Expert Answered Low dose first cycle

[richardg]

I'm 28 and worked out for more then 10 years now. 170 cm, and 68 kg at 13% bf. I'm planning my first cycle starting with a low dose of Test E of 250 mg purely for aesthetic goals.
Got my blood test, and my total testosterone was on the lower side of the healthy range 14.80 nmol/L, while my estrogen was on the higher side 116.6 pmol/l estradiol. Apart from some vitamin D deficiency everything was right. I already started taking vitamin D.
I have no medical conditions or taking any medications.
Would a 14 week cycle with 250 mg per week test only be a good plan? Since my estradiol was on the higher level of the normal range should I expect more aromatization related problems?

 

[Sam Bjorn]

Hi,

Could you send your blood test results here, as well as a photo of your current physique? That would give me more confidence in advising you.

But purely theoretically, 250 mg is standard for a first cycle. Should you expect problems with aromatization or not? I don’t think so, because you should have some kind of aromatase inhibitor on hand, and 2 weeks after starting testosterone you should go and get your first blood tests while on cycle. So there shouldn’t be any problems.

 

[richardg]

Hi,

Could you send your blood test results here, as well as a photo of your current physique? That would give me more confidence in advising you.

But purely theoretically, 250 mg is standard for a first cycle. Should you expect problems with aromatization or not? I don’t think so, because you should have some kind of aromatase inhibitor on hand, and 2 weeks after starting testosterone you should go and get your first blood tests while on cycle. So there shouldn’t be any problems.

Hi Sam,

Thank you for your support. I attached the blood test results and current physique.

 

[Sam Bjorn]

Hi Sam,

Thank you for your support. I attached the blood test results and current physique.

Hi, Richard

1. I wouldn’t rush into starting the cycle yet until we clarify one thing. Your FSH is 0.8 IU/L, which is below the laboratory’s reference range. Considering that you’ve never used testosterone or other steroids before, I would first retest this marker and expand the testing a little to better understand how your hormonal axis is functioning. I would test:

• FSH
• LH
• Inhibin B
• Prolactin
• TSH
• Free T4

If FSH comes back low again, the LH and inhibin B results will help us better understand whether this is simply your individual baseline or whether there’s a reason to investigate further.

1. Your vitamin D is slightly below the desired level — 66.9 nmol/L. You can start taking vitamin D and then retest 25-OH vitamin D to see how it changes. If you use 5000 IU per day.
2. There are some minor changes in your white blood cell differential: the percentage of neutrophils is elevated and the percentage of lymphocytes is reduced, but their absolute values remain within the normal range. This kind of ratio can temporarily occur after an infection, stress, a hard workout, lack of sleep, and for other reasons. So if you were sick with something in the autumn, that could easily have affected the result.
3. MCV 96 fL is right at the upper limit of the reference range. This is a very indirect assumption, but if your MCV is already at the upper limit of the lab range, then hematocrit will probably be one of the parameters you’ll need to pay particular attention to during the cycle. MCV is the average size of a red blood cell, and the larger it is, the greater the proportion red blood cells occupy relative to blood plasma. This means the blood will be thicker. It’s not a dealbreaker, but it’s something that will need to be monitored.

So first, I would figure out the reason for the low FSH and get the missing blood tests, and only after that come back to the question of the cycle.

 

[richardg]

Hi, Richard

1. I wouldn’t rush into starting the cycle yet until we clarify one thing. Your FSH is 0.8 IU/L, which is below the laboratory’s reference range. Considering that you’ve never used testosterone or other steroids before, I would first retest this marker and expand the testing a little to better understand how your hormonal axis is functioning. I would test:

• FSH
• LH
• Inhibin B
• Prolactin
• TSH
• Free T4

If FSH comes back low again, the LH and inhibin B results will help us better understand whether this is simply your individual baseline or whether there’s a reason to investigate further.

1. Your vitamin D is slightly below the desired level — 66.9 nmol/L. You can start taking vitamin D and then retest 25-OH vitamin D to see how it changes. If you use 5000 IU per day.
2. There are some minor changes in your white blood cell differential: the percentage of neutrophils is elevated and the percentage of lymphocytes is reduced, but their absolute values remain within the normal range. This kind of ratio can temporarily occur after an infection, stress, a hard workout, lack of sleep, and for other reasons. So if you were sick with something in the autumn, that could easily have affected the result.
3. MCV 96 fL is right at the upper limit of the reference range. This is a very indirect assumption, but if your MCV is already at the upper limit of the lab range, then hematocrit will probably be one of the parameters you’ll need to pay particular attention to during the cycle. MCV is the average size of a red blood cell, and the larger it is, the greater the proportion red blood cells occupy relative to blood plasma. This means the blood will be thicker. It’s not a dealbreaker, but it’s something that will need to be monitored.

So first, I would figure out the reason for the low FSH and get the missing blood tests, and only after that come back to the question of the cycle.

Hi Sam,

Thank you for the analysis and for the suggestions, I will have another blood test to get the left out markers.

Until then:
1. I started taking K2+D3 since the lab test
2. Yes, I had an infected sore throat, which was cured with antibiotics
As for the low FSH: so theoretically it would mean a harder PCT since anabolics use would drive it even lower?

 

[Sam Bjorn]

Hi Sam,

Thank you for the analysis and for the suggestions, I will have another blood test to get the left out markers.

Until then:
1. I started taking K2+D3 since the lab test
2. Yes, I had an infected sore throat, which was cured with antibiotics
As for the low FSH: so theoretically it would mean a harder PCT since anabolics use would drive it even lower?

Yes, that would be useful. After those tests, we’ll be able to see whether the low FSH was possibly a laboratory error, or whether the additional tests you do suggest that there may be some abnormality. In that case, we can either try to draw conclusions and investigate further or recommend seeing a doctor to fully understand the situation. I wouldn’t start the cycle before that.

It’s not even so much that PCT would be more difficult, but that there may already be an underlying issue, possibly related to fertility. If you don’t address it now, it will be harder to figure out the cause later. Speaking about conventional medicine, even andrologists who help athletes restore spermatogenesis after a cycle can get confused and make mistakes, and if there were already problems before the cycle, it becomes much more complicated.