Post-cycle test level - when to do bloodwork? How long to wait?

[tiger13]

Hi All,

I am just completing a successful cycle of Anavar on top of my Androgel TRT. I am very pleased with the anabolic effects (up 7 lean lbs so far!) and will definitely run this again. Did not see tremendous leaning (only down ~1%) but I was eating to gain, not cut.

Question: After the last dose, how long should I wait before having blood work done to check post-cycle Test levels? I would like to compare to pre-cycle levels and see how much the Anavar dropped me below "natural."

I have been googling around since I started the cycle and have not found a clear answer to this. My intuition says just wait for the half-life to wear down, then the synthetic test has worn off - so a few days is probably enough.

Can anybody lend some advice here?

Thanks! - J

 

[Michael Scally MD]

Hi All,

I am just completing a successful cycle of Anavar on top of my Androgel TRT. I am very pleased with the anabolic effects (up 7 lean lbs so far!) and will definitely run this again. Did not see tremendous leaning (only down ~1%) but I was eating to gain, not cut.

Question: After the last dose, how long should I wait before having blood work done to check post-cycle Test levels? I would like to compare to pre-cycle levels and see how much the Anavar dropped me below "natural."

I have been googling around since I started the cycle and have not found a clear answer to this. My intuition says just wait for the half-life to wear down, then the synthetic test has worn off - so a few days is probably enough.

Can anybody lend some advice here?

Thanks! - J

Are you still on AndroGel?

 

[tiger13]

Are you still on AndroGel?

Yes, I have remained on Androgel through the six-week cycle and will remain on indefinitely. Although I am trying to adjust my therapy (see below).



Some additional background if you're curious - I'm a 33yo HIV+ man and have been on TRT for almost six years now. My test level when I started TRT was ~ 200ng/dl and they remain ~ 200ng/dl when I get tested in the AM without using gel that day.

I moved a year and a half ago and have been a little dissatisfied with my primary care doctor for the TRT. I haven't been feeling myself for some time now, and they tell me "As long as you don't feel super depressed I think you're fine." I recently found out that they never once checked my Test levels since I moved and started seeing them!

I would not say I've been deeply depressed, but for the last .. quite a while, actually, at least two years .. I have not been *motivated* for anything social or sexual. Also, my workout progress has felt a little stagnant.

A friend on TRT pointed out my "ashy arms" the other day and I learned that the white stuff that I've had for years now - but not at the beginning - could be a sign of poor absorption. I have found some great resources on this site for optimizing the Androgel therapy, application sites and timing, and am experimenting with that but right now am a little turned off and skeptical.

I am looking for a specialist now, but in the meantime decided to experiment with 40mg Anavar to give my workouts a little kick in the ass. And wow, that it did!

Thanks - J

 

[tiger13]

Writing that reply got me worked up - it is SO frustrating to realize that I have not been optimally "tuned" for the peak of my youth! For the longest time I had trouble getting it up, and thought it was just some mental hangup that I had to get over; My Dr., the same one who first prescribed Androgel therapy, prescribed Cialis a few times without considering the hormone end of things.

Hitting the mid-30s now and I feel like I've missed out on so much. At this point I don't want to have "acceptable" T-levels, I rather want to have "high end of normal" levels. Grr....

/End of off-topic frustrated post.

 

[Michael Scally MD]

Question: After the last dose, how long should I wait before having blood work done to check post-cycle Test levels? I would like to compare to pre-cycle levels and see how much the Anavar dropped me below "natural."

I have been googling around since I started the cycle and have not found a clear answer to this. My intuition says just wait for the half-life to wear down, then the synthetic test has worn off - so a few days is probably enough.

Can anybody lend some advice here?

Thanks! - J

Yes, I have remained on Androgel through the six-week cycle and will remain on indefinitely. Although I am trying to adjust my therapy (see below).


Thanks - J

I do not understand the question since the AndroGel will be present for any testing. The endogenous production is already, for the most part, shut down while on AndroGel. Oxandrolone will not effect the level while on AndroGel.

 

[tiger13]

I do not understand the question since the AndroGel will be present for any testing. The endogenous production is already, for the most part, shut down while on AndroGel. Oxandrolone will not effect the level while on AndroGel.

Sorry about the confusion!

All of the posts I have read online indicate that Oxandrolone will cause my blood work to show elevated Testosterone levels. The claim is that the lab tests show testosterone and derivatives. Is this incorrect?


My primary care doctor has asked me to have blood work done "in the afternoon" on a day that I applied the Androgel, in order to find out how high it is raising my levels and determine if adjustment is needed after 5 years on the same dose. The test should show my levels without the Oxandrolone.

If the Oxandrolone will not affect my labs, I will not worry about it. If it will affect my labs, I am wondering how long to wait to have the labs done.

Thanks! There is a LOT of contradictory information about this stuff floating around on the net.

 

[Michael Scally MD]

Sorry about the confusion!

All of the posts I have read online indicate that Oxandrolone will cause my blood work to show elevated Testosterone levels. The claim is that the lab tests show testosterone and derivatives. Is this incorrect?

My primary care doctor has asked me to have blood work done "in the afternoon" on a day that I applied the Androgel, in order to find out how high it is raising my levels and determine if adjustment is needed after 5 years on the same dose. The test should show my levels without the Oxandrolone.

If the Oxandrolone will not affect my labs, I will not worry about it. If it will affect my labs, I am wondering how long to wait to have the labs done.

Thanks! There is a LOT of contradictory information about this stuff floating around on the net.

Oxandrolone will not cause elevated testosterone levels, but might effect SHBG. However, unless your physician is fairly knowledgeable this will not be a problem. Regardless, the TT will be the same whether on Oxandrolone or not!

All of the posts I have read online indicate that Oxandrolone will cause my blood work to show elevated Testosterone levels. The claim is that the lab tests show testosterone and derivatives. Is this incorrect?

This is INCORRECT!

 

[DragonRider]

Oxandrolone will not cause elevated testosterone levels, but might effect SHBG. However, unless your physician is fairly knowledgeable this will not be a problem. Regardless, the TT will be the same whether on Oxandrolone or not!



This is INCORRECT!

I would question that based on some of my past blood tests.
I had bloodwork done a few years ago while I was using 150mg per week of equipoise (and nothing else) and my test came back with a testosterone reading of 1100ng/dL.

 

[Michael Scally MD]

I would question that based on some of my past blood tests.
I had bloodwork done a few years ago while I was using 150mg per week of equipoise (and nothing else) and my test came back with a testosterone reading of 1100ng/dL.

I am not quite sure what you mean. Are you saying that Oxandrolone can increase testosterone? If so, it will not.

Or, are you saying the "Equipoise" you did showed up as testosterone? In that case, I would propose the "Equipoise" was not "Equipoise." In the alternative, the lab assay procedure was flawed.

 

[DragonRider]

Or, are you saying the "Equipoise" you did showed up as testosterone? In that case, I would propose the "Equipoise" was not "Equipoise." In the alternative, the lab assay procedure was flawed.

It was confirmed as equipoise when the police had it tested after it was removed from my residence.
Yes, my blood test for TRT purposes showed a testosterone level of 1100mng/dL, even though i had been using it instead of Androgel for over 6 weeks at the time of the test.
I am also no longer on Androgel because it absorbed poorly, so even when it was my primary TRT, it never raised my test levels over 400ng/dL.

 

[Bill Roberts]

Although it's an important subject, it could vary from lab to lab and from one time to another as labs may change practices, and I don't have the information.

But absolutely, speaking in general labs routinely do assays that can falsely include other compounds in the measurement. This is because methods that are absolutely specific to only one compound are "needlessly" (for most purposes) expensive.

Two examples: ATD, an ingredient that's been used in some OTC anti-aromatase products, is widely falsely detected as "testosterone." This has been of enormous aid in the marketing of the product.

4-AD can be picked up as testosterone in at least some tests. For this reason, back when I had designed a 4-AD product, it was necessary to have a GC (or it might have been LC, I don't recall) / mass spec assay developed so as to get true values for actual resulting testosterone increase.

If wanting to know whether a given dose of non-testosterone anabolic steroid is suppressive to LH production, unless going to the trouble to validate that the specific test does not detect that compound, then I think the only way is by measuring LH.

 

[tiger13]

I am also no longer on Androgel because it absorbed poorly, so even when it was my primary TRT, it never raised my test levels over 400ng/dL.

This is exactly what I am concerned about. Do you use straight Test now?

Over 5 years ago when I started the gel, my Dr. did not tell me to not apply it the day of the test. So, my bloodwork drawn at 10am showed rather high levels. and we called it a raging success

I felt better, but still had some sexual dysfunction and lack of drive in general -- at late 20s. I just assumed it was in my head.

Grumble.

 

[tiger13]

Oxandrolone will not cause elevated testosterone levels, but might effect SHBG. However, unless your physician is fairly knowledgeable this will not be a problem. Regardless, the TT will be the same whether on Oxandrolone or not!

Thank you - I appreciate your feedback on this!

My primary care physician of the last year and a half does not seem very knowledgeable on this so I am in the process of looking for a specialist. She (yes, she) never once checked my test levels since i started seeing her, responded that it was normal and not to worry that my balls felt smaller and hung very, very high, and has never checked LH/FSH/SHBG either.

I am going to give her a chance, see what she says about this "afternoon" blood test, and probably move on from there.

Thanks again - J