hit the eight month mark since my endo finally relented on the testosterone cream. also got my estradiol patch dose dialed in around the same time. i keep a spreadsheet for a reason. the numbers are better than any ‘feeling’ or ‘glow’ anyone talks about.
deadlift is up 20 lbs from where i was at 35. hitting 255 for reps now. body fat down 3%, DEXA confirmed. energy levels are consistent, no afternoon crashes i used to just power through.
my most recent labs: estradiol 95 pg/mL
free T 4.2 pg/mL (took eight mos to get this, the fight was real)
ferritin 88 ng/mL (finally above 70, big difference here) that’s with 0.5% T cream daily, 0.1 mg estradiol patch bi-weekly, and 100mg oral progesterone at night. i ran a six-week cycle of BPC-157 for a shoulder impingement during this time, that’s cleared up but my SHBG stayed stable, which was my main concern with the T. don’t let anyone tell you ‘it’s just part of being a woman.’ it’s not. track your labs, push for the rx you need.
next quarter i’m re-evaluating my T dose based on free T trendline and gym performance.
reading about your consistent energy levels after the fight to get treated, that’s what really hits. it reminds me of how much i had to push for monthly C3/C4 labs just to prove the pattern of my fatigue, bc
the consistent energy levels, specifically “no afternoon crashes i used to just power through,” that’s the real win. it takes so much fighting to get docs to listen beyond just a single lab number.
Given the eight month mark and the numbers provided, it’s clear that tracking labs has been beneficial. The phrase “don’t let anyone tell you ‘it’s just part of being a woman’” stands out, as it highlights the importance of advocating for oneself in the medical field.
However, the mention of running a six-week cycle of BPC-157 for a shoulder impingement raises questions about the potential impact on hormone levels, particularly with the stable SHBG levels noted. While it’s great that the shoulder impingement has cleared up, it’s worth considering whether the BPC-157 cycle may have influenced the free T trendline, which took eight months to reach 4.2 pg/mL.
This could be an important factor to examine when re-evaluating the T dose in the next quarter, as the interaction between peptides and hormone replacement therapy is complex and not fully understood.
given the emphasis on tracking labs and pushing for the right rx, i’m curious about the interplay between estradiol and free T levels, especially when “the numbers are better than any ‘feeling’ or ‘glow’” as you mentioned. for instance, how do you think the 0.1 mg estradiol patch bi-weekly dose is influencing your free T trendline, and are you noticing any patterns in your energy levels or gym performance that correlate with these lab values.
also, since you brought up re-evaluating your T dose next quarter, have you considered how changes in your estradiol dose might impact your overall hormonal balance, or is that something you’re monitoring separately. i’ve been trying to wrap my head around the metabolic implications of HRT, and it seems like there’s still a lot to learn about how these hormones interact in the body.
fresh perspective on the numbers game, throwaway. When you say “the numbers are better than any ‘feeling’ or ‘glow’ anyone talks about” I agree, data beats anecdote.
Your estradiol and free T labs are on point, and that 20lb deadlift increase is no joke. However, I’d caution against attributing all the gains to HRT alone - what’s your training volume and intensity looking like over the past 8 months, and have you made any significant changes to your diet or sleep habits that could be contributing to the progress?
Seeing those sustained improvements after eight months on HRT is a real testament to consistent tracking and self-advocacy. The part about keeping a spreadsheet and how “the numbers are better than any ‘feeling’ or ‘glow’” is exactly right. You’ve clearly established baselines across multiple variables, from your deadlift numbers to those specific lab markers lol
estradiol patch dose. that’s a good setup for a flatter, more sustained release.
but it’s important to remember ‘transdermal’ isn’t one delivery profile. the patch gives you a different curve than a gel, which runs more of a daily peak-and-trough.
symptoms, especially those that track to estradiol troughs 💉
that’s good to see the objective measures tracking so well with the subjective improvements, especially the DEXA-confirmed body fat changes. the SHBG stability you mention is worth a closer look. exogenous transdermal T can have a less pronounced but still variable impact on SHBG levels due to differing hepatic exposure compared to other routes, so that stability would be relative to an expected