New blood work after 12 weeks on 50mg/2x week
- Thread starter kelj358
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madman
Super Moderator
You are missing the most critical blood marker here free testosterone.
TT means nothing when looking at the big picture here.
TT is important to know but FT is what truly matters as it is the active unbound fraction of T responsible for the positive effects.
Even though you are hitting a healthy TT we have no idea where your FT sits let alone how many days post-injection your blood work was done.
We always want to test at the true trough (lowest point) before your next injection.
Seeing as you are injecting 100 mg T/week split twice-weekly (50 mg T every 3.5 days) then your true trough would be 3.5 days (84 hrs) post-injection.
Also missing the most critical blood markers for CBC hemoglobin and hematocrit.
Need to know where your trough FT sits.
How do you feel overall?
Vince
Super Moderator
For what labs you had, everything looks good. At some point you may wish to add HCG to keep you libido and testicle size.
Hemoglobin/Hematocrit included here.
I feel good. Maybe a little less energy that 2 or 3 months ago. But overall really good. Definitely feel stronger. @50 yrs old...being able to bench 225 a couple times feels pretty good. lol. My bodyfat hasn't moved....still @15%. But according to the bodyfat scaled I'm up 4-5lbs of muscle since I started back in March.
Sounds like you are doing well with minimal side effects.
One piece of advice - don't chase numbers that look ideal on paper. While ranges can certainly help guide you, we all respond a bit differently as you will see on this forum. Some guys feel great at 900 TT / 20 FT while others feel like garbage. Same with doses. Find your own sweet spot.
madman
Super Moderator
Every time you have blood work done you need to test the most critical blood marker FT.
Unfortunately lots of doctors are out to lunch when it comes to testing free testosterone let alone using an accurate assay.
Looking over the reference ranges your FT/BAT were tested through Quest Diagnostics.
BAT was calculated using the Sodergard equation.
The most critical blood marker FT was calculated using a modified Vermeulen (cFTV) equation.
Your trough BAT 131.3 ng/dL is at the lower-end of the reference range 110.0-575.0 ng/dL and more importantly your trough FT 62.5 pg/mL is at the lower-end of the reference range 46.0-224.0 ng/dL.
Although your trough FT is far from stellar keep in mind your peak TT and more importantly FT will be higher.
If you were hitting a higher-end trough TT and this is where your trough FT sits then you would have high SHBG which would explain the sub-par trough FT.
You easily have room to bring up your trough FT if need be but your hematocrit is already hovering at 47.8% so you would most likely end up pushing it over the top-end of the reference range 50% which is not necessarily a bad thing but some men do not feel comfortable running slightly high let alone high hematocrit.
Comes down to the individual and more importantly if you had any underlying issues which may make you more prone to sides.
Bottom line if you feel great overall let alone not experiencing any sides then stick with it.
Even then I would still retest your trough FT to see where it truly sits as your robust trough TT 800 ng/dL means nothing without knowing where the most important fraction sits.
Yes you can easily calculate your free testosterone using the linear law-of-mass action Vermeulen (cFTV) as the calculator is available online for free.
It will give a good approximation but testing using the most accurate assay ED is where it's at!
You need to plug in your TT, SHBG and Albumin in order to calculate your FT.
Have you ever had your SHBG tested?
If you do not have Albumin than you can use the default 4.3 g/dL.
Seeing as you reside in the US you would be better off testing your FT using the most accurate assay the gold standard Equilibrium Dialysis in order to know where it truly sits.
You can pay out of pocket using Nelson's discounted labs which tests through Quest using the most accurate assays for TT (LC/MS-MS) and FT (Equilibrium Dialysis).
This would be the panel you want.
$49.00
Testosterone, Free (Equilibrium Dialysis) and Total, MS | Discounted Labs
Get an affordable and accurate testosterone test results with our Total Testosterone, M and Free (Equilibrium Dialysis) test. Visit DiscountedLabs.com for more information.
madman
Super Moderator
As usual Nelson's house is where it's at!
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Thursday, March 27, 2025 at 1:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time.
Testosterone imbalances affect men, women, and children differently. In males, testosterone deficiency (hypogonadism) can lead to low libido, fatigue, and muscle loss, while excess may contribute to aggression and cardiovascular risks. In females, testosterone excess (hyperandrogenism), often associated with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) or adrenal disorders, can cause excess hair growth, weight gain, and menstrual irregularities. In children...
They tested everything the last go round. SHBG was at a 31 when previously tested. This is from the previous test back in July when they actually tested all markers. TT was at 531 and I was pinning 100 Test C once a week. Thank you so much for the info, greatly appreciated it!Every time you have blood work done you need to test the most critical blood marker FT.
Unfortunately lots of doctors are out to lunch when it comes to testing free testosterone let alone using an accurate assay.
Looking over the reference ranges your FT/BAT were tested through Quest Diagnostics.
BAT was calculated using the Sodergard equation.
The most critical blood marker FT was calculated using a modified Vermeulen (cFTV) equation.
Your trough BAT 131.3 ng/dL is at the lower-end of the reference range 110.0-575.0 ng/dL and more importantly your trough FT 62.5 pg/mL is at the lower-end of the reference range 46.0-224.0 ng/dL.
Although your trough FT is far from stellar keep in mind your peak TT and more importantly FT will be higher.
If you were hitting a higher-end trough TT and this is where your trough FT sits then you would have high SHBG which would explain the sub-par trough FT.
You easily have room to bring up your trough FT if need be but your hematocrit is already hovering at 47.8% so you would most likely end up pushing it over the top-end of the reference range 50% which is not necessarily a bad thing but some men do not feel comfortable running slightly high let alone high hematocrit.
Comes down to the individual and more importantly if you had any underlying issues which may make you more prone to sides.
Bottom line if you feel great overall let alone not experiencing any sides then stick with it.
Even then I would still retest your trough FT to see where it truly sits as your robust trough TT 800 ng/dL means nothing without knowing where the most important fraction sits.
Yes you can easily calculate your free testosterone using the linear law-of-mass action Vermeulen (cFTV) as the calculator is available online for free.
It will give a good approximation but testing using the most accurate assay ED is where it's at!
You need to plug in your TT, SHBG and Albumin in order to calculate your FT.
Have you ever had your SHBG tested?
If you do not have Albumin than you can use the default 4.3 g/dL.
Seeing as you reside in the US you would be better off testing your FT using the most accurate assay the gold standard Equilibrium Dialysis in order to know where it truly sits.
You can pay out of pocket using Nelson's discounted labs which tests through Quest using the most accurate assays for TT (LC/MS-MS) and FT (Equilibrium Dialysis).
This would be the panel you want.
$49.00
Testosterone, Free (Equilibrium Dialysis) and Total, MS | Discounted Labs
Get an affordable and accurate testosterone test results with our Total Testosterone, M and Free (Equilibrium Dialysis) test. Visit DiscountedLabs.com for more information.
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madman
Super Moderator
On the 100 mg T injected once weekly protocol you were hitting a descent TT 531 ng/dL and you had normal SHBG 31 nmol/L.
Again the most critical blood marker FT was calculated using a modified Vermeulen (cFTV) equation.
Your trough BAT 159.1 ng/dL is still in the lower-end of the reference range 110.0-575.0 ng/dL and more importantly your trough FT 75.7 pg/mL is still in the lower-end of the reference range 46.0-224.0 ng/dL.
How many days post-injection were your labs done?
Judging by your sub-par BAT and more importantly sub-par FT injecting 100 mg T once weekly I would say you tested at trough.
If we use the go to calculated linear law-of-mass action Vermeulen (cFTV) then with a descent TT 531 ng/dL, normal SHBG 31 nmol/L and Albumin 4.6 g/dL your cFTV 11.3 ng/dL is far from high but keep in mind this would most likely be at trough (7 days post-injection) so your peak TT and more importantly FT would be high as in double.
Trough cFTV 15 ng/dL would be sensible on a once weekly protocol.
Most healthy young natty males would be hitting a cFTV 13-15 ng/dL and this is a short-lived daily peak we are talking about here.
Most that are overmedicated would be hitting a trough FT 20-30+ ng/dL 7 days post-injection which means their peak FT (within 24hrs post-injection/during the first 2-3 days would be absurdly high!
The majority of men will easily do well with a trough FT 15-25 ngdL depending on the injection frequency as there is a big difference between one hitting a high-end/high trough injecting once weekly vs twice-weekly vs daily!
This is where many fail to comprehend!
Everyone so caught up in aiming for that high/absurdly high trough FT regardless of their injection frequency only to be left scratching their noggins as to why they are/continue to struggle on said protocol!
All those sheep stinking up the so called mens health/HRT forums. pushing that more T is better mentality bullS**T!
On your current protocol 100 mg T/week split twice-weekly (50 mgT every 3.5 days) your most recent labs in your first post have you hitting a high-end trough TT 800 ng/dL yet we have no clue where the most important blood marker free testosterone sits.
SHBG was never tested either so we could not calculate your FT.
Back in July your SHBG was 31 nmol/L so if your SHBG is still the same or slightly higher/lower then with a trough TT 800 ng/dL you would easily hit a healthy/high-end trough FT.
If we take your high-end trough TT 800 ng/dL, use the same SHBG 31 nmol/L and Albumin 4.6 g/dL then your trough cFTV 18.3 ng/dL would be high-end/healthy!
I would pay out of pocket and test your trough FT using the most accurate assay (ED) so you can see where your trough FT truly sits on your current protocol!
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