Free Test 3.2x Upper Range on 125mg/week

[Deleted member 106824]

I've only been on TRT for a while now, 125mg/week, and that is what I plan to stay on for life for health reasons (i.e. no more blasting). I had one set of blood work done for TRT last summer on 100mg per week and my results were
Total Test: ~560 (Range = 250-1100)
Free Test: 155 (Range = 35-155)

However, that was exactly 1 week after my last injection with a once weekly injection set-up. So I wanted to know what my levels were the day after my last injection, so I could get a better idea of where I am throughout the week. After being on 125mg/week for about 5 weeks (previously on 200mg/week for a 8 weeks) my levels the day after my last 125mg injection were
Total Test: 1486 (Range = 250-1100)
Free Test: 491.9 (Range = 35-155)

Correct me if I'm wrong but I would think the previous 200mg/week dosing would not have affected this much at all and it is fairly representative of what 125mg/wk gives me right after the injection. I am actually OK with my Total Test...probably means my weekly average is ~1100. However as we saw in my last years test my free test was much higher proportionally than my total test. And now this is seen even more with free test being 3.2x the upper normal limit. If my total levels were to be that proportionally high they would be close to 3500ng/dl...or what we would see with 500mg/week! Now I do not know if it is actually typical for free and total test to be completely proportional but I am sure this is not the norm.

My estradiol is 48 (Range <39), which is higher than I'd like as well and I think could explain a bit of the facial bloat I've been seeing despite still having more vascularity than I ever have at my current weight. One solution there could be dividing the injections into 2-3x/week instead of once weekly, according to what many report about that lowering estrogen levels, but this would likely only increase my Test levels further.

What do you guys think? Of course from a results standpoint I don't want to drop it down but from a health standpoint things seem a bit high.

Other relevant numbers:
Hb: 14.1 (great)
Hct: 44.7 (Good, would prefer a bit lower...might donate blood)
AST: 25 (good)
ALT: 65 (a little high....I think due to Asacol which I take for Crohns)
RDW: 17 (ALWAYS high I used to ignore this until I read that it's an even higher correlation to CVD than CRP)
HDL: 56 (good)
LDL: 112 (OK..would like it lower than 100)
Total Cholesterol: 185 (eh..)
hsCRP: 0.2 (great)
PSA: 0.4 (great)
DHT: 75 (very top of normal range here...proportionally lower than Test which is good but still higher than I'd like)

Any thoughts are appreciated. Trying to be as healthy as possible now but of course still trying to make any progress possible.

Thanks

 

[Cerberus777]

You could try DIM or 6.25mg aromastin for estrogen.

I wouldn't sweat 12 points on your LDL min is 115 HDL 60. My doctor had me write him a diet. If it bothers you, do more cardio. Above reading was from March, my LDL is around 95 during the warmer months since I'm more active.

DHT I would not sweat now, just keep an eye on it, the ways of lowering it have more sides than the help they would give. Plus it's helping you keep higher free test.

With you liver you could do some things to protect it from the meds. I prefer injectable Glut. Because of the other things it helps.

 

[raw33man]

Lower your dose so you won't need an AI...ais are no good

 

[Deleted member 106824]

You could try DIM or 6.25mg aromastin for estrogen.

I wouldn't sweat 12 points on your LDL min is 115 HDL 60. My doctor had me write him a diet. If it bothers you, do more cardio. Above reading was from March, my LDL is around 95 during the warmer months since I'm more active.

DHT I would not sweat now, just keep an eye on it, the ways of lowering it have more sides than the help they would give. Plus it's helping you keep higher free test.

With you liver you could do some things to protect it from the meds. I prefer injectable Glut. Because of the other things it helps.

Lower your dose so you won't need an AI...ais are no good

I haven't looked into DIM too much but yes I would definitely prefer to avoid taking yet another drug (an AI) for life, particularly since they are not without their side effects...especially long term from the evidence I've seen (increased risk of heart attack and stroke, both of which I have in my family). I know it could be fairly low dose but still one more thing to buy and keep track of. Not to mention that I doubt my doctor would prescribe it...if he see's this blood work and I show him my estrogen is high he will see my Test is high and tell me to bring down my dose. But I will look into DIM.

Anybody know how significantly spreading out the injections should help estrogen? I remember even last year on 100mg/week after 1 week estrogen was still in the low 30's so even by the end of the week it was on the higher end. I would prefer it to be 20-30 all the time, definitely not 48.

Cerb are you saying the higher DHT (and maybe higher E2) are helping have higher free test because they are taking up receptor spots on SHBG? My free test being so high is something I'm worrying is problematic as it seems most agree this is what we should look at, even though most clinicians go by total. Makes me wonder how much size I'd lose if I dropped my dose enough to get free test in range :\

I think maybe I should do some cardio for the cholesterol benefits....as you know I'll be beginning Scott Stevenson's Fortitude Training shortly and he doesn't seem to be a fan of adding cardio...maybe just some LISS pwo would be ok...or the higher reps in general might have a cardio effect?

I used to take quite a bit for my liver and it unfortunately didn't seem to help much. I used to take NAC, milk thistle, ALA, and Himalaya Liv52....and yet blood work always showed normal ALP, normal AST, and mildly elevated ALT...always. And now off of all of that it's the same lol. I got blood work a few months back that showed everything in range, finally, but it seems that might have been by chance. Also when my doctor saw that, and the previous mild elevations, he said he was not comfortable with glutathione injections when I asked him about it. Again I think it's due to the Asacol I take but no way to be sure...while it seems minimal, cases like Flex's drive the point home that you can never be too careful.

Anyone know about RDW? Comparative analysis of red cell distribution width and high sensitivity C-reactive protein for coronary heart disease mortality prediction in mult... - PubMed - NCBI this has pretty much always been high for me too and no doctor ever pointed it out but the above seems quite significant

As an aside, I thought b vitamins might be low due to Crohns but Folate was 16.6 (range >5.4) and B12 was 1550 (range 200-1100) lol as far as I'm aware that's fine. Also if anyone is interested in taking Vitamin D, I was previously deficient with levels of 18 (range 30-100) and surprisingly it hasn't seemed to matter if I take my prescribed 50,000iu D2 every 2 weeks, or if I add 2000iu D3 on top of that, or if I bump it up to 50,000iu D2 every 1 week....it always comes back ~40 interestingly enough

 

[Cerberus777]

What is your dosing schedule? EOD would probably lower estrogen a few points. DIM does help the body metabolize estrogen faster. DHT helps with free test. unfortunately free test gets converted into estrogen.

 

[Deleted member 106824]

What is your dosing schedule? EOD would probably lower estrogen a few points. DIM does help the body metabolize estrogen faster. DHT helps with free test. unfortunately free test gets converted into estrogen.

I have only been dosing 1x per week, all 125mg in one dose, to keep things consistent. It seems this has me peak around 1450-1500 and drops to ~700-750 by the end of the week. So in your experience spreading it out tends to be good for just a few points? And I imagine in lowering estrogen this would increase testosterone even further slightly?


Interesting resource on DIM Diindolylmethane - Scientific Review on Usage, Dosage, Side Effects | Examine.com according to that source 44g of broccoli has 27mg of DIM and I eat roughly a pound of broccoli per day so ~270mg DIM per day. From what I've seen the standard dose is 2mg/kg/day so ~180mg/day for me which I'm more than covering. In that case, any reason to buy it separately? Even if I cut it down to 12oz it seems I should be good assuming frozen broccoli is equivalent. From that same source: "However, taking too much DIM at once can actually induce the aromatase enzyme and act in the opposite manner and increase estrogen synthesis."


Perhaps a combination of lowering dose to 100mg total, and spreading it out to EOD would provide both the benefits of lowering test a bit while also lowering estrogen proportionally more? Unfortunately my pharmacy changed my vials to now being 200mg/ml instead of my previous 100mg/ml so dosing will be trickier...perhaps I should switch to insulin pins.

 

[LK3]

dosing ed or eod will probably help the estrogen issue, nothing more.

its a terrible idea to do admin 1x wk at any dose but if you are dosing at that level you will be way better off doing like 10-20mg ed.


nac for liver is ok but you need highish doses.

as suggested before glut is awesome.

glut is why you use nac.

the rest is generally crap.

 

[Stewie]

I'm rather busy at the moment, I'll leave you with these thoughts.

The association of an elevated RDW and Crohns (IBD) has been established (observed).

Association between red cell distribution width and disease activity in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. - PubMed - NCBI

As I'm sure you are very aware there are several other pathophysiologcal causes associated with a variant RDW, e.g., uncontrolled OSA, inflammatory response, ect.

Split dosing in theory and anecdotal reports by some indicate more stable E2 levels. I personally wouldn't get to hung up on your specific estradiol levels. Anymore I don't get hyperfixated on numbers. I go by sense of well-being, emotional state, ect.

The many reports on another fourm I frequent, members have claimed DIM is a waste of money. I've personally never used it. I have no need to use it.

 

[raw33man]

Do subq twice a week and see how that works

 

[Deleted member 106824]

dosing ed or eod will probably help the estrogen issue, nothing more.

its a terrible idea to do admin 1x wk at any dose but if you are dosing at that level you will be way better off doing like 10-20mg ed.


nac for liver is ok but you need highish doses.

as suggested before glut is awesome.

glut is why you use nac.

the rest is generally crap.

I was hoping to get by with 1x/week so that AAS could become as small a part of my life as possible now, but if going to EOD would help then I will try it. It seems a lot of anecdote regarding this...would be interesting to see data on it (not that I'm questioning it as I've heard many say it)

I used to take Jarrow's NAC 1800mg per day (3x600) but my ALT was always still mildly elevated for some reason. And again that was with Milk Thistle and ALA as well...was spending quite a bit on liver supps. Haven't touched orals in over a year and never will again....but honestly even on orals it was always like this too with the liver care! lol fine AST, slightly elevated ALT. Glutathione njections is really the only thing I think I haven't tried. Oh and TUDCA.

Also FYI on NAC from wikipedia: "Thus, antioxidants can accelerate tumor growth by disrupting the ROS-p53 axis apoptosis, and autophagy, processes. Because somatic mutations in p53 occur late in tumor progression, antioxidants may accelerate the growth of early tumors or precancerous lesions in high-risk populations such as smokers and patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who receive NAC to relieve mucus production.[49] It is not clear what dose(s) induced these effects. Additionally, it is important to reiterate that NAC does not cause cancer, it counteracts ROS accumulation caused by p53 and down-regulates p53, which in turn prevents p53-induced apoptosis and promotes autophagy.[50] in all cells; it is a dose dependent response, and the ability to manipulate cellular apoptosis and autophagy has many therapeutic benefits.[51][52][53][54] Large doses in a mouse model showed that acetylcysteine could potentially cause damage to the heart and lungs.[55] They found that acetylcysteine was metabolized to S-nitroso-N-acetylcysteine (SNOAC), which increased blood pressure in the lungs and right ventricle of the heart (pulmonary artery hypertension) in mice treated with acetylcysteine."

 

[Deleted member 106824]

I'm rather busy at the moment, I'll leave you with these thoughts.

The association of an elevated RDW and Crohns (IBD) has been established (observed).

Association between red cell distribution width and disease activity in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. - PubMed - NCBI

As I'm sure you are very aware there are several other pathophysiologcal causes associated with a variant RDW, e.g., uncontrolled OSA, inflammatory response, ect.

Split dosing in theory and anecdotal reports by some indicate more stable E2 levels. I personally wouldn't get to hung up on your specific estradiol levels. Anymore I don't get hyperfixated on numbers. I go by sense of well-being, emotional state, ect.

The many reports on another fourm I frequent, members have claimed DIM is a waste of money. I've personally never used it. I have no need to use it.

Hey Stewie, helpful input as always so are you saying you think my RDW being high is simply an association with Crohns and therefore doesn't equate to the same risk as if it were elevated in someone without Crohns (similar to CRP) or would you think it still carries the same risk of increased mortality?

The results of that study "Multivariate analysis demonstrated that RDW was the best independent indicator for predicting disease activity in CD patients without anemia" are very surprising to me, as my RDW always seems elevated...and my CRP was only 0.2, my ESR was only 2 (0-15 scale), and I felt fine when I got the test (very few Crohns symptoms...definitely doesn't seem like a flare at all).

Well by feeling I feel good, but I've seen guys on forums with estradiol in the 100's and feeling great and not having any signs of elevated estrogen at all...and I would certainly think this could have many health risks. Excess estrogen is associated with many things from increased baldness to prostate issues to cardiac issues, so I'm surprised to hear you say that.





As an aside, I did not forget about this study you sent me Increased levels of lipoprotein (a) in Crohn's disease: a relation to thrombosis? - PubMed - NCBI remarkably, my GI would not test for these because it was "not scientific because the conclusion says the results 'suggest' instead of 'prove' " :banghead: frankly amazing to me what some doctors get by with....I will have to ask another doctor to get these tested at some point.

Do subq twice a week and see how that works

Was looking into this as well, the few studies I've seen on this actually seemed to suggest lower estrogen from subq injections (despite some people's concerns about fat having more aromatase). Maybe 33mg subq 3x per week for 2 months and then retest. So more spread out, slightly lower dose, and theoretically less E2 from subq as well.

 

[LK3]

I was hoping to get by with 1x/week so that AAS could become as small a part of my life as possible now, but if going to EOD would help then I will try it. It seems a lot of anecdote regarding this...would be interesting to see data on it (not that I'm questioning it as I've heard many say it)

I used to take Jarrow's NAC 1800mg per day (3x600) but my ALT was always still mildly elevated for some reason. And again that was with Milk Thistle and ALA as well...was spending quite a bit on liver supps. Haven't touched orals in over a year and never will again....but honestly even on orals it was always like this too with the liver care! lol fine AST, slightly elevated ALT. Glutathione njections is really the only thing I think I haven't tried. Oh and TUDCA.

Also FYI on NAC from wikipedia: "Thus, antioxidants can accelerate tumor growth by disrupting the ROS-p53 axis apoptosis, and autophagy, processes. Because somatic mutations in p53 occur late in tumor progression, antioxidants may accelerate the growth of early tumors or precancerous lesions in high-risk populations such as smokers and patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who receive NAC to relieve mucus production.[49] It is not clear what dose(s) induced these effects. Additionally, it is important to reiterate that NAC does not cause cancer, it counteracts ROS accumulation caused by p53 and down-regulates p53, which in turn prevents p53-induced apoptosis and promotes autophagy.[50] in all cells; it is a dose dependent response, and the ability to manipulate cellular apoptosis and autophagy has many therapeutic benefits.[51][52][53][54] Large doses in a mouse model showed that acetylcysteine could potentially cause damage to the heart and lungs.[55] They found that acetylcysteine was metabolized to S-nitroso-N-acetylcysteine (SNOAC), which increased blood pressure in the lungs and right ventricle of the heart (pulmonary artery hypertension) in mice treated with acetylcysteine."

I have kept my comments limited as you seem painfully obsessed with minute details and mental masturbation of these topics rather then simple real world efficientcy and effectiveness.

yes nac, has potential downside, those of us that have used it for 15 years plus are well aware of it but glad you are trying to learn the basics.

as you were told there are superior methods.

spend your time reading this that n the other I find it better to just DO the simple little thing that work, like injecting ed, I don't need a study, lol I been sticking myself for long enough to know whats what.

 

[Deleted member 106824]

I have kept my comments limited as you seem painfully obsessed with minute details and mental masturbation of these topics rather then simple real world efficientcy and effectiveness.

yes nac, has potential downside, those of us that have used it for 15 years plus are well aware of it but glad you are trying to learn the basics.

as you were told there are superior methods.

spend your time reading this that n the other I find it better to just DO the simple little thing that work, like injecting ed, I don't need a study, lol I been sticking myself for long enough to know whats what.

The problem with that mentality is that there are MANY things people do because someone told them to, or because "that's how everyone does it" and it's often wrong. How many people over the years have done something only to later find it was inferior, or worse, had negative ramifications. Beta carotene supplementation, estrogen replacement in post-menopausal women, etc...I very much doubt most people taking NAC have any idea about disrupting ROS-P53 axis apoptosis and how that can possibly lead to increased tumor formation. I am not saying that is likely to happen, but to say that it's unimportant or that it's common knowledge is just not correct.

Not to mention there are people constantly recommending things online (including this forum at times) that are downright harmful to people's health and they just use the reasoning "it worked for me"...as if they know. Most people are doing so many things and taking varying substances unless you have some sort of control you just can't know.

I appreciate your input. There are reasons why posts by Stewie, Dante, Homunculus, and the like are so valued here. Real world experience and scientific evidence.

Lastly, I never said NAC was this horrible thing. I, like you, just said it has potential downsides AND I said based on my experience of taking it for months, it did not seem to help my liver values. I even said in my post that the quote from wiki was just an FYI for people reading it. Nothing more.

Edit: and yes, I will be taking the advice of splitting up the injections to EOD to see how that changes things.

 

[roastdawg]

Tudca for liver might work a little better for you then the NAC did.

I wonder how your e2 looks later in the week? Might be in range for some of the time.

roast

 

[Deleted member 106824]

Tudca for liver might work a little better for you then the NAC did.

I wonder how your e2 looks later in the week? Might be in range for some of the time.

roast

I just bought some TUDCA actually, it will be my first time trying it (one of the only reputable liver supports I haven't tried). I'll try it for 1 month and then retest.

E2 probably is lower later in the week, though I couldn't tell you how low. Given that at the end of the week on 100mg/week my E2 was ~39 I imagine with my current 125mg/week even at the end of the week it would still be low 40's. I will see how the 3x weekly subQ injections help.

 

[LK3]

The problem with that mentality is that there are MANY things people do because someone told them to, or because "that's how everyone does it" and it's often wrong. How many people over the years have done something only to later find it was inferior, or worse, had negative ramifications. Beta carotene supplementation, estrogen replacement in post-menopausal women, etc...I very much doubt most people taking NAC have any idea about disrupting ROS-P53 axis apoptosis and how that can possibly lead to increased tumor formation. I am not saying that is likely to happen, but to say that it's unimportant or that it's common knowledge is just not correct.

Not to mention there are people constantly recommending things online (including this forum at times) that are downright harmful to people's health and they just use the reasoning "it worked for me"...as if they know. Most people are doing so many things and taking varying substances unless you have some sort of control you just can't know.

I appreciate your input. There are reasons why posts by Stewie, Dante, Homunculus, and the like are so valued here. Real world experience and scientific evidence.

Lastly, I never said NAC was this horrible thing. I, like you, just said it has potential downsides AND I said based on my experience of taking it for months, it did not seem to help my liver values. I even said in my post that the quote from wiki was just an FYI for people reading it. Nothing more.

Edit: and yes, I will be taking the advice of splitting up the injections to EOD to see how that changes things.

I don't disagree.

I also dont go asking people for help or for there input on things as to actually implement something based on the suggestion of some internet name would not be very smart.

I stopped using NAC as it does have downsides.

it also has great uses., and I occasionally do use it for those.

I didn't need anyone to tell me about it, simply doing my own due diligence.

the inject thing is sort of the opposite though...
once you understand the body a little you understand why its such a dumb idea to do what has been done, ie admin 1x weekly or 2x a month.

THAT came from docs...

just like estro replacement and the like...

 

[Deleted member 106824]

I don't disagree.

I also dont go asking people for help or for there input on things as to actually implement something based on the suggestion of some internet name would not be very smart.

I stopped using NAC as it does have downsides.

it also has great uses., and I occasionally do use it for those.

I didn't need anyone to tell me about it, simply doing my own due diligence.

the inject thing is sort of the opposite though...
once you understand the body a little you understand why its such a dumb idea to do what has been done, ie admin 1x weekly or 2x a month.

THAT came from docs...

just like estro replacement and the like...

I agree, and hopefully my last post didn't come across overly argumentative.

I do think most of this stuff we can figure out on our own based on our experiences and reading the literature. For example the more frequent injections have a lot of evidence from forum members as well as doctors and studies, so like you said that one is a safe bet. SubQ falls under that category as well to some extent. And if anyone reading happened to want to know more this video is a concise source for it [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n98LOFQwUGA"]SUBCUTANEOUS TESTOSTERONE INJECTIONS - THE CUTTING EDGE WITH DR. JOHN CRISLER - YouTube[/ame]

The nice thing about forums is, when there is a lot of contradictory information out there, you can talk to others to gather their experiences and/or see how relevant certain things are (e.g. maybe a study shows X happens but in the real world it hardly matters). Of course you need to be selective about who's advice you listen to.

Lastly just for the record I have known all along that more frequent injections would lead to more stable levels and possibly less estrogen but it often seems individual with longer esters. Some people notice a dramatic difference. From my own experience when I was using longer esters for blasts I never felt a difference at all between 2x/week injections and 4x/week injections. But for the sake of bringing down E2 here it's something I will be trying out and it will be my first time trying subq

 

[Deleted member 106824]

Update

Update, I split my 125mg Test C per week into 3 doses. It brought my total testosterone level to exactly where I'd want it, and not coincidentally to a value right between the values I got when I measured right after a 1x/week injection (~1480) and a week after a 1x/week injection (~730).

Unfortunately, and surprisingly to me, despite splitting up my injections to 3x per week and doing SubQ injections my estradiol is actually slightly higher than before (51 now vs 49 then). If anything it's worse in the sense that before it would at least be in range for maybe half the week (the second half after my 1x/week injection) whereas now with the 3x/week injections it's probably that level all of the time. Seems to be one of those things that's touted as truth (more frequent injections = lower peaks = less conversion to estrogen) but in my case did not seem to pan out as expected.

Everything else is great for the most part. I would really prefer not to bring my TRT down but given I've tried the two methods of bringing E2 down without taking an AI (more frequent injections and SubQ) it might be my only option. My free test is also very high so from a health standpoint maybe it would be better to have it at 100mg/week, as much as I'd hate to bring it down from a results standpoint as I'd still like to make any progress possible on TRT.

Any input is welcome

9/4/15 (~7:30am):
3x42mg Test C (last dose 9/3 a.m.)
6g Fish Oil ED
1500mg Curcumin ED
500mg TUDCA (Premium Powders)​

Glucose: 76 (65-99 mg/dL)
Sodium: 139 (135-146 mmol/L)
Potassium: 4.4 (3.5-5.3 mmol/L)
Chloride: 105 (98-110 mmol/L)
Carbon Dioxide: 21 (21-33 mmol/L)
Urea Nitrogen (BUN): 23 (7-25 mg/dL)
Creatinine: 1.15 (0.80-1.35 mg/dL)
Calcium: 9.3 (8.6-10.2 mg/dL)
Protein, Total: 6.9 (6.2-8.3 g/dL)
Albumin: 4.3 (3.6-5.1 g/dL)
Globulin: 2.6 (2.1-3.7 g/dL)
Albumin/Globulin Ratio: 1.7 (1.0-2.1)
Bilirubin: 0.6 (0.2-1.2mg/dL)
Alkaline Phosphatase: 79 (40-115 U/L)
AST: 23 (10-40 U/L)
ALT: 54 (9-46 U/L)
eGFR Non-Afr Am.: 89 (> 60 mL/min/1.73m2)
eGFR Afr Am.: 103 (> 60 mL/min/1.73m2)
TSH: 5.24 (0.40-4.50 mIU/L)
T4, Free: 0.9 (0.8-1.8 ng/dL)
T3, Free: 2.8 (2.3-4.2 pg/mL)
Estradiol: 51 (< 39 pg/mL)
Testosterone, Total: 1022 (250-1100 ng/dL)
Testosterone, Free: 260.6 (35-155 pg/mL)
DHT: 72 (16-79 ng/dL)
C-Reactive Protein: <1 (<8 mg/L)
Cholesterol, Total: 164 (125-200 mg/dL)
HDL Cholesterol: 66 (> 40 mg/dL)
Cholesterol/HDL: 2.5 (< 5.0)
LDL Cholesterol: 85 (<130 mg/dL)
Triglycerides: 67 (<150 mg/dL)
Non-HDL Cholesterol: 96 (30 more than LDL target)
Apolipoprotein A1: 145 (94-176)
Apolipoprotein B: 70 (52-109 mg/dL)
Lipoprotein (a): 33 (<75 nmol/L)
WBC Count: 6.1 (3.8-10.8 Thousand/uL)
RBC Count: 4.59 (4.2-5.8 Million/uL)
Hemoglobin: 14.5 (13.2-17.1 g/dL)
Hematocrit: 44.5 (38.5-50.0%)
RDW: 14.4 (11-15%)
Platelet Count: 177 (140-400 Thousand/uL)

 

[raw33man]

Lower your Test dose.... do 100mg

 

[Deleted member 106824]

Lower your Test dose.... do 100mg

That does seem to be the most logical approach, unfortunately lol. Guess I'll made the change to 3x33mg per week soon. I really didn't see any benefit from injecting 3x per week to be honest but for the sake of more closely mimicking natural levels I don't really mind 3x.

I do wonder why my free test is so high relative to total test. I first noticed that before during my 2nd cycle a couple of years ago but that had orals which lowered SHBG much more than injectables but now it still seems to be that free test is always 1.5-2x what one would expect based on total levels.