Optimizing my TRT, having some issues at the moment!

[Xilence7]

Hey all,

I'm on TRT for the last 7 months, started with test C but shortly after preloaded and went with Undecanoate ester, pinning 300mg every 2 weeks.

I'm having some issues at the moment, which are not that bad, but still I want to improve as much as I can so I want to hear your opinion what should I do/try to mitigate these side effects.

300mg test Undecanoate every 2 weeks IM
no AI
lifting 4x a week
very lean, around 10% bodyfat

Problems:
- started having 140-150 / 80-90 blood pressure readings, nothing too high, but still I was always on the lower side like 110/70 before TRT
- slight headaches during the day, prob due to high bp?
- feeling a little emotional and somehow bloated in the face, but nothing much

Last bloodwork a few days ago:

estradiol: 127.3 pmol/L - ref(55 - 122) - HIGH
total testosterone: 752 ng/dl
SHBG: 16 nmol/L (on the lower side)
free testosterone: 0.783 nmol/L - ref(0.091 - 0.579) - HIGH
free testosterone % : 3.00% - ref(1.59 - 2.95) - HIGH
bioavailable testosterone: 73.4 % - ref(37.3 - 69.1) - HIGH

I donated blood every 3 months since, didn't affect BP much, everything else including lipids, full blood panel is in the range.

From my understanding, my lower SHBG is making my free T out of the range which can be good because I need less testosterone to achieve high free T, which is the most important factor?
I'm not sure if my E2 is causing my high blood pressure, because is not THAT high, but I think lowering it to 80-90 might help?
Achieving that can be done by raising my SHBG somehow, which will "increase" my total T and decrease a little bit my free T to not to go over the range, and automatically excess free T won't be converted to the estrogen.

Now I'm changing some things in my lifestyle, I will do intermittent fasting 14 hours everyday, limit my sugar/carbs intake, and add x3 a week 15 minutes zone 4 cardio. I know it's hard to dial in with Undecanoate ester, but it's very convenient in my day to day life, since I travel ofter and I could easily preload double the dose and not to take a shot for a month or two without feeling low T.

I appreciate any help regarding the topic! I would like to hear from someone using the same ester or having the SHBG on the lower end, thanks!

 

[Excel.exe]

I'm not sure if my E2 is causing my high blood pressure, because is not THAT high, but I think lowering it to 80-90 might help?

your e2 is in pmol/L unit. most people talk about their e2 in pg/mL unit.

converting your result to pg/mL will give 34.68 pg/mL. that is good amount of e2. not too low and not too high.

300mg test Undecanoate every 2 weeks IM

if you are able to pin once every 7 days even with the travelling you do, try doing that instead.

 

[Xilence7]

your e2 is in pmol/L unit. most people talk about their e2 in pg/mL unit.

converting your result to pg/mL will give 34.68 pg/mL. that is good amount of e2. not too low and not too high.


if you are able to pin once every 7 days even with the travelling you do, try doing that instead.

Yes sorry, when I convert it looks in the range, but with another reference range in which my test was, it's high.

I'm thinking a lot, should I continue, should I go with test Cyp, should I lower/upper the dose. A lot of people say more is less, especially with lower SHBG. I will try 140mg/weekly from the next week, so many thoughts on what to do that my head will explode.......

 

[buck]

Where a person is in the range is the important part. And you are over he top. If you had got your blood work done using a different unit of measurement you would still be over the top. Most blood work numbers are not hard numbers but only valuable to he range that is used. How test are run, how machines are calibrated can change the result. But the result will still b e representative of the range used.
If you switch esters it may take you months to reach a stable state with test C considering the long ester you have been using. When i used to use long esters in my cycles it could easily take my 6 weeks to get back down to a more normal level.

 

[Excel.exe]

I'm thinking a lot, should I continue, should I go with test Cyp, should I lower/upper the dose.

what is the bare minimum amount of times you are willing to inject?

 

[roofer22]

Seems like something had to change since you've been on the protocol 7 months.
Sounds like maybe your body doesn't like higher levels of estrogen.
I would definitely suggest daily cardio if you're not already doing it. With BP as high as 150 I'd get that taken care of as soon as possible. I'd treat it myself or go to the doctor, but I don't mess around with my heart.
How are your electrolytes on your bloods?

 

[Xilence7]

Where a person is in the range is the important part. And you are over he top. If you had got your blood work done using a different unit of measurement you would still be over the top. Most blood work numbers are not hard numbers but only valuable to he range that is used. How test are run, how machines are calibrated can change the result. But the result will still b e representative of the range used.
If you switch esters it may take you months to reach a stable state with test C considering the long ester you have been using. When i used to use long esters in my cycles it could easily take my 6 weeks to get back down to a more normal level.

I'm thinking the same, but if I convert to pg/ml it doesn't look scary, it's perfect. I still think it's maybe a little bit too high, especially considering my total T which is not out of the range.
It was a wrong choice to start using test U, on the long run I thought it would be more stable levels, less pinning, but now for every change I need to wait for months, and even if I wanted to stop, I would be fucked up for months after my last dose until clomid starts working... Not sure what to do.. I'm going to lower my dose to 250mg/e2w and see in 2 months if my blood pressure goes down. Also my nutrition is... a lot of carbs, sugars, with 200g+ protein but I just eat whatever I see/want because I'm very lean, maybe I have insulin resistance and that is why my SHBG is on the lower end. I'm starting to make some changes to my eating habits

what is the bare minimum amount of times you are willing to inject?

I did once a week with test U also, but I'm aiming the less the better/easier, otherwise test U was a bad choice. So maybe once every 2 or a maximum 3 weeks could work, "work" haha

Seems like something had to change since you've been on the protocol 7 months.
Sounds like maybe your body doesn't like higher levels of estrogen.
I would definitely suggest daily cardio if you're not already doing it. With BP as high as 150 I'd get that taken care of as soon as possible. I'd treat it myself or go to the doctor, but I don't mess around with my heart.
How are your electrolytes on your bloods?

No, that is one of my biggest problems, I never did cardio in my life. I do run sometimes, hike a lot, swim, play a lot of sports but never did proper zone 4-5 cardio. I started last week, 3 times a week airbike.

What do you think about SHBG being low? Can it be the problem of too much free T which is converting to E2? Can lower sugar intake, intermittent fasting and cardio help to raise it? Maybe some supplements?
I really want to try by changing/lowering the dose and implementing more healthy eating habits with maybe some supplements before hoping on more pills.

 

[buck]

I'm thinking the same, but if I convert to pg/ml it doesn't look scary, it's perfect. I still think it's maybe a little bit too high, especially considering my total T which is not out of the range.
It was a wrong choice to start using test U, on the long run I thought it would be more stable levels, less pinning, but now for every change I need to wait for months, and even if I wanted to stop, I would be fucked up for months after my last dose until clomid starts working... Not sure what to do.. I'm going to lower my dose to 250mg/e2w and see in 2 months if my blood pressure goes down. Also my nutrition is... a lot of carbs, sugars, with 200g+ protein but I just eat whatever I see/want because I'm very lean, maybe I have insulin resistance and that is why my SHBG is on the lower end. I'm starting to make some changes to my eating habits


I did once a week with test U also, but I'm aiming the less the better/easier, otherwise test U was a bad choice. So maybe once every 2 or a maximum 3 weeks could work, "work" haha

No, that is one of my biggest problems, I never did cardio in my life. I do run sometimes, hike a lot, swim, play a lot of sports but never did proper zone 4-5 cardio. I started last week, 3 times a week airbike.

What do you think about SHBG being low? Can it be the problem of too much free T which is converting to E2? Can lower sugar intake, intermittent fasting and cardio help to raise it? Maybe some supplements?
I really want to try by changing/lowering the dose and implementing more healthy eating habits with maybe some supplements before hoping on more pills.

It doesn't the number to me barely out of range is barely out of range. If the top of the scale was 1000 and i was 1040 it would mean i was barely out of the range.
Stability requires something like 5 half lives. Test U can have stable levels just depends on how often you inject. It is not the ester that determines stability but the injection frequency. When i inject test cyp on 100mg i will be almost 1200 after 2 days then down to almost 400 at day 7.
I figured if i ever went with TU i would inject weekly to keep levels steady. But it would take about 3 months to hi steady state.

 

[AlexDavis43]

never did proper zone 4-5 cardio.

Yo that's not proper cardio. More like sprinting.

For heart health, try zone 2-3. Like ~6 mph.

 

[Ghoul]

That BP is stage 2 hypertension and very serious.

 

[CrownTea]

Hey, I read your post and thought I’d share a few ideas. It sounds like you’re running into some common TRT issues, but the good news is that they’re usually fixable with a few tweaks.
1. Testosterone Dose: If you’re dealing with mood swings or energy crashes, you might want to experiment with lowering your dose slightly—it’s all about finding your balance.
2. Estrogen Levels: Have you checked your estradiol recently? High or low estrogen can cause a lot of the symptoms you’re describing. If you’re on an AI, it might be worth adjusting the dose.
3. Hematocrit: If your levels are high, donating blood can help a lot. Also, staying hydrated makes a big difference.
4. Lifestyle Stuff: Don’t overlook sleep, diet, and stress—they can really impact how you feel on TRT.
5. Additional Labs: It might help to check things like thyroid, SHBG, or prolactin if you haven’t already.

If you want to share more about your current protocol or labs, I’d be happy to help brainstorm more solutions!

Hey all,

I'm on TRT for the last 7 months, started with test C but shortly after preloaded and went with Undecanoate ester, pinning 300mg every 2 weeks.

I'm having some issues at the moment, which are not that bad, but still I want to improve as much as I can so I want to hear your opinion what should I do/try to mitigate these side effects.

300mg test Undecanoate every 2 weeks IM
no AI
lifting 4x a week
very lean, around 10% bodyfat

Problems:
- started having 140-150 / 80-90 blood pressure readings, nothing too high, but still I was always on the lower side like 110/70 before TRT
- slight headaches during the day, prob due to high bp?
- feeling a little emotional and somehow bloated in the face, but nothing much

Last bloodwork a few days ago:

estradiol: 127.3 pmol/L - ref(55 - 122) - HIGH
total testosterone: 752 ng/dl
SHBG: 16 nmol/L (on the lower side)
free testosterone: 0.783 nmol/L - ref(0.091 - 0.579) - HIGH
free testosterone % : 3.00% - ref(1.59 - 2.95) - HIGH
bioavailable testosterone: 73.4 % - ref(37.3 - 69.1) - HIGH

I donated blood every 3 months since, didn't affect BP much, everything else including lipids, full blood panel is in the range.

From my understanding, my lower SHBG is making my free T out of the range which can be good because I need less testosterone to achieve high free T, which is the most important factor?
I'm not sure if my E2 is causing my high blood pressure, because is not THAT high, but I think lowering it to 80-90 might help?
Achieving that can be done by raising my SHBG somehow, which will "increase" my total T and decrease a little bit my free T to not to go over the range, and automatically excess free T won't be converted to the estrogen.

Now I'm changing some things in my lifestyle, I will do intermittent fasting 14 hours everyday, limit my sugar/carbs intake, and add x3 a week 15 minutes zone 4 cardio. I know it's hard to dial in with Undecanoate ester, but it's very convenient in my day to day life, since I travel ofter and I could easily preload double the dose and not to take a shot for a month or two without feeling low T.

I appreciate any help regarding the topic! I would like to hear from someone using the same ester or having the SHBG on the lower end, thanks!

 

[Xilence7]

It doesn't the number to me barely out of range is barely out of range. If the top of the scale was 1000 and i was 1040 it would mean i was barely out of the range.
Stability requires something like 5 half lives. Test U can have stable levels just depends on how often you inject. It is not the ester that determines stability but the injection frequency. When i inject test cyp on 100mg i will be almost 1200 after 2 days then down to almost 400 at day 7.
I figured if i ever went with TU i would inject weekly to keep levels steady. But it would take about 3 months to hi steady state.

Ratio could be good because both my free T and E2 are slightly out of range.
Due to my lowish SHBG I think I'm gonna reduce my dose to 125mg/week.

What do you think about my mid range total testosterone? Is it worth even looking at the numbers? Because it will drop even more with lowering from 150 to 125mg/week, but my free T and E2 could be on high end of the range which MAY lower my blood pressure?

What are your thoughts on trying to get my SHBG in 25-30 with IM fasting and cutting some carbs? I don't fully understand will my higher SHBG "take" some free T while my total T will increase?

Yo that's not proper cardio. More like sprinting.

For heart health, try zone 2-3. Like ~6 mph.

Yes sorry, I do like zone 3 lets say, airbike for 10mins 4 times a week, but will increase after

That BP is stage 2 hypertension and very serious.

I know, it's not good but I'm working on it to lower it. The problem is I just can't stop cold turkey test U now because until I restart my system it will take like 6 months. And at that time I have to be ready for my summer job.
I hope it won't do much damage and that I will fix it by lowering the dose and adding cardio

Hey, I read your post and thought I’d share a few ideas. It sounds like you’re running into some common TRT issues, but the good news is that they’re usually fixable with a few tweaks.
1. Testosterone Dose: If you’re dealing with mood swings or energy crashes, you might want to experiment with lowering your dose slightly—it’s all about finding your balance.
2. Estrogen Levels: Have you checked your estradiol recently? High or low estrogen can cause a lot of the symptoms you’re describing. If you’re on an AI, it might be worth adjusting the dose.
3. Hematocrit: If your levels are high, donating blood can help a lot. Also, staying hydrated makes a big difference.
4. Lifestyle Stuff: Don’t overlook sleep, diet, and stress—they can really impact how you feel on TRT.
5. Additional Labs: It might help to check things like thyroid, SHBG, or prolactin if you haven’t already.

If you want to share more about your current protocol or labs, I’d be happy to help brainstorm more solutions!

Thank you for the chat gpt answer my friend!