Much higher TT/FT 6 hours post injection on daily subq

[Vman]

I've been on daily subq T cyp injections for years. I always did my labs in the morning because they usually included a lipid panel that my doctors wanted me to be fasting for. My last lab was the first one I did in the afternoon because it did not include a lipid panel. I was shocked because my Total T was 500-550 ng/dL higher and my Free T was 40-50 pg/mL higher than my previous labs that were drawn in the morning. Here are the Total T, Free T and SHBG for my last few labs as well as the dates/times they were drawn:

6/26/2025 @ 9:01am:
Total T: 585 (250-1100 ng/dL)
Free T: 110.4 (35-155 pg/mL)
SHBG: 24

10/2/2025 @ 9:23am:
Total T: 610 (250-1100 ng/dL)
Free T: 121.7 (35-155 pg/mL)
SHBG: 24

1/20/2026 @ 3:10pm:
Total T: 1142 (250-1100 ng/dL)
Free T: 161 (35-155 pg/mL)
SHBG: 26

I have been on the same dose of 10mg T cyp injected subq daily at around 8:30am since 4/18/2025. Prior to that I was on 12mg daily subq for quite some time. I have been gradually reducing my dose and waiting 9-12 months between each reduction to try and get my HCT, HGB, blood donation cycle under control.

I feel pretty dumb for not thinking to try drawing labs at a later time post injection. I had been told by several different doctors that timing shouldn't matter much since I was on daily injections. I didn't realize that the peak/trough on daily injections could vary by such a large amount.

So...

1. Is it normal for TT to be almost 50% lower at trough than peak on daily T cyp subq injections?
2. If yes, how long post injection should I do labs to capture my TT/FT peak on daily T cyp subq injections?

 

[radman]

I've been on daily subq T cyp injections for years. I always did my labs in the morning because they usually included a lipid panel that my doctors wanted me to be fasting for. My last lab was the first one I did in the afternoon because it did not include a lipid panel. I was shocked because my Total T was 500-550 ng/dL higher and my Free T was 40-50 pg/mL higher than my previous labs that were drawn in the morning. Here are the Total T, Free T and SHBG for my last few labs as well as the dates/times they were drawn:

6/26/2025 @ 9:01am:
Total T: 585 (250-1100 ng/dL)
Free T: 110.4 (35-155 pg/mL)
SHBG: 24

10/2/2025 @ 9:23am:
Total T: 610 (250-1100 ng/dL)
Free T: 121.7 (35-155 pg/mL)
SHBG: 24

1/20/2026 @ 3:10pm:
Total T: 1142 (250-1100 ng/dL)
Free T: 161 (35-155 pg/mL)
SHBG: 26

I have been on the same dose of 10mg T cyp injected subq daily at around 8:30am since 4/18/2025. Prior to that I was on 12mg daily subq for quite some time. I have been gradually reducing my dose and waiting 9-12 months between each reduction to try and get my HCT, HGB, blood donation cycle under control.

I feel pretty dumb for not thinking to try drawing labs at a later time post injection. I had been told by several different doctors that timing shouldn't matter much since I was on daily injections. I didn't realize that the peak/trough on daily injections could vary by such a large amount.

So...

1. Is it normal for TT to be almost 50% lower at trough than peak on daily T cyp subq injections?
2. If yes, how long post injection should I do labs to capture my TT/FT peak on daily T cyp subq injections?

Something seems off, I agree. At steady state on daily injections I would not expect that high of a Total T 7 hrs post injection. Daily injections really smooth out the curve and the difference between peak and trough levels should not be very large. I'd repeat the labs again, and probably just keep doing them at 830 am like you always have. It is easier to interpret that way.

 

[WhiteMale]

For someone that tried all the daily injection methods my shit never smoothed it, I think it's flawed concept when you have to consider how your own individual body metabolizes test and other things. For instance, I was when switching to cream from injections I could go in and have a blood draw an hour post and have phenomenal numbers, then do it again four hour's later and my levels be cut in half. You've got to tailor for body. I don't see from what you posted that there's anything to be concerned over.

 

[Vince]

I've been on daily subq T cyp injections for years. I always did my labs in the morning because they usually included a lipid panel that my doctors wanted me to be fasting for. My last lab was the first one I did in the afternoon because it did not include a lipid panel. I was shocked because my Total T was 500-550 ng/dL higher and my Free T was 40-50 pg/mL higher than my previous labs that were drawn in the morning. Here are the Total T, Free T and SHBG for my last few labs as well as the dates/times they were drawn:

6/26/2025 @ 9:01am:
Total T: 585 (250-1100 ng/dL)
Free T: 110.4 (35-155 pg/mL)
SHBG: 24

10/2/2025 @ 9:23am:
Total T: 610 (250-1100 ng/dL)
Free T: 121.7 (35-155 pg/mL)
SHBG: 24

1/20/2026 @ 3:10pm:
Total T: 1142 (250-1100 ng/dL)
Free T: 161 (35-155 pg/mL)
SHBG: 26

I have been on the same dose of 10mg T cyp injected subq daily at around 8:30am since 4/18/2025. Prior to that I was on 12mg daily subq for quite some time. I have been gradually reducing my dose and waiting 9-12 months between each reduction to try and get my HCT, HGB, blood donation cycle under control.

I feel pretty dumb for not thinking to try drawing labs at a later time post injection. I had been told by several different doctors that timing shouldn't matter much since I was on daily injections. I didn't realize that the peak/trough on daily injections could vary by such a large amount.

So...

1. Is it normal for TT to be almost 50% lower at trough than peak on daily T cyp subq injections?
2. If yes, how long post injection should I do labs to capture my TT/FT peak on daily T cyp subq injections?

How do you feel?

 

[Vman]

How do you feel?

I feel amazing and I have felt amazing since I started T cyp injections several years ago.

Unfortunately, my labs don't look as amazing as I feel. My HCT ranges from 52-57 with blood donations every 2 months. My ferritin has hit 0 once and is usually 20-30 every time I do labs. I do the Vorck protocol after every donation for a week which gets my ferritin back up to 40-50.

I've been doing blood donations every 2 months for 2 years now and the Vorck protocol since I discovered it a little over a year ago.

If I could get my HCT to stay under 54 and only have to donate blood maybe 1-3 times a year I'd be super happy.

 

[Vince]

I feel amazing and I have felt amazing since I started T cyp injections several years ago.

Unfortunately, my labs don't look as amazing as I feel. My HCT ranges from 52-57 with blood donations every 2 months. My ferritin has hit 0 once and is usually 20-30 every time I do labs. I do the Vorck protocol after every donation for a week which gets my ferritin back up to 40-50.

I've been doing blood donations every 2 months for 2 years now and the Vorck protocol since I discovered it a little over a year ago.

If I could get my HCT to stay under 54 and only have to donate blood maybe 1-3 times a year I'd be super happy.

The first two years of trt I also had to donate blood every 8 weeks to keep my HCT under control. After that I've never had a donate again. It stays under 50%. I'm so thankful.

 

[Phil Goodman]

The first two years of trt I also had to donate blood every 8 weeks to keep my HCT under control. After that I've never had a donate again. It stays under 50%. I'm so thankful.

Did you do anything differently to bring it down, or did you just stop donating to see if it would level off at a reasonable value?

 

[FunkOdyssey]

1. Is it normal for TT to be almost 50% lower at trough than peak on daily T cyp subq injections?
2. If yes, how long post injection should I do labs to capture my TT/FT peak on daily T cyp subq injections?

It seems plausible to me that this could occur. The data that we have for half-lives of different testosterone esters is based on much larger injections. What's crucially different about tiny daily injections: the oil depots you're creating are also tiny, and the ratio of depot surface area to testosterone contained is greater. These tiny oil depots are disappating quickly, and dumping the testosterone out faster than you might expect.

 

[Vince]

Did you do anything differently to bring it down, or did you just stop donating to see if it would level off at a reasonable value?

The only thing different I did was go to daily injections. Which you are already doing. I really don't know if it was because of longevity on TRT or the daily injections.

Plus I run my T and free T levels up a lot higher than you do.

 

[Elkhorn]

I feel amazing and I have felt amazing since I started T cyp injections several years ago.

Unfortunately, my labs don't look as amazing as I feel. My HCT ranges from 52-57 with blood donations every 2 months. My ferritin has hit 0 once and is usually 20-30 every time I do labs. I do the Vorck protocol after every donation for a week which gets my ferritin back up to 40-50.

I've been doing blood donations every 2 months for 2 years now and the Vorck protocol since I discovered it a little over a year ago.

If I could get my HCT to stay under 54 and only have to donate blood maybe 1-3 times a year I'd be super happy.

Hi I am in the same boat.

Right now my ferritin is probably close to zero as it was only 8 in January and I just donated.

I just took my first 9 am dose of iron for the vorck protocol. I am hoping you can make suggestions on what to eat as I am scared of constipation and voming.

How many days do you do the protocol ?

I only had plain oatmeal for breakfast. Not sure what to eat the rest of the day. I have rice and chicken. Do you think that would cause constipation ? I also have bulksupplements grass fed whey protein but don't know if it has vitamin d in it pretty sure no vitamin c but who knows.

As far as subcutaneous when I first started years ago I was on 200mg cypionate. I was doing 1 shot and had high estrogen symptoms and high hematocrit. I read about splitting the dose and subcutaneous and did that. It seemed to make it worse. I want to go daily and try subcutaneous but after reading your post I'm not sure.

Maybe daily in the deltoid? I don't know.

Now I'm down to 100mg for the last 2 months dropped from 120mg to try and not have to donate.

Thanks for any suggestions on foods for the vorck protocol or any other things to make it go smoothly.

Note: I have frequent urination i think is caused by my crashed ferritin so I'm extra worried about constipation. Should I take miralax daily or would that mess up the vorck protocol?

Thanks again.

 

[Phil Goodman]

Hi I am in the same boat.

Right now my ferritin is probably close to zero as it was only 8 in January and I just donated.

I just took my first 9 am dose of iron for the vorck protocol. I am hoping you can make suggestions on what to eat as I am scared of constipation and voming.

How many days do you do the protocol ?

I only had plain oatmeal for breakfast. Not sure what to eat the rest of the day. I have rice and chicken. Do you think that would cause constipation ? I also have bulksupplements grass fed whey protein but don't know if it has vitamin d in it pretty sure no vitamin c but who knows.

As far as subcutaneous when I first started years ago I was on 200mg cypionate. I was doing 1 shot and had high estrogen symptoms and high hematocrit. I read about splitting the dose and subcutaneous and did that. It seemed to make it worse. I want to go daily and try subcutaneous but after reading your post I'm not sure.

Maybe daily in the deltoid? I don't know.

Now I'm down to 100mg for the last 2 months dropped from 120mg to try and not have to donate.

Thanks for any suggestions on foods for the vorck protocol or any other things to make it go smoothly.

Note: I have frequent urination i think is caused by my crashed ferritin so I'm extra worried about constipation. Should I take miralax daily or would that mess up the vorck protocol?

Thanks again.

Have you always donated blood while on trt? Also, what are your hematocrit levels/how have they changed over time?

When you dump blood the first thing your body does is send signals to ramp up production, so imho most people who does this just end up in a vicious cycle. I usually donate once per year, but that has nothing to do with hematocrit but rather because I want to help people and that’s heard that there can be some health benefits to an occasional donation. I would never keep my body in a state of ramped up production though… but that’s just me. My hematocrit is always between 50-53 and has been for the almost 5 years I’ve been on trt. No other issues and all other bloodwork looks great. I’m a big proponent of letting your body do what it does best, which is reach a good state of homeostasis. That’s just me though, and everyone has to do their own research/evaluate their own risks and what their risk tolerance is on all the different fronts.

 

[Elkhorn]

Have you always donated blood while on trt? Also, what are your hematocrit levels/how have they changed over time?

When you dump blood the first thing your body does is send signals to ramp up production, so imho most people who does this just end up in a vicious cycle. I usually donate once per year, but that has nothing to do with hematocrit but rather because I want to help people and that’s heard that there can be some health benefits to an occasional donation. I would never keep my body in a state of ramped up production though… but that’s just me. My hematocrit is always between 50-53 and has been for the almost 5 years I’ve been on trt. No other issues and all other bloodwork looks great. I’m a big proponent of letting your body do what it does best, which is reach a good state of homeostasis. That’s just me though, and everyone has to do their own research/evaluate their own risks and what their risk tolerance is on all the different fronts.

I have been on trt since 2014. I started was on 200mg a week. My doctor was older GP and said I should donate to keep hematocrit under control. So I donated pretty much every 56 days as my hemoglobin was in the 18,19 and a few times 20. At that time and maybe now the cutoff at redcross was i believe 21. With that doctor at one point I had to do paid phlebotomy until I got drawn down to the level on the phlebotomy rx. I think it was 2 phlebotomy sessions.

So after this I always made sure to donate.

Then he retired.

I found a nautropath to take over and continued on donating blood. Once through those years I had to do a phlebotomy as well.

He retired I was lucky to find a gp to even prescribe. I live out west in a rural area and its hard to find anyone who would prescribe testosterone.

I have been with him a few years I think I had to do a phlebotomy once.

I have been donating regularly since 2014.

I didn't know about ferritin or even to check. I figured if redcross allowed me to donate that I was okay. It was my impression that part of trt was donating every 56 days was normal.

I finally found out about ferritin and checked it. It was low even 4 at one point. I have been lowering my dose myself over the years but never addressing the low ferritin. Stupidity on my part as it seems most gp doctors don't know much about trt or ferritin.

So now I'm at 100mg a week for the last 2 months and out of habit donated again. I should have stopped.

Awhile back I was going to do the vorck protocol but chickened out. I was i would have.

So I started it today. I haven't talk to my doctor about it yet but I have my yearly coming up in May.

I hope I can have some success with the protocol and then dose daily and after 6 weeks check everything.

I don't want to donate.

Before trt I donated a few time a year to help people.

Maybe part of my mindset was that I was helping people and myself. But overlooked how important ferritin levels are.

I hope doing this over the years has not damaged my heart or anything long term.

Sorry for the long reply and thanks

 

[Vman]

Hi I am in the same boat.

Right now my ferritin is probably close to zero as it was only 8 in January and I just donated.

I just took my first 9 am dose of iron for the vorck protocol. I am hoping you can make suggestions on what to eat as I am scared of constipation and voming.

How many days do you do the protocol ?

I only had plain oatmeal for breakfast. Not sure what to eat the rest of the day. I have rice and chicken. Do you think that would cause constipation ? I also have bulksupplements grass fed whey protein but don't know if it has vitamin d in it pretty sure no vitamin c but who knows.

As far as subcutaneous when I first started years ago I was on 200mg cypionate. I was doing 1 shot and had high estrogen symptoms and high hematocrit. I read about splitting the dose and subcutaneous and did that. It seemed to make it worse. I want to go daily and try subcutaneous but after reading your post I'm not sure.

Maybe daily in the deltoid? I don't know.

Now I'm down to 100mg for the last 2 months dropped from 120mg to try and not have to donate.

Thanks for any suggestions on foods for the vorck protocol or any other things to make it go smoothly.

Note: I have frequent urination i think is caused by my crashed ferritin so I'm extra worried about constipation. Should I take miralax daily or would that mess up the vorck protocol?

Thanks again.

Sorry you're in the same boat as me. Wish I could be like those people that never have to donate and have hematocrit that never goes above 54. Highest mine has ever been without donating was 60.

I just avoid red meat during the Vorck protocol. I eat chicken breast, eggs, fish and a little bacon when I do the protocol. Fred says on his protocol page that he is super strict and just does protein shakes but he doesn't strictly state that you have to do that. All that will happen is your hematocrit will increase slightly (which is what we're trying to avoid) during the protocol if you eat heme iron. I do the protocol starting the day I donate blood and continue it for 7 days. Note, I've never had low ferritin symptoms, but I definitely don't want them either so I do the protocol after every blood donation.

For subq, you can pretty much inject anywhere. I have always done the belly and love handles using insulin needles. I just pinch so I'm not hitting muscle and inject. Virtually painless and super easy.

100mg weekly is still a decent dose. Some have had success lowering hematocrit by lowering their dose. It didn't work for me and can take 6-12 months to see a reduction. Don't know your labs, but this might be something to consider. Also, if you have sleep apnea that can increase your hematocrit so you might want to get checked for that.

Pretty sure miralax won't affect the protocol but that'd be a question for Fred Vorck.

 

[Elkhorn]

Sorry you're in the same boat as me. Wish I could be like those people that never have to donate and have hematocrit that never goes above 54. Highest mine has ever been without donating was 60.

I just avoid red meat during the Vorck protocol. I eat chicken breast, eggs, fish and a little bacon when I do the protocol. Fred says on his protocol page that he is super strict and just does protein shakes but he doesn't strictly state that you have to do that. All that will happen is your hematocrit will increase slightly (which is what we're trying to avoid) during the protocol if you eat heme iron. I do the protocol starting the day I donate blood and continue it for 7 days. Note, I've never had low ferritin symptoms, but I definitely don't want them either so I do the protocol after every blood donation.

For subq, you can pretty much inject anywhere. I have always done the belly and love handles using insulin needles. I just pinch so I'm not hitting muscle and inject. Virtually painless and super easy.

100mg weekly is still a decent dose. Some have had success lowering hematocrit by lowering their dose. It didn't work for me and can take 6-12 months to see a reduction. Don't know your labs, but this might be something to consider. Also, if you have sleep apnea that can increase your hematocrit so you might want to get checked for that.

Pretty sure miralax won't affect the protocol but that'd be a question for Fred Vorck.

I am on cpap but I had mild sleep apnea of 14 this not to .4 ahi.

I would love to drink just protein drinks but I only have whey protein.

So that's a milk product. Probably won't be good but i really don't know.
I saw somewhere maybe a Facebook group that Fred says he does protein drinks. He didn't say what kind of protein powder. Also I would wonder what he adds to his protein shakes that is compliant to his protocol.

Are you still doing low dose daily subs?

Thanks

 

[Elkhorn]

The only thing different I did was go to daily injections. Which you are already doing. I really don't know if it was because of longevity on TRT or the daily injections.

Plus I run my T and free T levels up a lot higher than you do.

When you do protocol especially when it was zero what day did you start feeling better. My anxiety is through the roof and I even feel tightness in my left pectoral.
I'm guessing coffee is a no go on this protocol? Just looking for an aid in case constipation occurs otherwise I can stop for a week.

Thanks

 

[Willyt]

I've been on daily subq T cyp injections for years. I always did my labs in the morning because they usually included a lipid panel that my doctors wanted me to be fasting for. My last lab was the first one I did in the afternoon because it did not include a lipid panel. I was shocked because my Total T was 500-550 ng/dL higher and my Free T was 40-50 pg/mL higher than my previous labs that were drawn in the morning. Here are the Total T, Free T and SHBG for my last few labs as well as the dates/times they were drawn:

6/26/2025 @ 9:01am:
Total T: 585 (250-1100 ng/dL)
Free T: 110.4 (35-155 pg/mL)
SHBG: 24

10/2/2025 @ 9:23am:
Total T: 610 (250-1100 ng/dL)
Free T: 121.7 (35-155 pg/mL)
SHBG: 24

1/20/2026 @ 3:10pm:
Total T: 1142 (250-1100 ng/dL)
Free T: 161 (35-155 pg/mL)
SHBG: 26

I have been on the same dose of 10mg T cyp injected subq daily at around 8:30am since 4/18/2025. Prior to that I was on 12mg daily subq for quite some time. I have been gradually reducing my dose and waiting 9-12 months between each reduction to try and get my HCT, HGB, blood donation cycle under control.

I feel pretty dumb for not thinking to try drawing labs at a later time post injection. I had been told by several different doctors that timing shouldn't matter much since I was on daily injections. I didn't realize that the peak/trough on daily injections could vary by such a large amount.

So...

1. Is it normal for TT to be almost 50% lower at trough than peak on daily T cyp subq injections?
2. If yes, how long post injection should I do labs to capture my TT/FT peak on daily T cyp subq injections?

Please let us know if you test again the morning. It will be very interesting to see the results versus the 1142 TT

 

[Vince]

When you do protocol especially when it was zero what day did you start feeling better. My anxiety is through the roof and I even feel tightness in my left pectoral.
I'm guessing coffee is a no go on this protocol? Just looking for an aid in case constipation occurs otherwise I can stop for a week.

Thanks

For me I felt great the morning after my first injection. I did get the testosterone flu but also my libido was through the roof. My libido was so strong. It scared my girlfriend. She didn't know if she could keep up with me.

People with anxiety have a hard time with TRT. Sometimes they have to use a really low dose just to feel normal.

 

[Vman]

I am on cpap but I had mild sleep apnea of 14 this not to .4 ahi.

I would love to drink just protein drinks but I only have whey protein.

So that's a milk product. Probably won't be good but i really don't know.
I saw somewhere maybe a Facebook group that Fred says he does protein drinks. He didn't say what kind of protein powder. Also I would wonder what he adds to his protein shakes that is compliant to his protocol.

Are you still doing low dose daily subs?

Thanks

Fred's page says he does protein shakes and tuna. Any dairy protein would be great as there is no iron in them. Any seeds/nuts are great too as all the iron is non-heme. The page also said chicken/turkey breast, white fish, salmon is fine.

I actually switched from my daily subq to kyzatrex 6 weeks ago. I've been trying to lower my hematocrit for over 3 years on t cyp daily subq and have not been successful so I'm giving the pills a try for a good 12 months. Hopefully that works.

So @Willyt I will not have another lab result showing T levels on daily subq. Unless I go back to daily subq in a year or so if kyzatrex doesn't lower my hematocrit.