Changed Protocol - How Long Before I Feel Better?

Help a rookie out - as mentioned above I recently lowered my dose from 120mg/week to 108mg/week due to E2 and HCT being high along with Free T fairly high out of range.

Now I'm feeling tired all the time yet can't sleep well at night, low motivation, low libido, and more...worse than pre-TRT and definitely worse than previous dose.

Is this par for the course when lowering dose, and I just need to wait it out a few more weeks and I might feel better? Maybe E2 hasn't adjusted yet and is still high from previous dosage but T now lower? Hard to fight the temptation to just go back to the older, higher dosage...

S1W said:

Help a rookie out - as mentioned above I recently lowered my dose from 120mg/week to 108mg/week due to E2 and HCT being high along with Free T fairly high out of range.

Now I'm feeling tired all the time yet can't sleep well at night, low motivation, low libido, and more...worse than pre-TRT and definitely worse than previous dose.

Is this par for the course when lowering dose, and I just need to wait it out a few more weeks and I might feel better? Maybe E2 hasn't adjusted yet and is still high from previous dosage but T now lower? Hard to fight the temptation to just go back to the older, higher dosage...

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Any change in your protocol, particularly an adjustment in the amount of testosterone injected, can (and likely will) result in a period of subjective instability. That's why you have to be patient, stay the course, and evaluate with lab work at the six week mark.

It would be nice if you posted your labs along with the lab ranges.

S1W said:

Help a rookie out - as mentioned above I recently lowered my dose from 120mg/week to 108mg/week due to E2 and HCT being high along with Free T fairly high out of range.

Now I'm feeling tired all the time yet can't sleep well at night, low motivation, low libido, and more...worse than pre-TRT and definitely worse than previous dose.

Is this par for the course when lowering dose, and I just need to wait it out a few more weeks and I might feel better? Maybe E2 hasn't adjusted yet and is still high from previous dosage but T now lower? Hard to fight the temptation to just go back to the older, higher dosage...

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yeah, numbers would be good.
Did you have symptoms with higher dose? E2 or anything? You must have otherwise you probably wouldn't have lowered your dose.

I've also heard that when protocols change and levels are fluctuating, people report feeling like the TRT stopped working temporarily. I'm curious to see how things turn out for you, because obviously I think everyone would agree dropping your test dosage down slightly should of made you feel better, not worse. So maybe it is just the levels fluctuating that's causing you issues. Keep us posted, curious as to how things turn out.

Gman86 said:

I've also heard that when protocols change and levels are fluctuating, people report feeling like the TRT stopped working temporarily. I'm curious to see how things turn out for you, because obviously I think everyone would agree dropping your test dosage down slightly should of made you feel better, not worse. So maybe it is just the levels fluctuating that's causing you issues. Keep us posted, curious as to how things turn out.

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i'd like to see his shgb and E2 numbers. could explain a lot. maybe it'll take time to feel better on lower dose or maybe he needs to lower further.
numbers would help.

Gman86 said:

I've also heard that when protocols change and levels are fluctuating, people report feeling like the TRT stopped working temporarily. I'm curious to see how things turn out for you, because obviously I think everyone would agree dropping your test dosage down slightly should of made you feel better, not worse. So maybe it is just the levels fluctuating that's causing you issues. Keep us posted, curious as to how things turn out.

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I have read that as well. In fact, I originally posted my message in another thread where another forum user was discussing exactly this topic. A moderator must have created this thread title and moved it here. I will try to keep you posted. I guess I am a bit surprised by the way I'm feeling since in my oversimplified thinking I figured the levels were already there and would just smooth down a little bit.

For those who asked for numbers/background:

I started TRT back in early October, and was using 1/2g, 200mg/g compounded cream daily, until early January. Overall, I liked how I was feeling on that protocol, but I suspect even that dosage might have been a bit high. Here are my lab results from that (taken at peak - about 2+ hours after morning application of cream, 9 weeks into protocol):

TT: 795 ng/dl (264-916)
FT: 25.2 pg/ml (8.7-25.1)
E2: 38.4 pg/ml (8 - 35) (sensitive) High
Hematocrit: 50
SHBG: 26.9 (16.5 - 55.9)

For various reasons, I switched to a new doc in January. I was surprised when he upped my dosage, but figured I'd trust the expert and see what happens. I was thinking my dose should come down a bit given my last bloodwork (posted above). Regardless, he changed my protocol to 60mg T. Cyp. SubQ E3.5D (120mg/week) + 350 IU HCG E3.5D. Here are the results 6+ weeks into that protocol (note that I wanted to get a peak reading for this protocol to compare to previous test, blood drawn about 30 hours after injection):

TT: 734 ng/dl (264-916)
FT 32.88 ng/dl (5-21) High
E2: 54.4 pg/ml (8-35) (sensitive) High
Hematocrit: 52.1 High

your shgb aren't very high so that's could be why your FT is high. Also because of shgb your free E2 is probably high and are could be your symptoms. You may have to drop your dose to like 60 every 5 days. with your high free t you could be good there.
i'm kind of going thru the same things.
when I was doing 60 mg every 5 days I felt great. upped it to 80 every 5 days and after about 3 or 4 months felt like complete shit. still trying to recover.

Creams may have been increasing your DHT and with higher DHT levels maybe that was reason you felt better. I definitely would talk to your doctor about going back on creams or gels if you felt better then with injections

JBone said:

your shgb aren't very high so that's could be why your FT is high. Also because of shgb your free E2 is probably high and are could be your symptoms. You may have to drop your dose to like 60 every 5 days. with your high free t you could be good there.
i'm kind of going thru the same things.
when I was doing 60 mg every 5 days I felt great. upped it to 80 every 5 days and after about 3 or 4 months felt like complete shit. still trying to recover.

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E5D? I often see that guys with lowish SHBG do better on a more frequent injection schedule. Have you tried various injection schedules and found that you do best on E5D?