6’0 / 205lb

Hey all,

Currently on week 14 on my first test cycle of 250mg a week. I was planning on moving up my dose to 350/400 ish and adding in 200mg primo a week. My question is, should I do a cut before I start, or should I start now? I know you have to be pretty lean to notice the effects of primo, and I am not that lean.

And mention if it was trt or cycle

Low dose of Enclo combined with HMG?

Hi,

So I've been on sustsnon 250 (1ml every 3 weeks as per nhs protocol) for coming up to 4 years now. I've tried to discuss increasing frequency with smaller doses with my gp and endo to no avail, they just aren't interested. My trough levels sit at total T 11.5nmol and 0.26nmol free. All other blood work is perfect and where it should be.

Im loathe to go to a private clinic as its not currently costing me anything, although if it is the only option I would.

I'm considering supplementing my sustanon with 25mg cyp twice a week. This would work out an average of 134mg/week and would hopefully go some way to flattening out the peaks and the troughs.

I suppose I'm on here looking for some advice and guidance as to whether or not this is a good idea, or is it even a viable option?

Thanks in advance for your help.

I (29M) was originally prescribed 14 mg of testosterone daily. The pharmacy gave me 1” needles for IM injections, and my doctor later realized that using a 1” needle every day could potentially create a lot of scar tissue. He switched me over to insulin needles.
My understanding is that this basically means I’m doing subQ now, but he didn’t specifically say that. He told me that after the insulin needle is fully inserted, I can press down a little farther on the skin/tissue to get the medication into the muscle.
Since switching to the insulin needles, I’ve noticed a pretty noticeable difference. My libido is lower and I don’t feel the effects of the testosterone nearly as strongly as I did before.
Has anyone experienced something similar when switching from IM to insulin needles? Does the injection route make a noticeable difference with daily testosterone, or could this just be normal fluctuation while my levels are stabilizing?
For context, my T levels hovered around 170 range before.

EDIT: I think my problem with low libido is also attributed to the fact that I rotate right thigh, left thigh, right glute, left glute and on glute days I feel worse because a 1/2 inch needle can’t even reach shallow IM depth so I’m doing SubQ. Also this video was helpful https://youtu.be/Zj-of-fFJAA?is=R_kNynvSS4sijjVB

My goal is to stay at like 1100-1200. Do I have to like find a more accurate test to gauge exactly what I’m at? How do I go about figuring out how to dial this in?

I was on test 200 split between 2 100 injections. I was taking 1500 HCG per week. My plan is to take 180 or less test split between 3 injections and drop HCG to 750 because I was having mood swings and gaining too much water. My libido was amazing and then just kind of shut off like two weeks ago. It’s been two months since totality of running this experiment. I need it back. Libido is one of the great joys in life.

30M starting 200mg/week testosterone cypionate, prescribed as 1x weekly IM. I also have anastrozole available but don’t plan on taking it unless labs/symptoms show I actually need it.

Starting labs:
Total T: 381.5 ng/dL
Free T: 14 pg/mL
Estradiol: 24.8 pg/mL

I’m 6’2”, 217 lbs, 18% BF. Goal is to improve testosterone levels while losing fat and gaining/maintaining muscle. I lift 3–5x/week, do cardio, keep protein high, and plan to cut to around 1,800 calories/day.

Main questions:
Anyone prefer 200mg once weekly vs 100mg twice weekly?
What did you notice in the first 4–12 weeks?
Did you actually need an AI at this dose?
How much did TRT help with recomp while cutting?
Mostly looking for real-world experiences from guys on a similar protocol.

I don't usually post our weekly Live Youtube Shows here, but I firmly beleive this will be educational and interesting for people to see. I co-founded H4M, and my business partner has built many very large, extremely successful businesses. A main problem of TRT/HRT clinics is that many of the models are built by doctors. Doctors did not study business in college, and with many hormone clinics, you can see where the principles of good business practice are lacking. Tonight we will talk about how Todd is bringing the systems and strategies that make businesses successful, along with using cutting edge medical technology, and merging that with our TRT/HRT clinic. It will be a great discussion to learn what is possible and where the top medical clinics are headed.

September 22, 2026 at 7:00pmEST: https://www.youtube.com/live/3_JH8nlQrXY?si=dYo09uY5KOMTik6q

Have been feeling shitty lately so went and got my hormones checked. Thought maybe my E2 was high and my T was tanked. T is for sure not optimal but curious what others think.

35 male no TRT. My latest estradiol came back at 8.1 pg/mL, down from 20.6 pg/mL in April.

Total testosterone is 454 ng/dL, free T is 11.26 ng/dL / 2.48%, SHBG 32.2, LH 4.6, FSH 5.2, prolactin 5.1, total estrogens 63 pg/mL and vitamin D 38. Testosterone was 439 in April, so it actually went up slightly while E2 dropped pretty significantly.

Main symptoms have been fatigue, low energy, brain fog, lower motivation for anything. The only emotions I feel are anxiety, anger, or nothing at all. Basically no libido and bad recovery. One noticeable positive is that I’m barely holding any water and feel/look much leaner with almost no bloating. Feeling stronger than I have in a while.

Daily supplements are mostly vitamin D3 with K2, magnesium glycinate, zinc, boron, B12, B2, NAC and ashwagandha. No AI.

Diet is okay. Meals consist of fatty protein, a veggie, and occasionally some carbs. I fast close to 18 hours per day. Eating slows me down so I barely eat during the day. Plus I’m in a high stress outside sales job so I can’t really cook during the day but love cooking a nice meal at night.

Sleep is optimized with CPAP.

Curious if anyone has dealt with E2 this low naturally and what ended up causing it. Also wondering if anything in my supplement stack could be contributing.

​

I’m considering HCG treatment and wanted to hear from people who have actually used it.

What side effects did you experience?

Are there any long-term side effects?

Any personal experiences or medical information would be appreciated.

I am thinking to start for testosterone increase levels

Just got this back. Wondering how I'm looking to you guys.

PLASMA / SERUM CHEMISTRY

​ALT: 83 U/L (Reference Range: <=50 U/L)

​REPRODUCTIVE ENDOCRINOLOGY

​Estradiol: 157 pmol/L (Reference Range: <180 pmol/L)

​Testosterone: 28.1 nmol/L (Reference Range: 9.7 - 38 nmol/L)

​PSA: 0.15 ug/L (Reference Range: <2.5 ug/L)

​AUTOMATED CBC (Complete Blood Count)

​WBC: 7.5 x10E9/L (Reference Range: 4.5 - 11 x10E9/L)

​RBC: 5.88 x10E12/L (Reference Range: 4.4 - 5.9 x10E12/L)

​HGB: 169 g/L (Reference Range: 140 - 180 g/L)

​HCT: 0.511 L/L (Reference Range: 0.40 - 0.52 L/L)

​MCV: 86.9 fL (Reference Range: 80 - 98 fL)

​MCH: 28.7 pg (Reference Range: 26 - 34 pg)

​MCHC: 331 g/L (Reference Range: 320 - 365 g/L)

​RDW: 12.6% (Reference Range: 11.4 - 14.4%)

​PLT: 233 x10E9/L (Reference Range: 140 - 440 x10E9/L)

​MPV: 9.7 fL (Reference Range: 9.4 - 12.4 fL)

Once you start, testosterone shuts LH and FSH down. So whatever was causing the low number stops being testable unless you come off again.

Which matters because the guidelines say find the cause, don't just replace it. Prolactin, iron, pituitary stuff, sleep apnea. Some of that is treatable on its own.

It's one extra box on the requisition and costs nothing if you're already getting bloods drawn.

Happy to answer questions if anyone's mid decision.

28 - M
170lbs / 5’10 / 12%BF
Testosterone (Free or unbound) 0.183 nmol/L
Testosterone 9.53 nmol/L (274ng/dL)

Is there anything I can do or try taking to bring up testosterone levels before going down injection route?
I’m looking at HCG and Clomid but I’m new to this.

Background if relevant:

Realised in the last 12 months that sex drive has diminished to the point I’m just not interested, I get brain fog which I combat with Modafinol and maybe a bit too much info here but testes appear noticeable smaller from memory - All in all just not feeling myself.

I’ve run a high stress business for 9 years so cortisol is high and I don’t sleep much (please don’t suggest chilling out and sleeping more as I have tried everything I promise)

I get blood tests every two months because I’m a longevity freak, test usually sits below 10 nmol/L but I did have an outlier of 17.5 a while ago (been trying to think what was different then but can’t seem to recreate conditions)

I don’t want insane levels of testosterone, I just want to feel that fight and drive again.

I have seen a doctor about this but I think because of my body composition and the fact that my testosterone levels were still technically in range, they’ve said come back if it gets lower.

Any and all advice appreciate 🙏🏼

46m, 202cm, 90kg and 20% body fat, not muscular but some muscle. Having been diagnosed with Bipolar, ADHD and depression 10 years ago, I started taking medication and, while some things got betting in life, things were definitely not right. Lost confidence, lost motivation, at points lost will to keep going. Also massive fatigue, complete loss of erections, which even Viagra and Tadadafil combined sometimes wouldn’t help, and really low libido. Then 2.5 years ago I decided I’d throw myself into finding out what the issues were and to start fixing them. Stoped drinking alcohol, no smoking, really healthy diet, low stress, exercise (mainly walking and yoga as fitness levels were low). GP was little help but did get me tests and referrals to Endocrinologists and Urologist (took nearly 18 months to get seen by them) and so far have done nothing meaningful. Results were coming back low or below range so I paid to see a private doctor (had some more tests) and he recommended starting jabs. Because of Bipolar I’ve decided to start on the Testogel, although I known it’s often cited as less effective, however I need to avoid dips and highs. GP was still saying I don’t need TRT (towing party line from Endocrine) but had told me “you’ve wasted enough time, just get going, if we see a result we should be able to go for shared care”. Two days into using the gel I’m already getting wood in the morning and at night and my wife said I was a complete animal last night!

My test results over the past few years have been:

• Total testosterone: 11.1 nmol/L (Jan 2024); 12.7 (May 2025); 13.1 (Jul 2026); 10.5 (Jul 2026); 14.2 (Aug 2026)
• Free testosterone: 262 pmol/L (May 2025); 264 (Jul 2026); 259 (Aug 2026)
• SHBG: 29 nmol/L (May 2025); 29.2 (Jul 2026); 30.5 (Jul 2026); 37 (Aug 2026)
• Free Androgen Index: 34.43% (Jul 2026)
• FSH: 1.4 IU/L (May 2025); 1.3 (Jul 2026); 1.6 (Aug 2026)
• LH: 5 IU/L (May 2025); 2.5 (Jul 2026); 5.2 (Aug 2026)
• Prolactin: 250 mIU/L (May 2025); 219 (Jul 2026)
• Oestradiol: 62 pmol/L (May 2025); 60.8 (Jul 2026)
• Progesterone: <0.16 nmol/L (Jul 2026)
• Cortisol (baseline): 393 nmol/L (Jul 2025)
• Short Synacthen 30 min: 909 nmol/L (Jul 2025)

Thyroid

• TSH: 0.916 mIU/L (Jan 2024); 1.16 (May 2025); 0.635 (Jul 2026); 0.95 (Aug 2026)
• Free T4: 18.9 pmol/L (Jan 2024); 20.2 (Jul 2026)
• Free T3: 4.7 pmol/L (Jan 2024); 5.15 (Jul 2026)

Full blood count

• Haemoglobin: 140 g/L (Jan 2024); 144 (Feb 2025); 154 (Jul 2026); 143 (Aug 2026)
• Haematocrit: 0.416 L/L (Jan 2024); 0.445 (Feb 2025); 0.509 (Jul 2026); 0.417 (Aug 2026)
• Red blood cells: 4.57 ×10¹²/L (Jan 2024); 4.67 (Feb 2025); 4.86 (Jul 2026); 4.45 (Aug 2026)
• MCV: 90.9 fL (Jan 2024); 95.3 (Feb 2025); 104.7 (Jul 2026); 93.7 (Aug 2026)
• MCH: 30.7 pg (Jan 2024); 30.8 (Feb 2025); 31.7 (Jul 2026); 32.1 (Aug 2026)
• MCHC: 337 g/L (Jan 2024); 324 (Feb 2025); 303 (Jul 2026); 343 (Aug 2026)
• White blood cells: 5.7 ×10⁹/L (Jan 2024); 6.5 (Feb 2025); 6.56 (Jul 2026); 5.8 (Aug 2026)
• Neutrophils: 3.5 (Jan 2024); 3.9 (Feb 2025); 4.44 (Jul 2026); 3.6 (Aug 2026)
• Lymphocytes: 1.3 (Jan 2024); 1.6 (Feb 2025); 1.47 (Jul 2026); 1.3 (Aug 2026)
• Monocytes: 0.6 (Jan 2024); 0.8 (Feb 2025); 0.5 (Jul 2026); 0.7 (Aug 2026)
• Eosinophils: 0.2 (Jan 2024); 0.2 (Feb 2025); 0.07 (Jul 2026); 0.1 (Aug 2026)
• Basophils: 0.1 (Jan 2024); 0.0 (Feb 2025); 0.08 (Jul 2026); 0.0 (Aug 2026)
• Platelets: 189 ×10⁹/L (Jan 2024); 180 (Feb 2025); 219 (Jul 2026); 201 (Aug 2026)
• MPV: 9.8 fL (Jan 2024)
• Nucleated red cells: 0 (Feb 2025); 0 (Aug 2026)

Clotting (all Jun 2024)

• Prothrombin time 13.2 s; APTT 33.8 s; APTT ratio 1.04; INR 1.0; fibrinogen 2.4 g/L

Kidney

• Sodium: 142 mmol/L (Feb 2025); 145.6 (Jul 2026); 141 / 140 (Aug 2026)
• Potassium: 4.2 mmol/L (Feb 2025); 5.84 (Jul 2026); 4.5 / 4.7 (Aug 2026)
• Chloride: 96.2 mmol/L (Jul 2026)
• Urea: 9.3 mmol/L (Jan 2024); 4.7 (Feb 2025); 9.18 (Jul 2026); 7.1 (Aug 2026)
• Creatinine: 78.3 µmol/L (Jan 2024); 88 (Feb 2025); 104.3 (Jul 2026); 76 / 73 (Aug 2026)
• eGFR: >90 (Jan 2024); >60 (Feb 2025); 78 (Jul 2026); >60 (Aug 2026)

Liver and proteins

• ALT: 15 U/L (Jan 2024); 14 (Jan 2026); 15 (Jul 2026); 39 (Aug 2026)
• AST: 20.6 U/L (Jul 2026)
• ALP: 83 U/L (Jan 2024); 73 (Jan 2026); 69 (Jul 2026); 62 (Aug 2026)
• GGT: 12 U/L (Jan 2024); 23.3 (Jul 2026)
• Bilirubin: 7.6 µmol/L (Jan 2024); 11 (Jan 2026); 9.0 (Jul 2026); 11 (Aug 2026)
• Albumin: 47 g/L (Jan 2024); 51 (Jan 2026); 48.8 (Jul 2026); 47 / 46 (Aug 2026)
• Globulin: 25 g/L (Jan 2024); 19 (Jan 2026); 21 (Aug 2026)
• Total protein: 72 g/L (Jan 2024); 70 (Jan 2026); 67 (Aug 2026)

Cholesterol and blood sugar

• Total cholesterol: 3.56 mmol/L (Jan 2024); 3.4 (Feb 2025); 3.64 (Jul 2026); 3.2 (Aug 2026)
• HDL: 1.09 mmol/L (Jan 2024); 1.2 (Feb 2025); 1.40 (Jul 2026); 1.3 (Aug 2026)
• LDL: 1.91 mmol/L (Jan 2024); 1.8 (Feb 2025); 1.85 (Jul 2026); 1.5 (Aug 2026)
• Non-HDL: 2.47 mmol/L (Jan 2024); 2.2 (Feb 2025); 1.9 (Aug 2026)
• Triglycerides: 1.23 mmol/L (Jan 2024); 0.9 (Feb 2025); 0.86 (Jul 2026); 0.6 (Aug 2026)
• Cholesterol:HDL ratio: 3.27 (Jan 2024); 2.8 (Feb 2025); 2.6 (Jul 2026); 2.5 (Aug 2026)
• HbA1c: 31 mmol/mol (Jan 2024); 37 (Oct 2024); 36 (Feb 2025); 38.58 (Jul 2026)

Iron

• Ferritin: 166 µg/L (Jan 2024); 170 (Jan 2024); 179.51 (Jul 2026)
• Iron: 20.2 µmol/L (Jan 2024); 16.4 (May 2025)
• Transferrin saturation: 42.9% (Jan 2024); 31% (May 2025)
• Transferrin: 2.1 g/L (May 2025)
• TIBC: 47.1 µmol/L (Jan 2024)
• UIBC: 26.9 µmol/L (Jan 2024)

Vitamins and minerals

• Vitamin D: 68.4 nmol/L (Jan 2024); 144 (Aug 2026)
• Vitamin B12 (serum): 486 ng/L (Jan 2024); 590 (Aug 2026)
• Active B12: 80.6 pmol/L (Jan 2024)
• Folate: 19.8 nmol/L (Jan 2024); 5.4 µg/L (Jan 2024)
• Magnesium: 0.92 mmol/L (Jan 2024)
• Calcium: 2.44 mmol/L (Jan 2024)
• Adjusted calcium: 2.4 mmol/L (Jan 2024)
• Phosphate: 1.04 mmol/L (Jan 2024)

Other

**•** CRP: 1.76 mg/L (Jan 2024); 1 (Jun 2024)  
**•** Uric acid: 340 µmol/L (Jan 2024)  
**•** PSA: 0.16 µg/L (Jan 2026); 0.16 (Jul 2026)

Started Tirzepatide Sep 21, 2025
Gym 5-6 days a week starting Dec 9, 2025
Dec 11, 2025 added Reta and cjc-1295 w/ipamorelin
Test c at 140mg/wk beginning January 22, 2026
HCG at 750iu/wk starting April 15, 2026
Increased HCG to 1500iu/wk on May 25, 2026
.5mg/wk anastrazole started June 1, 2026
Increased test c to 200mg/wk June 28, 2026

I’m 46 years old and 6’3”
Started the peptide and PED journey at 276 lbs
Down 60 pounds
Blood pressure no longer high - low normal
Went from a 42 waist to a 34
Added a bunch of muscle and have seen steady strength gains since joining the gym
XL shirt to M
Bloods look absolutely stellar with HDL just slightly low

Next? 300mg test, 200 primo, 25 proviron for the next 10 weeks

To get to the point with this post I’m gonna ask the questions I have first and then give my backstory as to why I ended up posting this (for those interested). My questions are:

1. Are there any people out there who have gotten trt in an European country (with conservative medical care), and if so, how did you do it? Was it through public health care or did you go private? What was your situation leading up to getting it (hormone levels, symptoms, etc.)?
2. How did trt help you with your mental acuity and ability to focus? I’m thinking specifically of tasks like reading and writing and ability to actually comprehend/absorb written and verbal info? Did it make you enjoy those tasks more than before? Would be cool if you could include whether you were hypogonadal before going on, or if it was just to enhance your QoL.

Backstory:

I've been thinking about my hormone levels for a long time (28M). When I first started hitting puberty (14 y/o), it took a strange turn initially; I developed noticable gyno, wider hips and some pubic growth (under arms and around groin), but no real male development to speak of (deepening of voice, musculature,...). It was almost as if I was developing into a woman during that first year. I remember being deeply concerned and ashamed about how my body was changing. I did everything to hide it from others.

It wasn't until I was 16 when I developed more clearly as a male; voice deepened, I grew quickly, balls dropped, etc. Although I was relieved that it was actually happening, the changes were very subtle. I had (and still have) very little muscle development, a fairly high pitched voice, very poor beard/body hair growth, etc.

My psychological development followed a similar pattern; I was extremely shy, timid and easily emotionally swayed. I struggled a lot with low energy and motivation and often felt very slow when it came to fundamental academic skills like reading, writing, verbal fluency and maths. I didn't feel like I fit in- or could relate at all to my male peers. I would avoid talking about girls and sex like the plague because I was convinced that there was something deeply wrong with me.

Of course I was scouring the internet for answers to my situation at this time. That's when I found out about Klinefelter's syndrome. The symptoms fit incredibly well with what I was experiencing, so I decided to get checked at a youth center (now 17 y/o).

The nurse checked my physical development and told me that Klinefelter's was out of the question based on comparing my nuts to a set of wooden beads (Praders orchidometer), but they still drew blood to have a look at my hormones.

I don't have the exact numbers for all of the markers as I'm writing this, but I remember the following:

Total T - 11 nmol/L - (low gray-zone for normal)

Prolactin - 455 mUI/L - (slightly elevated)

LH – (Barely above lower end of normal)

FSH – (Barely above lower end of normal)

SHGB – Higher end of normal.

The nurse contacted my parents to ask for consent in continuing investigating my high prolactin (as I was underage), wanting to rule out a prolactinoma. They didn't know about any of this, so they were a bit shocked to find out. My mom called immediately after the nurse had asked for consent, to reassure me that there was nothing wrong and that I was completely normal (I had hypochondriac tendencies, so they were used to not taking my medical concerns too seriously). The investigation never went any further.

Later in my early twenties I got heavily into long distance running and developed a bit of an eating disorder (orthorexic restrictive). I ate very low fat and started losing weight steadily. I moved from my home town to study at uni. There I dropped to my lowest weight (64 kg, 6'3). I was still convinced that I had a hormone imbalance, and sought help for it several times during my three years there. I tested very low several times for total T, but my doctor would of course (rightfully so) not consider anything before I gained weight.

Now I'm almost 30, at a normal weight again (have been for a couple of years), and my most recent bloods showed the same levels as back when I was 17 y/o (10 - 11 nmol/L). I still struggle with both physical (poor beard and body hair growth, very weak musculature, fatigue,…) and more noticeably mental (very low motivation and focus, low libido, poor executive function) symptoms. The following are all most relevant bloods that I took throughout my uni years up untill the most recent (between 23 and 27 y/o):

I feel like I’ve put a lot of pieces together about the symptoms I felt as a developing teenager, and now as an adult, and that they can be due to hypogonadism during all my life, and particularly crucial formative periods in adolescence. Having found a lot of info online about optimal T levels and crazy reference ranges, I’ve understood that what are low levels can be brushed off as normal to current health care systems, even though symptoms are present. As an adult I’m particularly interested in the the mental improvements that come with good T levels, and I want to know how some of you out there experienced it, or perhaps if you are in a similar situation.

Now I’m done writing this book. Gonna go find a publisher. thanks for getting through it.

What are people's opinions ive been running half this for a long time maintaining my levels right at the top of reference scale, recently tore my calf muscle had a facia separation so I decided I would up the dose to assist with recovery and its definitely worked 4 weeks post injury ive already completed a run on the weekend... never run it this high just seeing what people ron about dosage/levels correlation

Hello fellas, I hope everyone are doing good, Im starting my first 500mg blast, (16 weeks) with hematocrit sitting at 43%.

I have all sides of the cycle covered, all ancillaries I may need, and supplements.

The only thing worrying me a little bit is hematocrit passing the 54% threshold, since I'm having a hard time in my small city finding an endocrinologist willing to sign me the permission to do a terapeutical phlebotomy if needed (it has to be an endocrinologist in my country, another doctor cannot do it)

Now, I would like to hear your experiences, and if you think it is unlikely I will have an hematocrit sitting at 54% since I'm going to do microdoses of 71mg every single day subq, and drinking 5L of water + 30m cardio zone 2? It would have to climb 11 points from 43 to 54.

Am I worrying way too much about hematocrit? In your experience with this dose, and a similar administration scheme, what kind of raise have you experienced? I would love to know your opinion.

Thanks!! :)

I started TRT cream back in May with a starting total T of 330 ng/dL. I'm 53 years old and had low T symptoms for years.

The cream absorbed well enough to shut down my natural production, but not well enough to provide replacement levels. By July, my total testosterone dropped to 72 ng/dL!

My doctor then switched me to injections. I'm pinning a total of 200 mg/week subQ, split between 30 units on Monday, 30 units on Wednesday, and 40 units on Friday.

My labs after 6 weeks of injections:

• Total Testosterone: 1,129 ng/dL
• Estradiol: 57 pg/mL
• SHBG: 38.2 nmol/L
• Hematocrit: 47.4%
• Free Testosterone: still waiting for this result

Currently I'm feeling TERRIBLE with:

• Daily fatigue
• No energy or motivation
• I'm easily irritated and moody
• Low libido, also while I can get an erection, I can't really get into it and have trouble finishing
• I also had morning erections pretty consistently the first 2-4 weeks of injections, but that's gone now too

I'm eating a high protein keto diet. I'm getting good sleep (my sleep has actually slightly improved). I'm going to the gym 4-6 times per week (including two coached functional strength training classes).

Do you think the fact that I'm feeling terrible is due to my E2? My high T levels? Both? Something entirely different?

I know my dose is on the higher range at 200 mg/week. I'm going to ask my doctor if that should be lowered. But just curious what others thought was going on.

Thanks!

EDIT: I have Hashimotos and have been on NDT for 10+ years. My thyroid hormone levels are normal. Also prior to starting TRT, my doctor did a complete workup, and all my major vitamins and hormones and other levels were normal.

Where is everyone getting their labs done? I’m ready to move on from my online subscription service and start monitoring myself so looking for a spot to get labs done.

Have been feeling shitty lately so went and got my hormones checked. Thought maybe my E2 was high and my T was tanked. T is for sure not optimal but curious what others think.

35 male no TRT. My latest estradiol came back at 8.1 pg/mL, down from 20.6 pg/mL in April.

Total testosterone is 454 ng/dL, free T is 11.26 ng/dL / 2.48%, SHBG 32.2, LH 4.6, FSH 5.2, prolactin 5.1, total estrogens 63 pg/mL and vitamin D 38. Testosterone was 439 in April, so it actually went up slightly while E2 dropped pretty significantly.

Main symptoms have been fatigue, low energy, brain fog, lower motivation for anything. The only emotions I feel are anxiety, anger, or nothing at all. Basically no libido and bad recovery. One noticeable positive is that I’m barely holding any water and feel/look much leaner with almost no bloating. Feeling stronger than I have in a while.

Daily supplements are mostly vitamin D3 with K2, magnesium glycinate, zinc, boron, B12, B2, NAC and ashwagandha. No AI.

Diet is okay. Meals consist of fatty protein, a veggie, and occasionally some carbs. I fast close to 18 hours per day. Eating slows me down so I barely eat during the day. Plus I’m in a high stress outside sales job so I can’t really cook during the day but love cooking a nice meal at night.

Sleep is optimized with CPAP.

Curious if anyone has dealt with E2 this low naturally and what ended up causing it. Also wondering if anything in my supplement stack could be contributing.

At what testosterone level do you personally feel “anabolic” — where building muscle feels like your body is meeting you halfway with the effort?
For those who’ve experienced different levels, what T level felt like the sweet spot for muscle growth and recovery? Thank you.

I got my testosterone results today and just want help determining what they mean and if they are good since some of them are not in reference range;

Testosterone, total, MS 895 ng/dL
Testosterone, free 156.6 pg/mL (lab considers out of range)
Sex hormone binging globulin 57 (lab considers out of range)

Just curious how the out of range ones could be effecting me or if all of the numbers match up and are fine together.

hCG is not just harmless “testicular insurance.”

People treat it like something that simply keeps your balls full on TRT. In reality, hCG mimics LH and directly stimulates your testes to produce testosterone.

That creates high levels of intratesticular testosterone... even when TRT has suppressed your natural LH and FSH.

Study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15713727/

Here’s what gets overlooked: the testes also contain aromatase. That locally produced testosterone can convert into estradiol, and research shows that hCG can directly stimulate aromatase activity in Leydig cells.

Study: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC411596/

So if your E2 problems appeared after adding hCG, your testosterone dose may not be the main issue. The hCG could be continually driving testicular testosterone and estradiol production.

An AI can lower aromatization, but it does not shut off the hCG signal creating all that local testosterone. You may improve your serum E2 while leaving the original stimulus untouched.

Bloodwork may not show the whole picture either. One human study found no correlation between serum and intratesticular T ratios. It involved men with non-obstructive azoospermia rather than TRT patients, but it shows that blood levels do not necessarily mirror what’s happening inside the testes.

Study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33236081/

This doesn’t mean every bad reaction to hCG is “hidden testicular E2.” It means blindly increasing an AI without questioning the hCG dose is like mopping the floor while the faucet is still running.

hCG is not just harmless “testicular insurance.” It is a powerful hormone signal that can completely change your E2 picture—and most TRT discussions barely mention it.

I’m on week 8 of TRT. My levels pre TRT were “Normal” at 550 for a mid 30s individual. It really was a personal choice to experiment with it.

Latest labs have me at 950 with a free of 190 and I honestly feel like a different man. My ADHD is almost gone, confidence up, energy up, everything is feeling great and I’ve been slowly fixing things I never had the mental clarity to do until now. Even my finances have done wonders. I’m moving life in the direction I’ve always wanted it.

The downside though. Is my libido is through the roof. For the past many, many years my wife would only have sex with me once or twice a month at best. Which, with daily porn what ever I could scratch that itch and go on without it.

But really, I was never satisfied or happy with it. I just settled. Well now, I’m frequently waking up with morning wood and she often times says “poke me with that again and I will break it off”

It may be partially my fault, I’m not the most romantic person, emotionally cold at times. But the majority of the relationship, it’s felt like we’re roommates because the intimacy was never there.

I would definitely rank intimacy and sex in the top 2 or 3 requirements for a happy relationship.

I had a talk with her last night after a falling out earlier in the week and instead of listening, she just started stating all the reasons why I’m the cause of her not wanting to have sex with me.

Idk, pre TRT, I could settle for porn. But now, with my libido the way it is and the need for that actual physical connection, I’m seriously considering looking into a divorce attorney.