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Hey, all.
Been a long time since I've been on the site. Just been busy with life. I wanted to ask around about the difference with topically applied testosterone versus injections. I wanted to know if anyone had any improvement in their bloodwork by switching from injectable to transdermal/topically applied testosterone. From what I'm reading online this appears to be the case.
Some backstory on my personal experience typed below. I know it's a bit longwinded but it's not necessary to answer my question above if you don't care to read it:
I've been using an insulin syringe and have titrated down to just 100mg of test per week. I was injecting 140mg of test which I really liked but my bloodwork started to suffer even more at that dose. I use the same syringe and give myself min injections everyday. Since it's 50IU of volume (or 100mg of test) I simply eyeball the amount so that I can get seven injections for each day of the week. This has worked well for me for years up until recently. I had my last hematocrit/hemoglobin test done just this week. I cheated a little and only took 30IU of my weekly dose hoping to pass under the radar and not alarm my doctor. Unfortunately, my hematocrit was 53.1 and my hemoglobin was at 17.9. The high end of normal for hemoglobin is 17.7. Keep in mind, even though my hemoglobin isn't even one whole point above normal, I know it was lower than normal because I took approximately 2/3 of my weekly dose a week before getting blood work. The previous hemoglobin test I took was just over 18g/dL. Now that my doctor's visit is out of the way I went back up to 100mg of test. I am keenly aware of my body and how things affect me and can feel the difference.
To describe, when I titrated down to approximately 75mg of testosterone (before my blood draw) I could tell whenever I'd get up from a squatted or seated position that my blood pressure was lowered because I'd get a bit dizzy for a moment until my body adjusts. This happens every time titrate down on my HRT which has been for approximately the last four blood draws for medical checkups. I also take 10mg of lisinopril for high blood pressure (it's 135/90 if I don't take my meds). So, after my doctor's visit I ramped up and went back to 100mg of test and within two hours I got weirdly tired for about an hour but then it seems to go away and I feel this unusual heartburn that I'm noticing that has been happening within a couple hours of my morning injection. This heart burn feeling has been going on for a few weeks. And it just hit me that I didn't feel any heartburn when I lowered my dose for a week. But then it came back after I ramped up to 100mg. I believe there's a correlation. I'm fifty-three so I'm wondering if my body is just not responding well anymore to 100mg. But I'm hoping that switching to a transdermal version of testosterone might allow me to still take the highest level of HRT without any negative side effects. Admittedly, I'm just not done being as muscular as I can possibly be so it kinda bothers me. I'm sure many of you can relate.
I've also done my own therapeutic blood draws a couple weeks before bloodwork but it doesn't seem to be helping. It worked well in the past for years and my hematocrit would be at 48-49 after I drained 500m of blood two weeks prior to my doctor's visit with bloodwork. But lately it doesn't seem to make a difference that lasts more than a couple of weeks. My blood levels now spike up quickly and it's become a bit pointless.
Been a long time since I've been on the site. Just been busy with life. I wanted to ask around about the difference with topically applied testosterone versus injections. I wanted to know if anyone had any improvement in their bloodwork by switching from injectable to transdermal/topically applied testosterone. From what I'm reading online this appears to be the case.
Some backstory on my personal experience typed below. I know it's a bit longwinded but it's not necessary to answer my question above if you don't care to read it:
I've been using an insulin syringe and have titrated down to just 100mg of test per week. I was injecting 140mg of test which I really liked but my bloodwork started to suffer even more at that dose. I use the same syringe and give myself min injections everyday. Since it's 50IU of volume (or 100mg of test) I simply eyeball the amount so that I can get seven injections for each day of the week. This has worked well for me for years up until recently. I had my last hematocrit/hemoglobin test done just this week. I cheated a little and only took 30IU of my weekly dose hoping to pass under the radar and not alarm my doctor. Unfortunately, my hematocrit was 53.1 and my hemoglobin was at 17.9. The high end of normal for hemoglobin is 17.7. Keep in mind, even though my hemoglobin isn't even one whole point above normal, I know it was lower than normal because I took approximately 2/3 of my weekly dose a week before getting blood work. The previous hemoglobin test I took was just over 18g/dL. Now that my doctor's visit is out of the way I went back up to 100mg of test. I am keenly aware of my body and how things affect me and can feel the difference.
To describe, when I titrated down to approximately 75mg of testosterone (before my blood draw) I could tell whenever I'd get up from a squatted or seated position that my blood pressure was lowered because I'd get a bit dizzy for a moment until my body adjusts. This happens every time titrate down on my HRT which has been for approximately the last four blood draws for medical checkups. I also take 10mg of lisinopril for high blood pressure (it's 135/90 if I don't take my meds). So, after my doctor's visit I ramped up and went back to 100mg of test and within two hours I got weirdly tired for about an hour but then it seems to go away and I feel this unusual heartburn that I'm noticing that has been happening within a couple hours of my morning injection. This heart burn feeling has been going on for a few weeks. And it just hit me that I didn't feel any heartburn when I lowered my dose for a week. But then it came back after I ramped up to 100mg. I believe there's a correlation. I'm fifty-three so I'm wondering if my body is just not responding well anymore to 100mg. But I'm hoping that switching to a transdermal version of testosterone might allow me to still take the highest level of HRT without any negative side effects. Admittedly, I'm just not done being as muscular as I can possibly be so it kinda bothers me. I'm sure many of you can relate.
I've also done my own therapeutic blood draws a couple weeks before bloodwork but it doesn't seem to be helping. It worked well in the past for years and my hematocrit would be at 48-49 after I drained 500m of blood two weeks prior to my doctor's visit with bloodwork. But lately it doesn't seem to make a difference that lasts more than a couple of weeks. My blood levels now spike up quickly and it's become a bit pointless.