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?
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?
