TRT and messed up values

[warlock]

I was talking to a friend at the gym today and it got me thinking. He stays mostly on TRT. Occasionally, he will double his TRT, but does not take any other compounds. Last time he blasted was at least a year ago and was just double the mg of his TRT. He's been on trt for at least 1 year straight.

His cholesterol is over 260 and one of his arteries is slightly clogged from a recent scan. His triglycerides are high too (in the 160's).

My understanding was that anabolics in general can lower your HDL (his is very good), but can they raise your cholesterol too? Doesn't the cholesterol go up mostly when your diet is not in check? Are the triglycerides high due to TRT too?

Could the testosterone be responsible for the clogged artery or would this be coming from a bad diet or both? He says he eats very clean. His test levels are in middle range.

If anyone can share their thoughts that'd be appreciated. Thanks

 

[raw33man]

Is he one of those 300mg of Test a week TRT guys ?

 

[warlock]

Is he one of those 300mg of Test a week TRT guys ?

haha..no it's under 200mg. His test levels are in the 500's I believe.

 

[pesty4077]

I was talking to a friend at the gym today and it got me thinking. He stays mostly on TRT. Occasionally, he will double his TRT, but does not take any other compounds. Last time he blasted was at least a year ago and was just double the mg of his TRT. He's been on trt for at least 1 year straight.

His cholesterol is over 260 and one of his arteries is slightly clogged from a recent scan. His triglycerides are high too (in the 160's).

My understanding was that anabolics in general can lower your HDL (his is very good), but can they raise your cholesterol too? Doesn't the cholesterol go up mostly when your diet is not in check? Are the triglycerides high due to TRT too?

Could the testosterone be responsible for the clogged artery or would this be coming from a bad diet or both? He says he eats very clean. His test levels are in middle range.

If anyone can share their thoughts that'd be appreciated. Thanks

Lots of things to determine that. It could be genetics. We don't know what you call TRT. What is his total testosterone levels? Eating clean and eating healthy can be 2 different things. Most guys lie about what they eat. Is this guy a real lean guy?

 

[nothuman]

Doesn't sound to me like the testosterone is responsible for any of that at all. What is his diet like and does he do/take anything else that isn't a steroid? Does he ever check his blood pressure? Height and weight? History of steroid use?

 

[warlock]

Lots of things to determine that. It could be genetics. We don't know what you call TRT. What is his total testosterone levels? Eating clean and eating healthy can be 2 different things. Most guys lie about what they eat. Is this guy a real lean guy?

His test levels are in the 500's range. True about the diet. Not sure exactly what he eats.

In general, can the TRT be causing his cholesterol/triglycerides go high and possibly be clogging his artery or is this more a genetic or a diet thing?

 

[Test-o-lean]

I would "guess" that its either diet or genetic.
I've been on 500mg-750mg of test for many many years straight. I get checked multiple times a year. My last Echo was perfect. My cholesterol & Try is perfect. My good cholesterol is a little on the low side, but total looks great.

 

[pesty4077]

His test levels are in the 500's range. True about the diet. Not sure exactly what he eats.

In general, can the TRT be causing his cholesterol/triglycerides go high and possibly be clogging his artery or is this more a genetic or a diet thing?

I say the latter 2 if his test levels are at 500.

 

[warlock]

Doesn't sound to me like the testosterone is responsible for any of that at all. What is his diet like and does he do/take anything else that isn't a steroid? Does he ever check his blood pressure? Height and weight? History of steroid use?

Thanks for your reply.

Blood pressure is good and diet is good as far as healthy foods, all bodybuilding though possibly not enough fats.

I think it can possibly be genetics, but my belief is that TRT should not be causing this.

I know you have been advocating natural remedies for cholesterol and are against statins. I'm the same way. His doctors wants to put him on statins. I do not want to get in the way of what his doctor is saying, but I know statins are horrible. What should he be told about statins to convince him it's not a wise choice?

What would you suggest to bring his cholesterol down?

I know citrus bergamot is great for HDL, but also for general cholesterol levels, correct?

What do you think about the below recommendations to improve his cholesterol:

citrus bergamot
niacin
lots of fish oil
healthy fats

How about for the clogged artery??:

vitamin k2
ubiquinol
curcumin

Any info you could share would be great. I know you are very knowledgeable with this.

Thank you

 

[warlock]

I say the latter 2 if his test levels are at 500.

That's what I think too.

 

[warlock]

I would "guess" that its either diet or genetic.
I've been on 500mg-750mg of test for many many years straight. I get checked multiple times a year. My last Echo was perfect. My cholesterol & Try is perfect. My good cholesterol is a little on the low side, but total looks great.

I agree. Thanks for commenting.

 

[nothuman]

Thanks for your reply.

Blood pressure is good and diet is good as far as healthy foods, all bodybuilding though possibly not enough fats.

I think it can possibly be genetics, but my belief is that TRT should not be causing this.

I know you have been advocating natural remedies for cholesterol and are against statins. I'm the same way. His doctors wants to put him on statins. I do not want to get in the way of what his doctor is saying, but I know statins are horrible. What should he be told about statins to convince him it's not a wise choice?

What would you suggest to bring his cholesterol down?

I know citrus bergamot is great for HDL, but also for general cholesterol levels, correct?

What do you think about the below recommendations to improve his cholesterol:

citrus bergamot
niacin
lots of fish oil
healthy fats

How about for the clogged artery??:

vitamin k2
ubiquinol
curcumin

Any info you could share would be great. I know you are very knowledgeable with this.

Thank you

I think everything you just mentioned would be great to take (niacin is more debatable), and I also think he should start taking metformin. I got a VAP test in December that was pretty good, but could have used some improvements. Last week, I got another blood test and everything improved tremendously, to the point everything was in the normal range. I was stunned and had no idea why they improved so much. Then I thought about it, and realized all I did differently was that I started taking metformin again. Metformin is very good to lower triglycerides, which is far more important than something like total cholesterol. His blood sugar could really suck. I recommend it! Still can't explain why his numbers are so bad though.

As far as curcumin goes, not that it's a cholesterol miracle drug or anything, but everyone here has talked about the BCM95 form. Recently, I've read NOVAsol curcumin is superior and 7x more bioavailable than BCM95. I don't know if that is the cure, but it's something everyone should take.

 

[BigRisk]

Is he taking anastrozole?
Please move to hrt form...anyone

 

[warlock]

Is he taking anastrozole?
Please move to hrt form...anyone

I believe 1/2mg twice weekly. Could that also be affecting it?

 

[warlock]

I think everything you just mentioned would be great to take (niacin is more debatable), and I also think he should start taking metformin. I got a VAP test in December that was pretty good, but could have used some improvements. Last week, I got another blood test and everything improved tremendously, to the point everything was in the normal range. I was stunned and had no idea why they improved so much. Then I thought about it, and realized all I did differently was that I started taking metformin again. Metformin is very good to lower triglycerides, which is far more important than something like total cholesterol. His blood sugar could really suck. I recommend it! Still can't explain why his numbers are so bad though.

As far as curcumin goes, not that it's a cholesterol miracle drug or anything, but everyone here has talked about the BCM95 form. Recently, I've read NOVAsol curcumin is superior and 7x more bioavailable than BCM95. I don't know if that is the cure, but it's something everyone should take.

Thank you for your input. That's what I am going to suggest.

I know you posted some articles on statins the other day. I'll dig them up too.

I did not know that about metformin and triglycerides. I wonder if berberine would help with that too. Good info though.

I appreciate it.

 

[Deleted member 121863]

What should he be told about statins to convince him it's not a wise choice?

The whole premise that statins save lives is BS. Tell him to look at the numbers needed to treat, the NNT. How many thousands of people need to take the medications daily for a YEAR, to avoid one potential death by heart attack. If somebody can`t see there is room for error (lots of) in the studies advocating these drugs, they cant be helped.

Ask him what do you think all the side effects are listed on the package (same for every Rx)? These are what happens when the drug binds to other unintended receptors, then you possibly get dry mouth, leaky anus, bleeding gums, etc

 

[Stewie]

I believe 1/2mg twice weekly. Could that also be affecting it?

Highly unlikely.

How old is your friend, what's his ethnicity, if you was to guess, what's his body fat percentage, any other prescription medications that he may be taking or any other recreational drugs, any alcohol use more than moderate useage, does he do any cardio, try to find out what his daily diet is like.

If I was to guess it's not FH and moreso related to lifestyle habits.

 

[warlock]

Highly unlikely.

How old is your friend, what's his ethnicity, if you was to guess, what's his body fat percentage, any other prescription medications that he may be taking or any other recreational drugs, any alcohol use more than moderate useage, does he do any cardio, try to find out what his daily diet is like.

If I was to guess it's not FH and moreso related to lifestyle habits.

Thanks Stewie. He is in his 40's, Caucasian and I would think 12-14% body fat.

He does cardio weekly and does not do any drugs.

His diet from what he was saying is a normal bodybuilding diet, but does not have many healthy fats. I do think it can possibly be genetics and not so much the TRT.

I'm going to suggest he adds more healthy fats to is diet, up his cardio and take some of those supplements listed. My main thing is that he does not get on statins. From reading the boards, I have learned statins are not great for you. I want to gather more info on this so that I can share it with him and have him make a decision based on that. Unfortunately, most people will just do what the doctor says and his doctor told him he wants to put him on statins.

 

[Stewie]

I'd suspect he's taking in too many carbs and not enough cardio.

Just a guess.

 

[warlock]

I'd suspect he's taking in too many carbs and not enough cardio.

Just a guess.

I'll find out more