Dose increase?

[Canadian_ride&dive]

Has anyone ever noticed their T levels declining after a year on a certain dose, requiring a dose increase? Does gaining weight change dose requirement’s?

 

[Vince]

Has anyone ever noticed their T levels declining after a year on a certain dose, requiring a dose increase? Does gaining weight change dose requirement’s?

My levels is always very. I've had the same protocol for about 6 years and the labs always come back different. I wouldn't make adjustment in your protocol, unless you're not feeling good.

Vince's Labs for October 2023

I haven't changed my protocol, 16 mg of testosterone cypionate daily, 500 iu of hcg twice weekly and no AI. Pregnenolone 10 mg and 25 mg of DHEA. My last injection before labs, about 28 1/2 hrs. Labs are from LabCorp. Testosterone, Serum 1417 ng/dL range 264-916 Free Testosterone 47.8 ng/dL...

www.excelmale.com

 

[Systemlord]

Has anyone ever noticed their T levels declining after a year on a certain dose, requiring a dose increase? Does gaining weight change dose requirement’s?

My hormone levels have varied greatly when on injections, over-responding at the start of therapy, and lower levels months later. I get extremely consistent hormone levels on Jatenzo (oral testosterone) for 2 years.

 

[madman]

Has anyone ever noticed their T levels declining after a year on a certain dose, requiring a dose increase? Does gaining weight change dose requirement’s?

What is your protocol (dose T/injection frequency)?

Where do your current/previous TT, SHBG, and more importantly FT sit at the true trough?

Are you always testing at the true trough (lowest point) before your next injection?

Are you always using the same lab/same assay (most accurate) TT (LC/MS-MS) and FT (Equilibrium Dialysis or Ultrafiltration)?

Mind in your case seeing as you are from Canada you will need to use/rely upon the calculated linear law-of-mass action Vermeulen (cFTV) as the gold standard Equilibrium Dialysis is more difficult to get.

Blood work should always be done at true trough using the same lab/same assay (most accurate).

This is critical!

 

[Cataceous]

Has anyone ever noticed their T levels declining after a year on a certain dose, requiring a dose increase? Does gaining weight change dose requirement’s?

In general there are some pretty good reasons to believe that average free testosterone should remain proportionate to the dose of testosterone. It is theoretically possible to have the underlying metabolic clearance rate constant shift, but it's questionable that this is common, given the implication of a change in liver function. My own data suggest stability of this rate constant over a period of several years.

What is common is that over time TRT can push SHBG lower. This drives down total testosterone, without affecting free testosterone. Thus when SHBG is changing, total testosterone is a poor proxy for dose efficacy. Instead one should measure free testosterone with equilibrium dialysis or else estimate it with the Vermeulen calculation. There are other possible confounding factors that can create the illusion of less responsiveness to testosterone. With only a single testosterone measurement in an injection cycle, it is easy to be misled. Even a change of injection site can affect the absorption rate, which manifests as changes in peaks and troughs, while the average is unchanged. The absorption rate can also be affected by the testosterone formulation — the carrier oil and excipients. Even one's activity level can affect the absorption rate.