Comment · Wed, October 6, 2021 · ND Owner
My blood work result after 3 months of 10% tongkat ali
Original post in this thread
vudhabudha · 33 points
Test increased from 400 - 580.
https://i.imgur.com/fGmm74B.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/F2w4cd2.jpg
My protocol was 5 on 2 off. I also take a bunch of other supps during this but not hormones related i don't think. (cistanche, creapure, mag/zinc, agmatine, shilajit..)
First week was super lethargic n tired.
Once that's over I felt amazing for like 4 - 6 weeks. My boner was way harder than being on cialis. And balls got bigger too.
Remainder of time I feel very meh, don't have that motivation and superman feeling anymore.
I think that's due to my estradiol being lowered and off circadian rhythm. (I sleep like shit, only 5 hours average).
I exercise regularly and feeling/looking way better than when I first started. Another thing is I just came off a torn bicep surgery 3 months before my pre-bloodwork so my test was way lower than normal.
Currently looking more into DHEA 25mg for a couple weeks to help my estradiol catch up (is that what it does?) or just waiting it out for like a month then try the 2% next.
What they were answering
-medicalthrowaway- · 10 points
400-580 could be the difference between a good night's sleep before the test. Also matters what form of assay the test was.
Take a break from the tongkat, a week or two, and resume.
People have had success adding dhea, although I haven't gone that route
Tongkat certainly does drop estradiol and that's the biggest thing of note in your bloodwork (I had the same results)
If you really want to gauge your progress through bloodwork in the future, get Free testosterone and SHBG as well. And make sure the tests are LCMSMS
... forgot to mention, zinc cistanche and shilajit all have pro androgenic profiles
Get that sleep dialed in and your testosterone will be optimized more than any of the supplements (theoretically)
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb · ND Owner
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC4445839/
Daytime testosterone levels were decreased by 10% to 15% in this small convenience sample of young healthy men who underwent 1 week of sleep restriction to 5 hours per night, a condition experienced by at least 15% of the US working population.
So perhaps a 10-15% difference could be explained by prolonged sleep deprivation/restoration. However, a 180 nmol/L increase over 400 nmol/L is a 45% increase.