Lab questions, overall advice, some numbers are high....

[jessie02]

Hey guys looking for some input on my most recent labs. DHT is super high, and Hematocrit is really starting to creep. Im not on that high of a Testosterone dose (.7ml, thinking off going to .6ml and see if that helps) so no idea why DHT is so high? My back is breaking out and I feel like I'm loosing hair. I started TRT in June. Could HCG dose be too high and therefore causing elevated levels of DHT? Or is solely based on my testosterone dose? Thanks in advance!

Current regimine:
.7ml Testosterone ( Inject .35ml twice weekly, Monday AM and Thursday PM
500iu HCG twice weekly
Labs were drawn Thursday AM before my 2nd weekly injection
I don't take an AI, I have it though.

WBC 6.0 K/uL4.8 - 10.8 K/uL
RBC 5.50 M/uL4.70 - 6.10 M/uL
Hemoglobin 17.7 g/dL14.0 - 18.0 g/dL
Hematocrit 52.2 % 42.0 - 52.0 %H
MCV 94.9 fL81.4 - 97.8 fL
MCH 32.2 pg27.0 - 33.0 pg
MCHC 33.9 g/dL33.7 - 35.3 g/dL
RDW 43.4 fL35.9 - 50.0 fL
Platelet Count 207 K/uL164 - 446 K/uL
MPV 11.7 fL9.0 - 12.9 fL
Neutrophils-Polys 62.40 %44.00 - 72.00%
Lymphocytes 27.50 %22.00 - 41.00%
Monocytes 7.80 %0.00 - 13.40%
Eosinophils 1.30 %0.00 - 6.90%
Basophils 0.70 %0.00 - 1.80%
Immature Granulocytes 0.30 %0.00 - 0.90%
Nucleated RBC 0.00 /100 WBC/100 WBC
Neutrophils (Absolute) 3.73 K/uL1.82 - 7.42 K/uLIncludes immature neutrophils, if present.
Lymphs (Absolute)1.65 K/uL1.00 - 4.80 K/uL
Monos (Absolute) 0.47 K/uL0.00 - 0.85 K/uL
Eos (Absolute) 0.08 K/uL0.00 - 0.51 K/uL
Baso (Absolute) 0.04 K/uL0.00 - 0.12 K/uL
Immature Granulocytes (abs) 0.02 K/uL0.00 - 0.11 K/uL
NRBC (Absolute) 0.00 K/uLK/uL
Homocysteine 11.41 umol/L <11.00 umol/L
Vitamin D 38 ng/mL30 - 100 ng/mL
Dhea-S 240.9 ug/dL88.9 - 427.0 ug/dL
Estradiol-E2 30.0 pg/mLpg/mL
Testosterone,Total 896 ng/dL 300 - 1080 ng/dL
Sex Hormone Bind Globulin 26 nmol /L11 - 80 nmol/L
Free Testosterone 208 pg/m L47 - 244 pg/mL
Testosterone % Free 2.3 % 1.6 - 2.9 %
DHT 5-a-Dihydrotestosterone 1129.0 pg/mL 106.0 - 719.0 pg/mL

 

[Vince]

Not much you can do about your DHT, besides lowering your testosterone. Looks like it's time to donate blood. How do you feel.

 

[Vince]

Effect of DHT on Prostate and Sexual Function: Review of Studies

 

[jessie02]

Not much you can do about your DHT, besides lowering your testosterone. Looks like it's time to donate blood. How do you feel.

Hey Vince, thanks for your input. Being new to this, Im not feeling the physiological differences I thought I might. Still low energy, but that's probably due to lack of sleep. I feel as though I have thinned up, getting stronger for sure. Maybe I was hoping for more....

Would lowering my HCG dose have an effect on DHT? And theoretically, going from .7ml to .6ml testosterone, could that have a profound effect on my high DHT levels? Really don't want to loose hair....

 

[madman]

Hey Vince, thanks for your input. Being new to this, Im not feeling the physiological differences I thought I might. Still low energy, but that's probably due to lack of sleep. I feel as though I have thinned up, getting stronger for sure. Maybe I was hoping for more....

Would lowering my HCG dose have an effect on DHT? And theoretically, going from .7ml to .6ml testosterone, could that have a profound effect on my high DHT levels? Really don't want to loose hair....

As far as mpb (male pattern baldness) it is genetic and even though dht plays a role it comes down to the sensitivity of ones AR (androgen receptor) to dht/among other factors as genetically prone men can still experience hair loss/thinning even with normal dht levels.

Regarding oily skin/acne ones genetics also plays a strong role as some men with higher levels of testosterone still have blemish free skin.

Testosterones metabolite dht is responsible for increasing the size of the sebaceous glands and the increased production of sebum (oil) which can result in acne (white heads, black heads, papules/pustules, cysts) but to what degree one experiences these side effects comes down to genetics and how one reacts to androgens.

Testosterones other metabolite estradiol also plays a role regarding inflammation/acne.

Higher doses of testosterone resulting in excess dht or estradiol can cause side effects but again it comes down to genetics/sensitivity of ones AR.

 

[Vince Carter]

When my E has been high my body acne goes crazy, much less to do with DHT though untreated my DHT is much lower than yours. Given your Free T is under the lab range I probably wouldn't go with a Cyp dose reduction.
Please list the lab range for your e2 test as I suspect you might be using the wrong test.

 

[jessie02]

When my E has been high my body acne goes crazy, much less to do with DHT though untreated my DHT is much lower than yours. Given your Free T is under the lab range I probably wouldn't go with a Cyp dose reduction.
Please list the lab range for your e2 test as I suspect you might be using the wrong test.

 

[jessie02]

When my E has been high my body acne goes crazy, much less to do with DHT though untreated my DHT is much lower than yours. Given your Free T is under the lab range I probably wouldn't go with a Cyp dose reduction.
Please list the lab range for your e2 test as I suspect you might be using the wrong test.

And I can call and confirm but that should have been the sensitive test...

 

[Vince Carter]

Its not, i can tell by the lab range, the sensitive is either Quest <0.29, or with LabCorp is 8-35. Typically the test is labeled with all or some part of Sensitive, UltraSensitive, LC/MS/MS.

 

[jessie02]

Its not, i can tell by the lab range, the sensitive is either Quest <0.29, or with LabCorp is 8-35. Typically the test is labeled with all or some part of Sensitive, UltraSensitive, LC/MS/MS.

Ok copy that. With that being said, can e2 have an affect on DHT?

 

[Vince Carter]

What are you using as in shampoo or topicals with your body acne? "feels like youre losing your hair" doesn't mean much...some shedding of hair is normal but MPB is associated with a cessation of growth, not hair falling out, per se.

 

[jessie02]

What are you using as in shampoo or topicals with your body acne? "feels like youre losing your hair" doesn't mean much...some shedding of hair is normal but MPB is associated with a cessation of growth, not hair falling out, per se.

Just a dove shampoo. Loosing I mean I feel like when I pull on it multiple strands come out with a gentle pull.

 

[Gman86]

Your SHBG is on the lower end, you could possibly benefit from switching to an EOD protocol. I have a feeling your excreting testosterone pretty quickly. My last labs were while on the same dose as you, and my trough on EOD injections came back at 1613. Yours is a little more than half that. I’m a high SHBG guy, so I excrete slowly. Obv my level is more consistent with a less dramatic peak and trough due to the EOD injection schedule, but on top of that I excrete very slowly. I have a feeling you are the oppposite. So I would inject EOD at the very least if I was you.

And definitely get E2 retested with the Ultrasenstive version. It could either be lower or higher than what the standard results were.

 

[Gman86]

Ok copy that. With that being said, can e2 have an affect on DHT?

Not to my knowledge. My DHT is high whether my E2 is high or low.