First bloodwork 8 weeks into TRT

[Damiano]

Hi there

New to the site but been lurking for a long time.

I'm 28 years old, 6'3 and relatively lean 192 lbs. I finally started TRT 8 weeks ago after dealing with low T for a while. My protocol is 50 mg Sustanon EOD (175 mg/week) and 25 mg Proviron ED (I'm in Europe so options are more limited than in the US. I'm looking to switch over to Test E but I was prescribed a 9 month supply so waiting a bit longer to make the move. I've also been taking 0.1 mg Adex with every injection but as you'll see I'm going to have to increase the dose to get E2 lower.

Here are my results before and after TRT

Total testosterone 220 and 375 ng/dl to 836 ng/dl
Free testosterone 3.3 and 5.7 nmol/l to 19.3 nmol/l (range is 4.4-14.3)
SHBG 36.2 and 37.9 to 21.7
Estradiol 44.95 and 48.2 to 76.3 (range is <56)

Lipids are fine but the lab forgot to check Hematocrit so I'm getting those results back in a little bit. I'm pretty sure it's slightly elevated. I was expecting total T to be a bit higher, but SHBG has come down considerably so I guess it's moving the T out of my system pretty fast. Free T is quite good I would think.

Here's the kicker. I don't have access to a sensitive E2 test. I realize it's the wrong test but I guess I have to work with what I've got.From what I've read 76.3 on the non-sensitive definitely indicates high E2 although it may not be as high as it says. I've not really been having too many E2 sides. No acne at all, boners are fine but I guess libido could be a little bit higher and I may be retaining some water.

When I got the results I upped Adex to 0.25 mg EOD and will get it rechecked in 4-5 weeks.

As for how I feel, pretty damn good. Night and day from before. Strength is up 25% on most lifts and I'm looking bigger and leaner even if my weight is up 12 lbs. Come to think of it, I probably felt best 4-5 weeks in mentally where I assume my E2 was still within range. However, strength gains are still coming along nicely.

So I guess my questions are - does that seem like a sensible increase in Adex given my results, and is there anything else that stands out here? Also, if when I get bloodwork done next time I'll ask them for an extra vial of blood, do you know any place that would let me ship it and test for sensitive E2?

Thanks so much guys, invaluable information on this forum.

 

[MarkM]

Welcome the the forum.

Not knowing what the Estradiol Sensitive is makes everything a little bit of guess work. It always helps to post full labs so we can see the ranges and other areas that may tie into your therapy.

As far as the Adex, it's hard recommending taking any at all without any real symptoms. The estradiol may look high from the non-sensitive test and actually be just fine. Personal example; my non-sensitive estradiol was 91.0 and my Estradiol Sensitive was 35.0. That is a huge difference between the two testing methodologies. Therefore, I take no AI.

Only you know your body, just be cautious with the Adex as getting too much can create problems you don't want.

 

[Damiano]

Welcome the the forum.

Not knowing what the Estradiol Sensitive is makes everything a little bit of guess work. It always helps to post full labs so we can see the ranges and other areas that may tie into your therapy.

As far as the Adex, it's hard to recommending taking any at all without any real symptoms. The estradiol may look high from the non-sensitive test and actually be just fine. Personal example; my non-sensitive estradiol was 91.0 and my Estradiol Sensitive was 35.0. That is a huge difference between the two testing methodologies. Therefore, I take no AI.

Only you know your body, just be cautious with the Adex as getting too much can create problems you don't want.

Thanks for the reply. That's a huge difference.

I'm already leaning out fast after upping Adex so I assume I was holding a bit of water. I guess I'm going to keep at 0.25 mg EOD and monitor sides carefully. Hoping to improve my sleep a little bit and if libido increases a little bit I should be at my sweet spot.

 

[MarkM]

Keep us posted on how that change works for you.

 

[CoastWatcher]

Don't be frightened of elevated estradiol. It certainly can impede your progress, but in the absence of the sensitive test, I echo Mark's comments and urgenyounto pay strict attention to your body and the symptoms it may present. Another anecdotal report: my sensitive estradiol is at 33.5, and my standard value is 81. I have never taken an AI.

 

[Damiano]

Thanks guys.

Anyone know if there is anywhere I can send blood and get senstitive E2 checked?

 

[Vince]

Thanks guys.

Anyone know if there is anywhere I can send blood and get senstitive E2 checked?

That's an easy one to answer, Nelson Vergel discount labs.

https://www.discountedlabs.com

https://www.discountedlabs.com/estradiol-sensitive-lc-ms-ms

 

[Damiano]

That's an easy one to answer, Nelson Vergel discount labs.

For some reason I thought you needed to get your blood drawn with them. I will check it out, although it says "Access from your Country was disabled by the administrator." when I try to visit their site.

 

[Vince]

For some reason I thought you needed to get your blood drawn with them. I will check it out, although it says "Access from your Country was disabled by the administrator." when I try to visit their site.

Yes you do need to be in the USA and you have your blood drawn at a LabCorp site.

 

[Damiano]

Yes you do need to be in the USA and you have your blood drawn at a LabCorp site.

Thought so. I'll try to get that done on my visit but that's about 2 months away.

 

[Gman86]

I personally always use Questdiagnostics for my lab work, and the past two times I've gotten my labs done, E2 sensitive has come back higher than my standard E2, which is the opposite of what usually happens. Most of the time the sensitive E2 should be lower I think. Before that, my labs with Quest showed E2 sensitive lower than my E2 standard. So not sure what's going on. Either way just be careful with the Anastrozole, labs can be confusing sometimes, like in my case where I don't know whether to go by my sensitive or standard E2 results. So I would go by labs as well as symptoms, not just labs alone.

Regardless, I personally would take the Anastrozole E4 days instead of EOD. My E2 was at 71, and I took 0.25mg EOD and it dropped my E2 down to 8 on the sensitive test and 13 on the standard E2 test. It's strong stuff, so just be cautious with it. I also tried 1/4 tab of Exemestane EOD after that, and my next set of labs had my numbers basically identical. 9 on the sensitive and 13 on the standard E2 test. So if anyone is wondering if 1 tab of Anastrozole is really equal to 1 tab of Exemestane or not, in my experience, they are basically identical in strength.