Blood test results (advice)

[Mr_Ree]

Hello.

I’m 36 yrs old. I‘m a bodybuilder and have been a blast and cruise guy for the last 4 years.
I’ve been on TRT for the last 10 months after ending a pretty hefty blast cycle.
my TRT dose has been 300mg/week up until results came back then back down to 200mg/week.
I did supplement HMG or HGC @ 550mg x3 per week (M,W,F) for a few months due to testicular discomfort.

I did start adex @ twice a week after seeing e2 results, I was a bit surprised to see e2 so high as I wasn’t experiencing any sides besides bloating. Eating 4kcal clean per day I’m usually a little bloated anyway. After 2 weeks on adex my libido was through the roof. I switched over to aromasin @12.5mg x2/week around this time as I didn’t want to put my cholesterol in a worse place. Aromasin made me feel off so I didn’t stick with it.

My buddy thinks i have some kind of leaky gut or something of that nature that may be recirculating my e2.

I’m going to have bloods done again in 5 days, this time i’ll be using quest, going thru discounted labs.
Will i be able to compare the 2 tests accurately even tho the first was done with labcorps?
Looking at the first test done via Labcorp looks like i hit the cut off for TT and FT?
I believe i read the testing for quest has no upper limit?

I really wanna know if there is anything else i should be looking at here.

I wanted to throw in some decca into my TRT in hopes to alleviate some of my lower back pain due to Degenerative Disc @ my L5-S1. Not sure if that’s a great idea with how e2 looks.

I know my cholesterol doesn’t look great, and e2 is kinda crazy but i feel great and I don’t think my diet could get any cleaner at this point.

 

[Gman86]

So what’s the exact protocol that u were on when u had these labs done? And is that the protocol that ur on now and feeling great on? Total weekly test dose, total weekly ai dose (if on one atm), and total HCG or HMG dose (if on either atm). TIA

Also, ur cholesterol doesn’t look too too bad. LDL looks great. Would be nice to see HDL a little higher, but it’s not horrible. And triglycerides could come down a bit, so clearly u have room to improve ur diet and increase ur insulin sensitivity. We can go over ur diet if u want. There’s literally always room to eat cleaner/ healthier. In most people’s cases way more room for improvement than they realize.

Ur also pretty hypothyroid btw. Not sure if u realized that

 

[Mr_Ree]

6 months before bloodtest i was on a heavy blast of Test/Mast/Tren/Var/T3/Clen doing a contest prep, Acne started to creep in pretty bad and decided to call it off after 10 weeks.

Current protocol is 250mg test e per weekly split dose, no AI, no HCG, 3iu’s HGH daily split dose am/pm. I felt great at both 300mg and 250mg doses

Protocol prior to labs was 300mg test e per week, no ai, 550mg HCG 3 times weekly.

I did take “GTA-Forte II” for 90 days after seeing thyroid, hopefully we see that number change next blood panel. Started taking Red Rice yeast extract for cholesterol.

6’1 217lbs 10% BF
I weight train 5 days a week, 20 min cardio 4 times a week.

I did donate whole blood after this blood test.
I take a fair amount of health supplements currently; magnesium, berberine, metformin, krill oil, kidney and organ support blend from Morphogen Nutrition, adaptagen for adrenal support, D3+K2, Tudca, B6, 10mg cialis
Recently Sent of GI Map testing to see what’s going on with the gut issues.

Current diet: M1: half cup egg whites, 2 whole eggs, 1/2 cut oats, 1 cup blueberries, 2 tbsp almond butter, cinnamon, half scoop protein powder, 8oz OJ

M2: 7.5 oz grilled chicken breast, 250g cooked white rice, 1cup raw spinach, 3 mini sweet peppers

M3: Same as Meal2 (sometimes chicken breast is replaced with 6.5oz Mahi Mahi) 2 tbsp virgin olive oil.

(Pre Workout) M4: protein shake 2 scoops, 1/4 cup Cream of rice, cinnamon, 2 tbsp almond butter

(post workout) M5: protein shake 2 scoops, 2 cups Quaker oat meal squares cereal

M6: 4 whole eggs or 6.5oz Salmon

 

[Mr_Ree]

Would like to add that testing was done few hrs after waking and fasted.
I’ve read that lithium can effect TSH levels also.
I do supplement with a stress+anxiety blend that contains 5mg lithium orotate, not sure if that or early morning fasted testing could have effected results.

Here are the supplement facts from the blends currently taking.

 

[Gman86]

My guy! About as detailed of a response as anyone could ever ask for! Lol.

So it sounds like u don’t need to change anything imo. U said u feel great. And ur E2 is right where I would think it would be for a guy taking 300mg/ week. Other than ur high TSH, and slightly high triglycerides, ur labs look pretty damn good while being on 300mg of test per week prior to labs. Ur HDL obv could ideally be higher, but for someone on 300mg it came back not too bad. Hopefully it will go up a little now that u lowered ur dose a bit

As far as ur diet goes it looks pretty damn good. I’ve been studying health and diet non-stop since I was 13, so to me ur diet isn’t ideal, but it’s definitely better than 99% of other people, and if it works for u I would just keep eating how ur eating

Things I would personally change is cut out the nut butter. Nuts aren’t good for u, especially if they’re not sprouted. I would also cut out veggies. They aren’t good for u either, and cause a lot of issues within the body, and could be messing with ur thyroid specifically. Taking in so much protein powder isn’t bad, as long as it’s from grassfed cows and doesn’t have artificial sugars. Oats aren’t the best. They can cause issues within the body, but for most people they’ll be fairly benign. Definitely not good for u or anything tho. Would stick to more white rice, raw honey, fruit and white potatoes as ur main carb sources. Eggs are definitely a super food. Just make sure they’re pastured eggs. Cage free and free range eggs are a scam, and aren’t that good for u. If the chicken eats crap, then ur eating crap basically. Same with the chicken ur eating. Unless it’s from pastured chickens it’s not something u want to consume on a regular basis. Try to stick to meat from ruminant animals, and pastured eggs as ur main protein sources. Obv being this extreme with diet isn’t for everyone, just giving u some insight that u might not be aware of, and if ur ever looking to improve ur health, these are some of the things u can do to improve it. But again, if u feel great and ur happy with the way ur eating, I would just keep doing what ur doing tbh.

 

[Mr_Ree]

I Keep forgetting to mention that 3 or 4 days after doing blood work I became ill with covid.
Kept me out of the gym for about 10 days then everything was back to normal. It wasn’t too bad for me other than causing my sciatica to go haywire, probably one of the worst flair ups I’ve ever had. Don‘t know if that could have changed any results but did want to mention.

Going in for bloodwork on the 5th. This time i went thru discountedlabs/Quest and will be doing the comp. bodybuilder bundle + TSH,FT4,T3,Free.

Dropping the lithium supplement 5 days prior but will still be testing early morning/fasted.

 

[Gman86]

I Keep forgetting to mention that 3 or 4 days after doing blood work I became ill with covid.
Kept me out of the gym for about 10 days then everything was back to normal. It wasn’t too bad for me other than causing my sciatica to go haywire, probably one of the worst flair ups I’ve ever had. Don‘t know if that could have changed any results but did want to mention.

Going in for bloodwork on the 5th. This time i went thru discountedlabs/Quest and will be doing the comp. bodybuilder bundle + TSH,FT4,T3,Free.

Dropping the lithium supplement 5 days prior but will still be testing early morning/fasted.

Make sure u also get reverse T3 checked. U could have perfect free T3 levels, but if u have reverse T3 levels that are too high it could be canceling it out and u could still be hypothyroid. Just something to keep in mind

 

[madman]

Hello.

I’m 36 yrs old. I‘m a bodybuilder and have been a blast and cruise guy for the last 4 years.
I’ve been on TRT for the last 10 months after ending a pretty hefty blast cycle.
my TRT dose has been 300mg/week up until results came back then back down to 200mg/week.
I did supplement HMG or HGC @ 550mg x3 per week (M,W,F) for a few months due to testicular discomfort.

I did start adex @ twice a week after seeing e2 results, I was a bit surprised to see e2 so high as I wasn’t experiencing any sides besides bloating. Eating 4kcal clean per day I’m usually a little bloated anyway. After 2 weeks on adex my libido was through the roof. I switched over to aromasin @12.5mg x2/week around this time as I didn’t want to put my cholesterol in a worse place. Aromasin made me feel off so I didn’t stick with it.

My buddy thinks i have some kind of leaky gut or something of that nature that may be recirculating my e2.

I’m going to have bloods done again in 5 days, this time i’ll be using quest, going thru discounted labs.
Will i be able to compare the 2 tests accurately even tho the first was done with labcorps?
Looking at the first test done via Labcorp looks like i hit the cut off for TT and FT?
I believe i read the testing for quest has no upper limit?

I really wanna know if there is anything else i should be looking at here.

I wanted to throw in some decca into my TRT in hopes to alleviate some of my lower back pain due to Degenerative Disc @ my L5-S1. Not sure if that’s a great idea with how e2 looks.

I know my cholesterol doesn’t look great, and e2 is kinda crazy but i feel great and I don’t think my diet could get any cleaner at this point.

I’ve been on TRT for the last 10 months after ending a pretty hefty blast cycle.
my TRT dose has been 300mg/week up until results came back then back down to 200mg/week.

300 mg/week is a ridiculous dose for trt let alone the majority would never need 200-250 mg T/week to achieve a healthy, high let alone absurdly high FT level.

Most men are injecting 100-200 mg T/week whether injecting once weekly, twice-weekly (every 3.5 days), M/W/F, EOD, or daily.

Even then most can easily achieve a healthy, high let alone absurdly high FT by injecting <200 mg T/week, especially when split into more frequent injections.

Although TT is important to know FT is what truly matters as it is the active unbound fraction of testosterone responsible for the positive effects.

FT 5-10 ng/dL would be considered low.

FT 16-31 ng/dl (high-end) is healthy.

Most men will do well with FT 20-30 ng/dL.

Some may choose/want to run higher levels.

Comes down to the individual.




Protocol prior to labs was 300mg test e per week, no ai, 550mg HCG 3 times weekly.

What is your injection frequency?

Where does your SHBG sit?

When were labs done?

Testing should be done at true trough just before your next injection.

It is a given that your trough TT, FT, and estradiol levels will be high/absurdly high let alone peak levels will be much higher (depending on injection frequency).

Top it off that most would be struggling with elevated RBCs/hemoglobin/hematocrit.

As you can clearly see your TT <1500 ng/dL is absurdly high and more importantly your FT would be absurdly high even if you had highish/high SHBG.

Good chance your SHBG is low/lowish due to your previous blast/cruising let alone from the absurdly high dose of 300mg T/week.

Even then you have no clue where your TT truly sits as you had it tested using the wrong assay the electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) which caps out at 1500 ng/dL.

You would need to use the most accurate assay LC/MS-MS-No upper limit.

More importantly, you have no clue where your FT level truly sits as you had it tested using the piss poor known to be inaccurate direct immunoassay!

140103: Testosterone, Free, Direct With Total Testosterone | Labcorp

Labcorp test details for Testosterone, Free, Direct With Total Testosterone

www.labcorp.com

Methodology: Free: Direct analog enzyme immunoassay (EIA); Total: electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA)

The only way to know where your FT level truly sits is to have it tested using the most accurate assays such as Equilibrium Dialysis or Ultrafiltration (next best).

This is critical!

These are the tests/assays everyone should be using/relying upon.

Any one of these would suffice.

Most are using #2/3.


Labcorp

1. 500726: Testosterone, Free, Mass Spectrometry/Equilibrium Dialysis (Endocrine Sciences) | Labcorp

Free: equilibrium dialysis; total: liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS-MS)


2. 070038: Testosterone, Free, Equilibrium Ultrafiltration With Total Testosterone, LC/MS-MS | Labcorp

Free: equilibrium ultrafiltration; total: liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS-MS)



Quest Diagnostics

3. Testosterone, Total, LC/MS and Free (Equilibrium Dialysis)

Free: equilibrium dialysis; total: liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS-MS)




I did start adex @ twice a week after seeing e2 results, I was a bit surprised to see e2 so high as I wasn’t experiencing any sides besides bloating.

Would be a given that your estradiol would be through the roof with a TT >1500 ng/dL which would have your FT level absurdly high.

Even then you did not have your e2 tested using the most accurate assay (LC/MS-MS).




I’m going to have bloods done again in 5 days, this time i’ll be using quest, going thru discounted labs.
Will i be able to compare the 2 tests accurately even tho the first was done with labcorps?

No.

You would need to use the same lab/same assays and you would need to use the most accurate assays TT/estradiol (LC/MS-MS) and FT (Equilibrium Dialysis or Ultrafiltration).


Looking at the first test done via Labcorp looks like i hit the cut off for TT and FT?

Your TT capped out at 1500 ng/L due to the assay used (analytical measurement range).

Forget worrying about your FT as it was tested using the piss poor known to be inaccurate direct immunoassay.

Your FT is going to be absurdly high running a TT >1500 ng/dL even if you had high/highish SHBG.




I believe i read the testing for quest has no upper limit?

Total Testosterone:

– Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS)- No upper limit

– Analytical sensitivity: 1.0 ng/dL

– Analytical specificity: no cross-reactivity with other steroid compounds

– Analytical Measurement Range: 1.0 ng/dL to 2,000 ng/dL

 

[Mr_Ree]

Updated Quest Results.

Protocol has been 250mg test e/ weekly
3iu GH daily

 

[Systemlord]

Total T at 1644 and hematocrit is only 51%.7, whoa!

 

[Gman86]

So do u think ur HGH is fake? 3iu’s should have ur IGF-1 level in the high 300’s, or right around 400

 

[Mr_Ree]

I was wondering the same. I didn’t take the GH shot in the am before testing. This was about 2 hrs after waking, and about 10 hrs after last GH injection.

This is my first time seeing ferritin levels, should i be concerned with how low it is?

TSH is lower than last time but still elevated, Not sure how it looks in regards to T3 and T4 levels.

Thinking about lowering trt dose to 200mg/weekly and test again in a few months.

Any other areas of concern here?

 

[Systemlord]

This is my first time seeing ferritin levels, should i be concerned with how low it is?

This likely has to do with the sky high levels, and has seen this before where normalizing levels brings ferritin back to normal.

 

[madman]

Updated Quest Results.

Protocol has been 250mg test e/ weekly
3iu GH daily

You are injecting 250 mg T/week split into twice-weekly injections (125 mg T every 3.5 days) which is well over what anyone would need to achieve a healthy, high let alone absurdly high FT.

As you can clearly see you are still hitting an absurdly high trough TT 1600 ng/dL and more importantly your trough FT is through the roof.

You left out an important blood marker SHBG.

Have no clue where it sits but even if it were high/highish your trough FT would still be very high running a whopping trough TT 1600ng/dL.

Your estradiol and DHT are high which would be a given let alone your hematocrit is high and would most likely be much higher if you were not donating which is most likely the case as you crashed your ferritin.

HDL is low but nothing to fret about.

You easily have room to lower your dose further.

If you feel great overall and your blood markers are healthy then go nuts and stick with it.

Do what you feel is best for you!

You will always be struggling with elevated hematocrit due to running an absurdly high trough FT level.

Crashing your iron/ferritin is a given if you donate frequently.

This can lead to numerous issues down the road!

 

[Mr_Ree]

I thought i had included SHBG and was surprised when I didn’t see it in results. Will definitely include this next time.

I’ve only donated once since starting TRT, and that was 2/7.
puts last blood donation (whole blood) 87 days before current labs.

I do feel great now and still making gains at the gym.
Don’t mind lowering dosage if markers show that i need to either.

 

[Gman86]

I was wondering the same. I didn’t take the GH shot in the am before testing. This was about 2 hrs after waking, and about 10 hrs after last GH injection.

This is my first time seeing ferritin levels, should i be concerned with how low it is?

TSH is lower than last time but still elevated, Not sure how it looks in regards to T3 and T4 levels.

Thinking about lowering trt dose to 200mg/weekly and test again in a few months.

Any other areas of concern here?

Hmmm, so not totally sure about the HGH if u took ur last shot at night. I only know what IGF-1 levels are supposed to look like while on 3iu’s/ day when taking ur IGF-1 shot about 2 hours prior to testing. I was using 3iu’s of generic HGH and tested 2 hours after my morning injection, on two occasions, and my igf-1 level came back at 378 on one test, and 405 on another. And I’ve talked to a few guys taking generic HGH and on the same amount of iu’s, and also testing about 2 hours after their morning shot, and they all were either in the high 300’s or very low 400’s. So only thing I can think of is next time u test ur IGF-1, maybe take ur shot in the morning prior to testing the day of the test, or maybe do ur shot in the AM for about a week prior to getting labs done

It’s really I interesting about ur thyroid. Ur TSH is clearly in hypothyroid territory, yet ur free T3 and free T4 levels look great. But unfortunately this doesn’t tell us the whole picture without knowing ur reverse T3 level. Maybe ur reverse T3 is high, which somewhat negates free T3. Free T3 is like the gas, and reverse T3 is like the break. So maybe u have a high reverse T3, canceling out some of ur free T3, and ur body feels like u need more thyroid hormones, hence ur TSH being high. Or maybe u have an issue at the receptor level. Either way ur pituitary is screaming at ur thyroid to make more thyroid hormones, and it’s obv doing this for a reason. Are u taking any thyroid meds atm?

A ferritin of 17 isn’t ideal I would say, but might not be anything to be concerned with if ur iron levels look good. Clearly ur HGB levels are fine, which is one indicator that u have enough iron in ur system, so that’s good. U didn’t get an iron panel done?

Also how high does ur HCT get if u don’t donate, any idea? As long as it stays below 55-56 u should be fine and don’t need to worry about donating if it’s lowering ur iron levels too much. Ur platelets are on the low side, which means u don’t have to be as concerned with a high HCT as someone with high platelets would

 

[Mr_Ree]

I split my 3IUs up into morning, and pre-workout or before bed injections.
I do shallow IM because subQ always causes painful red whelps. This happens with any brand I’ve ever tried.
I didn’t take morning injection day of the test because I wasn’t sure if it would throw anything else off.
Next time I’ll do injection 2 hrs prior to testing. IGF1 was higher last testing when I wasn’t using GH but I was on 50mg more test then.

I’m definitely going to look into more extensive thyroid testing done, including reverse t3 and probably antibodies if needed. Before this I’d never had my thyroid checked because I wasn‘t experiencing any symptoms that i was aware of. I’m still not experiencing any symptoms. I feel great and I’m staying pretty lean for the amount of food currently eating. I’m not taking any thyroid meds, but i am going to start taking the supplement gta forte II again. Maybe retest in 60-90 days.

No Iron panel done. I’ve never had low iron in the past and this was the first time testing ferritin.

I had been on TRT and blasting and cruising for 3 years before ever donating blood.
HCT was 52.1 before donation. That was the only time I’ve ever donated.

HCT now is 51.7, with that only donation being 87 days before testing.