Bloodwork results on low-dose test prop + hCG — high TT (2860 ng/dL) and high E2, need advice

[ganciodestro]

Hi everyone, I’d like your input on my current bloodwork and situation.
Did my blood work yesterday 24.11.25
12 hours after testo prop and hcg inj.

Protocol:
(Started in 16.10.2025)

• 50 mg testosterone propionate EOD
• 200 IU hCG ED
• 25 mg micronized DHEA

Blood was taken 12 hours post-injection.

I have the labs also on 27/10/2025 and the numbers were almost identical on testosterone and a little lower e2 , no tested prolattina.

Current results:

• Total testosterone: ~2860 ng/dL
• Estradiol: 68
• Prolactin: 12


What surprises me is how high my testosterone is considering the low dosage.

For comparison, when I was on 205 mg/week of testosterone cypionate, I was around 1800 ng/dL.

Symptoms :

No nipple sensitivity or water retention, but mentally I’m struggling a lot:

• anxiety
• mood swings
• irritability
• intrusive/angry thoughts
• overall emotional instability

Need to fix it!!

I’ve used Arimidex in the past, even very low amounts (0.125 mg), but the side effects were too strong.

I now have Aromasin (exemestane) but I’m unsure how to approach it. I was considering trying something like 6.125 mg every 4 days (basically every 2 prop injections).

Example schedule:

• Monday: Test + hCG + Aromasin
• Wednesday: Test + hCG
• Friday: Test + hCG + Aromasin

And so on..

Questions:

1. Is this frequency/dosing reasonable?
2. Is it too little or too spaced out?
3. After how long should I retest bloodwork to evaluate the effect?

Any feedback or experience would be appreciated.

 

[Liter O' Test]

your testosterone is higher because you are getting a bigger spike because it is propinate and you are doing eod.

i would be careful about anti estrogen dosing because your estrogen test is not sensitive, meaning if you bring it into the twenties or low 30s you'd probably actually be lower than that, and crashed because its nonsensitive test.

you should just stop taking hcg and thatll lower your estrogen

 

[Eddie.]

Why did you choose prop? It's the worst ester if what you seek is stability. Mood swings anxiety etc are most probably caused by the huge hormonal fluctuations and pinning it eod it makes things worse.

TT levels ain't absurdly high, you should measure the trough and not the peak. I guess if you gave blood right before your test shot your levels might be 1500-1800.

You're taking 175mg of test where prop has higher milligrams compared to enanthate or cyp + 1400 IU HCG which raises total test quite a lot. For me 210mg test and 1500 IU HCG a week my total test was 1450. With 325 test and no HCG was 1480, so quite the same. That shows how HCG boosts total test levels.

 

[ganciodestro]

Hi guys!

I decided to switch to propionate because I feel much, much better on it.

When I was on cypionate my libido and motivation were way lower… honestly it was awful. I tried staying at 250 mg and even 205 mg, nothing changed.

I know for sure that my anxiety starts kicking in as soon as my E2 goes above 40, that’s definitely the trigger for me.

I also tried using propionate ED, but it actually makes me feel a bit worse compared to EOD with a slightly higher dose.

I’ve experimented with every possible approach, and this setup is the one I feel best on.

I just want to manage my estrogen levels better. I was supposed to get bloodwork done today (36 hours post-inj), but I had to start work very early and couldn’t make it.

Another reason I chose prop is because I want to increase the dosage eventually, and if for any reason I need to stop, my levels drop in about 5 days instead of 40 like with a long ester.

Regarding Aromasin—can anyone help me understand how to manage it properly?

 

[ganciodestro]

your testosterone is higher because you are getting a bigger spike because it is propinate and you are doing eod.

i would be careful about anti estrogen dosing because your estrogen test is not sensitive, meaning if you bring it into the twenties or low 30s you'd probably actually be lower than that, and crashed because its nonsensitive test.

you should just stop taking hcg and thatll lower your estrogen

I really love hcg libido boost , i know that every e2 problem should be fixed but i dont want to stop it.

Unfortunally in my country sensitive e2 is not available.. but i heard that is useless if you just use testo.. should be usefull when you use test eq tren etc etc..

 

[ganciodestro]

Why did you choose prop? It's the worst ester if what you seek is stability. Mood swings anxiety etc are most probably caused by the huge hormonal fluctuations and pinning it eod it makes things worse.

TT levels ain't absurdly high, you should measure the trough and not the peak. I guess if you gave blood right before your test shot your levels might be 1500-1800.

You're taking 175mg of test where prop has higher milligrams compared to enanthate or cyp + 1400 IU HCG which raises total test quite a lot. For me 210mg test and 1500 IU HCG a week my total test was 1450. With 325 test and no HCG was 1480, so quite the same. That shows how HCG boosts total test levels.

But if the total testosterone level is the same, are the anabolic results identical with 210 mg of test + hCG compared to 325 mg of test alone?


The values are pretty much similar…

 

[Liter O' Test]

Unfortunally in my country sensitive e2 is not available.. but i heard that is useless if you just use testo.. should be usefull when you use test eq tren etc etc..

trust me its not true, me and others have figured out that it gives you higher estrogen number regardless of other compounds used, so like i said, i would be careful trying to dial it in with unsensitive testing because if you are 25 or maybe even 30 youre crashed estrogen

 

[ganciodestro]

trust me its not true, me and others have figured out that it gives you higher estrogen number regardless of other compounds used, so like i said, i would be careful trying to dial it in with unsensitive testing because if you are 25 or maybe even 30 youre crashed estrogen

How can does no/sensitive gives higer estrogen in % instead of sensitive?

 

[wp_375]

Well, if you want lower E2 and your test levels are currently higher than a giraffe's pussy, the first and most glaringly obvious of all steps is to take less test. Not to take AI.

Clearly 50mg Prop EOD in your particular case is more like a cycle, not TRT since you are literally 4x the med-high end of natural range LOL. Try 30mg EOD while keeping HCG the same and see what happens..

 

[ackmack78]

How can does no/sensitive gives higer estrogen in % instead of sensitive?

I've tested my sensitive and non sensitive e2 at the same time and non sensitive was always 12-15 points higher.

I was doing it to see if I could get away with just running the cheaper test in the future, then just decided it's easier not to be a cheap ass. Different for you because you don't have access to sensitive e2

 

[ganciodestro]

Well, if you want lower E2 and your test levels are currently higher than a giraffe's pussy, the first and most glaringly obvious of all steps is to take less test. Not to take AI.

Clearly 50mg Prop EOD in your particular case is more like a cycle, not TRT since you are literally 4x the med-high end of natural range LOL. Try 30mg EOD while keeping HCG the same and see what happens..

Fortunately, I respond quite well to low doses and I don’t have big expectations in terms of muscle mass—just that slight extra boost. I think I’ll go up to a maximum of 300–350 mg of test per week, but I really need to fight these estrogenic sides because they’re very annoying.

Small update: last night I took 0.125 mg of Adex, and this morning I noticed a much stronger erection than usual. We’ll see how things go in the next few days

 

[ganciodestro]

What I’d like to understand now, as @Eddie. said, is that hcg boosts total testosterone. For example, he said that with 210 mg of test plus HCG he ended up with the same blood total testosterone as 325 mg.

So do you think that doing 210 mg of test plus HCG has the same anabolic potential as 325mg of testosterone without HCG?

Or is it just a misleading/lowered-accuracy value?

 

[Eddie.]

But if the total testosterone level is the same, are the anabolic results identical with 210 mg of test + hCG compared to 325 mg of test alone?


The values are pretty much similar…

I'm not so sure to speak of but i know from some guys who ran HCG monotherapy that even with their TT close to top of the range they still felt off compared to a low testosterone dose. Perhaps 1500ng from test only feel better than a combo of test and HCG but that's a blind guessing.

In terms of actual anabolism, without being sure though, I'd say it's the same. So if you want to aim at a particular ng/dl range while keeping the HCG in place just lower the test.

 

[ganciodestro]

I'm not so sure to speak of but i know from some guys who ran HCG monotherapy that even with their TT close to top of the range they still felt off compared to a low testosterone dose. Perhaps 1500ng from test only feel better than a combo of test and HCG but that's a blind guessing.

In terms of actual anabolism, without being sure though, I'd say it's the same. So if you want to aim at a particular ng/dl range while keeping the HCG in place just lower the test.

In my experience when i was 205 mg TC weekly i was around 1500 ng dl , i cut dosage to 172.5 and add 250 hcg EOD , my testo total was 1600 but in terms of anabolism nothing.
Looks like testo total from hcg doesnt work, is just a number.

 

[Eddie.]

In my experience when i was 205 mg TC weekly i was around 1500 ng dl , i cut dosage to 172.5 and add 250 hcg EOD , my testo total was 1600 but in terms of anabolism nothing.
Looks like testo total from hcg doesnt work, is just a number.

Maybe. I don't get anything out of HCG as I've mentioned before in one of your threads. For me it's a useless compound, it only raises my estradiol making the management more difficult. If i want higher test i prefer to inject more test lol.

 

[BBKingpin]

Hi everyone, I’d like your input on my current bloodwork and situation.
Did my blood work yesterday 24.11.25
12 hours after testo prop and hcg inj.

Protocol:
(Started in 16.10.2025)

• 50 mg testosterone propionate EOD
• 200 IU hCG ED
• 25 mg micronized DHEA

Blood was taken 12 hours post-injection.

I have the labs also on 27/10/2025 and the numbers were almost identical on testosterone and a little lower e2 , no tested prolattina.

Current results:

• Total testosterone: ~2860 ng/dL
• Estradiol: 68
• Prolactin: 12


What surprises me is how high my testosterone is considering the low dosage.

For comparison, when I was on 205 mg/week of testosterone cypionate, I was around 1800 ng/dL.

Symptoms :

No nipple sensitivity or water retention, but mentally I’m struggling a lot:

• anxiety
• mood swings
• irritability
• intrusive/angry thoughts
• overall emotional instability

Need to fix it!!

I’ve used Arimidex in the past, even very low amounts (0.125 mg), but the side effects were too strong.

I now have Aromasin (exemestane) but I’m unsure how to approach it. I was considering trying something like 6.125 mg every 4 days (basically every 2 prop injections).

Example schedule:

• Monday: Test + hCG + Aromasin
• Wednesday: Test + hCG
• Friday: Test + hCG + Aromasin

And so on..

Questions:

1. Is this frequency/dosing reasonable?
2. Is it too little or too spaced out?
3. After how long should I retest bloodwork to evaluate the effect?

Any feedback or experience would be appreciated.View attachment 363301

I think only thing that caused gyno for me was hcg. You want to be careful and take aromasin and tamoxifen and why take it with test?