My triptorelin log for secondary hypogonadism

[Testiclats]

If I want to get a good idea of what my body is able to do on its own, how much is natural and how much is caused by some supplement, how long would I need to be completely clean of any supplements before getting re-tested?

Like a week, or a month, or what?

I want to determine whether this huge increase in testosterone is real or if it's just being caused by some other supplement I've taken...

 

[Michael Scally MD]

Just the one time

Though I've been taking vitamins, exercising, and done low carb, high protein, restricted calorie dieting, very strict. I lost over 40 lbs already. I just recently crossed the line to where I'm not classified as Obese any more

Also for a few weeks I was taking Ostarine and GW-501516 every day to aid with weight loss / exercise.

I assume the Ostarine & GW-501516 was pre-Triptorelin.

Other than Vit. D, which needs attention, the TT is great. Since the LH seems unusually high in relation to prior tests, I suspect this will lower in time. For that reason, it is clear the Triptorelin is working. What the labs are in a month or more will be a better barometer of the HPTA.

 

[Testiclats]

I thought Triptorelin raises both FSH and LH though?

I was doing the Ostarine and GW-50 starting about the same time as I took the Triptorelin.

I hope I'm not getting false results from something added to the Ostarine or GW that is boosting my LH levels somehow.

What about HCG, I took that a few times but not within 2 weeks of the labs. Would that have boosted LH levels? Would Clomid or Tamoxifen? I tried those as well but not within a couple weeks of the labs being drawn.

Just want to make sure it wasn't caused by something else other than the Triptorelin.

 

[Testiclats]

Oh also I did get a prescription for 50,000 IU Vitamin D that I have to take twice a week for 2 or 3 months.

I also notice that even though LH seems elevated more than FSH, both are higher than they were in my original labs.

 

[cvictorg]

Just the one time

Though I've been taking vitamins, exercising, and done low carb, high protein, restricted calorie dieting, very strict. I lost over 40 lbs already. I just recently crossed the line to where I'm not classified as Obese any more

Also for a few weeks I was taking Ostarine and GW-501516 every day to aid with weight loss / exercise.

How long and how much SARM per day? That would certainly affect your testosterone.

 

[Testiclats]

The Ostarine I was doing about 50mg every day for a month but stopped about 15 days before these labs.

 

[Testiclats]

Also I thought Ostarine, if anything, is suppressive?

Did you mean SERMS not SARMS?

 

[eryximachus]

Also I thought Ostarine, if anything, is suppressive?

Did you mean SERMS not SARMS?

I think the ostarine just came out of left field. Yes, it is suppressive.

If you're trying to restore your HPTA, ostarine is a bad choice. I don't know the half life, but 15 days before sounds suspect.

Why don't you just quit using all drugs, other than vitamins, and get your blood tested again in a month? We are all interested in triptorelin, so please let us know. Thanks for maintaining this log and contributing to our knowledge!

 

[foreveryoung]

what exactly were you trying to achieve with the GW-501516 ?

 

[Testiclats]

I did the gw-50 to aid in fat loss. I don't think it worked, because I lost weight just as well after I stopped taking it, and I didn't notice any improvement in athletic performance while taking it. Not sure if it did anything for me really, but I used the bottle until it was gone anyway.

That's exactly what I'll try next, go off of everything for a while and get new labs.

 

[Testiclats]

Hi all!

Just an update. In order to try and figure out what is really going on, I have stopped taking any supplements, SARMS, SERMS, GW, etc... stopped ALL chemicals, for about a month now.

I had a new Total Testosterone blood draw done this morning. Results coming soon.

Then, in a few more weeks, I will be having complete bloodwork done again, and we'll see where everything is at now.

 

[Testiclats]

Ok I got my results from yesterday's quick draw:

Test Description Result Range Units
Testosterone, Serum004227 768 348-1197 ng/dL

Ok so that's pretty close to what it was last time it was tested, this is not a fantastic level but its not bad for a 34 year old right? It's still twice as high as it was before the triptorelin!

My life has changed too, I feel more confident, am dating again, and people who know me are making all sorts of comments about how I look more attractive lately... It's pretty great...

 

[eryximachus]

Ok I got my results from yesterday's quick draw:

Test Description Result Range Units
Testosterone, Serum004227 768 348-1197 ng/dL

Ok so that's pretty close to what it was last time it was tested, this is not a fantastic level but its not bad for a 34 year old right? It's still twice as high as it was before the triptorelin!

My life has changed too, I feel more confident, am dating again, and people who know me are making all sorts of comments about how I look more attractive lately... It's pretty great...

Congratulations man. I'm 35, and fearing recovery. 3 weeks away from ending SERMs after an HCG blast. Always kept triptorelin in the back of my mind as a last ditch alternative.

Make sure you get tested every 4-6 weeks for at least half a year. Let's make sure it sticks!

 

[Testiclats]

Hi all, I have updated labs from earlier this month. Labs were collected on May 4 2013, I just hadn't had time to see the Dr. for the follow-up until today.

I stopped taking any supplements or research chemicals or anything (other than multivitamin) for at least 30 days before taking the new labs.

TSH: 2.34 mIU/mL (range 0.35 - 4.94)
Albumin: 3.8 g/dL (range 3.4 - 5.0)
Total Testosterone: 810.3 ng/dL (range 196 - 792)
Free testosterone: 17.47 ng/dL (range 5.2 - 18.0)
Bioavailable testosterone: 364 ng/dL (range 119 - 470)
Percentage free testosterone: 2.2% (range 1.5 - 3.1)
SHBG: 41 nmol/L (range 12 - 59)

The doctor advised me that my testosterone was "too high" and kept asking are you sure you're not taking any steroids or hormone supplements? He said well, we'll just check it again in 3 months Whatever. 810 is good right... give me a break, who is going to complain about that? I swear, doctors sometimes...

Meanwhile, I've been doing well in the gym, getting stronger, etc. I may never know how much of the difference came from triptorelin and how much came from losing 50 pounds of fat and starting to do some power lifting (which I've heard naturally raises your testosterone levels).

 

[Michael Scally MD]

What is the LH?

When did you stop any meds?

What were the meds?

 

[Testiclats]

Hi all, just an update with some bad news.

Sorry I didn't update this thread for a while, it was smooth sailing and I thought it was the end of this story.

However, on 9-11-2013 I had new bloodwork done, and my testosterone has dropped down to low levels again. Not as low as it was in 2010, but still, below average for sure. These are my latest numbers:

Total T: 423 ng/dL (range 250-1100)
Free T: 51.4 pg/mL (range 35 - 155)
FSH: 1.5 mIU/mL (range 1.5 - 12.4)
LH: 3.2 mIU/mL (range 1.7 - 8.6)

These numbers are almost exactly the same as what I got on 1/16/2013, in fact slightly worse:
Total T: 469 ng/dL (range 250-1100)
Free T: 57.2 pg/mL (range 35 - 155)
FSH: 2.2 mIU/mL (range 1.5 - 12.4)
LH: 4.4 mIU/mL (range 1.7 - 8.6)

So it would appear that the triptorelin had the desired effect for a while, but after a few months, my levels returned to what they were BEFORE the triptorelin, and stabilized there.

However, I do think it is strange that on 1/11/2013 when I had a quick total T test done, it only came back 275 ng/dL! Why would it fluctuate so much in 5 days? Is this normal?

So, it appears there is still a problem somewhere. I am pursuing diagnosis with my endocrinologist to try and figure out what is going on. Maybe triptorelin is only a permanent solution for people who had normal T numbers at one point, and were only shut down because of steroid use. That was not the case with me, my T numbers were always low due to some health problem we have not found yet.

Do my numbers look more like primary or secondary hypo? I have been assuming secondary because the total and free T numbers improve really well as LH goes up, plus, look how low my FSH numbers are, why would that be the case? However, my endocrinologist is assuming primary, because my latest LH reading was within the "normal" range. Well duh, so was my testosterone level, but closer to the low end of normal, whereas the LH level was closer to the middle of the range.

Anyway, I'm going to be re-tested in 4 weeks and if the levels are trending down or if LH is low then he is going to order an MRI of my head to look at the pituitary. I wish I could have gotten that done a long time ago to rule out pituitary problems. I guess we'll see what happens.

I also don't get the best quality sleep, lately around 5 or 6 hours a night, and my blood pressure is a little high, about 140/81. I wonder if either of those could make that big of a difference on testosterone levels.

I still tend to think I am secondary rather than primary, because I've found in the past that taking tamoxifen daily results in my testosterone levels being at the high end of normal, and when I took a shot of triptorelin my testosterone levels were high enough that my doctor was actually concerned saying they were "too high".

 

[Michael Scally MD]

I assume the Ostarine & GW-501516 was pre-Triptorelin.

Other than Vit. D, which needs attention, the TT is great. Since the LH seems unusually high in relation to prior tests, I suspect this will lower in time. For that reason, it is clear the Triptorelin is working. What the labs are in a month or more will be a better barometer of the HPTA.

Hi all, just an update with some bad news.

Sorry I didn't update this thread for a while, it was smooth sailing and I thought it was the end of this story.

However, on 9-11-2013 I had new bloodwork done, and my testosterone has dropped down to low levels again. Not as low as it was in 2010, but still, below average for sure. These are my latest numbers:

Total T: 423 ng/dL (range 250-1100)
Free T: 51.4 pg/mL (range 35 - 155)
FSH: 1.5 mIU/mL (range 1.5 - 12.4)
LH: 3.2 mIU/mL (range 1.7 - 8.6)

These numbers are almost exactly the same as what I got on 1/16/2013, in fact slightly worse:
Total T: 469 ng/dL (range 250-1100)
Free T: 57.2 pg/mL (range 35 - 155)
FSH: 2.2 mIU/mL (range 1.5 - 12.4)
LH: 4.4 mIU/mL (range 1.7 - 8.6)

So it would appear that the triptorelin had the desired effect for a while, but after a few months, my levels returned to what they were BEFORE the triptorelin, and stabilized there.

However, I do think it is strange that on 1/11/2013 when I had a quick total T test done, it only came back 275 ng/dL! Why would it fluctuate so much in 5 days? Is this normal?

So, it appears there is still a problem somewhere. I am pursuing diagnosis with my endocrinologist to try and figure out what is going on. Maybe triptorelin is only a permanent solution for people who had normal T numbers at one point, and were only shut down because of steroid use. That was not the case with me, my T numbers were always low due to some health problem we have not found yet.

Do my numbers look more like primary or secondary hypo? I have been assuming secondary because the total and free T numbers improve really well as LH goes up, plus, look how low my FSH numbers are, why would that be the case? However, my endocrinologist is assuming primary, because my latest LH reading was within the "normal" range. Well duh, so was my testosterone level, but closer to the low end of normal, whereas the LH level was closer to the middle of the range.

Anyway, I'm going to be re-tested in 4 weeks and if the levels are trending down or if LH is low then he is going to order an MRI of my head to look at the pituitary. I wish I could have gotten that done a long time ago to rule out pituitary problems. I guess we'll see what happens.

I also don't get the best quality sleep, lately around 5 or 6 hours a night, and my blood pressure is a little high, about 140/81. I wonder if either of those could make that big of a difference on testosterone levels.

I still tend to think I am secondary rather than primary, because I've found in the past that taking tamoxifen daily results in my testosterone levels being at the high end of normal, and when I took a shot of triptorelin my testosterone levels were high enough that my doctor was actually concerned saying they were "too high".

Is this the end of the experiment?

 

[Testiclats]

Is this the end of the experiment?

I guess so, shouldn't it be? I mean, the stuff worked for a while but was only a temporary fix. We don't know why T levels were low in the first place, but it looks like whatever the cause was didn't go away, even after losing over 60 pounds of bodyfat. Body fat is around 13% now and the problem appears to still be there.

My endo tried to suggest that the low T levels could be the result of SERM use or triptorelin use. I called bullshit on that, did he forget that my T levels were already low before I ever tried taking a single supplement or research chemical? The only reason I ever tried taking anything was because my T was low in the first place due to some as-of-yet undetermined cause. In fact my T levels are better now than they were in 2010 before I ever tried taking any chemicals, so trying to blame the meds is ridiculous. I am anxious to get a head MRI, maybe I've had a pituitary tumor or something all this time.

 

[glycomann]

This is one of the best threads I have seen on the boards regarding PCT or restart. This shows a 9 month long lasting increase in testosterone.

 

[Testiclats]

Just an update. I got a head MRI done, pituitary gland is completely normal.
What I noticed was my vitamin D levels were still low even after taking 5,000 IU every morning.

My Dr. recommended taking larger doses, 10,000 or so every day. I will have follow-up hormone tests done soon and report back how things are going.