Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below I am 51 yrs, 5'11",190lbs,13% BF 5 previous cycles. I am experiencing some sex drive loss. No drive whatsoever. I am on TRT prescribed by a doctor @ 200mg EOW. I have been running an AI but its liquid not prescription. I ran a prolactin recently and it was fine. Wanted to know what bloods I should run to get a handle on this. I use a company called Labcorp (online) but they have a million tests u can run for estrogen DHT prolactin estrodial etc. As all of you I don't want to waste money on tests that I don't need. Please help me get the right tests!!!!
What bloods tests to do?
- Thread starter cmackman
- Start date
Libido can be a b---- to address. There's so much more to it than just hormones.
First off, libido issues aren't exactly uncommon when you're on TRT so I guess that can be reassuring in an odd way. I'd get my test profile checked (Total, Free, WB) along with ultra-sensetive E and SHBG (which should be implied by the sex hormone panel). Sorry to say it, but it'd probably be handy to know DHT as well, but I suppose you can skip it if your not attempting to suppress that as well. If you are suppressing DHT then I'd suggest that you've got a good starting point for your libido self-diagnosis.
If you're on legitimate TRT then I guess I'll ask a couple questions about that rather than offering suggestions on how to play with your doctor's TRT program. First question...why'd you/he chose CYP rather than a transdermal, and why EOW? Also, again assuming you're on prescribed TRT, why are you self-medicating with the AI? The breast CA AI's are surprisingly effective in men; a teeny-tiny bit is all that's usually needed for Estrogen Annihilation, not mere Inhibition, in a male. My reason for asking: estrogen is actually a fairly handy hormone to have around. Not only does it play a role in your libido, but it's pretty important to your 51yo lipid profile and bone density. Plus...if you've eliminated the aromatase path to estrogen then that either means a jacked up DHT and likely high T, and even though SHBG will elevate in response to the high TT, you're probably running into intermittently very high free T as well. That last sentence right there can be a nice way to shutdown your libido. It might seem counter intuitive, but a ton of circulating T does not necessarily equate to "horny as a teenager".
I'm curious, I know you said "no drive whatsoever", but...is that an absolute throughout your two week mini-cycles? It'd be interesting to know whether or not you're seeing brief periods (one to two days) of increased libido either a few days before or a few days after your EOW injection?
First off, libido issues aren't exactly uncommon when you're on TRT so I guess that can be reassuring in an odd way. I'd get my test profile checked (Total, Free, WB) along with ultra-sensetive E and SHBG (which should be implied by the sex hormone panel). Sorry to say it, but it'd probably be handy to know DHT as well, but I suppose you can skip it if your not attempting to suppress that as well. If you are suppressing DHT then I'd suggest that you've got a good starting point for your libido self-diagnosis.
If you're on legitimate TRT then I guess I'll ask a couple questions about that rather than offering suggestions on how to play with your doctor's TRT program. First question...why'd you/he chose CYP rather than a transdermal, and why EOW? Also, again assuming you're on prescribed TRT, why are you self-medicating with the AI? The breast CA AI's are surprisingly effective in men; a teeny-tiny bit is all that's usually needed for Estrogen Annihilation, not mere Inhibition, in a male. My reason for asking: estrogen is actually a fairly handy hormone to have around. Not only does it play a role in your libido, but it's pretty important to your 51yo lipid profile and bone density. Plus...if you've eliminated the aromatase path to estrogen then that either means a jacked up DHT and likely high T, and even though SHBG will elevate in response to the high TT, you're probably running into intermittently very high free T as well. That last sentence right there can be a nice way to shutdown your libido. It might seem counter intuitive, but a ton of circulating T does not necessarily equate to "horny as a teenager".
I'm curious, I know you said "no drive whatsoever", but...is that an absolute throughout your two week mini-cycles? It'd be interesting to know whether or not you're seeing brief periods (one to two days) of increased libido either a few days before or a few days after your EOW injection?
badguysingh
New member
What he said^^^^
1 thing 2 add do injecting 1 time a week instead every other week cause then u shit jus crashes after a week . U going high then crashing towards the end. Balance is the key my friend. If i was u i would get total and free T, E2, progesterone, dht, prolactine, sgbh,
i wana know 2 if ur on TRT then why arent u using real Ai nd not this liquid stuff ??
i would add provorin also for a couple of weeks 2 free up sum test.
1 thing 2 add do injecting 1 time a week instead every other week cause then u shit jus crashes after a week . U going high then crashing towards the end. Balance is the key my friend. If i was u i would get total and free T, E2, progesterone, dht, prolactine, sgbh,
i wana know 2 if ur on TRT then why arent u using real Ai nd not this liquid stuff ??
i would add provorin also for a couple of weeks 2 free up sum test.
My doctor says AI? that it is not needed and honestly I think he doesn't know enough about it. He is not one of those anti aging docs he is a general practice doctor. He has said he cannot prescribe medicines used for things like breast cancer unless u have breast cancer. So that's why I have used outside sources. As far as topical tests he would like me to use those more than the injections but I have never tried them. Any advantages/disadvantages ?
To address the EOW injections. I have tried breaking them up into EW at 100 mg per week thinking I would stay more even but didn't notice much difference. I experience "wood" the next night and the following night after the shot but don't notice a whole lot of libido difference. I thought my estrogen levels might be too high even though I have never experienced any type of gyno. So I started taking some anastrozole to lower my levels (always ran on cycle) I might have my self all over the place so I would like to run some bloods to try to see. I have always run CWP and test free and total tests. Before and after cycle but don't know much about estrogen, DHT, or thyroid
badguysingh
New member
Get bloods work bro...
Are you in the States? He can prescribe you just about anything he wants for whatever off-label reason he comes up with. The few exceptions (Opiates, etc) aren't relevant. He can prescribe whatever he's comfortable managing; you're insurance company will just refuse to cover the cost of the 'script. But I think your first sentence hit the nail on the head. Find yourself a doctor that is comfortable managing HRT.
The topical approach will allow you to better mimic your natural circadian testosterone cycle. Disadvantages would include possible transfer to others via skin-to-skin contact, but that can be avoided. DHT levels can end up higher with the transdermals than with a depot, but that can be avoided by applying the drug to the skin regions it was designed for (rather than getting adventurous and applying to your genitals), and, finally, the Adrogel base is kinda like rubbing hand sanitizer all over yourself; but there are compounded transdermal bases (Versa') that don't have this issue.
I was curious about variations in libido simply because there can be a tendency for libido to "perk up" as hormone levels change quickly. Whether they're rising...or falling. Every several/few day low dose HCG can also have that impact.
You're current approach of injecting Cyp once every two weeks is resulting in significant burst at some point between 36 to maybe 48 or 60 hours later. From that point on it's declining. The burst is probably well above the normal reference range. Then how low does it fall in the next 10 days? What's the biological half-life of T-Cyp in you? Because it's probably not the same as in me, or anyone else that's read this thread.
With that in mind, when do you want to get your blood work done? The day before your injection? A day after? Four days after? A week? It's going to be a different picture at each point in time. Either split your injections up into two per week and get blood work two or three weeks from now or switch to a transdermal and get your blood work done six to eight weeks after your last injection. Meanwhile, go find a doctor that's comfortable managing HRT.
Sometimes I'm gullible...
So there's a reason that you don't just get your doctor to order the tests; why's that?
One reasonable explanation would be that you don't want him to see the results. That would also explain why you preferred the depot; since it'd allow you to dose a bit more freely...and that'd explain why you were worried about aromatization that otherwise should be okay.
So there's a reason that you don't just get your doctor to order the tests; why's that?
One reasonable explanation would be that you don't want him to see the results. That would also explain why you preferred the depot; since it'd allow you to dose a bit more freely...and that'd explain why you were worried about aromatization that otherwise should be okay.
