Newbie trying to get dialed in, thanks in advance

[stlstudent]

First let me say WOW and Thank you! I was directed over to this site some time back from another similar site and the amount of information in once place is almost overwhelming. And how impressive it is for so many folks to take their time to read and respond to other people they have never met, just to help them out. It is very inspiring and I too hope once I get dialed in I can pay it forward as well.

I won't repeat the same old story of how I have visited Dr after Dr being diagnosed with everything but the right thing, let's start where I am currently at and I'd love your thoughts on getting dialed in. I've currently got a Dr. that is very aggressive and willing to listen and learn to try new things.

I am 33, 6' tall and 275 lbs. When my total T was originally tested a year or so back it was at 188 and life was rough. My current protocol is 1 cc of T cyp. intramuscular once per week, 500 units of HCG twice per week subcutaneous (2 days leading up to T cyp injection), and .25 arimidex every other day. I feel 85% better than I did at my low which lasted a couple of years. I still wanted to dial it in and get over this little plateau to get to 100% which I would consider normal.

Here are my most recent labs from 2 weeks ago. The protocol at that time did not include the HCG, it was added the day after the lab was drawn (needed baseline) to try and bring back some fertility as we would like another child.

(I did a complete lab work up from discountedlabs.com but just posting the main ones, all blood and others were normal)

Testosterone Total 891
Testosterone Free 38.9 (high)
DHEA 572.1 (high)
TSH 3.78
LH 0.1 (low)
FSH 0.2 (low)
Estradiol sensitive 19.5
SHBG 9.2 (low)


See anything there that concerns your or your thoughts on maybe what could get me over the plateau? I feel pretty good but not quite there. Still a little fatigue after a day of work, slight brain fog but not bad and libido and erections are not the best but also not terrible.

I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions as I continue to read other posts as well. If you need to know anything else or any other test results feel free to ask as I'm an open book in this question. Thanks in advance for your help and this site!

Nick

 

[CoastWatcher]

Welcome to Excelmale, stlstudent. Your SHBG is low, and you're only injecting once per week. You reported that you are injecting 1cc, which is a volume and not a dose. Am I correct in thinking you are injecting 100mg weekly? If so, given your low SHBG, has your doctor considered an injection every 3.5 days? My SHBG is low, though more robust than yours, and I, too, started with 100mg weekly. I was clearing it too quickly. When I shifted to 60mg every 3.5 days I was feeling remarkably better within a couple of weeks. Do you have further thyroid values? Free T3, Free T4, and RT3?

 

[ERO]

Agree with CoastWatcher above. I too have low SHBG and a once a week injection is not your friend. Twice a week as suggested will be much better and you may not even need an AI after that - but give it a few weeks to stabilize and see first.

 

[stlstudent]

Welcome to Excelmale, stlstudent. Your SHBG is low, and you're only injecting once per week. You reported that you are injecting 1cc, which is a volume and not a dose. Am I correct in thinking you are injecting 100mg weekly? If so, given your the low SHBG, has your doctor considered an injection every 3.5 days? My SHBG is low, though more robust than yours, and I, too, started with 100mg weekly. I was clearing it too quickly. When I shifted to 60mg every 3.5 days I was feeling remarkably better within a couple of weeks. Do you have further thyroid values? Free T3, Free T4, and RT3?

Thanks for the reply. I apologize I forgot the T dosage. According to the prefilled syringes its is 1 cc of 200mg T cyp. So if I read correctly, you believe that the back end of my week i've gotten rid of most of my T cyp correct? How exactly would injecting once a week cause my SHBG to be low, I'm not sure I understand that part.

I'm sure he would understand trying injections twice a week but the thought of an intramuscular injection twice does not sound appealing personally. Especially if I'm on this for many more years, the but muscle is really going to take a beating. I guess worth it if it takes me to where I need to go.

Regarding the T3, T4 etc... I will have to search for those numbers because I did have them included in a lab a while back and they were normal. Let me look and I'll post up

 

[craig weston]

Thanks for the reply. I apologize I forgot the T dosage. According to the prefilled syringes its is 1 cc of 200mg T cyp. So if I read correctly, you believe that the back end of my week i've gotten rid of most of my T cyp correct? How exactly would injecting once a week cause my SHBG to be low, I'm not sure I understand that part.

I'm sure he would understand trying injections twice a week but the thought of an intramuscular injection twice does not sound appealing personally. Especially if I'm on this for many more years, the but muscle is really going to take a beating. I guess worth it if it takes me to where I need to go.

Regarding the T3, T4 etc... I will have to search for those numbers because I did have them included in a lab a while back and they were normal. Let me look and I'll post up

Im low SHBG too and liking x2 weekly jabs

 

[CoastWatcher]

Thanks for the reply. I apologize I forgot the T dosage. According to the prefilled syringes its is 1 cc of 200mg T cyp. So if I read correctly, you believe that the back end of my week i've gotten rid of most of my T cyp correct? How exactly would injecting once a week cause my SHBG to be low, I'm not sure I understand that part.

I'm sure he would understand trying injections twice a week but the thought of an intramuscular injection twice does not sound appealing personally. Especially if I'm on this for many more years, the but muscle is really going to take a beating. I guess worth it if it takes me to where I need to go.

Regarding the T3, T4 etc... I will have to search for those numbers because I did have them included in a lab a while back and they were normal. Let me look and I'll post up

Your SHBG is too low because your SHBG is too low - it is what you have to deal with. A low level of SHBG means you clear your testosterone too quickly. You achieve a nice peak, but you wind up dropping rapidly. By the time of your next shot you start the process all over again. As for multiple injections, you would be surprised how quickly you will become comfortable with the process. We have members injecting twice a week, every other day, and in a few cases, men who inject small amounts every day. It is the price we pay.

 

[craig weston]

Coastwatcher, Would you recommend more than x2 weekly injections for low SHBG ?

 

[CoastWatcher]

Coastwatcher, Would you recommend more than x2 weekly injections for low SHBG ?

Twice weekly injections usually do the trick. That said, we're all different; some, a very small number, may need to inject more frequently. It would be premature to do anything other than twice weekly injections for six weeks and then obtain blood levels. Correlate those test results with how you feel, the key variable, and plan accordingly. Low SHBG is simply a factor to be aware of in mapping your protocol, not something to be feared. It can, in most cases, be accounted for.

 

[stlstudent]

Twice weekly injections usually do the trick. That said, we're all different; some, a very small number, may need to inject more frequently. It would be premature to do anything other than twice weekly injections for six weeks and then obtain blood levels. Correlate those test results with how you feel, the key variable, and plan accordingly. Low SHBG is simply a factor to be aware of in mapping your protocol, not something to be feared. It can, in most cases, be accounted for.

Thanks for this info, I'll have to do some more reading up on SHBG. I was under the impression that the more you had of it, the less the testosterone was able to do its job because it was bound up by SHBG and could not be used. I didn't think SHBG ever 'released' it. But now that you have said this, it makes sense that my injection quickly gets to work and i get that good peak but none of it hangs around long enough. Does SHBG release any of the T it binds to or does it make the T unusable?

 

[Nelson Vergel]

Sorry for jumping in late. I have been on the road.

With a TSH like yours, I would dig deeper into getting free T3 and free T4 done along with antibodies. You may find that your free T4 or free T3 is low and/or you have Hashimoto's. Do not believe doctors when they tell you that a TSH above 3 is OK. I have seen several cases when hypothyrodism was not diagnosed due to this believe that anything below 4 is "normal".

Get your doctor to measure these:

TSH
free T3
free T4
Anti-TPO
AB

If not, you can get them via: http://www.discountedlabs.com/choose-your-test/

 

[stlstudent]

Sorry for jumping in late. I have been on the road.

With a TSH like yours, I would dig deeper into getting free T3 and free T4 done along with antibodies. You may find that your free T4 or free T3 is low and/or you have Hashimoto's. Do not believe doctors when they tell you that a TSH above 3 is OK. I have seen several cases when hypothyrodism was not diagnosed due to this believe that anything below 4 is "normal".

Get your doctor to measure these:

TSH
free T3
free T4
Anti-TPO
AB

Thanks for jumping in! I appreciate any and all input. I will for sure get the thyroid tests done. That TSH number is the highest its been since I started HRT.

Any thoughts on the high DHEA or low SHBG that hasn't already been mentioned?

 

[Nelson Vergel]

Are you taking DHEA?

 

[stlstudent]

Are you taking DHEA?

no I am not, just T cyp, HCG and arimidex