The E2 Roller Coaster

[KenLowT]

Hi guys,
So my E2 levels have been all over the place. For the most part I've been on the high side, pre TRT and during TRT. However, recently with the help of Anastrozole it's been lowered, but wow it took a dip I wasn't expecting. Lately, I've been feeling anxiety and some weird depression and this may be why. Check this out.

My Current Protocol:
140 mg of Testosterone Cypionate total per week, 70mg 2x weekly.
HCG: 500 mg 3x per week
Anastrozole 0.25mg 2x per week

On Old Protocol:
100 mg of Testosterone Cypionate total per week, 50 mg 2x per week.
No HCG
DIM Only (Aug 4):
Estradiol Sensitive: 39.1 <8.0-35.0 pg/ml>

Pre Anastrozole (Current Protocol) (Sept 29):
Estradiol Sensitive: 55.3 <8.0-35.0 pg/ml>

Using Anastrozole (Current Protocol)(Nov 8):
Estradiol Sensitive: 17.0 <8.0-35.0 pg/ml>

It's unreal how low my E2 has gotten which explains the dip in my mood during that week. This whole time I thought I was getting depressed and didn't understand why I started to have anxiety. I even went to my shrink to pick up some anti-depressants but have not taken it yet. Obviously this Anastrozole protocol is too much for me. Luckily I have an appointment on Monday with my doctor at Defy so I expect to get an adjustment. My goal was to get into the 20's to see if it would kickstart my non existing libido, but nada so far.

 

[Vince Carter]

BY most accounts 17 wouldn't really be low to the point of causing you problems such as you describe.

Where's your SHBG and Free T from your current protocol?

 

[Moogie]

Hi Ken -

Can you post your SHBG numbers?

 

[optimizely]

BY most accounts 17 wouldn't really be low to the point of causing you problems such as you describe.

Where's your SHBG and Free T from your current protocol?

I agree. 17 would still be too high for me. It’s all SHBG dependent. My SHBG is 15 so I aim to be lower than that. What’s your SHBG?

 

[lowe2sucks]

17 pg/ml - high e2 nowadays... Jesus Christ how do you guys live at that level of e2...

 

[KenLowT]

Sorry guys, let me give you the rest of the pertinent info:

SHBG: 21.1 <16.5-55.9> nmol/L
Free T: 17.0 <6.8-21.5 pg/mL>
Total T: 768 <264-916 ng/dL>

 

[Moogie]

Just as another data point for this thread - my last bloods had E2 at 9 and my SHBG pre-TRT was 8.

I felt great (no ED or loss of libido) and no side effects of AI. Had Dr’s appointment yesterday and he is good with E2 BUT he is watching it closely. He understands we are all different but is cautious too.

 

[Moogie]

So it may be that your SHGB is buffering your E2 too much along with the AI. A Free E test would give the entire story as to where you are at with unbound estrogen.

The higher SHBG number, the more it binds with sex hormones (T and E2). That is why I can live with an E2 number of 9 because I have an incredibly low SHBG of 8 - means almost no binding of E2.

 

[fifty]

Your e2 is in range. That is good. I would either check free e or try .10 or .125 ai instead of .25. Easy peasy.

 

[HealthMan]

Why do you used 500IU HCG 3x week? Fertility? If not consider dropping to 400-500IU 2x a week. 500IU HCG 3x a week made me feel terrible in terms of anxiety (and not E2 related)

 

[KenLowT]

Why do you used 500IU HCG 3x week? Fertility? If not consider dropping to 400-500IU 2x a week. 500IU HCG 3x a week made me feel terrible in terms of anxiety (and not E2 related)

HealthMan, yes it is strictly for fertility. My wife and I are trying to have a baby.

 

[KenLowT]

Your e2 is in range. That is good. I would either check free e or try .10 or .125 ai instead of .25. Easy peasy.

Yes, that's what I'm going to see if I can do when I speak to the doctor on Monday.

 

[Sides]

If fertility is the main goal, you have to do what you have to do until you accomplish the mission. I took 500iu HCG every other day (along with FSH) when I was trying to bring my sperm count up so my wife and I could have a baby. Now that we have successfully been through our first IVF cycle, I have decreased the HCG to 250iu every third day, and I feel much better.

Once my wife makes it through the first trimester or so successfully, I will probably drop the HCG altogether. Even at low doses, HCG never did anything positive for me other than raising my sperm count, and always made me feel worse to one degree or another.

 

[fifty]

Did fsh affect ejaculation volume at all? For those that have a decrease of volume on trt....

 

[Sides]

Did fsh affect ejaculation volume at all? For those that have a decrease of volume on trt....

My volume increased slightly as I progressed through my semen analyses, but only slightly.

What did change were my sperm count and motility: from zero when I started a year ago, to 4 million, then to 7 million, then 12 million, and finally to 35 million by the time we had the IVF procedure. All while vastly increasing motility and forward progression.

So the addition of FSH did make a huge difference over just using HCG.

 

[Gman86]

My volume increased slightly as I progressed through my semen analyses, but only slightly.

What did change were my sperm count and motility: from zero when I started a year ago, to 4 million, then to 7 million, then 12 million, and finally to 35 million by the time we had the IVF procedure. All while vastly increasing motility and forward progression.

So the addition of FSH did make a huge difference over just using HCG.

Did you ever have your sperm count done while using HCG without the FSH?

 

[KenLowT]

Where do you get FSH from?

 

[Sides]

Did you ever have your sperm count done while using HCG without the FSH?

Yes. First I should explain that I have been using testosterone and other anabolic steroids for 26 years now, so it was not surprising to me that I had a zero sperm count when my wife and I decided to try for a baby last fall. In November of 2017 I started using HCG, first at low doses of 100iu per day and then increasing to 500iu every other day. The higher the dose of HCG, the worse I felt. After 6 months of HCG, at the beginning of June my sperm count was still only 4 million/ml. After that I added HMG (FSH + LH), and then FSH from Empower Pharmacy in Texas, and my sperm count increased tremendously, topping out at 35 million in October when we had the IVF procedure.

Where do you get FSH from?

Empower Pharmacy in Texas has the most inexpensive FSH in America. A 1200iu vial of FSH only costs $325, plus $40 for overnight shipping with a cold pack. I highly recommend getting your doctor to prescribe FSH for you from Empower Pharmacy. I can't say enough good things about their service.

 

[Gman86]

Yes. First I should explain that I have been using testosterone and other anabolic steroids for 26 years now, so it was not surprising to me that I had a zero sperm count when my wife and I decided to try for a baby last fall. In November of 2017 I started using HCG, first at low doses of 100iu per day and then increasing to 500iu every other day. The higher the dose of HCG, the worse I felt. After 6 months of HCG, at the beginning of June my sperm count was still only 4 million/ml. After that I added HMG (FSH + LH), and then FSH from Empower Pharmacy in Texas, and my sperm count increased tremendously, topping out at 35 million in October when we had the IVF procedure.



Empower Pharmacy in Texas has the most inexpensive FSH in America. A 1200iu vial of FSH only costs $325, plus $40 for overnight shipping with a cold pack. I highly recommend getting your doctor to prescribe FSH for you from Empower Pharmacy. I can't say enough good things about their service.

When you started HCG in Nov 2017 at 100iu per day, and then at 500iu EOD, was that while using testosterone as well, or were you just using HCG at that time and nothing else?

 

[Sides]

When you started HCG in Nov 2017 at 100iu per day, and then at 500iu EOD, was that while using testosterone as well, or were you just using HCG at that time and nothing else?

I've been on testosterone and other anabolic steroids continuously for 26 years now, starting back in 1992. So yes, in November 2017 when I started using HCG, I was using testosterone and had been using it for a very long time already.