New Labs - T through the Roof!

[TLawyer]

Hello all:

Just received back my updated labs and wanted to get some thoughts.

Last labs were on 1/29/20 after 6 weeks of my first protocol (I know, I jumped the gun a bit):

T cyp 200 mg/ml - 0.32md IM/SQ twice a week (3.5 days)
HCG 6,000 IU - 40 units SQ twice a week (3.5 days)

Total Testosterone: 486 ng/dl
Free Testosterone (Direct): 15.7 pg/ml
DHT: 35 ng/dl
DHEA - Sulfate: 168.6 ug/dl
TSH: 1.040 ulU/ml
Prolactin: 9.1 ng/ml
PSA: 1.4 ng/ml
Estradiol (Sensitive): 42.5 pg/ml
SHBG: 15.0 nmol/L

I wasn’t really feeling much, not great, but not awful. Libido wasn’t great, sexual function was mediocre. Switched to the following protocol in early February.

Testosterone cypionate - 200 mg/ml - 0.10 ml daily
HCG - 150 IU daily
Testosterone cream 50 mg/ml - 1 click daily
Anastrozole – 0.125 mg twice per week

About 90 days later, here are my labs:

Total Testosterone: >1500 ng/dl
Free Testosterone (Direct): >50 pg/ml
DHT: 144 ng/dl
DHEA - Sulfate: 310.3 ug/dl
TSH: 1.520 ulU/ml
Prolactin: 11.7 ng/ml
PSA: 1.5 ng/ml
Estradiol (Sensitive): 55.1 pg/ml
SHBG: 11.5 nmol/L

I took these labs about 2 hours after my morning cream application and on the morning when I would have taken by next bi-weekly dose of Anastrozole. I have felt ok on this protocol – some weeks better than others – didn’t really notice much of difference in libido or sexual function. I noticed that my elbows started hurting, so thought maybe my E2 was low. I also noticed that I started to feel worse a day or so after taking a dose of Anastrozole. I decided not to take Anastrozole after the labs (and haven’t for about a week and a half now) and have actually felt better. Sensitivity and orgasm intensity is night and day. Obviously, I wasn’t really crashed. Had no idea my T and DHT was getting that high. I presume that my E2 is higher now since I further removed from my last Anastrozole dose as these labs are from a week ago (since the labs is when I really started to feel a difference), and that for me the ratio of T to E2 is making a difference.

I have my follow-up consultation with Defy tomorrow and probably doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that my dosage will be dropped (maybe lose the cream) and see what happens, but I am interested in thoughts. I guess my libido is better over the past week with the higher E2, but not too much of a difference there, just really the sensitivity and intensity (which, admittedly, does improve the libido a bit by itself). For good measure, I have been taking 1.25 mg daily of Tadalafil.

Thoughts on the labs? Recommendations on the protocol?

Thanks all.

 

[Vince]

How do you feel on this protocol? I am also interested in knowing what your cholesterol lipid panel looks like.

 

[TLawyer]

I feel better than I felt on the previous protocol. I am low SHBG, so the everyday shots seemed like an improvement, although my guess is that I am shooting my T way up each morning with the cream and then having it come back down, which may not be best for E2 control. With that said, I would like an improvement in my libido and erectile function, which I thought would have been better with my T and DHT that high. I am a little disappointed in that aspect. Maybe it is a matter of letting my E2 naturally land where it may and just keep completely off the AI.

My cholesterol numbers aren't great. I have been eating like garbage since the pandemic began. See below.

Cholesterol, Total 243 mg/dL (range 100-199)
Triglycerides 119 mg/dL (range 0-149)
HDL Cholesterol 48 mg/dL (range >39)
VLDL Cholesterol Cal 24 mg/dL (range 5-40)
LDL Cholesterol Calc 171 H mg/dL (range 0-99)

 

[Gman86]

Are u taking any DHEA? What is ur baseline DHEA level? I’m very curious as to why it basically doubled.

 

[TLawyer]

Yes, I supplement a few times a week with DHEA.

Finished my phone consultation with Defy. No changes to the protocol except a lower dosage of AI on an "as needed" basis. Levels are skewed on the testing by taking the cream a few hours before the labs, so next time I'll skip to see the trough levels, although Defy expects based on these labs that the trough numbers are probably in a good spot. They just want to give it time now that the levels are good to see more results.

 

[TestOneTwo]

Last labs were on 1/29/20 after 6 weeks of my first protocol (I know, I jumped the gun a bit):

T cyp 200 mg/ml - 0.32md IM/SQ twice a week (3.5 days)

Wait, 6 weeks on 200mg/ week gave you TT level of only 486?

 

[sokaiya]

i would get off the HCG unless you need it for fertility, remove the AI, take Cypionate dosage down to 160mg/week and increase cream to 50mg AM and 50mg late afternoon.

Based on your lipid profile, you could also probably clean up your diet as well.

 

[TLawyer]

Wait, 6 weeks on 200mg/ week gave you TT level of only 486?

No, it worked out to 128 mg/week. It was .32/ml of 200 mg/ml of T cyp twice per week.

 

[TLawyer]

i would get off the HCG unless you need it for fertility, remove the AI, take Cypionate dosage down to 160mg/week and increase cream to 50mg AM and 50mg late afternoon.

Based on your lipid profile, you could also probably clean up your diet as well.

My current protocol has 140 mg/week of T Cypionate. Given my DHT level with one click per day is pretty high, my guess would be that two clicks would knock it sky high. What is your thought by changing to this type of protocol? The extra DHT to knock down the E2?

 

[TLawyer]

i would get off the HCG unless you need it for fertility, remove the AI, take Cypionate dosage down to 160mg/week and increase cream to 50mg AM and 50mg late afternoon.

Based on your lipid profile, you could also probably clean up your diet as well.

And yes, wholeheartedly agree on the diet.