Male. Mid 50’s.
Symptoms prior to TRT: excessive fatigue, no energy, brain fog, difficulty concentrating, depression, anxiety, low libido, loss of muscle mass, reduced strength.
Prior to TRT, my total testosterone was 460. I know that may sound high to start TRT but I have been searching for a solution to my symptoms for a long time. My doctors have ruled out Vitamin D, B12, Folate, Anemia, infections, liver, kidney, hydration, thyroid, Iron, etc. Even at 460, I needed to see if TRT could help. I started with a low dose, waited 3 months, did my labs, and here I am.
I started TRT 3 months ago - testosterone cypionate 50mg, 2 IM injections per week (every 3 1/2 days). Total of 100mg per week.
Improvement with libido, muscle mass, and strength. No noticeable improvement with any other symptoms (which were my main goal). No noticed side effects (no water retention, acne, hair loss, etc).
Recent labwork taken at the trough of testosterone (3 1/2 days after last injection):
Labcorp
Albumin 4.8 g/dL 3.8-4.9
Hematocrit 48.1 % 37.5-51.0
eGFR 84 mL/min/1.73 >59
Testosterone, Total 676 ng/dL 264-916
Testosterone,Free 31.91 ng/dL 5.00-21.00
% Free Testosterone 4.72 % 1.50-4.20
Estradiol, Sensitive 23.1 pg/ml 8.0-35.0
Lipids, Thyroid, PSA, CMP, CBC, Urinalysis, & Vit D - all came back within normal ranges. Normal blood pressure.
Other:
Workout 5-6 days a week
Eat healthy, high protein diet
Low sugar
Drink lots of water
Sleep 7-8 hours/night
Lean, muscular body
Questions:
Should I be worried that my Free and % Free Testosterone are so high and outside the normal range? Does that mean I should reduce my dosage immediately?
I thought Free Testosterone at such high levels would greatly increase my energy and drive. Since it hasn't, does that tend to indicate TRT may not be much help with my symptoms?
Why would my Total Testosterone only go up slightly while my Free shot up drastically? My previous Free Test was about 10. It's now almost 32. My previous Free % was 2.3. It's now 4.7. That's at 100mg/week of test cyp. Is that big of an increase at a low dose a bad sign?
Any ideas why I am not seeing improvement with all my other symptoms? Too soon? Give it more time? Should I adjust my dose of testosterone cypionate?
I am just looking for some guidance. This is all new to me. My main goal for trying TRT was to improve my quality of life. I'm not trying to get huge in the gym. I just want to be healthy with energy and focus (like I was in my younger days.) And, I want to do it in a healthy, sustainable way.
Any help is GREATLY appreciated!! Thank you!
Symptoms prior to TRT: excessive fatigue, no energy, brain fog, difficulty concentrating, depression, anxiety, low libido, loss of muscle mass, reduced strength.
Prior to TRT, my total testosterone was 460. I know that may sound high to start TRT but I have been searching for a solution to my symptoms for a long time. My doctors have ruled out Vitamin D, B12, Folate, Anemia, infections, liver, kidney, hydration, thyroid, Iron, etc. Even at 460, I needed to see if TRT could help. I started with a low dose, waited 3 months, did my labs, and here I am.
I started TRT 3 months ago - testosterone cypionate 50mg, 2 IM injections per week (every 3 1/2 days). Total of 100mg per week.
Improvement with libido, muscle mass, and strength. No noticeable improvement with any other symptoms (which were my main goal). No noticed side effects (no water retention, acne, hair loss, etc).
Recent labwork taken at the trough of testosterone (3 1/2 days after last injection):
Labcorp
Albumin 4.8 g/dL 3.8-4.9
Hematocrit 48.1 % 37.5-51.0
eGFR 84 mL/min/1.73 >59
Testosterone, Total 676 ng/dL 264-916
Testosterone,Free 31.91 ng/dL 5.00-21.00
% Free Testosterone 4.72 % 1.50-4.20
Estradiol, Sensitive 23.1 pg/ml 8.0-35.0
Lipids, Thyroid, PSA, CMP, CBC, Urinalysis, & Vit D - all came back within normal ranges. Normal blood pressure.
Other:
Workout 5-6 days a week
Eat healthy, high protein diet
Low sugar
Drink lots of water
Sleep 7-8 hours/night
Lean, muscular body
Questions:
Should I be worried that my Free and % Free Testosterone are so high and outside the normal range? Does that mean I should reduce my dosage immediately?
I thought Free Testosterone at such high levels would greatly increase my energy and drive. Since it hasn't, does that tend to indicate TRT may not be much help with my symptoms?
Why would my Total Testosterone only go up slightly while my Free shot up drastically? My previous Free Test was about 10. It's now almost 32. My previous Free % was 2.3. It's now 4.7. That's at 100mg/week of test cyp. Is that big of an increase at a low dose a bad sign?
Any ideas why I am not seeing improvement with all my other symptoms? Too soon? Give it more time? Should I adjust my dose of testosterone cypionate?
I am just looking for some guidance. This is all new to me. My main goal for trying TRT was to improve my quality of life. I'm not trying to get huge in the gym. I just want to be healthy with energy and focus (like I was in my younger days.) And, I want to do it in a healthy, sustainable way.
Any help is GREATLY appreciated!! Thank you!
