first shot of trt and doc already wants me to go for more blood work

[BigDane]

So I've just started TRT and my doc injected 75mg Test Cyp 5 days ago and he has asked for me to have blood drawn first thing in the morning of day 8 to see where I am at. Kinda soon and probably a waste of time and money for more blood work but I guess he just wants to see where 75mg has put me.

I am assuming I will still be pretty low. More than likely exactly the same as where I was before starting. I don't feel any positives yet but it's only the first shot.

Any idea where only one 75mg shot will put me 8 days later? He says if I am still low we will up it to 100mg and try bloods again. My thoughts is that I probably need to stick to this regiment for at least 4 weeks to get an accurate reading.

Before starting I was sitting at:

Testosterone - 6.8nmol/L range(8.4-28.8)
Free Testosterone - 196nmol/L range(170-630)
Biovalable Testosterone - 4.6nmol/L range(4.7-15)

feeling pretty sh*tty

 

[jrock00123]

I would question if you have right doc. Most are prescribing bi-weekly injections. 75mg is a good starting point (probably a little low). The main issue is that the long ester testosterone will take a few weeks to reach max serum levels.

He is trying to base dosing off of one week. This is not optimal.

 

[BigDane]

Yes, I agree. Totally not optimal in figuring out where I'm at.

Just trying to get an idea where this one 75mg would put me based on my levels before hand. I mean the cyp would basically be down to less than half by then would it not leaving my levels pretty much where they were to begin with.

 

[jrock00123]

Another thing to consider is that this is your very first shot. Therefore, your HPTA is not completely shutdown yet. So your current serum level are a combination of the the exogenous test plus any you've produced naturally. Over the next several weeks your natural testosterone production will drop toward zero. Just another reason why most docs wait about a month before re-testing.

 

[gt500]

Your doc must not know what he's doing.

When I got started I did gels, then shots.

Bloods were done at 1 month, 3 months, then after switch to shots, 1month, 3 months, 6months, 6months, 1 year. 1 year is too long to wait in my opinion.

Now I can request bloodwork anytime.

100mg per week is what I take. sometimes a bit more

 

[chainheart]

So I've just started TRT and my doc injected 75mg Test Cyp 5 days ago and he has asked for me to have blood drawn first thing in the morning of day 8 to see where I am at. Kinda soon and probably a waste of time and money for more blood work but I guess he just wants to see where 75mg has put me.

I am assuming I will still be pretty low. More than likely exactly the same as where I was before starting. I don't feel any positives yet but it's only the first shot.

Any idea where only one 75mg shot will put me 8 days later? He says if I am still low we will up it to 100mg and try bloods again. My thoughts is that I probably need to stick to this regiment for at least 4 weeks to get an accurate reading.

Before starting I was sitting at:

Testosterone - 6.8nmol/L range(8.4-28.8)
Free Testosterone - 196nmol/L range(170-630)
Biovalable Testosterone - 4.6nmol/L range(4.7-15)

(

The only thing your doc had partially correct was blood work on day 8 after injection.

Be sure to explain to him is that your body is still producing it's own testosterone and with an injection of T the lab result may be on high normal side. In a nice way remind him once you begin hormone replacement, your body will see that it no longer needs to produce it's own testosterone and will signal natural shutdown.

Testosterone levels are constantly fluctuating and it will give a more accurate reflection of your T range after several months of T replacement therapy.

Most men feel better the first two weeks of injections as they are still producing natural T and have an additional external amount. Then it starts to wane a bit so waiting several months to check is important.

Be sure to check E2 or estradiol levels. If you are fat/overweight you may have more T conversion to estrogen which is a bad thing. You want that estradiol level in low twenties while on T replacement therapy.