Why I Reduced My Testosterone Dosage
I’ve experimented with lowering my dosage on four separate occasions now: when I had my hysterectomy, when I started using DHT cream, and twice in response to out of range (high) free T levels in blood tests. I’d like to inject only the minimum amount of testosterone that I require to maintain virilization, healthy T levels and good general health and well being. Plus, the less I inject, the more money I can save.
In Canada, there’s only one company that I’m aware of that markets a 200mg/ml injectable testosterone: Theramed Corporation. This past summer, Theramed doubled the price of Delatestryl (Testosterone Enanthate). I’m now paying about $60 CAD for 5 ml instead of 10 ml. I can still opt for Depo-Testosterone (Testosterone Cypionate) instead—at roughly half the price of Delatestryl—but Pfizer only sells a 100mg/ml concentration. This means I could get T at half price if I’m willing to inject twice the volume or switch to a weekly injection. Neither of these are appealing to me though, so I opted for the pricier Delatestryl last time I stocked. I think my preferred pharmacy still has some Delatestryl available at the old price, and I’ll check soon. I also want to ask the pharmacist if there’s any access to Watson’s Testosterone Enanthate and/or Cypionate in Canada (or, maybe Theramed has exclusive rights here?)
Related: Testosterone Cypionate vs. Enanthate
I lowered my testosterone dose after my hysterectomy because I knew my hormones would be out of whack for a bit while my body adjusted to being post-hysto. Additionally, I started using topical DHT cream on April 29, 2009, about 6 weeks after the hysterectomy. There have been mixed results in DHT studies regarding how T levels are affected by supplemental DHT, and I wanted to err on the side of caution. My T levels dropped by almost half, but then remained steady and within normal male range. However, I wanted them in the higher end of the range, mostly because I’d only been on T for a year and had only had a few full shots of 200mg. I was still looking for significantly more virilization.
I lowered my T dose from 200mg to 180 mg from March 17, 2010 to April 28, 2010 because of the high T levels coming back in my blood work. But then I didn’t feel great: I was tired and more emotional than normal. I went back to 200mg 6 weeks later. I didn’t really give it very long, I suppose. I stayed on 200mg until July 21 when I ran out of T with 160mg in the barrel. My lab reports were still showing high T, and I felt fine in the couple of weeks that followed, so when I did my next shot I drew up 180mg instead of going back up to 200. I’m going to try staying on this dose for a few months and re-evaluate. So far it feels fine, not like earlier this year.
Because the use of testosterone can affect the health of the liver, I plan to start taking milk thistle for liver support soon. It’s important to be cautious about what you take for liver support because some herbs can cause unwanted metabolic changes to hormones, limiting the effectiveness of HRT. Milk thistle is recommended though. I should be able to source a wild crafted tincture from the local herbalist, but milk thistle tincture is widely available in health food stores and online.
Lastly, for my your enjoyment, I made this fancy chart that shows how my T levels and dosage have changed over 2 ½ years.
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You’re currently reading “Why I Reduced My Testosterone Dosage,” an entry on Gender Outlaw
- Published:
- September 22, 2010 / 10:36 pm
- Category:
- Testosterone
- Tags:
- dht, ftm, hormones, Hysterectomy, injecting, Testosterone, transgender, transition, transmen, transsexual
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