Effect on Bloods when Quitting Nicotine on TRT

[KennyG]

Hey Excelmale,

I'm curious if anyone has successfully quit nicotine while dialed in on TRT and has before and after bloods to show any changes in serum levels?

Nicotine supposedly acts as a mild anti aromatase inhibitor and is said to also INCREASE SHBG which is not in my favor considering I have low SHBG and high free E2. I'm a little over 60 days since my last cigarette/nicotine and still not feeling 100%. I'm wondering if it's just neurotransmitter levels still trying to catch up and not hormonal.

I have yet to get bloods myself but will when I get the funds. Would just like anyone who has any experience or insight to pitch in.

Thanks

 

[Fernando Almaguer]

Hey Excelmale,

I'm curious if anyone has successfully quit nicotine while dialed in on TRT and has before and after bloods to show any changes in serum levels?

Nicotine supposedly acts as a mild anti aromatase inhibitor and is said to also INCREASE SHBG which is not in my favor considering I have low SHBG and high free E2. I'm a little over 60 days since my last cigarette/nicotine and still not feeling 100%. I'm wondering if it's just neurotransmitter levels still trying to catch up and not hormonal.

I have yet to get bloods myself but will when I get the funds. Would just like anyone who has any experience or insight to pitch in.

Thanks

First of all congratulations on 60 days. I imagine that for someone who smoked a lot or a long time, dopamine baseline levels will take a while to stabilize. But better now than never!

As far as bloodwork I can see e2 going up however not by much. It would be interesting to see your labs if you intend to follow this hypothesis. Also, blood sugar might go down as well.

Do you plan on vaping or using other nicotine sources for focus ever again?

 

[KennyG]

First of all congratulations on 60 days. I imagine that for someone who smoked a lot or a long time, dopamine baseline levels will take a while to stabilize. But better now than never!

As far as bloodwork I can see e2 going up however not by much. It would be interesting to see your labs if you intend to follow this hypothesis. Also, blood sugar might go down as well.

Do you plan on vaping or using other nicotine sources for focus ever again?

Thanks Fernando! I'll definitely update this thread with pre and post quit for myself and others. I really do hope that the increase in e2 is negligible.

I'm done when it comes to nicotine. I still haven't fully recovered from nicotine withdrawal and don't want to do it again.

 

[MarkM]

I smoked for over 30 years before stropping cold turkey. I was on TRT at the time but I was applying Androgel at the time which was not doing a great deal for me. It took several months before I felt right but after that I could smell much better, food taste better, and I felt tremendously better. All my blood markers improved dramatically, my glucose and A1C dropped as did my cholesterol.

It's been over 5 years since I quit and I have not picked up a single cigarette. Since stopping I converted from the gels to injecting testosterone cypionate and have got dialed in nicely. I've got blood work but I did not see much change in the hormone levels before or after on the gels although the testosterone did go up slightly.

I saw my big change in hormone levels when stopped the gel and started injecting.

Congrats for stopping smoking. Trying to stop smoking and get dialed in on testosterone at the same time is difficult. Give yourself another month and see how you feel. I'd probably get some new bloodwork at that time and go from there.

 

[tcphil1000]

Thanks Fernando! I'll definitely update this thread with pre and post quit for myself and others. I really do hope that the increase in e2 is negligible.

I'm done when it comes to nicotine. I still haven't fully recovered from nicotine withdrawal and don't want to do it again.

I totally understand. I quit smoking about a year ago and I was vaping. I quit vaping when I caught Covid back in July. So I am about 60 days without any nicotine as well. I have been an on and off smoker for the past 20 years and quitting nicotine cold turkey is no picnic! I am about 2 weeks in on daily .15ml SC test cypionate. I haven't had the blood work done but I hoping that daily subq and no longer smoking will help with elevated hematocrit levels that occurred when I was getting IM shots weekly.

 

[madman]

I totally understand. I quit smoking about a year ago and I was vaping. I quit vaping when I caught Covid back in July. So I am about 60 days without any nicotine as well. I have been an on and off smoker for the past 20 years and quitting nicotine cold turkey is no picnic! I am about 2 weeks in on daily .15ml SC test cypionate. I haven't had the blood work done but I hoping that daily subq and no longer smoking will help with elevated hematocrit levels that occurred when I was getting IM shots weekly.

The most commonly prescribed TC is the 200 mg/mL strength.

If you are injecting .15 mL (15 units) daily then you would be injecting 30 mg daily (210 mg T/week) which is a whopping dose!

Such dose daily would be overkill for most and will most likely have your FT level through the roof let alone have a big impact on your hematocrit.

Most men can easily achieve a healthy let alone very high or in some cases absurdly high FT on 100-150 mg T/week split twice weekly (every 3.5 days), M/W/F, EOD let alone daily.

Sur some men do need what would be considered the higher-end dose of 200 mg T/week but it is far from common.

Where does your SHBG sit?

If you have low/lowish SHBG you will be able to run a lower TT and still achieve a healthy FT level.

When using exogenous T RBCs/hemoglobin/hematocrit will increase within the 1st month and can take up to 9-12 months to reach peak levels.

T formulation, the dose of T, genetics (polymorphism of the AR), age all play a role in the impact a trt protocol will have on blood markers (RBCs/hemoglobin/hematocrit).

Other factors such as sleep apnea, smoking can have a negative impact on hematocrit.

Injectable T has been shown to have a greater impact on increasing HCT compared to transdermal T.

3–18% with transdermal administration and up to 44% with injection.

In most cases when using injectable T high supra-physiological peaks post-injection and overall T levels (running too high TT/FT level) will have a big impact on increasing HCT.

Manipulating injection frequency by injecting more frequently using lower doses of T resulting in minimizing the peak--->trough and maintaining more stable levels may lessen the impact on HCT but it is not a given.

As again running very high TT/FT levels will have a stronger impact on driving up HCT.

Although injectables have been shown to have a greater impact on HCT you can see even when using a transdermal formulation that maintains stable serum concentrations that the impact it has on HCT is DEPENDANT ON THE DOSE AND SERUM LEVEL OF T.

Using higher doses of transdermal T and achieving higher TT/FT levels will have a great impact on HCT levels.

How high an FT level you are running is critical.

It is a given that most men on trt struggling with elevated RBCs/hemoglobin/hematocrit are running too high an FT level.

Sure some men are more sensitive than others as they may still struggle with elevated blood markers when running lower T levels but it is far from common and many may already have an underlying health issue contributing to such.

If you are struggling with such blood markers then in most cases finding the lowest FT level you can run while still maintaining the beneficial effects may very well be the solution.

Easier said than done as many men on trt tend to do better running higher-end FT levels within reason.

Mind you some are lucky and never have an issue or levels tend to stabilize over time.

Others will continue to struggle until the cows come home.

Unfortunately too many are caught up in running absurdly high trough FT levels due to the herd mentality spewed on the bro forums and gootube!

 

[madman]

Hey Excelmale,

I'm curious if anyone has successfully quit nicotine while dialed in on TRT and has before and after bloods to show any changes in serum levels?

Nicotine supposedly acts as a mild anti aromatase inhibitor and is said to also INCREASE SHBG which is not in my favor considering I have low SHBG and high free E2. I'm a little over 60 days since my last cigarette/nicotine and still not feeling 100%. I'm wondering if it's just neurotransmitter levels still trying to catch up and not hormonal.

I have yet to get bloods myself but will when I get the funds. Would just like anyone who has any experience or insight to pitch in.

Thanks

Congratulations!

Definitely a big step to take as it can be an ongoing struggle for many.

Much better for your overall health in the long run.

Highly doubtful there would be any impact on your TT, FT, and estradiol levels from the nicotine.

You most likely feel off due to going through the withdrawal.

If anything I would be more concerned with your diet/appetite after quitting as many tend to gain weight and unfortunately it is adipose tissue that can have a big impact on estradiol.

If you start packing on the blubber it will have a negative impact on your hormones let alone other blood markers.

 

[DkP318]

Nicotine increases SHBG? where is the article?

 

[akenbake24]

Effects of smoking cessation on hormonal levels in men​

Abstract: Effects of smoking cessation on hormonal levels in men - PubMed
Study: https://www.biomed.cas.cz/physiolres/pdf/62/62_67.pdf