New to TRT. Need help understanding blood work

[pobit]

I started TRT about 4 months ago because I had low free T. I am 58 years old, exercise 6 days a week and in good health.
My regimen started with test cream 3 clicks daily =150mg, HCG 500iu twice a week, DHEA 20 mg daily, D3 5000iu daily, stinging neetle root 400mg daily.
After 2 weeks I started to feel better, more energy and sleeping better. Soon after that I begin to lose energy and lifting weights was becoming more difficult than before I started TRT. At about 4 weeks I felt so sick I thought I would have to go to the emergency room. My nipples hurt and I was in a daze from high E2. I talked to the doctor's office and they started me on anastrozole .125 twice a week. I also reduced the test cream to two clicks =100mg. I still had sore nipples and was still in a daze with the reduced test cream. Next I reduced the test cream to 1 click =50mg, reduced the HCG to 400IU twice a week, anastrozole .125 twice a week and stopped taking the DHEA.
The blood work posted here was drawn about two weeks after the last change.
Currently, I still have slight nipple soreness, no energy, lifting weights is difficult and I feel sore the next day after work outs, I also seem to have more inflammation than I did before I started TRT.
Need advice on what to try next.
Thanks, Pobit

 

[Systemlord]

The only problem I see is the SHBG at 168 nmol/L, which when elevated will greatly decrease free testosterone. Your Free T needs to be within the 2-3 percent and is only 0.643%, you may need to push testosterone to supraphysiological levels to see much benefit. Regular blood donations will likely be needed to control hematocrit.

Checking blood work 2 weeks after a protocol change is pointless, it takes 6 weeks to reach stable blood testosterone levels.

 

[CoastWatcher]

You mentioned you have "more inflammation" - can you expand on that? What do you mean?

 

[pobit]

The inflammation is some swelling in my hands and feet. Joints feel achy similar to when you have a cold.

 

[HealthMan]

Just an observation. When using cream/gel you don’t need to wait six weeks (this is for testosterone cypionate and might be shorter or longer depending on the ester). Testosterone cream/gel have testosterone not attached to any ester so half life is very short. This is why you usually have to apply twice daily to sustain blood levels.