The first full 60 days of HRT therapy had been completed and here’s what’s happened.

All of my hormones have increased (except Estrogen) on some level – nothing too rapid or extreme – slow but steady. See results below in the recap

What’s changed dramatically is my body composition. I’m not sure what my weight is because I don’t weigh myself, I focus on how my body looks and feels. I’ve seen an overall reduction in “thickness” around my waist, upper arms, back and thighs. What I mean by this is, a couple years ago I noticed my body starting to store fat in areas it previously hadn’t and no amount of diet or exercise made a difference. Those areas are gone now.

I’m sleeping much better, not completely through the night, but waking up feeling rested! Also – night sweats – GONE.

Another significant change I’ve noticed is increase in muscle definition, performance and recovery.

Notice the change in numbers – these aren’t dramatic shifts, we’re nudging the body to a better place, not trying to overwhelm it and create massive side effects. Note, my Estrogen dropped 2 points instead of increase. The doc speculates that this is my body adapting and balancing and that my Estrogen/Testosterone ratio will continue to balance themselves out as they need to.

Here are notes from my Doc:

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Thyroid (metabolism):

– Free T3 was 3.5 on this blood draw! Optimal tends to be around 4-5 for most individuals. This is when metabolism is at its best. Long term this will help keep you healthy and lean.

– TSH is right where we want it – between 0.5-1.0.

– Likely we would not need to mess with any thyroid at this point unless your symptoms were directly tied to it. Your labs are so close to being in the sweet spot.

– Used to ramp up your metabolism, increase the rate at which you can burn fat, and hopefully improve your energy levels even more!

– Benefits: Protects against cardiovascular disease/ Diabetes/ cognitive impairment/ fatigue/ weight gain/ increased cholesterol/ memory loss.

Estrogen:

Your estrogen shows being 14.3.. Since you are on testosterone, these levels may increase as a byproduct – but this is not necessarily an issue. What’s important is having a high Testosterone : Estrogen ratio. Estrogen is incredibly important, good for brain health, for muscle growth and strength, for losing body-fat. Most likely we’d keep you at the current dosage you are at now. Looking great!

DHEA (Master Sex Steroid):

Your DHEA levels are at 167. Optimal is between 300-500 in most women.

– You aren’t desperately low by any means. Higher would be better in most cases, but you are doing pretty good naturally right now it seems. From the first lab results, your DHEA level’s have increased tremendously. It will continue to go up as well. Let’s continue with the current dosage.

– Helps energy levels, Mental clarity and cognition, combats high levels of stress hormones, improves immune system function – the counter balance to Cortisol and stress hormones

– Benefits: Reduce Cardiovascular disease, reduce visceral fat, stimulate immune system, sexual vitality, mood, decrease cholesterol, decrease body fat, increase energy, improve memory, antidepressant, anti-cancer, better sleep, restores other hormones, improves insulin sensitivity

SHBG (Sex Hormone Binding Globulin): You were at 83. – SHBG when low makes your body extremely sensitive to hormones such as testosterone. High SHBG would make Testosterone Less effective. You are right in the middle. This is fine. You want to be right where you are.

Testosterone:

Your Free Test was; 0.3 and Total Test was; 32

– Free Testosterone should be between 10-15 in most cases

– Total Testosterone should be between 200-300 for most of the year in most cases – some women need to be lower, some higher – very individual. We want to improve quality of life and symptoms, without causing other issues. There is room for improvement. However, if you are seeking benefits at those levels. Let’s continue the dosage. “If its not broke, don’t fix it.”

– Benefits: Increased Muscle Mass, Strength, Endurance, Improve Libido and sex drive, Reduce visceral and subcutaneous fat, lowers cholesterol, bone density, skin tone, collagen, improves healing, protects against cardiovascular disease, hypertension, improves cognition and memory, lowers insulin resistance.

IGF-1 (insulin like growth factor 1): – This is the best test for us to monitor levels of Human Growth Hormone (HGH).

–Your level was at 166. Ideal ranges would be from 200-300 if on HGH therapy. That of a young adult. You are slightly below optimal ranges, which is great! if you check on your previous labs, you will notice that your levels have increased significantly. It will only go up, as your health does as well.

– Benefits: Improves Healing capacity, improves fat-loss, reduces bodyfat storage, Keeps collagen in body tissue and skin healthy, reduce visceral fat, deeper sleep, naturally increases Human Growth Hormone levels.

I’ll keep you updated on the next 60 days as I’ve got a number of rides this summer and will be very focused on performance, recovery and sleep quality.