IM CONFUSED! Total versus Free Testosterone Results?

[Lucky77]

Excel Team,

36 year old male here. 85kg, 187cm. Have worked out consistently for years. Im pretty decent shape.

My current TRT stack is 200mg test cypionate ONCE per week plus 500mg HCG

Bloodwork this week yielded the following results:

Total Testosterone: 721ng/dL. (good vs basis)
Free Testosterone : 9.26 pg/mL. (V LOW right?)
FSH 0.09 mUI/mL
LH <0.5

My question is. Obviously taking the test cypionate has increased my total testosterone value (initial start value was 525 2 years ago). But my free testosterone level is extremely low? Im confused. What should i read into this and how should I adjust my program accordingly?

Second question is about testosterone impact on CHOLESTROL. My bloodwork showed very high levels of cholestrol and very low levels of HDL cholestrol. I have read that test can adversely affect these levels. Does anyone have experience with this?

Appreciate feedback.

Lucky

 

[sammmy]

Assuming you measured at trough before the next dose, these values of total T and free T are the lowest for you and perfectly fine, normal levels of calculated free T are 5-25 ng/dL so your free T at trough was low normal. The levels spike much higher after injection.

You have serious impact on cholesterol because you use a high dose 200mg/week and you inject it all at once.

To minize the negative impact, reduce to more physiological dose 100mg/week, split in 2 injections i.e. 50mg twice weekly.

 

[Systemlord]

Obviously taking the test cypionate has increased my total testosterone value (initial start value was 525 2 years ago). But my free testosterone level is extremely low?

Men with higher SHBG will have higher Total T. My Total T was low (91 ng/dL) at the time of my low-T diagnosis, because SHBG was at 11.

I always calculate my Total T and SHBG to determine my Free T level.

The Free T is the more important biomarker, symptoms of lack thereof follows the Free T, not the Total T.

Free & Bioavailable Testosterone calculator

 

[Lucky77]

Sammy, Systemlord. Thank you.

Bloodwork was done midweek between injections. Will adjust level down and try twice weekly and report back.

 

[Systemlord]

Sammy, Systemlord. Thank you.

Bloodwork was done midweek between injections. Will adjust level down and try twice weekly and report back.

So your true trough is lower.

 

[Belekas]

On 200mg/week TC and tested not even at through you getting very low levels fwiw. You using UGL test or pharma-grade? Everyone's different but on 100mg/week split in two 50mg injections E3.5D tested at through right before the next injection, fasted, puts me right at the upper range max a bit above on both TT and cFT. Don't remember when I seen such a bad response tbf.