Timing of test blood draw matter on trt?

[Testisbest]

I know doctors usually want you to check your testosterone levels early in the morning because that is when they are the highest, but if you are taking exogenous testosterone would it matter what time of day you checked testosterone? There wouldn't be a circadian rhythm to the exogenous testosterone injections right?

 

[CoastWatcher]

I know doctors usually want you to check your testosterone levels early in the morning because that is when they are the highest, but if you are taking exogenous testosterone would it matter what time of day you checked testosterone? There wouldn't be a circadian rhythm to the exogenous testosterone injections right?

Have blood drawn just prior to your injection. Standard protocol is that we test at the time of the actual trough reading - just prior to the next shot.

 

[Testisbest]

I understand I'm just wondering if taking exogenous testosterone if there is still circadian rhythm of testosterone like there is when you are not taking testosterone shots

 

[CoastWatcher]

I understand I'm just wondering if taking exogenous testosterone if there is still circadian rhythm of testosterone like there is when you are not taking testosterone shots

The only testosterone in your body, once a TRT protocol has been initiated, is that which has been injected/topically applied. Your body is producing no testosterone of its own. There is no circadian rhythm.

 

[Testisbest]

Ok so it wouldn't matter if I tested in the morning or later in the day as far as levels from natural circadian rhythm go? Just curios because I got my blood drawn at 11:30 am and I usually get it drawn at 9am so wondering if it would start to be declining as the day went on from natural circadian rhythm like it does for men not on testosterone

 

[Vince Carter]

Exo T levels do rise and fall but it's not like your circadian rhythm of natural testosterone. The best advice to approaching testing and injecting strategy is to always inject the same days at the same times and have your blood drawn an hour prior to that injection. Doing otherwise, while it's not a *strict rule, skews test results and make them harded to compare to one another. For instance, I always only have bloods drawn between 8 and 830, and then I inject right afterward. Many MANY guys get frustrated trying to compare their tests and you can almost always find in their history an improperly managed injection and testing routine.

 

[Testisbest]

When you say they rise and fall you mean exogenous testosterone rises and falls based on the ester attached to it not because of time of day right? For example if I were to take my shot every Monday and Friday it's not like every single morning that's when my testosterone is going to be highest, it's more to do with peaks and valleys from the shot itself?

 

[CoastWatcher]

When you say they rise and fall you mean exogenous testosterone rises and falls based on the ester attached to it not because of time of day right? For example if I were to take my shot every Monday and Friday it's not like every single morning that's when my testosterone is going to be highest, it's more to do with peaks and valleys from the shot itself?

That's right.

 

[Vince]

My last blood draw, I had on my injection day. The same day I inject HCG. But before I injected my testosterone and HCG, after my blood draw, I went home and injected.