New Member.. advice on recent blood work please :)

[Brad51]

Hello all and thanks for your input in advance! I have been following this site for a while and have gleened a lot of great information... so thanks for that too

I am 51 years old. Started suffering from decreased energy, libido, concentration... the only thing going up was the circumference around my waistline (sad).

I dont have alot of faith in the medical community here in my town for proper guidance in using TRT therapy. So, I had a friend, who knew a friend... got some Test Cip 250mg injectable and turned to the online boards for some guidance.

For the last month, I have been boxing with a trainer 3 days/week ( great cardio ) and a moderate weight workout 1-2x on off days when possible.

I started the Test Cip on 2/16/12 and administer 250mg/week, dividing the dose into two injections.. one on Tues AM and the other on Friday PM. This has been working very well, as I have noticed a significant turn around in just about every department of my life.

I just had bloodwork taken on last Tuesday AM, before my injection to see what my levels are at this point. Wondered if you all could chime in on where I should go from here.

Had a complete panel done.. and all in normal ranges, cholesterol, thyroid, glucose, CBC, and PSA all good. I did not have my LH or FSH tested, no signs of testicular atrophy noticed.

Testosterone, Serum 1304 ng/dL
Testosterone, Free 55.68 ng/dL
% Free Testosterone 4.27%

IGF-1 270 ng/mL

Estradiol, Sensitive 53 pg/mL

My thoughts are that the blood test isn't too bad, but the Serum Test may be a bit too high? Maybe the Test level is okay considering I am only about 6 weeks into this cycle? I am also concerned about the Estradiol in that although it is on the high normal range now, might it climb with continued TRT? I dont have an MD to help me if I need some help with the Estrogens at the moment. And finally, how long should I go before cycling off and then.... I AM going to have to find someone to assist with PCT because I know I will crash once I stop the TRT.

I have never used Test before for any reason until now. I have to say I feel GREAT and dont want to stop... but I want to be responsible to my body as well. I don't mind making this a life time committment.. at 51 I have all the children I want... now I just want to feel like I have the energy to play with them!

Thanks for the read and your helpful replies... if I missed anything I will add a post and sorry if I missed a critical component in my thread.

 

[TraceMYD]

I'm a little confused if you are doing a cycle or TRT?

If you are on TRT then there is really no need to do PCT because generally this is something you will be committing to for a long time.

From what I gather, you only need a PCT if you are cycling and coming completely off, however I think you will find your test levels will start drifting back down to the low levels they were at before you started the Hormone therapy.

 

[Brad51]

Sorry for the confusion... I am doing TRT but have read that it is important to stop periodically to allow the hypothalamus a chance to start back up again as it is suppressed due to the increased testosterone.

 

[Brad51]

Back again.. I had been reading "Testosterone: A Mans Guide" by Nelson Vergel.. In there he believes the body should get a break from the TRT and allow the Hypothalamus to restart at least once a year. He notes that the longer we are on TRT, the tougher it may be to get the axis to start up again... That once we stop, the body will require some PCT to ward off the effects of hypogonadism....

Well, sorry for the wrong choice of terminology, but is there anyone that could offer some fine tuning to these numbers? Should I drop to 200 mg/week and retest in a month? Would that reduce my estradiol number?

Anyone to help a brutha' out?

 

[underattack]

Back again.. I had been reading "Testosterone: A Mans Guide" by Nelson Vergel.. In there he believes the body should get a break from the TRT and allow the Hypothalamus to restart at least once a year. He notes that the longer we are on TRT, the tougher it may be to get the axis to start up again... That once we stop, the body will require some PCT to ward off the effects of hypogonadism....

Well, sorry for the wrong choice of terminology, but is there anyone that could offer some fine tuning to these numbers? Should I drop to 200 mg/week and retest in a month? Would that reduce my estradiol number?

Anyone to help a brutha' out?

Imo 250 is fine if u gonna go off and do a pct. But i never heard about anyone doing trt and go off. Im on trt for the rest of my life. I just run some hcg to keep my nuts out

 

[Brad51]

Just checking back in to share with the board my experiences since last post and to ask for some guidance at this point.

Since my prior posted lab work, I decided to bump my weekly TRT to 250mg every 5 days to see if it made much difference. It seemed like I had a bit more energy, which I am really looking for, but my DO got a little miffed with me and requested another blood test. It came back >1500 for Serum Test and >53 for Free Test... My Estradiol was 63.1... so, if I compare the two tests, it seems like I just aromatized the extra test, since my Free Test wasnt really too much higher than before. I am taking Arimidex .5mg 3x/weekly to control the estrogens. My DO allowed me to drop to 200mg every 5 days... and that actually feels fine. I notice that my nipples are constantly hard until the end of the week when I take my last Arimidex... any of you have a similar reaction... does that mean my estrogens are lower when my nipples are relaxed? I haven't tested my blood work yet to see my new baseline, but I think it should be about right.

I have been doing some research on cruising and blasting... I would like to do some blasting to raise my muscle mass and ultimately drop some very stubborn pounds! Anyone have a good recipe? I have heard that 400mg Test Cip is a threshold for making up some muscle, but I am hoping for more modest
growth and leaning out the fat.... I KNOW the diet is critical.... I eat 6x daily, have a great whey protein for breakfast and dinner, use almonds and apples for snacks, and drink lots of water... and fudge on the weekends (I cannot lie)... I cardio 2x/week and am active at work.

It's not a perfect world here... so I dont eat majorly clean and I dont have the time in my week to exercise/workout more than I currently do.... will a blast get me going in the right direction at least? Any recommendations out there? Thanks in Advance