Hi all. I just made an account on this website so forgive me if I come off as a noob lol. I'm just looking for advice/thoughts on something...

I'm ftm & have been on testosterone gel for a little over three months. The gel I use is in little packets and I apply just one packet of the gel on my shoulders each day [UPDATE: read somewhere else on the forum that dosages aren't supposed to be talked about so I edited that information out. Sorry!]

When I first started HRT I immediately scheduled an appointment to visit my endocrinologist three months later to check my hormone levels, make sure everything is fine, and most likely increase my T dose a bit. So three months pass, I get bloodwork done, and the results are sent to my endocrinologist. When I visit my endocrinologist to discuss the results she tells me that my estrogen levels lowered a bit, which she said was normal, but my testosterone levels were wayyyy higher than expected. In fact, she said my T was so high that it looked like I was taking FOUR packets of the gel each day (I can't tell if she was exaggerating or not? lol but you get the point). This was very shocking to me, especially considering we both anticipated increasing my T dosage during this appointment. She kept asking if I was taking anything else to increase my testosterone, which I was/am not.

Because of this I had to retake my bloodwork to make sure it wasn't some sort of a mistake. At the moment I've stopped taking the gel so that my T levels will go down a bit. I haven't gotten the results for my new bloodwork back yet so I don't know for sure if it was just a mistake or if I really do have high T levels but in case I actually do I was wondering: Does anyone know WHY this might be happening? (Is my body naturally producing more T for some reason? Absorbing more than 10% of the T in the gel?) Am I doing something wrong? Is there a possibility that there's something wrong with my body/health? I've been feeling perfectly healthy so the possibility of a health issue would be news to me. Most importantly, has this happened to anyone else here?

thanks ahead of time & I hope you all have a nice day

Apparently dosing with gel can create a cumulative effect raising the T level over time, as opposed to an injection which raises T initially and then declines until the next shot. This is probably what it is, or maybe your skin is extra permeable, or if you have very little body fat that means you have less adipose tissue interfering with the action of T.

I use gel and although it took about 6 months of the same dosing daily, I ended up on the high end of the scale eventually too. I wasn't advised to stop taking it, only to lower my dose slightly (one of the major advantages of gel use, you can control your own dosages daily)

Welcome to Susan's Place. While I haven't had any experience with jells, two possible issues come to mind. You could be absorbing or retaining more testosterone than normal. If this is the case, an adjustment in your dosage might be required. The other possibility is the amount of time between your application and when the blood is drawn. You testosterone levels would peek out within a few hours of application and they would be the lowest just before your next dosage. In my case, I have been instructed not to take my estrogen dosage the day of my blood draw until after I have had the draw. This gives me 24 hours for my levels to stabilize. I suggest you discuss this with your doctor if it's the likely cause.

Site Terms of Service & Rules to Live By	Standard Terms & Definitions	Post Ranks (including when you can upload an avatar)
Reputation rules	Cautionary Note	Photo, avatars, & signature images policy

When did you apply your gel on the day of your blood test? You're meant to apply it 4-6 hours before you have your blood drawn. If it was only a few hours beforehand that could be a reason as to why your levels came out so high.

My recent blood test came back too high for T even though I applied the gel 6 hours before hand. Had to have another blood test done whereby I hadn't had a T gel dose since the previous day and my T level results came back normal.

Also important to note that the T gel stays on the skin so having an injection where you had put the gel might effect the results

My experience with gel are similar to yours. Even when I took half a dose, my levels were still a bit high.
Switching to other forms of T helped, even though my t levels are still high. I am currently on Nebido, taking only 75% of a dose at a time, at an interval of 4 months (instead of the usual 3).

Some of us just absorb and deal with T more extremely, I think.

All the replies here are true. Taking a blood level after your daily dose will give you high blood levels. Ideally, you should take your blood sample right before you apply the Testosterone gel.

Having said that, if you are not having any problems, then you could just continue at your present dose. Blood levels are not that critical. You just need to be in the normal male range.

Hey all, I know I'm very late to respond but I appreciate all the replies, it's very helpful

I am almost certain that I got my bloodwork done at least 5 hours after I applied the gel on my shoulders and upper arms but i can't really remember. Also my blood was taken from a spot on the lower part of my upper arm (hope that makes sense, I'm not sure how else to describe it) which is pretty close to where I apply the gel. It definitely seems like a legitimate reason for why my T levels came back so high.

Also , regarding my testosterone levels being at least in normal male range: I actually talked to the endocrinologist again and apparently my T levels were even higher than many average cis males around my age. I don't want to have more T than a normal cis male does (I've heard that producing so much testosterone can cause it to convert to estrogen)

i was off of the T for about two weeks so that I could bring the T levels down again. I was then told to go back on it and keep doing what I was doing before (same dose, apply a packet daily, on the shoulders/upper arms). In the future I'll be sure to get my bloodwork done before I even apply the gel for the day. If my blood tests keep coming back so high then I may change my dose or switch to a different form of T, as Mr. X suggested.

i agree with everyone else in this thread, you'll probably need to adjust your dose or it was how early you took your blood test. when i go see my endo (i'm doing IM shots) he tells me to wait three - four days after my shot to get my blood work because by then my levels are "stable." so i can only imagine how high it might be when doing blood work 6 hours after. he told me one time my levels were high and that's when i did my blood work two days after my shot.

Quote from: catdad1541 on November 19, 2017, 03:17:27 AM

Also , regarding my testosterone levels being at least in normal male range: I actually talked to the endocrinologist again and apparently my T levels were even higher than many average cis males around my age. I don't want to have more T than a normal cis male does (I've heard that producing so much testosterone can cause it to convert to estrogen)

Normal T levels extend up to around 1100 ng/dl and some men retain levels above 800 well into their 50s and beyond.  Average levels are around 500 to 700 depending on age. 

You never stated your actual level but if it was 1100 or below that's not above normal.

As for converting to estrogen, that can happen but it doesn't convert a huge amount and what is converted is still overpowered by the above average T.  It also doesn't have any detrimental health effects in someone who is otherwise healthy.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I honestly think that extremely high levels might just be more normal for some rather than others. For example, I think I'm one of those people were my levels needs to be around 900-1100 ng/dl for me to feel normal. My pre-T levels were also pretty high.

However, I can say that when I was on the typical starting dose for T and stayed there for 2.7 years (never increased dosage), my levels would sometimes get so high that I had a blood test once that showed around 1420 ng/dl the day after injection. If I drop into the 800s I start to feel lethargic, and it only gets worse from there.

Physiologically, it is likely that your body may just be absorbing significantly more testosterone and it may have a longer half-life in your system that the average person, which of course could be due to a variety of factors. I wonder what your doctor will do since it would be difficult to make a dose lower than just one packet or one pump.

The good thing, is that you would probably have a really good response to bi-weekly injections (no highs and lows) if your body isn't eliminating testosterone fast. Of course, the delivery method may change that response somewhat so it sounds like it would have to get experimental.