I have also doesn't really support...

Just putting this out for discussion and comments. There have long been anecdotal suggestions that faster-acting testosterone leads to lower overall levels of estradiol. In particular, it's often claimed in regard to using testosterone propionate versus longer esters such as cypionate. It could...

Ask yourself why we even have reference ranges. They are used to diagnose and treat disease/dysfunction. The dysfunction is clearly associated with levels above or below the range. I hope you aren't claiming otherwise. For all the supporting studies you claim to have, all you can do is return...

Really good advice here. Going from TC once every two weeks to TU is like going to the opposite end of the spectrum. You currently have this enormous variation in serum testosterone over each two-week cycle, with troughs being something like 10-20% of peaks, and peaks likely over 1,000 ng/dL...

It's refreshing to see some marginally clever pushback interspersed with the usual inanities. Unfortunately it falls short, because fitness is good.

The burden of proof clearly is on you with the extraordinary claim that non-physiological levels are better for overall health and should be the default starting point for TRT. As I went through your list of references it became clear that you had not read them and were relying on a faulty AI...

In real life men thrive on physiological levels of testosterone. Think the current president @ 441 ng/dL. On TRT some men get away with higher levels, while others suffer side effects and come here, as you well know. What would I do without your incredible wisdom? Maybe I should eat right and...

I'm not sure what you're referring to. I don't recall even expressing an opinion on the prevalence of this side effect. I did tell you that TRT had the opposite effect on me, with higher doses being somewhat sedating and demotivating. The side effects of excessive testosterone that I've...