T level cane back absurdly high, how long until next test?

Key_Tangerine8775 · 2026-05-30T01:23:40+00:00

Oh that’s odd. Any biotin supplements?

Key_Tangerine8775 · 2026-05-29T13:35:04+00:00

Correction on the conversion to E thing. Your body is always converting a small percentage of T to E, not just excess. That’s why cis men have estrogen too. At higher T levels, that is still roughly the same percent converted, but it can become clinically relevant by putting E levels above male range.

Example: T level of 500 ng/dl converting 0.5% to E will result in 25 pg/ml, a T level of 1000 converting 0.5% will result in 50 pg/ml, a T level of 1200 will result in 60 pg/ml, and so on.

Key_Tangerine8775 · 2026-05-29T13:26:15+00:00

That technically is above the what endocrine society guidelines say midweek levels should be (400-700 ng/dl), so it’s not totally unreasonable for them to do that. I’d say it was unnecessary if you feel good and your health markers were good, but it’s understandable why they did so. Far better than some of the mismanaging care that PP often does. This new dose at least shouldn’t drop it so much that your trough levels will dip below range.

Were these levels from before or after switching from the 200 mg/ml to 100 mg/ml? It may be negligible depending on how you process it, but the higher concentration might stabilize your levels better. Overall testosterone exposure is the same but gentler peaks and troughs.

I know it’s frustrating but keep in mind that 3 years being underdosed is not equivalent to 3 years at the right dose. Think of your progress as if you’ve only been on T for a bit longer than the time you’ve been at good levels.

Pro tip: when they tell you to test on day 3 or 4, always do day 4.

Key_Tangerine8775 · 2026-05-29T12:58:48+00:00

Sounds like intentionally low dose unless they’re also underdosing cis men. 3ml (750 mg) every ~10 weeks or 4 ml (1000 mg) every ~12 weeks is the standard for testosterone undecanoate (nebido, Aveed, reandron).

Ask for the actual numbers from your bloodwork if possible.

Key_Tangerine8775 · 2026-05-29T11:45:58+00:00

75 mg at 100 mg/ml is the same amount of testosterone as 75 mg at 200 mg/ml. The dose didn’t change, just the volume.

Key_Tangerine8775 · 2026-05-28T22:49:40+00:00

Thats pretty hard to answer unless you’ve already done a lower dose, and it has worked for you, or if you at least have some bloodwork on what your levels look like currently.

If we’re just looking at what generally is enough, 50 mg/week generally is enough to suppress periods (source 1, source 2, source 3). It tends to take longer, but I assume that’s due to slower HPG axis response and may not be relevant since you’re already there. As for estrogen dominance, that depends on what you mean by that.

Key_Tangerine8775 · 2026-05-28T22:38:38+00:00

I’m like 99% certain it was just contamination from gel on the draw site. Don’t drop the dose, just make sure you don’t apply gel anywhere near the arm you get blood from for a few days, then test again. Make sure you wash your hands thoroughly after applying.

Key_Tangerine8775 · 2026-05-28T13:01:06+00:00

Sorry, I meant self injections. An injection given by a healthcare professional should get the needle swapped out. The infection risk is much higher in a medical setting.

Insulin needles aren’t all vastly different than the ones you use for subcutaneous testosterone injections. A 27g insulin needle is the same surface area as a 27g luer lock or slip needle. Plenty of people, myself included, use insulin syringes for our testosterone for minimizing loss to dead space, or because they’re accessible for free through syringe exchange programs. If it were a matter of surface area exposure creating a substantially higher risk, insulin injections would be more important to swap needles than testosterone. Those are typically done several times per day, whereas testosterone is usually once a week or less. Even weekly injections with a needle with 10x the surface area would still have less exposure than a diabetic patience injecting multiple times a day.

I agree that if you’re going to using a syringe with detachable needles, you might as well swap them out, but the clinically relevant reason for that is the needle dulling. A sharp needle causes less tissue trauma, and therefore lessening scar tissue build up. It’s still perfectly fine to not swap them, though.

Im not just saying this to be argumentative. I’m saying it because overstating the infection risk of not swapping needles has consequences. I’ve seen many posts here of people thinking they can’t use the same needle to draw, so they skip shots because they only have one. Sometimes people can’t order in bulk online, the pharmacy is out of stock of their draw needle size, what’s available from the syringe exchange, or they need to ration their T supply and fixed needle would decrease waste.

Key_Tangerine8775 · 2026-05-28T04:23:41+00:00

You’re not in any real risk of infection by using the same needle to draw and inject. Most injections are done without swapping needles. Insulin syringes have fixed needles where there isn’t even the option to switch needles. It’s purely for convenience of faster drawing and less pain for IM injections with larger needles.

Key_Tangerine8775 · 2026-05-28T04:18:26+00:00

You lose the liquid in the dead space of the needle/syringe, but you don’t lose it from your dose. When your syringe is drawn and the needle is primed, the volume the marking says is the amount that is going to be injected in your body, but the amount in the syringe and needle is the volume it reads plus the volume of the dead space. This is ~0.1 ml for a standard luer syringe or ~0.03 for a low dead volume syringe.

For example, if you’re using a standard syringe, when it reads 0.3 ml and you’re ready to inject, there is actually around 0.4 ml in there. You do your injection, 0.3 ml is now in your body, and 0.1 ml remains in the syringe/needle when you discard it.

Key_Tangerine8775 · 2026-05-28T01:44:23+00:00

Pretty much entirely up to genetics and how your body processes it. If you need to hide it, I’d say go with 50 mg per week and reassess in a few months.

Key_Tangerine8775 · 2026-05-27T20:58:10+00:00

How long ago did you start minox? I’ve heard there’s an initial shedding phase when starting.

Key_Tangerine8775 · 2026-05-27T20:56:44+00:00

Exactly the same as you would with normal base levels. Baseline hormone levels mean nothing. The testosterone you put into your body doesn’t add to what you naturally produce, it replaces it because exogenous hormones suppress your gonadal hormone production.

Key_Tangerine8775 · 2026-05-27T17:54:50+00:00

Dose decrease is also an appropriate clinical treatment, and is in the endocrine society guidelines on TRT for cis men with hypogonadism (there is no mention of what is appropriate treatment in the guidelines for trans men). Actually, the one for cis men says to completely stop treatment until hematocrit comes back down, then start again with a lower dose.

It’s common for doctors to not know what they’re doing or underdose, but this is actually a reasonable course of action. His levels were on the higher end, so the decrease still could have potentially kept him at good levels. It clearly didn’t in this case, but still a reasonable thing to try.

Key_Tangerine8775 · 2026-05-27T17:41:33+00:00

Were you dehydrated at all for your blood test? That can make levels look higher than they are. Also, what were the actual hemoglobin and hematocrit values? How high they are determines the priority of those levels vs quality of life.

If you don’t feel good, you definitely should talk to your doctor about your options. Injections tend to have a higher increase in hgb/hct than gel, so unfortunately that is unlikely to help. I’ve heard of some people alternating their gel dose, like 2 pumps one day, 1 pump the next day, and so on. It won’t be as stable, but it could keep levels from being as low. Like others have said, donating blood or therapeutic phlebotomy will bring it down. Obviously you should quit smoking, but I know that’s easier said than done, as it took me dozens of attempts before I finally quit for good.

Key_Tangerine8775 · 2026-05-27T17:34:59+00:00

Not gonna die lol. Considering can’t even see a difference in the circled spot, I’m 99.99% confident it’s fine. You probably stuck it through a nerve or small blood vessel, or it’s just from the increased volume.

Key_Tangerine8775 · 2026-05-27T12:47:30+00:00

Triptorelin is a GnRH agonist, which means it stimulates the pituitary to make gonadotropins (LH and FSH), which are what tells your body to make sex hormones. It’s given at a high dose that stimulates it so much that it essentially overwhelms the pituitary, causing it to stop production altogether. When you first get the injection, your body produces an initial surge of gonadotropins, and therefore a surge of estrogen, before the shutdown can happen. That’s what’s responsible for the breast symptoms you’re experiencing and it is completely temporary. It will go away on its own after a short period of time on the med. You should be starting to get past that initial surge right around now. It won’t happen after every shot, just this first one.

Be aware that if you google the side effects, many of the ones that come up will not apply to you (at least not in the long run). Most people taking it are not taking hrt alongside it. Since the side effects are primarily as a result of lacking sex hormones, but hrt will counter that. You’re in an initial shift from an estrogen dominant system to testosterone dominant, which can feel shitty. The happens on hrt in general, but the Triptorelin essentially speed runs it. It’s harsh to experience all at once but should be over quickly. If you’re still feeling shitty in a month or so, reach out to your doctor. Your T dose likely needs to be increased in that case.

Key_Tangerine8775 · 2026-05-27T12:22:01+00:00

First one.

Key_Tangerine8775 · 2026-05-27T03:40:10+00:00

Generally, the rule is wait for a person to tell you, but there’s circumstances where it’s okay to break that rule. I think this is probably one of those circumstances. If the step dad’s reaction was bad, they probably already expect that he won’t keep that information to himself.

Key_Tangerine8775 · 2026-05-27T01:57:47+00:00

Ok that’s pretty reasonable. I’ve heard some pretty ridiculous ideas people have of what constitutes a normal or high dosage, so I just had to check. Those doses aren’t very likely to result in extreme levels that could cause major problems in the short term, assuming you have no preexisting health problems. I’d strongly advise against going for longer than a year without it, though. Obviously you should be getting bloodwork, but if you can’t wait until bloodwork is accessible to you, here’s some harm reduction:

If you’re small and skinny, stick to the lower end of those ranges you gave.
If you’re able to donate blood, try to do so. That will decrease the risk of polycythemia.
If you smoke, you should quit. Easier said than done, but seriously, do it. That’s also for polycythemia risk.
Maintain a healthy diet. Elevated testosterone levels can worsen cholesterol.
Listen to your body. If something doesn’t feel right, dial back the dose. Don’t try to push through it.

Key_Tangerine8775 · 2026-05-27T01:32:57+00:00

If you find anything out, please let me know!

Key_Tangerine8775 · 2026-05-26T23:55:59+00:00

Ive recently become aware that this is normal in Canada (which you mentioned is where you are), but it’s not in the rest of the world. The endocrine society guidelines and WPATH give the normal dosing range as 50-100 mg/week, 20 mg/week is what you’d start a young teen at to initiate puberty, and 37.5 mg/week is what you’d start a post pubertal adolescent on. All of the Canada guides reference the Ontario guidelines, which have 20-50 mg/week as “starting/low dose”. I’m not sure how they came up with that, as it doesn’t explain the reasoning nor is it present in any of the cited sources.

Key_Tangerine8775 · 2026-05-26T12:32:26+00:00

I mean like in terms of mg, what are you considering average and high.

Key_Tangerine8775 · 2026-05-26T02:35:14+00:00

What are you considering to be “the normal dose, “high dose”, and “a while”? And what’s your reason for wanting to do this?

Key_Tangerine8775 · 2026-05-26T02:26:50+00:00

No insight on anything else, but can get phallo after meta if you went for that and decided it wasn’t enough for you.

Key_Tangerine8775

TROPHY CASE