Blood work interpretation

[Joey786]

Greetings fellow excel male members! I just got my first round of lab work back after being on trt for a month. I'm currently taking 50mg t cyp Monday and Thursday. I also take 10mcg t3 and 50mch t4 daily. Blood test was done the day of my injection. Here are my results
Total testosterone 696 ng/dl 348-1197
Free testosterone >50 pg/ml 9.3-26.5
Free t3 3.4 pg/ml 2.0-4.2
Free t4 1.18 ng/dl .82-1.77
Estradiol sensitive 35.4 pg/ml 8.0-35.0
Hemoglobin 14.8 g/dl 12.6-17.7
Hematocrit 43.5% 37.5-51.0
My question is should I have the total and free testosterone done again because the free testosterone seems way too high. Could this possibly be lab error? Before I received the results I was considering upping my dose.

 

[johndoesmith]

Greetings fellow excel male members! I just got my first round of lab work back after being on trt for a month. I'm currently taking 50mg t cyp Monday and Thursday. I also take 10mcg t3 and 50mch t4 daily. Blood test was done the day of my injection. Here are my results
Total testosterone 696 ng/dl 348-1197
Free testosterone >50 pg/ml 9.3-26.5
Free t3 3.4 pg/ml 2.0-4.2
Free t4 1.18 ng/dl .82-1.77
Estradiol sensitive 35.4 pg/ml 8.0-35.0
Hemoglobin 14.8 g/dl 12.6-17.7
Hematocrit 43.5% 37.5-51.0
My question is should I have the total and free testosterone done again because the free testosterone seems way too high. Could this possibly be lab error? Before I received the results I was considering upping my dose.

Couple of questions, how do you feel?

Do you have any other results from this set of testing? It will help to decipher it.

Do you have any pre TRT results? Again, it could help decipher these results.

I think you're either extremely low SHBG or it's a lab error.

 

[Joey786]

Hello johndoesmith! Towards the end of the day I feel tired. I still have some brain fog but it has gotten better since I started trt. My libido is good. I wake with morning wood couple times a week but not everyday. Strength is up slightly. Other than that there's not much to report. My total testosterone before trt was in the mid 300's. Free t was 12.7 pg/ml and 14.4 pg/ml range 9.3 - 26.5. I'm going to retest.

 

[johndoesmith]

Hello johndoesmith! Towards the end of the day I feel tired. I still have some brain fog but it has gotten better since I started trt. My libido is good. I wake with morning wood couple times a week but not everyday. Strength is up slightly. Other than that there's not much to report. My total testosterone before trt was in the mid 300's. Free t was 12.7 pg/ml and 14.4 pg/ml range 9.3 - 26.5. I'm going to retest.

Hmm.

Do you happen to have any other test results that were done with the ones listed in your main post?

Do you have any other test results from pre TRT?

It would help to determine if this is a lab error or not.

Also keep in mind it can take months for the benefits of TRT to show.

For me, it took 2 months. They are also rather subtle, and you may not notice them happening, but one day you will realize how much things have changed.

Just like how the days get shorter in fall, you don't notice the small changes each day, but all the sudden, you realize it's dark at 5pm.

 

[Joey786]

Pre trt my sensitive estradiol was 16.4 pg/ml 8.0-35.0. What other tests would indicate there was a lab error?

 

[johndoesmith]

Pre trt my sensitive estradiol was 16.4 pg/ml 8.0-35.0. What other tests would indicate there was a lab error?

Just post whatever you have. No sense in leaving out any information as it's impossible to know what will be helpful and what won't be.

It takes more time to type them out so just post a picture or screenshot.

 

[Vince Carter]

Most certainly you have low SHBG, classic signs of this are very high Free T and a low trough Total T. YOu need to have that tested or as JDS noted, you should post more/any other labs you might have.

 

[CoastWatcher]

All of the points made in the earlier posts are on the money. I only want to add that it's never, ever a good idea to simply engage in "upping" a dose if you're missing critical lab data. If, as Vince Carter noted, you are dealing with low SHBG, more than likely, simply injecting more testosterone is probably to present more problems.

 

[FrankUnderwood]

do you have thyroid labs to support the t3 and t4 you take?

 

[Joey786]

Frank, prior to taking thyroid meds my symptoms were low body temp, very tired, fatigue after eating, hair loss, dry skin, brain fog, low sex drive, extreme anxiety, poor mood. My lab results before thyroid meds were-
Tsh 3.64 .4-5.0
Free t3 2.9 2.0-4.4
Free t4 1.2 .8-1.8
Thyroid antibodies- negative
Two of my aunts and grandmother have hashimotos. Others in family possibly have hashis but don't realize it. My next dr appointment I'm debating going up in my t3 dose. I'd like to be 3.7-4.2 free t3. Still feeling abnormally cold at times and forgetful that's why I want to increase my dose. T3 works wonders I love it.without it I feel horrible. Taking the thyroid meds without trt made things worse in the testosterone department. My free testosterone decreased each time I increased my t3 dose. Probably because of t3 increasing shbg. I ran my free and total testosterone yesterday. I'll post my results when I get them.

 

[FrankUnderwood]

Frank, prior to taking thyroid meds my symptoms were low body temp, very tired, fatigue after eating, hair loss, dry skin, brain fog, low sex drive, extreme anxiety, poor mood. My lab results before thyroid meds were-
Tsh 3.64 .4-5.0
Free t3 2.9 2.0-4.4
Free t4 1.2 .8-1.8
Thyroid antibodies- negative
Two of my aunts and grandmother have hashimotos. Others in family possibly have hashis but don't realize it. My next dr appointment I'm debating going up in my t3 dose. I'd like to be 3.7-4.2 free t3. Still feeling abnormally cold at times and forgetful that's why I want to increase my dose. T3 works wonders I love it.without it I feel horrible. Taking the thyroid meds without trt made things worse in the testosterone department. My free testosterone decreased each time I increased my t3 dose. Probably because of t3 increasing shbg. I ran my free and total testosterone yesterday. I'll post my results when I get them.

did adding the t4/t3 cause any loss of fat or more importantly lean body mass?

 

[Joey786]

When I started the t4 t3 I was not taking trt. During that time I noticed some fat loss but I also noticed muscle weakness. In the gym I felt weak and tired. Not sure if I had any muscle loss. My muscle just felt kind of flat. Since adding trt I have much more energy and my strength has gone up a little and I've lost some fat.

 

[Joey786]

From my understanding t4 t3 won't cause any muscle loss if levels are kept physiological and you meet your calorie requirements.

 

[Vettester Chris]

Do you have both TgAb and TPO antibodies labs? If so, what were those results and reference range? Do you have a Reverse T3 lab to compare against the Free T3? Being that you have some family history, it's important to know both AB results.

 

[Joey786]

Chris, I did not have tgab antibodies. The TPO test was negative and my pcp said no further antibody testing was needed. I have not ran a reverse t3 either. I started having symptoms around 20 years old and my tsh was 2 at that time. Over the years my tsh kept going up. When it got to 3.64 recently I felt it couldn't be ignored and I should get treatment. I'm 28 by the way.

 

[Joey786]

Forget to mention I have bilateral varicoceles. Left side grade 3 right side grade 2. Both were repaired over a year ago but I had them since I was 13 years old. My urologist said the varicocele prevented the testicles from developing properly. After the repair there was no change in symptoms.

 

[Joey786]

Ok gents I retested my total and free testosterone. The test was done right before my next injection.
total testosterone 649 ng/dl 348-1148
free testosterone 20.8 pg/ml 9.3-26.5
So, the previous was inaccurate. I wanted to increase my dose but my numbers look good. What do you think?

 

[johndoesmith]

Ok gents I retested my total and free testosterone. The test was done right before my next injection.
total testosterone 649 ng/dl 348-1148
free testosterone 20.8 pg/ml 9.3-26.5
So, the previous was inaccurate. I wanted to increase my dose but my numbers look good. What do you think?

How do you feel?

Do you have any other lab results?