Clomid Success Story Continued: 9 month Follow-Up

[AlcahueteJ]

https://www.excelmale.com/forum/sho...ing-endo-in-about-two-months&highlight=clomid

https://www.excelmale.com/forum/showthread.php?6822-One-month-into-Clomid-treatment&highlight=clomid

https://www.excelmale.com/forum/sho...cess-Story-5-month-Follow-Up&highlight=clomid

Linked above are the threads leading up to this. I've been on a M/W/F dose of 50 mg for 9 months now (well, closer to 11 currently), and will begin a taper in April after a full year on, assuming the blood work holds up. Below are my 5 month numbers compared to my 9 month numbers. Still feeling good. I can post RBC, Hct...etc. if anyone is curious, but to keep it simple, I'll only post the main numbers for now. Numbers are 5 months > 9 months.

Albumin 3.5-5.2 g/dL: 4.7 > 4.7

FSH 2-12 mIU/mL: 5.0 > 4.0

LH 2-10 mIU/mL: 4.3 > 5.4

Testost 280-800 ng/dL: 678 > 620

calcFT 60-185 pg/mL: 105 > 83

SHBG 14-48 nmol/L: 53 > 63

Estradl 8-45 pg/mL (8 - 43 for males): 13 > 13

 

[johndoesmith]

https://www.excelmale.com/forum/sho...ing-endo-in-about-two-months&highlight=clomid

https://www.excelmale.com/forum/showthread.php?6822-One-month-into-Clomid-treatment&highlight=clomid

https://www.excelmale.com/forum/sho...cess-Story-5-month-Follow-Up&highlight=clomid

Linked above are the threads leading up to this. I've been on a M/W/F dose of 50 mg for 9 months now (well, closer to 11 currently), and will begin a taper in April after a full year on, assuming the blood work holds up. Below are my 5 month numbers compared to my 9 month numbers. Still feeling good. I can post RBC, Hct...etc. if anyone is curious, but to keep it simple, I'll only post the main numbers for now. Numbers are 5 months > 9 months.

Albumin 3.5-5.2 g/dL: 4.7 > 4.7

FSH 2-12 mIU/mL: 5.0 > 4.0

LH 2-10 mIU/mL: 4.3 > 5.4

Testost 280-800 ng/dL: 678 > 620

calcFT 60-185 pg/mL: 105 > 83

SHBG 14-48 nmol/L: 153 > 63

Estradl 8-45 pg/mL (8 - 43 for males): 13 > 13

Glad to hear you're feeling better. All symptoms that you had are improved?

Seems like you meant "53" instead of "153" for SHBG.

Is that a sensitive E2 test? I think it's a standard, due to the range.

Seems E2 is a bit low, especially for a standard test, but with zuclomiphene you probably don't feel the low E2.

 

[JakeH]

Thanks for sharing your progress. It is encouraging to see a successful Clomid journey, as a general search of the web makes you think one would be crazy to even try it.

 

[AlcahueteJ]

Glad to hear you're feeling better. All symptoms that you had are improved?

Seems like you meant "53" instead of "153" for SHBG.

Is that a sensitive E2 test? I think it's a standard, due to the range.

Seems E2 is a bit low, especially for a standard test, but with zuclomiphene you probably don't feel the low E2.

Ah yes, I meant 53, haha. 153 would likely be a record of some sort.

Fixed, thanks!

It was <5 (undetectable by the test I belive it said). I asked and they said it's the sensitive test, but I have my doubts based on numbers I've seen here.

But yes, my E2 is low. I'm very much a Clomid unicorn in that regard.

Thanks for sharing your progress. It is encouraging to see a successful Clomid journey, as a general search of the web makes you think one would be crazy to even try it.

That's why I wanted to keep up with it, so people see that it actually works for some males. I have read that you don't hear about most of us because once you're feeling better, there's not really a need to keep up with the forums/research.

Also, it doesn't require the level of tweaking that injections do. You just take the Clomid, and once you find your dose...well, that's about it.

 

[Nelson Vergel]

AlcahoeteJ

How old are you?

Did you try lowering the dose to 25 mg three times per week?

What does your doctor say about the undetectable estradiol? Are you taking anything else?

 

[AlcahueteJ]

AlcahoeteJ

How old are you?

Did you try lowering the dose to 25 mg three times per week?

What does your doctor say about the undetectable estradiol? Are you taking anything else?

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the delay, now I sort of know why "Clomid unicorns" seem to be unicorns, because once it works for you and it doesn't need tweaking...well, you don't really keep up with updates as much. People come to these forums looking for help, but that's likely true of most forums, especially those related to testosterone, nutrition advice, lifting advice...etc.

Anyways, I had another appointment back in April with the accompanying blood work, and nothing really changed from my January appointment. Since it had been working, we decided to begin tapering. For reference, I was on a 50 mg every M/W/F regime for a full year. He told me back in January I could taper then if I wanted, but he recommended going the full year so the pituitary gets the message and can make testosterone on its own.

Anyways, so since April I've tapered down to 50 mg every Monday/Friday. I had my next set of blood work yesterday, with an appointment next week. Well...my total testosterone is now 849

Testost 280-800 ng/dL: 849 > 642

SHBG 14-48 nmol/L: 52 > 63

The numbers on the left are the one's from yesterday, the one's on the right are the numbers from 3/31.

I didn't bother to post LH/FSH or calcFT/estradiol. The former because I didn't post it in my last post, and the latter because I dug a bit deeper and my free test is simply a calculation and isn't measured directly. And the estradiol isn't the sensitive test (the number was 12, down from 13 last time, but whatever).

Anyways, I went from far below the low end of the range for testosterone a little less than a year and a half ago to past the high end of the range...and this was AFTER I began tapering.

As far as symptoms of low testosterone, those are all gone, and have been for quite a while now. OCD issues have ramped down considering. However, anxiety has increased markedly, both general anxiety and the new one was panic attacks on the highway while driving which I'm battling with. This didn't start until May, and I began tapering at the beginning of April. Are they connected? Maybe, we'll see next week.

I imagine I'll taper even more now, perhaps I'll just come off it? I'm fairly certain at this point I may not have needed Clomid in the first place, I simply needed to stop dieting hard and put on a bit of weight. We'll see with time.

Anyways, that's my report, let me know if you have any questions!

 

[AlcahueteJ]

One caveat... yesterday was my first test done fasted. I have read non fasted tests can give lower testosterone results. But I can't imagine that would cause a 200 point swing.

 

[Vince Carter]

Its definitely good to see a Clomid success story and one too that didn't skyrocket a guys Estrogen.

 

[user_joe]

I hate to be so negative, but I would personally only consider it successful if you no longer required clomid to have reasonable T levels and feel good. I believe most people who are not primary see increases in testosterone.

 

[Vince Carter]

That would be a component of a success story, can you get off of it and maintain, but in this case he's had more success than most any other on EM.

 

[AlcahueteJ]

I hate to be so negative, but I would personally only consider it successful if you no longer required clomid to have reasonable T levels and feel good. I believe most people who are not primary see increases in testosterone.

It's not negative, but I also don't agree.

Clomid, for me personally, has been fairly innocuous, even if I HAD to take it forever it wouldn't matter. I would consider it a success if it makes one feel better, unless you have horrible side effects. I don't experience side effects, none that are noticeable that is. I had generalized anxiety and OCD before Clomid. And one of those has ramped down considerably.

In addition to that, and this wouldn't really make it a Clomid success story then, my levels only really shot up after I gained weight. And then after I tapered they went even higher. I'm not really sure I "need" Clomid at all. But there's now way to know until I come off of it completely.

 

[AlcahueteJ]

AlcahoeteJ

How old are you?

Did you try lowering the dose to 25 mg three times per week?

What does your doctor say about the undetectable estradiol? Are you taking anything else?

Oops, forgot to answer a few of your questions.

35 years old.

Have not tried lowering the dose to 25 mg 3x/week. Currently on 50 mg 2x/week, we'll discuss lowering it this week, but I'm going to ask to just come off it at this point. Unless that would be a bad thing? If anything I feel symptoms of TOO much testosterone.

He doesn't really say much about the estradiol, considering I'm a male he's not that concerned with it (I think he said that, I'm going off memory, I'll ask him again this week if I remember).

Last test had it at 12 pg/mL, range is 8 - 45 for males (standard test), so about the same as it's been for about a year now. Prior to the weight gain/Clomid it was undetectable on the standard test.