Crazy ~800 ng/dl Drop while on TRT--- Faulty Quest Test?

[Ckblgr]

Hey all, first post, I started TRT 4 weeks ago and have been getting my own blood draws every week. My prescribed regimen is 20mg test cyp and 140mcg HCG SubQ every day. I'm also prescribed 0.125mg arimidex 2x/week, but have been avoiding taking it.

End of week 3, my Quest results were 942 total, 212 free, 12pg/ml E2 Sensitive, and 41 DHT. (I took 0.25mg arimidex the day before this test as an experiment. Did not like how I felt so have not repeated.)

End of week 4, results were 155 total, 21 free, 28 E2, 36 DHT. (No AI this week.) Blood draw was in the morning, before my daily injections.

WTF?

The possible confounding variables are:
1) the day before the last draw, I took 125mg of niacin. I had not been taking any niacin earlier.
2) A couple weeks ago, I started taking astaxanthin, which studies say significantly upregulates the detox pathways.
3) Usually, Quest uses 2 vials when I get these tests. On week 4, they used 1. (I just got a blood draw done this morning, for week 5 -- they used 1 vial again. I don't know why.)

Any ideas why these results could happen? According to an online half-life calculator, I should have plenty of test cyp in my system by now. Could niacin or astaxanthin cause this somehow? Considering that E2 and DHT did not drop proportionally to T, suggests to me that the test was simply faulty. But do you have any other theories?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[xqfq]

I think it's a lab error. The free testosterone result is too high for that total.

I had a "9 ng/dL" result once from LabCorp. Ridiculous! At least the test is cheap.

 

[fifty]

Either your stuff is fake (doubtful as you’re probably on the same bottle) or faulty quest test. Use labcorp.

 

[Ckblgr]

Thanks xqfq. However, I think the Labcorp and Quest ranges are different. For Quest, Total range is 250-1100. Free 35-155.

So both my Free and Total are below the bottom of the range by about the same %.

 

[xqfq]

Thanks xqfq. However, I think the Labcorp and Quest ranges are different. For Quest, Total range is 250-1100. Free 35-155.

So both my Free and Total are below the bottom of the range by about the same %.

Good catch, I missed that!

The only other thing I can think of is you just started full HPTA shutdown, so your natural production is now ~0, so the first test was your natural production + the TRT. And the subQ might have some kind of ultra-slow half life or something. It's not likely but it's maybe possible. At 4 weeks into subQ 120mg/week test-e, 500IU/week HCG my levels were 447 ng/dL (which was probably at 'peak' based on what I know now). The half life calculators are IIRC based on IM half life.

 

[fifty]

Every week someone comes on here shocked that their labs are wrong.

 

[Ckblgr]

Good catch, I missed that!

The only other thing I can think of is you just started full HPTA shutdown, so your natural production is now ~0, so the first test was your natural production + the TRT. And the subQ might have some kind of ultra-slow half life or something. It's not likely but it's maybe possible. At 4 weeks into subQ 120mg/week test-e, 500IU/week HCG my levels were 447 ng/dL (which was probably at 'peak' based on what I know now). The half life calculators are IIRC based on IM half life.

Good theory, but my HCG alone should be maintaining natural T production above 155, no?

 

[madman]

Hey all, first post, I started TRT 4 weeks ago and have been getting my own blood draws every week. My prescribed regimen is 20mg test cyp and 140mcg HCG SubQ every day. I'm also prescribed 0.125mg arimidex 2x/week, but have been avoiding taking it.

End of week 3, my Quest results were 942 total, 212 free, 12pg/ml E2 Sensitive, and 41 DHT. (I took 0.25mg arimidex the day before this test as an experiment. Did not like how I felt so have not repeated.)

End of week 4, results were 155 total, 21 free, 28 E2, 36 DHT. (No AI this week.) Blood draw was in the morning, before my daily injections.

WTF?

The possible confounding variables are:
1) the day before the last draw, I took 125mg of niacin. I had not been taking any niacin earlier.
2) A couple weeks ago, I started taking astaxanthin, which studies say significantly upregulates the detox pathways.
3) Usually, Quest uses 2 vials when I get these tests. On week 4, they used 1. (I just got a blood draw done this morning, for week 5 -- they used 1 vial again. I don't know why.)

Any ideas why these results could happen? According to an online half-life calculator, I should have plenty of test cyp in my system by now. Could niacin or astaxanthin cause this somehow? Considering that E2 and DHT did not drop proportionally to T, suggests to me that the test was simply faulty. But do you have any other theories?

Thanks,
Chris

.

You just started trt.....absolutely pointless to be testing bloods every week as hormones will be in flux until levels stabilize at 6 weeks.

Top this off with the fact that when first using exogenous T you are also still producing endogenous T and the hpta will shutdown in the weeks following when starting trt and this usually happens within 6 weeks.

Blood work should be done at 6 weeks.....not before and even than some doctors wait 3 months before blood work is done when starting trt as not only does it take 6 weeks for hormone levels to stabilize but it can take a few months after to truly gauge how one feels on said T dose as it takes time for the body to adapt to the new T levels.

Lab errors do and will happen!

 

[Ckblgr]

According to various threads here, my HCG dose of ~150iu/day is possibly too low to prevent suppression of natural T production. I'm going to bump to 350iu EOD. Thanks for the replies.

 

[Vince Carter]

According to various threads here, my HCG dose of ~150iu/day is possibly too low to prevent suppression of natural T production. I'm going to bump to 350iu EOD. Thanks for the replies.

If you're primary hypo the problem was the testes to begin with HCG isn't going result in any appreciable amount of Endo Test.

 

[Ckblgr]

If you're primary hypo the problem was the testes to begin with HCG isn't going result in any appreciable amount of Endo Test.

Not primary hypo, at least not according to "normal" standards. I was between 500-700 total test before starting test cyp and hcg. 35yo.

I am on TRT because I have relatively low free t and dht, have been suffering weak libido and erections. The jury is still out if this is the right path for me...

 

[sh1973]

Good luck with the libido, been at TRT nearly a decade and have never been able to even get mediocre libido. Feel pretty good otherwise. The lack of libido seems to be pretty common on TRT.

 

[Ckblgr]

Follow up retest: 950 Total, 235 Free. Earlier test was faulty.