I know dosages are a No No here, but hopefully this is okay. If not, terribly sorry.

My doctor is a GP at a free clinic. He has no experience whatsoever with trans healthcare as far as I can tell. We checked my T levels a couple weeks back. It was on a Wednesday, and I take my shot on Thursdays. He said it was fairly high: 1600 ng/dL. Reference ranges for adult cis men tend to be around 270-1070 from what I can tell via Google, while the reference range for adult cis women is 15-70.

We did not check my E levels. I wonder now if I should have insisted on it, but I had to ask him for the T level check, and he was sort of dismissive when I asked if we should check anything else (liver function, blood lipids, things that I might have expected him to be interested in). I just figured, since they were taking my blood anyway, he might as well order E levels and other things, just to see what's what, but it was like he was only checking my T levels because I clearly wasn't going to stop asking about it.

He didn't seem at all concerned and suggested I might want to back off a little but that I could continue doing what I was doing if I felt fine like this. I don't feel fine, per se, but it has little to do with T. I have an eating disorder and recently relapsed, and so at this point in time I'm likely somewhat malnourished. But this has nothing to do with T. In fact, I often think T is the one thing keeping me afloat through this relapse.

So, I said all that to say this: he wasn't concerned, but I wonder if I should be. Anyone have any insight? I wonder if I can draw any reasonable conclusion from this one data point. We didn't do any testing to establish a baseline, either, before I started T, so I have no idea about that, either.

Have your E checked. That T is very, very high, especially if it was taken the day before you do your shot.

The highest I've ever been was around 900, and my doctor was concerned enough to have a "let's drop your dose" conversation.

Yes, I agree with Max...that is very high, especially if it is at the end of your shot cycle!  Your doctor works for you, so insist that you get complete lab work done.  Your health is the most important thing, so take an active role in making sure you are as well as you can be!

Quote from: HeyTrace19 on June 16, 2016, 04:41:12 PM
Yes, I agree with Max...that is very high, especially if it is at the end of your shot cycle!  Your doctor works for you, so insist that you get complete lab work done.  Your health is the most important thing, so take an active role in making sure you are as well as you can be!

Quote from: FTMax on June 15, 2016, 08:20:56 PM
Have your E checked. That T is very, very high, especially if it was taken the day before you do your shot.

The highest I've ever been was around 900, and my doctor was concerned enough to have a "let's drop your dose" conversation.

What's interesting to me is that I don't have any of the roid rage sort of thing that you hear about with people taking lots of testosterone, bodybuilders and whatnot. I get angry or frustrated from time to time, but no more than I did before T.

I don't want to seem like I'm not taking this seriously, but I'm more curious than concerned at this point.

I also have to wonder what effects, if any, my recent weight loss may have on my T levels. The general consensus seems to be that T can increase basal metabolic rates, due at least in part to increases in muscle mass, which are typical effects of testosterone, whether it's produced by the body naturally or supplemented. That would logically make it easier to lose body fat, but I don't know about whether fat loss or calorie restriction can itself lead to higher than expected levels of T.

I would also be curious to know whether my other medications (Prozac and Wellbutrin, at the moment) have any effect on these numbers. Prozac significantly increased my sex drive, as did Wellbutrin, so I'm just wondering about the intersection of this stuff.

I'm just kinda thinking out loud on this right now. I obviously can't expect people online to give me medical advice, but I guess what I'm saying is that I would be interested to know about things other people have noticed that have marked effects on T levels and androgenic effects. I wish we could compare dosages, but again, I understand that's not allowed, so it is what it is.

One other question I have for the both of you (and anyone else reading this) is whether you experienced significantly warmer spots on your body than you previously had. Like, in my knee and elbow joints, and the palms of my hand, I've noticed they're quite warm to the touch. Other people have noticed, too.

I'm warmer temperature wise on average now. My doctor remarked about it when she was going over my charts from the last year. Nothing crazy. I think she said I was 1-2 degrees warmer each visit than at my original intake.

My T levels are on the higher side. Post-hysto, my E level is very low. I am at a very common weekly dose, but your dosage should really be based off of lab work. I've had all of the expected physical changes, nothing really stands out there. I did not experience and increase in appetite or sex drive. I don't take any other medication. I've lost close to 40lbs since the beginning of the year, but that was lifestyle changes and not T related.

That level is incredibly dangerous. Doc sounds wholly incompetent. You need to, AT LEAST, half it - if not reduce it by two-thirds, by your next dose. If you developed Polycythemia, it would be uncontrollable and severe at that T level (it is in excess of 2,000, at 'peak' - that is TWICE the human level!). It's the only real risk we have against us with TRT, but it is a serious one and it can develop at any time. I have it myself. I was up into the 1,400's not long before that happened to me. Very dangerous. I now have to donate blood to control my Hematocrit (60% or over and that's fairly well a guaranteed thrombosis somewhere; highest I've been was 54%). Outright cessation was brought up twice already. If you got this and actually did develop a clot (and providing it didn't kill you) you'd have a very hard time finding a doctor willing to continue your TRT after that (as I was informed). Just reduce it by next dose and get a re-test as soon as you can. I don't think halving it will be enough to put you in a safe level... two-thirds reduction would be best. Your T level should NEVER be in excess of 1,200 (and the average is actually closer to 500), let alone 2,000!!!

ALSO, I would have to strongly recommend a CBC. Its the MOST important test we're to have and routinely, because (and especially with IM Testosterone) there is a risk of Polycythemia. I would be surprised if you're not rather elevated there already.

Too, it doesn't sound to me as this doctor is appropriate/qualified for this. Not at all.

Plus it is probably slowing your changes!  I was on what is considered the "norm" dose, but after we did my blood work my E levels were high so he dropped by T dose and my changes sped up.  So you definitely want to drop it both for heath reasons and because T turns into E--menses might come back, your non-permanent changes might reverse, your voice may not drop as fast...  Having T that high is a bad thing any way you look at it.

Yeah that's super high. I hope you're able to see your doctor soon about that, since it sounds really scary.