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I’ve been on HRT for 6 months, with 5mg weekly injections for the last 3 of those months.
3 months ago, my E was 22 pg/ml, now it is 333 pg/ml.
Doctor says that is too high and is going to to reduce me to a “maintenance dose”. Just wanted to check with other people if this is consistent with their experiences. Thanks!
The range that a typical transgender woman should be aiming for is 100 - 200 pg/mL. 333 pg/mL is above that range.
That said, there’s lots of reasons it could be high. People who take their HRT doses weekly can see swings on the high end early in the week and on the low end late in the week. That’s why doctor’s should be telling you that it’s really important to have your blood tests done right in the middle of your dosage schedule.
As always, consult your physician if you have questions. And if you think they’re bullshitting you, get a second opinion.
That’s a good point. My shot was on a Sunday, and the test was taken on a Tuesday.
For injections, the blood test should be taken on the day of your dose, right before you do your injection. So you should get bloodwork on Sunday, as your blood testing should reflect the lowest point of your E.
The same premise is true for other methods of administration (i.e. for oral, you should get bloodwork done right before/at the same time of day you normally take your pill)
Keep time-of-day in mind as well. If you normally take your dose on Sunday evenings, your appointment for sample collection (ie: blood draw) should be on a Thursday morning.
id argue its more important to have blood testing done at the very end of the schedule when levels are lowest, but both values are useful to have. even if your peak is a little high, if your trough is too low you should up your dose anyway (though this is unlikely to be the case unless youre taking EV). plus if your peak is a high but your T level is too high and youre doing mono youll want to up your dose anyway. its nice to have but not nearly as valuable as trough levels in managing your dosage.