Free T Down 30% after trial tongkat ali 2 months ago

[thalim90]

Hello my free T (using same lab/assay as before) is down 30% from 2 day trial of tongkat ali 2 months ago. Madman said retest after 1-2 months and everything should recover. But my free T still hasn't fully recovered - only partial recovery. Will it just take longer? Am i stuck with a lower free T range? At range of 50-155 Quest Equilibrium Dialysis it was at 144 but now at 115. Right after taking tongkat it plumpeted to 95 from 144.

Thanks,
Worried

 

[madman]

Hello my free T (using same lab/assay as before) is down 30% from 2 day trial of tongkat ali 2 months ago. Madman said retest after 1-2 months and everything should recover. But my free T still hasn't fully recovered - only partial recovery. Will it just take longer? Am i stuck with a lower free T range? At range of 50-155 Quest Equilibrium Dialysis it was at 144 but now at 115. Right after taking tongkat it plumpeted to 95 from 144.

Thanks,
Worried

Highly doubtful that a 2 days trial would have any significant impact on driving down your T let alone long-term.

Most of those herbal T-boosters are not effective and if anything the temporary boost in T would be transient at best!

As I stated previously

Forget worrying about it.

Stay off the so-called test boosters!

The reason I said to wait for a month or two is that you already tested it within days of stopping and I wanted to make sure you covered all bases as other things can have an impact on skewing your results.

Not only did I stress to always have your blood work done using the most accurate assays TT (LC/MS-MS) and FT (Equilibrium Dialysis or Ultrafiltration) but to also make sure to stick with the same lab/same assay (most accurate) and it is critical that you have your blood work done in the early AM (7-10) in a fasted state.

Also if you are into training with weights then take a week off from the gym to make sure you are well-rested.

Fasting before testing TT/FT/BAT is critical as glucose or a meal can lower T temporarily and this would skew your blood test results.

Let alone the same can be said for working out as a poor diet/over-training can also drive down endogenous T levels.

Lack of quality sleep can drive down T.

If you have done this and your results are still coming back lower 2 months later then I would not blame it on the supplement.

Natural endogenous testosterone secretion is pulsatile and diurnal (24 hr circadian rhythm).

Testing should be done in a fasted state between 7-10 am as we want to test at peak.

Blood work should never be done in the late afternoon/early evening when levels will be lower as nadir (lowest point) would be around 6-8 pm.

Fluctuations from peak--->trough would be around 20-25%.

 

[madman]

For all those natty this needs to be stressed!

For all those on TRT this needs to be stressed!

* Inter-laboratory and inter-assay variability in T assays

 

[thalim90]

Thank you for your detailed reply. Nothing changed beside the tongkat ali. Sleep normal, exercise the same, etc. My free t partially recovered but I'm wondering will it fully recover given more time? Quite worried. Thanks for your advice i've been panicking that I screwed something. I took the test at the same time as the others in the morning. Same lab/assay. Fasted.

 

[CKO]

Let me be direct with my response.Tongkat doesn't raise or lower T levels. If there's any response at all, it's so minuscule that it doesn't matter in the overall picture. What does lower testosterone is anxiety and worrying excessively. If you are not in a state of cognitive ease and unable to relax, your T levels are going to go down. You're using words like 'quite worried' and 'panicked.' Those emotions will certainly not help T levels. I suspect your fixation on this supposed issue is probably deflecting from some other concern in your life or you deal with anxiety in general. Either way, the solution is to stop worrying about it and focus on things you enjoy. That will make a bigger difference than any supplement. I'm not trying to be harsh, but I am trying to get you moving forward.