Lab results don't reflect increased dose

Chrisu0017 said:

Unfortunately SHBG was never tested. At 100 mg/week, Total T was 576, so I expect SHBG may be low. E2 is the sensitive assay.

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CoastWatcher said:

And...when did capture those two reports? Were they both drawn prior to an injection? Most importantly, how are you feeling?

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Chrisu0017 said:

My last test was 4 weeks after the dose change. I'm injecting every 3.5 days - Monday evening/Friday morning. All blood tests thus far have been done at the same time Monday afternoon, just prior to my injection.

Remarkable improvement compared to prior to starting TRT. Still a small amount of fatigue, but the sever fatigue that I was experiencing is long gone.

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CoastWatcher said:

The missing SHBG number will prove interesting. I went from an every 3.5 day injection cycle to a daily one because of slowly rising estradiol ((I wanted to avoid an AI) and low SHBG that was clearing testosterone too quickly. Which isn't to say you have to adopt daily injections. But there are possibities that you can explore to feel even more solidly dialed-in.

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Chrisu0017 said:

Thanks. I'll have to get it tested, but sounds like low SHBG may be a possibility. My E2 rose and I started experiencing symptoms several months after starting TRT, hence the AI. More frequent injections wouldn't bother me if I did need to go that route. In fact, I suggested my current 3.5 day protocol to my doctor, primarily based on what I'd read of other's experiences.

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CoastWatcher said:

Is your doctor on top of things? Or are you bringing him/her along?

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Chrisu0017 said:

My doctor recently upped my dose based on lab results, but total and free T don't seem to reflect the change.

Previous dose 120 mg/ week (split 2x 60): Total T 762 ng/dL, Free T 21.2 pg/mL, E2 20.2 pg/ mL

Upped dose to 140 mg/ week (split 2x 70). Retest 4 weeks later: Total T 780 ng/dL, Free T 19.4 pg/mL, E2 30.7 pg/ mL

Also changed Adex dose at the same time from 0.5 mg twice weekly to 0.25 mg twice weekly. I thought Total/Free T would have increased more with the additional 20mg/week. Any thoughts?

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Chrisu0017 said:

My doctor recently upped my dose based on lab results, but total and free T don't seem to reflect the change.

Previous dose 120 mg/ week (split 2x 60): Total T 762 ng/dL, Free T 21.2 pg/mL, E2 20.2 pg/ mL

Upped dose to 140 mg/ week (split 2x 70). Retest 4 weeks later: Total T 780 ng/dL, Free T 19.4 pg/mL, E2 30.7 pg/ mL

Also changed Adex dose at the same time from 0.5 mg twice weekly to 0.25 mg twice weekly. I thought Total/Free T would have increased more with the additional 20mg/week. Any thoughts?

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Vince Carter said:

My opoinion is that 70mg is just too much, for you the indivdual, to shoot at one-time. Just based on this you posted, increase T by 20mg, and your E2 shot up 10 points while you TT and FT are statistically unchanged. If 140mg is what you want to use, you'll likely need to split in to an EOD injection schedule. Your SHBG level will give you a fair clue as to that.

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