The thing is he's an endocrinologist so idk why he would be so cautious. I am checking up with him tomorrow so if he not concerned on how I feel I will have to go with someone else unfortunately.
Even endos will under-treat for TRT, as will urologists. They're usually better than other docs though. But the whole medical system is infected with an anti-testosterone bias that goes against the scientific evidence. It's stupid.
I know how exogenous test will stop natural production but how does dosage correlate you test levels. It's not a direct correlation in the blood work correct? So let's say I'm at 287ng/dl and I want to be in the 500ng/dl range would I need 500mg weekly or monthly?
Don't aim for 500. That's still well below average.
And by "average" I mean a big study of French men from the 80's who worked for the giant phone company in Paris. So... urban dwellers, many of them at desk jobs, taking two-hr (minimum) lunches to fill up on red wine, arguing about Proust and Voltaire, etc. You get the picture. You gonna let these Froggies out-score you on T levels? NO!
Also, the only health condition besides being female or dead that disqualified anyone from the study was diabetes. That means any long-term opioid addicts, couch potatoes, fatties, genetic or tumor-caused hypogonadics, etc etc, they're all in the study and drag down the averages in a HUGE way... opiates, for example, are well known for taking a healthy T level and putting it into the gutter *permanently*. And, don't forget about more than a century (i.e. since the mid-1800's) of estrogenic hormone disruptors like BPAs, phthalates, herbicides, and pesticides that have steadily been accumulating in the environment and also dragging down natural test levels. I could go on with the details but better to keep it short. The point is, the TELECOM study averages are much too low as it is. So if you're well below
those "averages" you're really screwing yourself.
Yes it'll be a big improvement over your very hypogonadic score of 287 but since you're going through the hassle of injecting test to begin with, why not demand a good level? That would be something in the 800-1,200 range. Still perfectly physiological. No reason not to aim for the 99% percentile on the T charts especially when they're corrupted by a huge drag-down effect anyway. Don't let an incompetent doc bully you into sub-optimal health.
Here's the TELECOM study results in easy table form along with pointed commentary:
http://www.menshormonalhealth.com/normal-testosterone-levels.html
As to your question of dose -> T levels, that's highly variable. To stay around 1,200 ng/dl while on TRT, I need 100mg 2x/wk. Others do well at 100mg/wk -- better responders. Bloods are the only way to know.
