does brand matter?

[mwalker]

I have been on TRT (injection). 200mg/ml testosterone cypionate
My pharmacy switched brand. It used to be Pfizer. this time, they gave me one made by Hkima (distributed by West Ward).
my sex drive basically went to zero. I also reduced from .4 cc to .35 weekly because my blood level was over 800. My Doctor advised to lower it a bit.

I am puzzled which one made the difference.

 

[Vince]

I like to keep my total T over a 1000, did you get a complete testosterone panel? Different brands shouldn't make a difference.

 

[CoastWatcher]

Any pharmacy in the United States dispenses drugs manufactured to USP standards. Why in the world are you lowering your dose? Every one of us is different, but a testosterone level somewhat over 800 is hardly "high." I keep my own level in the mid-900s.

 

[HarryCat]

but a testosterone level somewhat over 800 is hardly "high."

This is something that I have always found a little confusing, primarily because just by chance all the TRT docs I've seen over the years use the quest imunoassay test for total T which has an upper limit of 827 for its reference range. As a result they all freaked out whenever my total T got over 800.

So how do you get your doctor to let you run at 900 or 1000 when that is clearly over the top of reference range?

 

[CoastWatcher]

This is something that I have always found a little confusing, primarily because just by chance all the TRT docs I've seen over the years use the quest imunoassay test for total T which has an upper limit of 827 for its reference range. As a result they all freaked out whenever my total T got over 800.

So how do you get your doctor to let you run at 900 or 1000 when that is clearly over the top of reference range?

HarryCat, LabCorp's published range for total testosterone is 348-1197 ng/dL. Which lab performs your blood work?

 

[HarryCat]

I understand that, but if your doc insists on quest, what do you do? and why would labcorp's range be so much wider than quest's? There's got to be more to the story.

Is this like E2 testing where a lot depends on which lab you use and what test is done? Does it make no sense to talk about a total T level of 1000 without also specifying the lab and methodology used?

 

[Vince Carter]

Lab ranges are nothing more than samples of the population. Any Dr that reads a test result solely based on a lab range should be questioned.