Thoughts on bloods....

[straight30weight]

I haven’t had bloodwork in about 9 months , so I asked my “doctor” (I use that term loosely) to do some. She ordered test, estradiol, shbg, CBC, and psa. My total test is 768 (249-836 range), but free test is 82 (47-244 range). Shbg is 90 (10-80 range). My guess is the high shbg is stealing my free test. Estradiol is 20 (8-44 range). Overall I feel ok, but I’m getting fatigued mid day pretty bad. My joints are a bit sore. Im on 60mg once every 4 days.

I used to be with defy and my doseage was higher which had my free test quite a bit higher. I felt amazing then. But it’s expensive and my wife has really good insurance. Switching to a local doc, she immediately dropped my dose. I asked her about my results and if she had concern about the high shbg and lowish free test, her reply was “I have no concerns but you’re free to consult another doctor”.

 

[Vince]

I would check your estradiol, with the estradiol test for men LC,MS/ MS. Have you ever had a complete thyroid panel, you may want to consider having one at least once. TSH, free T4, free T3, reverse T3 and antibodies.

 

[straight30weight]

I’ve had thyroid checked several times, always comes out great. My estradiol is listed above.

 

[straight30weight]

That being said, I don’t feel nearly as good as I did when I was with defy. I’m only on test, no hcg, ai or anything. I’ve also developed ed since my dose change, I now use cialis daily.

 

[madman]

That being said, I don't feel nearly as good as I did when I was with defy. I'm only on test, no hcg, ai or anything. I've also developed ed since my dose change, I now use cialis daily.

What was your protocol with Defy and do you self inject at home?

You definitely need to get your FT up.

With SHBG that high 60mg test every 4 days is a horrible protocol.

 

[straight30weight]

It’s been about a year since I was with defy but the protocol was 70mg, every 3.5 days. That kept my free t above the midrange, but my total was over the high range. I felt so much better.
I do self inject at home.

 

[Systemlord]

It sounds as if you new doctors is easily scared by youthful high normal testosterone levels and is a bad sign she is guided by fear rather than knowledge. The second you start approaching 800 ng/dL with insurance based doctors they will freak out, it's the insurance companies who want us guys below 800 ng/dL.

Amazing they lowered the dosage and it gave you ED as a result, so they thought to give you cialis when the underlying problem is low Free T. Incredible, this is malpractice because they have induced low testosterone, this is unhealthy!

You know what follows ED? ED is a precursor to heart disease!

Does you doctor even care that you now have ED on the lower dosage?

 

[mattingly23]

I think your estradiol might be too low. With a number at 20 and high shbg your free estradiol could be low and that could account for the sore joints.

 

[straight30weight]

So here’s something even crazier. I’m obviously not at all happy with this doctor. So I made an appt with another about a month or so ago. A male doctor. I go and in walks a young woman. She says dr so and so was too busy so I’d be seeing her. I explain my issues, how I started trt with a total test of 405 but almost no free test at all (below the low end of the range). She says “405? That’s high!”. I said are you high? I was in my mid-late 30s and barely could get out of bed and you think that was high??? The appt ended right there.

To answer the question, no she doesn’t care about the ed. Not at all. I’d switch back to defy but it’s quite a bit more expensive. But I don’t know that I’ll find an insurance based doctor that will treat me properly?

 

[straight30weight]

Perhaps my estradiol is low. When my dose was higher, my estradiol was higher, closer to the upper end. I had no issues.

 

[CoastWatcher]

So here's something even crazier. I'm obviously not at all happy with this doctor. So I made an appt with another about a month or so ago. A male doctor. I go and in walks a young woman. She says dr so and so was too busy so I'd be seeing her. I explain my issues, how I started trt with a total test of 405 but almost no free test at all (below the low end of the range). She says “405? That's high!”. I said are you high? I was in my mid-late 30s and barely could get out of bed and you think that was high??? The appt ended right there.

To answer the question, no she doesn't care about the ed. Not at all. I'd switch back to defy but it's quite a bit more expensive. But I don't know that I'll find an insurance based doctor that will treat me properly?

How much do you spend to maintain your car? Your house? Why do so many of us feel that when it comes to our health, OUR HEALTH, we'll settle for poor care...how much is it worth?

 

[Gman86]

I'm with Defy, so I know all their pricing. I just did the math, and the cost if you were to go back to Defy, and go back on your original dosage of 140mg/ week would be $43 per month. The only other cost would be every 6 months you would have to get bloodwork done and have it reviewed by an RN which costs $50. I'm sure you could swing $43 a month though, especially to get the best care out there when it comes to TRT. It's like 10-11 bucks per week. I'll show the breakdown below for you.

5ml bottle of Test from Empower is $68. You can get two shipped at a time. $68x2=$136. Shipping is $15 which puts you at $151. 2 bottles gives a total of 2,000mg. 2,000mg divided by 140mg = 14. That's how many weeks of injections you'll get out of the 2 bottles while using 140mg/ week. Divide your total cost of $151 by 14 weeks, and it breaks down into $10.75 per week. Multiply that by 4, and it gives you your cost per month. Which is $43.

 

[straight30weight]

Not sure how this turned into a money debate, but since it has, it currently costs me $15 a month. That’s it. Through defy it was about $45 a month. Twice a year there’s bloodwork which was like $300 or so and a consultation at $60. So yeah it’s more.

That’s not really what it’s about. I wanted to get some input on the blood results, so I can make a decision on where to go from here.

 

[Vince]

I still would consider running the right estradiol test, the one you posted is wrong. Get the one for men.

Estradiol, Sensitive range 8.0 - 35.0

 

[straight30weight]

I still would consider running the right estradiol test, the one you posted is wrong. Get the one for men.

Estradiol, Sensitive range 8.0 - 35.0

Ah, I just looked and you’re right. It’s not the sensitive. That’s the next problem with these people, they don’t even know what tests are right.

 

[Gman86]

Not sure how this turned into a money debate, but since it has, it currently costs me $15 a month. That's it. Through defy it was about $45 a month. Twice a year there's bloodwork which was like $300 or so and a consultation at $60. So yeah it's more.

That's not really what it's about. I wanted to get some input on the blood results, so I can make a decision on where to go from here.

i mean obviously you just need to get back to your old dose. If you felt amazing at 140mg/ week, doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the best solution is to just go back to the protocol where you felt amazing at. Your free T is too low, as well as your E2. Up your dose and boom, fixes both of those things. Easy peasy.

Does insurance cover your labs with these other doctors you are seeing?

 

[Sean Mosher]

If you felt amazing on the old protocol then you've got to find a way to get back to that, whether it's with a new provider, insurance or not.
I understand not wanting to pay out of pocket, but you've got to decide how much feeling amazing again is worth to you.

 

[straight30weight]

i mean obviously you just need to get back to your old dose. If you felt amazing at 140mg/ week, doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the best solution is to just go back to the protocol where you felt amazing at. Your free T is too low, as well as your E2. Up your dose and boom, fixes both of those things. Easy peasy.

Does insurance cover your labs with these other doctors you are seeing?

My insurance covers everything except my $15 per month prescription cost. I havent paid for any bloods since I switched, I think I’ve got $20 spent on one office visit a year ago.

Since my current provider pays next to zero attention to me and my concerns, I can up the dose to what it was and she would never know until I beg her again for bloods. I get 3ml a month, at .35 twice a week, that would just be enough.

Side note, when I seen a different “doctor” a month or so ago, I had more than one issue. Not only was I looking for a new trt doc, but I have had pain in one of my testicles for some time and I started to have blood in my semen. Plus considerable kidney pain. This bitch says it’s all completely normal....

 

[Vince]

How long were you with defy Medical before switching to your doctor that takes insurance. I'm also wondering how long did it take for you to feel bad on your current protocol.

 

[straight30weight]

How long were you with defy Medical before switching to your doctor that takes insurance. I'm also wondering how long did it take for you to feel bad on your current protocol.

I was with defy for a year or more? I don’t recall exactly but it was at least a year. I started trt with them because of their reputation and they didn’t disappoint.

The ed has been there at least 6 months, my insurance wouldn’t cover that so I deal with that on my own. Right now I feel like i have the symptoms of someone with low E, I’m so achy and soar. I’m in the gym right now struggling through my workout cuz I’m so achy. Not normal for me. I’ve been lethargic feeling for probably 6 months or so but it’s steadily getting worse. I’m probably going to change up my protocol at next injection.