Help with free test and ferritin
- Thread starter Jlswell98
- Start date
CaptianCurious
New Member
It's hard to say without knowing your protocol but unless that's the absolute peak of an infrequent dose protocol, then you should probably lower your dose.
And ferritin is a body status marker for iron and you are severely iron deficient. You'll need iron supplements with a level that low but you also should keep an eye on red blood cell markers.
Personally, i would lower my T dose and supplement iron for a while. With T that high you might absorb more than normal. Maybe 50 mg twice a day for a few weeks and then test H/H to see if it's going higher. I aim for 100-150 ferritin personally.
I don't know anything about any of the other markers, so hopefully someone else can chime in eventually.
And ferritin is a body status marker for iron and you are severely iron deficient. You'll need iron supplements with a level that low but you also should keep an eye on red blood cell markers.
Personally, i would lower my T dose and supplement iron for a while. With T that high you might absorb more than normal. Maybe 50 mg twice a day for a few weeks and then test H/H to see if it's going higher. I aim for 100-150 ferritin personally.
I don't know anything about any of the other markers, so hopefully someone else can chime in eventually.
Absolutely expected to have ferritin that low donating every two month. By reducing you dosage and lowering FT levels you might be able to donate less often or even stop donating altogether. Worth trying specially at your current FT levels. Keep in mind you can feel a bit off for 6 weeks or so as the body adjusts to the change of protocol. Do no make any conclusions before at least 6-8 weeks after lowering your dosage
madman
Super Moderator
Your testosterone dose is too high!
With an SHBG of 19.9 nmol/L (low end of the reference range).....injecting 250 mg/week (125 mg every 3.5 days) is simply too much!
No wonder your TT/FT are so high.
Most men on trt are using anywhere from 100-150 mg/week.....sure some are using higher doses 200 mg/week but it is not common as many would never need such dose to achieve a TT which would result in a healthy FT.
Were labs done at trough?
Use of exogenous testosterone whether for trt or steroid use as you should know it will result in an increase in hemoglobin/hematocrit within the the first 1-3 months and can take up to 9-12 months to reach peak levels.
Any time T dose is increased an increase in hemoglobin/hematocrit will follow.
Most end up donating blood to try and control/reduce H/H levels.....unfortunately too frequently to end up in the situation.....oops I crashed my ferritin.
The most sensible way to lower ones H/H is not only donating no more than 3 times/year along with providing enough iron in the diet usually through supplementation but most importantly lower ones T dose especially in cases such as yours where your FT is through the roof!
As you can clearly see on your lab work you crashed your ferritin from donating way too often!
You stated "Protocol is 250 mg a week split up twice a week with aromasin at 12 mg once a week. Low ferritin i believe is coming from donating blood every two months. Hematocrit stays around 47-50"
Looking over your labs your e2 is on the lower end although you had the wrong testing method done (standard) assay as oppose to the estradiol sensitive (LC/MS-MS).....and if anything lowering your absurdly high T dose 250 mg/week (125 mg every 3.5 days) would most likely allow you to ditch the use of an aromatase inhibitor.
You need to look into thyroid deeper (full panel).
Your vitamin D is on the low end.....you should start supplementing with 5000iu/daily.
Now if we truly want to know where your FT levels sit on such protocol than if we use the
TruT Free Testosterone Calculator by FPT
Click here for access to the free TruT public calculator.
Than using your TT 1309.2 ng/dL, SHBG 19.9 nmol/L and Albumin of 4.3 g/dL than your FT is 49.49 ng/dL (very high) reference range 16-31 ng/dL
Most men do well having FT levels in the 20-30 ng/dL range and although some may choose to run levels in the 30-50 ng/dL range do understand that many could not tolerate FT levels well over the reference range.
Although FT is the unbound active fraction of testosterone responsible for the positive effects.....running too high FT levels can result in issues with elevated hemoglobin/hematocrit, negative effects from elevated e2 for some and a negative effect on lipids (lowering of HDL).
You need to rethink your protocol (lowering overall T dose) and could even look into injecting lower doses of T more frequently whether 3 times weekly, EOD or even daily
Sure as men we all want to run high TT/FT levels but in many cases it is not needed especially when we are talking about improvement/relief of low-t symptoms and ones overall well-being as oppose to those looking strictly for increasing muscle/strength!
As I have stated numerous times on the forum although treating ones symptoms (low-t) is what truly matters and many might simply state numbers are just numbers and who cares about a reference range.....lab work is critical as not only do we need to clearly see how said dose of testosterone is effecting ones TT/FT/e2/DHT levels but most importantly overall blood health markers as the goal should be to achieve all the positive benefits while preventing/minimizing potential side effects!
Thank you for your reply very good info all my other labs in the past have been great. Same protocol nothing different was surprised to see levels this high the highest before was like 850. Only difference was I reduced aromasin from 25 mg to 12 mg a week as estrogen was below 20 and did not feel well in that range to low for me.
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