About 1 year off of T labs

[BigBamBoo]

So...some of you may remember some of my posts. I had struggled with TRT. Never getting dialed in.
So about a year or so ago I stopped TRT. Many aspects of being off TRT for me are positive.

Better sexual function...yes...TRT gives me sexual issues. Mostly large drop in cum volume and force. And very hard for me to finish.

Less fluid retention. Lower BP, etc.

Me emotional state improves...,on TRT I become very “flat”. Lust for life becomes less.

The down side is less energy. Less drive for working out. Feeling more stressed about little things. Etc.

I had been wondering about my levels and finally took the time to pull labs. Here are my natural levels. I have high SHBG so as you see me free T is low. My labs had my SHBG at 64.

One other thing that jumped out is my TSH showed 2.8. Now I do supplement with iodine and selenium so not sure if that messed with the results. Usually my TSH is around 1.5.

Anyways. Just thought I would share. Oh...I am 51 and in pretty good shape.

 

[goolapsh]

So...some of you may remember some of my posts. I had struggled with TRT. Never getting dialed in.
So about a year or so ago I stopped TRT. Many aspects of being off TRT for me are positive.

Better sexual function...yes...TRT gives me sexual issues. Mostly large drop in cum volume and force. And very hard for me to finish.

Less fluid retention. Lower BP, etc.

Me emotional state improves...,on TRT I become very “flat”. Lust for life becomes less.

The down side is less energy. Less drive for working out. Feeling more stressed about little things. Etc.

I had been wondering about my levels and finally took the time to pull labs. Here are my natural levels. I have high SHBG so as you see me free T is low. My labs had my SHBG at 64.

One other thing that jumped out is my TSH showed 2.8. Now I do supplement with iodine and selenium so not sure if that messed with the results. Usually my TSH is around 1.5.

Anyways. Just thought I would share. Oh...I am 51 and in pretty good shape.


View attachment 11620

Lol so what is the plan? Are you getting back on with a different protocol? You’ve been on and off more times than I can count.

 

[Cataceous]

I've had those problems with TRT, off and on, but my natural levels are low enough to make me worse off without it. Over time I've corrected most of the issues by better imitating natural hormone levels. The downside is a complicated protocol.

You might look into a couple newer alternatives to full-blown TRT: Enclomiphene could give your testosterone a boost without raising SHBG. I'd start with a low dose, such as 12.5 mg EOD. Nasal testosterone gels are also available. These are so short-acting that they do not cause much HPTA suppression, yet apparently the bursts of extra testosterone are useful for relieving symptoms.

 

[S1W]

I do remember you BBB - thanks for checking back in and sharing your results.

 

[IndyColts18to88]

what were your levels before you started TRT in the beginning? Did you stop cold turkey, or had/did you use HCG or Clomid etc?

 

[BigBamBoo]

Thanks folks.

At this time, no, I am not thinking about restarting.

If/when I do decide to revisit it, I will look at Enclomiphene or some thing like that.

My pre TRT levels where pretty close to the above labs. As. high SHBG guy, it’s my free T that has always been low.

Yes, I stopped cold turkey. No crash. I actually feel quite good about 3-4 weeks after stopping. Almost like a honeymoon phase when starting TRT.

My total has really not change much over the years. I have labs from 12+ years ago and my TT was a bit above 700. I knew nothing obout TRT so no SHBG or free T from that long ago.

Will post up if and when anything substantial changes like I decide to try TRT again.

 

[madman]

So...some of you may remember some of my posts. I had struggled with TRT. Never getting dialed in.
So about a year or so ago I stopped TRT. Many aspects of being off TRT for me are positive.

Better sexual function...yes...TRT gives me sexual issues. Mostly large drop in cum volume and force. And very hard for me to finish.

Less fluid retention. Lower BP, etc.

Me emotional state improves...,on TRT I become very “flat”. Lust for life becomes less.

The down side is less energy. Less drive for working out. Feeling more stressed about little things. Etc.

I had been wondering about my levels and finally took the time to pull labs. Here are my natural levels. I have high SHBG so as you see me free T is low. My labs had my SHBG at 64.

One other thing that jumped out is my TSH showed 2.8. Now I do supplement with iodine and selenium so not sure if that messed with the results. Usually my TSH is around 1.5.

Anyways. Just thought I would share. Oh...I am 51 and in pretty good shape.


View attachment 11620

You have no idea where your FT level truly sits as you wasted your time using an inaccurate testing method.

Especially with having high SHBG you need to be testing FT using an accurate assay such as the gold standard Equilibrium Dialysis or Ultrafiltration.

 

[BigBamBoo]

You have no idea where your FT level truly sits as you wasted your time using an inaccurate testing method.

Especially with having high SHBG you need to be testing FT using an accurate assay such as the gold standard Equilibrium Dialysis or Ultrafiltration.

 

[madman]

View attachment 11643

If you are going to base your FT level on the cFTZ then 18 ng/dL would be far from low as 16.4-31.4 ng/dL would be considered a healthy range.

Some would consider 18 ng/dL sub-par as many tend to do better running higher levels 30 ng/dL.

FT level of 5-9 ng/dL would be considered low and many can suffer from low-t symptoms at levels slightly higher.

If you go by the cFTV then your FT would be considered low.




I would still look into having your FT tested using the most accurate assays Equilibrium Dialysis or Ultrafiltration.

Quest
1 Testosterone, Total and Free (NO Upper Limit) plus Hematocrit

2 Testosterone, Total, LC/MS and Free (Equilibrium Ultrafiltration)

Labcorp
3 500726: Testosterone, Free, Mass Spectrometry/Equilibrium Dialysis (Endocrine Sciences) | LabCorp (ENDOCRINE SCIENCES) reference range 5.2-28.0 ng/dL

4 070038: Testosterone, Free, Equilibrium Ultrafiltration With Total Testosterone, LC/MS-MS | LabCorp reference range 5.0-21.0 ng/dL



Any of these will suffice but I prefer #3 that has a reference range of 5.2-28.0 ng/dL.

Most men will do well having an FT in the 20-30 ng/dL range and many will have no issues even with a FT 16 ng/dL!

 

[BigBamBoo]

Well since I am not doing TRT currently there is no real way to raise my FT short of getting back on TRT.

And with all the negative sides I get from TRT I am just going to roll with it for now.

Thanks for the input.

 

[goolapsh]

So...some of you may remember some of my posts. I had struggled with TRT. Never getting dialed in.
So about a year or so ago I stopped TRT. Many aspects of being off TRT for me are positive.

Better sexual function...yes...TRT gives me sexual issues. Mostly large drop in cum volume and force. And very hard for me to finish.

Less fluid retention. Lower BP, etc.

Me emotional state improves...,on TRT I become very “flat”. Lust for life becomes less.

The down side is less energy. Less drive for working out. Feeling more stressed about little things. Etc.

I had been wondering about my levels and finally took the time to pull labs. Here are my natural levels. I have high SHBG so as you see me free T is low. My labs had my SHBG at 64.

One other thing that jumped out is my TSH showed 2.8. Now I do supplement with iodine and selenium so not sure if that messed with the results. Usually my TSH is around 1.5.

Anyways. Just thought I would share. Oh...I am 51 and in pretty good shape.


View attachment 11620

Does anyone know why this emotional flatness happens. It happened to me also when I was on therapy. I feel better now that I’m three months off. Of course I wasn’t on the best protocol and defy wants me to try a combination of cream and injection. I’d like to go back on just because I’m experiencing some of the old joint pain I had in my lower back and my libido is low but I’m hesitant because of how I felt on trt. So why does this happen? Is it related to shutting down lh fsh or just a shitty protocol.

 

[BigBamBoo]

It has been brought up a few times here. Not sure there was ever an answer.
Just that maybe DHA, E, or many others levels being to high or too low.

Maybe someone else will weigh in.

 

[S1W]

It has been brought up a few times here. Not sure there was ever an answer.
Just that maybe DHA, E, or many others levels being to high or too low.

Maybe someone else will weigh in.

Overall, would you say that you are "happier" off of TRT?

 

[BigBamBoo]

Overall, would you say that you are "happier" off of TRT?

Yes, as far as emotionally and sexual function I do much better off of TRT.

 

[3percent]

the emotional flatness is due to estrogen. have you got your levels checked?

More estrogen = more serotonin

 

[Cataceous]

the emotional flatness is due to estrogen. have you got your levels checked?
...

Umm, really? They used to give hurricanes female names for a reason.

My own experience also contradicts this. I see the most emotional responsiveness with high estradiol. I had very pronounced emotional flatness when I had very low estradiol.

 

[MarcoFL]

the emotional flatness is due to estrogen. have you got your levels checked?

More estrogen = more serotonin

Very interesting if this is true!