Big Prolactin Increase

[TLawyer]

I don't have all of the results from my 6-week labs back yet, but I did get my Prolactin back. It shot up from a 7 ng/mL before starting TRT to 18.8 ng/mL. I definitely noticed side effects from that as it has taken much longer for me to reach orgasm. I didn't have sex for 48 hours prior to my blood test. Any thoughts on what would have increased the Prolactin that much after starting TRT? Anything to be concerned about that would warrant a visit to an endo?

I'll talk to Defy about cabergoline. Any thoughts/success on waiting it out and having it drop down with time? If not, what would be the average starting dose for the cabergoline given my level?

 

[Systemlord]

Any thoughts on what would have increased the Prolactin that much after starting TRT?

Prolactin is controlled by dopamine and estrogen, the dopamine restrains the production of prolactin, while estrogen increases it. So high estrogen can be the trigger for delayed orgasm.

A thyroid problem can increase prolactin as well.

 

[bixt]

It shot up from a 7 ng/mL before starting TRT to 18.8 ng/mL

It's still in range. Nonetheless, a small daily dose of zinc (15-30mg) should fix that right up. I have posted a thread with a study on this you can search for.

I'll talk to Defy about cabergoline

Caber is not suited for long term use, is damaging to heart valves and has no part in a permanent protocol. Caber is used short term by bodybuilders when prolactin is drastically elevated by tren or deca for example. You can keep some caber on hand for occasional recreational use, which is a totally different matter.

 

[Vince]

Effects of zinc on prolactin

"Zinc-treated patients had significantly lower serum prolactin levels (11 +/- 4 ng/ml v 29 +/- 7 ng/ml) than untreated patients." https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2864486/

www.excelmale.com

 

[Vince]

Studies have found that by supplementing a single 300mg dose of pyridoxine – vitamin B6, not only will you boost testosterone, you will also decrease your Prolactin levels.

prolactin testosterone and B6

Just curious... Asking those who have a lot of experience with ADT...

csn.cancer.org

 

[Cataceous]

Before you jump into this cycle of treating side effects with things that can cause new side effects, why not consider more physiological dosing? You're taking in more than double the testosterone the average healthy young man makes naturally. Your modest total testosterone levels are a reflection of low SHBG. Free testosterone is likely to be robust, and is probably excessive for your physiology—as reflected in parameters such as prolactin and estradiol.

 

[TLawyer]

Before you jump into this cycle of treating side effects with things that can cause new side effects, why not consider more physiological dosing? You're taking in more than double the testosterone the average healthy young man makes naturally. Your modest total testosterone levels are a reflection of low SHBG. Free testosterone is likely to be robust, and is probably excessive for your physiology—as reflected in parameters such as prolactin and estradiol.

True. I don't have my Estradiol number yet (LabCorp taking forever), but my SHBG came in at 15.4 nmol/L and my total T at 530 ng/dL. Free T with the direct method test came in at 16.4 pg/mL and the Vermeulen calculated number puts that at 15.9 ng/dL. Seems like that number is in a good place, but maybe I do need to go lower. Just seems odd to be on TRT and have my total T in the 400s, which would be only about 200 points higher than my natural level prior to TRT. Granted, my Free T before TRT was calculated at 6.73 ng/dL.

 

[Vince]

True. I don't have my Estradiol number yet (LabCorp taking forever), but my SHBG came in at 15.4 nmol/L and my total T at 530 ng/dL. Free T with the direct method test came in at 16.4 pg/mL and the Vermeulen calculated number puts that at 15.9 ng/dL. Seems like that number is in a good place, but maybe I do need to go lower. Just seems odd to be on TRT and have my total T in the 400s, which would be only about 200 points higher than my natural level prior to TRT. Granted, my Free T before TRT was calculated at 6.73 ng/dL.

Yeah I'm just the opposite. I love the higher free T levels. Plus I supplement with zinc plus. it's great for your health. And I do supplement with a good B complex which I get my levels checked regularly.

 

[excelnelg]

Recently tried cabergoline due to mildly elevated prolactin and loss of sex drive. Slight increase in libido but significant decrease in energy. Everybody's different but it wasn't worth it for me.

 

[Systemlord]

my SHBG came in at 15.4 nmol/L and my total T at 530 ng/dL.

If I were you and you weren't already, I'd start injecting daily.

 

[TLawyer]

If I were you and you weren't already, I'd start injecting daily.

I am. I had tried every third day during my first go-round with TRT a few years ago and the swings were a bit much. Much better with daily, although I'd like to try and alternate my cypionate and HCG shots every other day (rather than two shots daily, only one), if just to cut down on the number of injections a bit.

 

[Stoak]

I am. I had tried every third day during my first go-round with TRT a few years ago and the swings were a bit much. Much better with daily, although I'd like to try and alternate my cypionate and HCG shots every other day (rather than two shots daily, only one), if just to cut down on the number of injections a bit.

The HCG may be what is boosting your prolactin. Do you really need it?

 

[TLawyer]

The HCG may be what is boosting your prolactin. Do you really need it?

Tough to say. I started doing TRT along with HCG, so I don’t know what it would be like without it. I do have some results that would seem to be consistent with HCG, but can’t say for sure. I have tried to limit that dosage down to a minimum to prevent Estradiol spiking as much as possible but still see some benefit. I’m at 700 ius per week now, may try and bring it down to 500 ius per week, which seems to be about the minimum you can take and still have some benefit.

 

[Systemlord]

I started doing TRT along with HCG

I also think the HCG is causing your orgasm issues. Some men using HCG for tesicular atrophy have been able to cycle the HCG with good results every other week and sometimes more infrequently.

 

[Nelson Vergel]

The higher the T, estradiol and DHT, the better the sex drive in this study of older men on Androgel. No hormone works alone.

I would not mess with Cabergoline. It can crash your prolactin and has negative effects on dopamine in the long term.

A prolactin of 18 is not high. Prolactin is highly variable day to day.

prolactin

www.excelmale.com

 

[Gman86]

Tough to say. I started doing TRT along with HCG, so I don’t know what it would be like without it. I do have some results that would seem to be consistent with HCG, but can’t say for sure. I have tried to limit that dosage down to a minimum to prevent Estradiol spiking as much as possible but still see some benefit. I’m at 700 ius per week now, may try and bring it down to 500 ius per week, which seems to be about the minimum you can take and still have some benefit.

The lowest effective dose of HCG is different for everyone. There’s a guy here that gets benefits from it using 250iu’s/ week, and I’ve seen quite a few anecdotes of guys over the years getting benefits from 300-400iu’s/ week. So u might be able to go a little lower than 500iu’s/ week if needed, just fyi

 

[TLawyer]

The lowest effective dose of HCG is different for everyone. There’s a guy here that gets benefits from it using 250iu’s/ week, and I’ve seen quite a few anecdotes of guys over the years getting benefits from 300-400iu’s/ week. So u might be able to go a little lower than 500iu’s/ week if needed, just fyi

Thanks. I guess my primary consideration right now is whether I drop the HCG altogether and just go with daily low doses of cypionate for a few months to see how I feel and how my numbers turn out. My only issue is that there seems to be an emphasis on using it for the benefits it can give, but that may just be the more vocal group.

 

[Gman86]

Thanks. I guess my primary consideration right now is whether I drop the HCG altogether and just go with daily low doses of cypionate for a few months to see how I feel and how my numbers turn out. My only issue is that there seems to be an emphasis on using it for the benefits it can give, but that may just be the more vocal group.

The half life is relatively short. Think around 2 days. So good thing is that it would be out of ur system in around 2 weeks if u stopped. So u wouldn’t have to wait long to see if u felt better or not without it. I would definitely at least see how u feel without it instead of wondering

 

[Fortunate]

Thanks. I guess my primary consideration right now is whether I drop the HCG altogether and just go with daily low doses of cypionate for a few months to see how I feel and how my numbers turn out. My only issue is that there seems to be an emphasis on using it for the benefits it can give, but that may just be the more vocal group.

hCG and me have been friends for a long time. But, over the last 6-9 months, I have gone long stretches without it. Many times, I have resumed it, only to feel like I was missing something - it feels like a big relief resuming it. But, that tends to be short lived, and can also be coupled with the onset of headaches.

Like you, I was doing 700IU/week (100 daily). Recently, I dropped it to 50IU/day, which seems like a tiny dose, but I still felt the effects of it, and still had an acne flare.

So, I really don't know on this one, but would really appreciate if you circle back here in a while to let us know how you feel with whatever protocol you decide on.

 

[Hyrulewarrior1978]

Someone has already said it, but hcg is likely the culprit. The majority of men on trt do not use hcg. Think about that for a sec. It’s good to try out after you have dialed yourself in…if you feel the need to. Also, not everyone does well on daily injections. I also have low shbg and didn’t do well on dailies. Good luck!