What were your total test levels at during those same e2 readings?   29 could be low depending on the testosterone level.  And 62 e2 could also be ok if your had a high testosterone level.  If no sides and feeling great, it just depends.

A lot of people don't like Anstrozole or any Aromatase Inhibitors, but they really help me.  If I don't take one a couple times per week I don't feel as well.  Libido tanks.  I only take a VERY low dose of 0.125 mg twice a week.  It doesn't take much and I can feel the effects within hours.

In fact, I need one this morning.

I have to agree with you on this....I've read alot of negative opinions regarding A.I. over the past year or two.....(my estradiol was near the upper end of the preferred reference range prior to me starting trt) and I was originally prescribed .5 Anastrozole in my 200mg test....off the top of my head I think my bloodwork came back with estradiol at around mid 20's....with total test just below 900.....2 refills ago I had my doc/clinic pull the A.I. to let me see how I felt just on the straight test without Anastrozole...Well, now about 10 weeks into the test w/o Anastrozole and I have to admit ....I want the .5 Anastrozole back in my protocol....I truly felt better with it, and I will be requesting it back in my next script.

Got my first injection on Friday. 200mg every 2 weeks. NP was really cool and gave me some needles and plungers. 17 gauge to draw and 22 to inject. Test levels were low after first blood test and even lower after second one. Did two tests to have a baseline before injections.

Terrible injection protcol and they gave you harpoons to inject with.   Get yourself some 27 Gauge insulin needles.

I've only used one brand of testosterone.  It uses cottonseed oil as a base and it's almost too thick for 25 gauge needles.  I used a 25 gauge the first time I injected and it felt like it took almost a minute to inject 1 cc using more force than I though I should be using.  It was probably only 30 seconds, but it was a  longer than I wanted to have a 1.5" needle stuck in my thigh.  I've been using 23 gauge since and they only take about 8 seconds to inject with what I consider a normal amount of force.  I used 21 gauge once and it wasn't that bad.  I will use 21 if I can't get 23, but I will only try 25 again if I change brands of testosterone.  I would have had a terrible time if I had started with a 27 gauge needle.

Why aren't Testopel insertions discussed more? Ten pellets, every seven months holds my levels in the 750-800 range. Yea, I get a sore ass for a couple of days, but I don't have to mess with needles and more frequent blood draws.

35 bucks twice a year and everything is done in Dr's office. Only reason I'm on TRT is my L1 vertebrae decided to fold up 50%. TRT for bone strength is the goal.  

I've used 27g and 28g and actually prefer the 28g for the test cyp I get from CVS. However, I'm doing sub-Q not IM.

Because its the worse delivery system possible.  Doesn't deliver consistent levels of T.  

Garbage pharmacokinetics.

Also if osteopenia is your concern you need to keep doing research, allot more you can do. Or get a better doctor.

I'm on 100mg injecting twice a week. My first numbers back are pretty damn high. This is after my first 3 months. I injected the night before the draw, going to drop it to .8 a week.

I started in the low 400s Total(I'm 37 and pretty lean at 5'10 155). I feel ok, I did cycles for recreational use in my 20s and have had gynecomastia before(had it cut out). Definitely know what high levels feel like, and I feel pretty normal here. Glad I'm able to drop it down though. The clinic actually prescribed 200mg a week to start. Glad I cut it in half.

Total
1845

TESTOSTERONE, FREE
268.3

SEX HORMONE BINDING GLOBULIN
73.6

Estradiol
46

You never have blood drawn the morning after you inject.  You do it the morning before an injection when you are in a trough.  That's why your numbers are high.  So twice a week, monday/thurs you would want to do it monday morning.

Yeah.

I did it on purpose. Wanted a next day test, probably closer to 15 hours. It's still a high peak, I'll do another draw next week with a longer delta between injections to see if my Test/Estrogen ratio tracks the same.

My doc is super flexible and lets you do what feels best. But I'm surprised it's still that high at 100 mg a week.

Does HCG give anyone else a small, sensitive lump for a day or 2 after injection? I’m doing subQ in the abdomen.

I've gotten a patch of irritation every once in awhile from a specific batch.  Either the water used to reconstitute it was bad, something in the batch was bad, or I some how contaminated it when I added in the water.  If every shot causes sensitivity, irritation, or bruising then I would dump everything involved and start fresh.  I've been doing this about 15 years and experienced it maybe with 3 different batches over that time.

Starting with 100 mg once a week soon. excited to see how this goes

Walgreens won’t fill my prescription paying with cash and GoodRx. They are saying it has to have insurance approval. Fuck them

That's real retarded.

I tested at 200. Dr gave me prescriptions for .25 ml or 50mg once per week.

He ran bloodwork because I am always tired and have no motivation.

Is in the thigh muscle the best place to shoot it?

Does it matter what time of day I shoot it?

I've had a number of arguments with a number of pharmacists over this kinda stuff with my TRT.  I have a theory that a lot of them are small, bitter men with an inferiority complex that drives them to derive feelings of power and self importance by refusing to cooperate with doctors' orders.  
Try to shop around until you find a pharmacy with a decent pharmacist on staff.




That seems like a pretty low dose but I guess it will probably help.  It seems like most guys are doing 150-180 or so mg/week.  
As far as the injection site and technique goes you'll get a lot of different answers.  There's a lot of personal preference involved.  I like an IM injection into the ventrogluteal muscle.  
Here's a copy/paste of a response I made a few pages back about it.

I inject in the vertrogluteal muscle which is sort of on the side of your hip.  This is probably the most commonly recommended IM site because I guess there aren't a lot of nerves or blood vessels in the area.  There are a lot of bad videos on YT about how to locate the VG muscle for injection.  Some unclear, some plain wrong.  The best tip I found was actually in the comments of a video.  Look at the side of your hip sorta just behind and below your pelvic bone crest.  Point your toe and act like you're grinding out a cigarette with your toe by twisting your heel back and forth.  Your VG muscle should flex and be pretty obvious.  Then just lean against a counter or something with your opposite side to allow the muscle to relax, and inject in the center of it.  I've done this dozens upon dozens of times and I've never had a bad stick.  Half the time I can't even really feel it.  The other half of the time it would be more accurate to call it minor discomfort rather than pain.

I don't think time of day makes any difference as far as your levels are concerned.  

Thank you @theradbaron

SHBG And Testosterone Dosage/Frequency
Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG) and Albumin are both important for regulating testosterone in the body. Albumin level tends to stay constant in the body thus SHBG has the larger effect on free testosterone level.
It helps "transport" testosterone throughout the body. Without it, testosterone would clear quickly and not provide its intended benefit. The downside is it "binds" to "some" of your total testosterone, making it "unavailable".
For TRT users, the more SHBG the less Free Testosterone we have. We know Free Testosterone is more important than Total Testosterone.
Frequency of injection stabilizes testosterone levels in your bloodstream:
-Extremely low SHBG means your body clears testosterone quickly and injecting more often is key to stabilizing levels. Every other day to daily injections are best.
-Extremely high SHBG requires one large dosage injection per week.
Correlate to how you feel and health blood markers. Adjust frequency from there.
TRT Protocol by SHBG Level:
High SHBG (SHBG in top third of range)
- Inject once a week but at a high dosage
Middle SHBG (SHBG in middle third of range)
- Inject twice a week
Low SHBG (SHBG in lower third of range)
- Inject Every Other Day
Extremely Low SHBG (below lowest range)
- Inject daily
With this said, your TRT protocol is going to be individual to YOU. This information is just for your consideration.

Can you expand on this?  What do you mean by "clears"?  Since it is not bound does it get used or just removed by the kidneys?  Would blood work still show a decent total and free T number?  Or is it just gone?  Or is it metabolized faster, which wouldn't that be a good thing as more of it is utilized?

These results were 3 days after the injection.  I inject Mon and Thur.

I am not the author, but I think he means gets used faster and you get a spike followed by a crash in test levels and why more frequently t injections are required to keep levels flat.

New lab results just dropped.

Test: 1453     Previous: 622
Albumin: 4.6  Previous: 4.7
SHGB: 55.9   Previous: 65.2
Free T: 27.6   Previous: 8.18
Bioavailable: 46.5% Previous: 33.6%

LH and FSH increased
MCHC is low
Lymphs are high
DHEA is high
Estradiol is 52.9 Previous: 22.4

I've been on (CLOMIPHENE/DHEA/7-KETO DHEA/PROG/ANAST 20/20/20/20/0.1 MG)  daily


I honestly don't feel very different. My wife says I'm more motivated to get things done. Which come to think of it is true.
No negative effects physically (yet)

Others might weight in on this, but that SHGB seems a bit high.  Not sure the range that fell in for your test, but that being high might keep the free test lower since it can bind it up.

Yup. I've been talking to my Dr about it. I'll ask about Boron supplements during our call tomorrow.

@blackhalo

I was going to mention your SHBG is pretty high. You might be able to lower it and free up additional T with some boron supplementation or proviron/mesterolone (illegal but you mentioned cycling). If that worked you'd likely be able to lower your T dose even further.

Question about T levels. I know they usually don’t do TRT until levels are below 300, but at what point are low T symptoms noticeable? I have a lot of them - low energy, losing strength and noticeable loss of muscle mass, trouble losing weight, low libido but don’t haven ED (but erections definitely not as strong as they used to be). I was tested and I’m at 508. Should I be concerned something else is wrong, or just normal aging? I’m 55.

OK was looking up testosterone therapy and saw this below. Is this true. It can lead to reduction in testicle size. I've been married 35 years and would like to keep what little I have left of them

As far as total testosterone goes, that seems like a decent number for a 55 year old guy. Could you feel better on testosterone? Maybe. Only one way to find out.

No. I’ve been on it for around 4 months and have never had any irritation. Same injection site. Are you ensuring no air in needle and injecting at 45 degrees?

Proviron would be a great daily addition to help.  It would help bind up that extra shbg so more T is bio available.    

Masteron (drostanolone) also has the same effect.   Great when ran at 1:1 ratio as test in trt setting.

You can always put it intramuscular into the delts if subq does work out.  But usually the abdomen welts won't happen anymore after a a few weeks.  Just rotate abdomen sites though.

Yes that is true.  HCG can be taken and it will prevent them from shrinking.  If you have low T then they have already shrunken the natural production has already slowed down.  They may not shrink any more or at least by a noticeable amount.

This is not a humble brag, and maybe TMI... but the smaller size can have perks.  I've only had 1 since I was born (surgery mishap I'm told) so it was super sized to make-up for it my entire life.  It made things uncomfortable often.  I'm actually enjoying the shrunk size now.  It's not that small, hell it looks normal sized to me now, but I have no more pain down there if I sit down in the wrong position or sleep on my stomach.  

Psychologically, it was kind of hard to get over though!

The psychological part must have been tough especially when you were younger, both self inflicted by worrying and from others.

On the size issue my experience has been all over the place.  With low T they are going to be shrunken.  Then I was put on clomid which kicked them into over drive and more than doubled their size.  That size made them sensitive and slightly painful but never uncomfortable to the point I had to watch how I sat or slept.  I went on T and HCG and the size came down to normal.  Years later went off those trying to have a kid and went back on clomid plus HCG.  Massive size increase and back to being sensitive.   I'm back on T and HCG and they are back to normal.  The larger size was nice but serves no real purpose unless someone is trying to have a kid and causes mild pain so not worth it.  

Not gonna lie... it sucked growing up.  Then a very close friend (distant cousin) who I did everything with as a kid, including bathe with (poor and had to share tubs back then) told others in Jr. High and it became something I got made fun of about.  Got the nickname Uno for a while.  I just had to go with it and act like they weren't bothering me, but damn it sucked.  Got asked a lot of weird questions.  Girls stopped talking to me, not that it mattered, I was already too embarrassed to be sexual.  

I've missed out on a lot of life because of it.

Fast forward to 18 and I had to have another surgery to check on and fix some stuff that happened during my hernia surgery when I was a baby.  Apparently that surgery or maybe the first surgery fucked up vas deferens.  I'm assuming it was the second one because they did a lot of cutting and the recovery was terrible.  To be honest, I still don't understand why I had the 2nd surgery.  I found some old medical records where my mom never went to any follow up appointments when I was a baby, and by time she finally did 2 years later, they couldn't find the testicle they had lowered during the surgery.  So I did have 2 at some point!  It's been really hard to not hold that against her.  

Fast forward to my first marriage.  After not being able to have a kid after a few years of trying, found out about the severed vas deferens, so 0 sperm.  

Before I could even get to a specialist to see if it can be fixed, or some recovered from my testicle, that wife left me.  Good riddance, but it hurt.  

Had to tell my current wife before we started dating because I didn't want to lead her on.  She didn't care.  She knew she always wanted to adopt and so we started dating, got married not long after.  

Finally got to adopt, and that ended up being a huge nightmare.

Needless to say, I have to wonder if I was ever supposed to be a Dad.

Dang, that is a lot to go through.  Builds a lot of character though, just a rough way to go about it.  I think you would be justified in holding it against your mom but you have to look at it from her side too.  She would not have had any idea what was going on and if the doctor said the surgery fixed the problem wouldn't have know that follow ups would be critical in your situation.  Plus as you've seen in this thread 90% of the doctors have no real understanding and are just following common protocols they were taught.  The doctor might have said everything was fine and never stressed the follow ups so she didn't bother.  

I'm in the divorced, remarried, but no kid of my own club as well.  Still trying to come to terms with that.  My count was always low, clomid doubled it, when to T with HCG and it stayed stable for awhile but then for some reason it dropped lower than before I started any treatment. I switched to clomid plus HCG resulted in a 5x increase that put me at the top of the range.  Still no kid.  Part of the issue is I waited too long to start trying.  That goes back to a trauma as a result of my parents as well; although, they really couldn't understand the complexities of the situation or how it would affect me.  

My parents sent me to a private school in a town 30 minutes away.  Being the only farm kid in a city school is what the other boys used to torment me with, especially since the classes were about 4 boys to every 1 female.  Anything they could use to lesser my value they did.  That wasn't the trauma though, the ride to and from was.  My dad argued with the school system and said that since he paid school taxes the busses should take me to the school I was going to.  He pointed out they already had a bus going to that that town for a program the special ed kids were in.  He got it arranged that the bus would also take us there.  Imagine being dropped off at jr high in a short bus.  That still isn't the bad part.  Every school day for about 2 years, when I was 12 and 13 and starting to notice females, I would spend almost 2 hours of my day riding with mentally disabled kids.  These weren't downy kids, they were well beyond that.  One had trisomy 13 or 18, we were never given the details but from her appearance or behavior that is what she had.  She was supposedly 10 but the size of a 4 year old, couldn't walk or speak, had convulsions and drooled over everything.  Basically a living bag of flesh that people carried around from place to place.  She lived about 2 miles from where I did and was the one that spent the most time on the bus with me.  Every time I thought about having a kid my next thought was "it is going to be retarded and I can't deal with that".  Even now that mental image is still there any thought of having a kid is followed by fear of a defect.  

Maybe I'm in the same category and was never supposed to be a dad.  

Unfortunately, the doctor's records were pretty detailed, especially for that time in history, showing they had tried to get ahold of her multiple times, reiterated that it was important, and that she was supposed to be making sure the testicle stayed descended.  When we did come back in, it was recommended they do some more testing to see if the testicle could be saved, but that didn't happen either.  My dad's lawyer had found them during the custody case later on, which is how I ran across them when I was 18 because they were getting them to the new urologist.  

I could blame my dad too, but he was on coke at that time, and knowing how messed up my mom is, he was probably in the dark on what all was going on anyways.  After I graduated HS, I was having a very difficult talk with her, and she finally admitted to me that she actively did things to make sure my childhood was worse than hers.  She didn't think it would be fair that I might have a better life than hers.  How messed up is that?  It really highlighted the emotional abuse and neglect I suffered from her my entire childhood.  This lady got diagnosed Narcissistic Personality in the very early 90s, before many people knew what it was.  I got to move away to my dad's in the 5th grade, thank God.  He had been sober for a very long time by that point and my step-mom was amazing.  

Isn't it weird how things can affect you later in life.  Being on that bus skewed your perspective about the possibilities of having kids with issues and and stuck with you.  

Sorry you had to go through all that.  It'd be bad enough having to ride the special ed bus and while a developing, yet neurotypical brain.  

Parents just don't get it.

Wow.  I wouldn't be able to forgive my mother if she was intentionally neglectful and did things to make my life worse.  With other experiences I have been through, my approach now would be to cut contact and move on.  The very successful people I know seem to let go of the past and only look towards the future.  Much easier said than done and typically this forum is not the place for that as people like to rehash the past and complain.  You mentioned a current wife is is safe to say you have someone good and kind in your life now.  

Did the doctors ever give you any options to getting around the severed vas deferens?  If there was still sperm production it would seem like there would be a way to get some out.  Probably not cheap or pleasant though.  

Where are you guys buying needles?

Amazon is down to 1 brand (Shaotong), and the box of needles I got from them is very dull.  They are ok to draw with, but not good for a shot.  I'm looking for Terumo brand 23g x 1 or 1-1/2 inch needles, but can't find them.

I buy BD brand from Atlantic Med Supply.  They’re about the nicest needles you can get.  I use the Amazon needles of dubious quality to draw from the vial, then the nice BD needed to inject.

Yep only use BD.

Honest Medical, Vitality Medical or Amazon to purchase them.

I've used "diabetic warehouse" to order supplies, as well as a couple others. Just Google what you're looking for and certainly you'll find some websites.

I am pretty loyal to "easy touch" brand, but BD is also good. I feel like MAYBE the easy touch is a bit sharper but I could be mistaken. I don't think you could go wrong with either.

Numbers are still low but above the threshold to where my doc won't do anything, so now Im looking at other options. Was looking at Mantality, but they seem to be on the more expensive side. Wondering if anyone has any experience/thoughts on GoPeterMD.com...they seem decent from what I can see and prices aren't that bad.

Latest numbers from my bloodwork last week:
Attached File

EasyTouch on amazon

Update: Call with the doc went well. I'm going to stay of the Clomiphene test booster compound for the time being. At least until I have kids. We'll see where I go with all this after that but it would make sense to switch to exogenous.
Doc prescribed .25 armomatase inhibitor twice a week as well as 5mg tadalafil (lol) every 3 days. Never thought I'd need that at my age  

My sex libido is about the same. Before I'd put myself around a 2/10 now I'm at a 3-4/10.
This last week I've felt awesome. I've never felt this good in my life, even as a teenager. Makes me wonder how long my numbers are this bad. It also makes me kinda sad that I've been missing out on enjoying being myself my entire life.
I've got plenty of mental clarity, drive, energy. When I set myself to accomplish something, I actually enjoy working for it. "It makes effort feel good."
Another effect it's had is that I feel like I want to fight someone. Either in a mutual competition like bjj or defending my family. Not like I want to randomly attack someone. My dreams have reflected on this

@TheRealSundance

I found a medical study on this issue and quickly glanced through it.  The premise I pulled (which could be wrong) is that SHBG binds with the T and becomes the transport method that moves it through the entire body.  Then has the SHBG releases it the T can be used.  Low SHBG means the cells around the injection area utilize it to the max but then a lot of the T just sits there instead of going throughout the body.  Not sure exactly what happens to the T after that point, I'm assuming it is just broken down.  Many smaller shots would be the correct approach given the low levels of SHBG.  

That would explain a lot of how I currently feel.  It seems no matter what dose I take I never really feel it kick in, not like I used to.  I'm going to switch to daily injections and see if that has any impact on how I feel or my next set of labs.

From the study.
Most circulating testosterone is bound to its cognate binding proteins sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), human serum albumin (HSA), cortisol-binding globulin, and orosomucoid; these binding proteins play an important role in regulating the transport, tissue delivery, bioactivity, and metabolism of testosterone

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6287254/

My Doc says he uses 5mg daily dosage of tagalafil.
It was originally designed to treat pulmonary hypertension or something like that but found there were other usages.
He recommended I give the 5mg daily a try.
Started with 2.5mg daily which didn't to seem to have much affect, but the 5mg daily is significantly better.
Based on your health, you may want to inquire about increasing.
Maybe twice a week for 2 weeks.
Then three times then four and so on.