Got my pre HGH blood work back. Any thoughts on if this changes whether I should proceed?
My IGF score was 179, range 52-328, so slightly higher than mid-level, so I'm hoping this means I'm a good candidate for exogenous HGH, and that once I titrate up to 3-4 IUs I'll see noticeable improvements. I'm a 40 year old male, btw.
I also got my Insulin, Cortisol and E2 tested. I'm not taking steroids but I had never gotten it tested and wanted to know what it was. My insulin came back high which is strange. I've never gotten it tested before. I'm not diabetic or even pre-diabetic, but I am obese, which is one of the reasons I want to start HGH, to help with recomp/weight loss. I'm around 25% body fat. I'll talk to my doc about that tomorrow, but it does worry me a bit as I know that HGH over the long term can increase Insulin Resistance?
Cortisol is right on the cusp of normal range which seems bad, and my E2 is also high normal, but also probably due to my excess body fat. Wish I'd gotten these tests back when I started losing weight to see if these are improvements or worse.
My Insulin is 23.5 uIU/mL. Reference Range is < 18.4 uIU/mL.
Estriadol is 35 pg/mL. Reference range is <= 39. So high side of normal.
Cortisol is 22 mcg/dl. Reference range is <= 22. So right at the cusp.
IGF-1 is 178 ng/mL. Reference range is 59-328, so around middle.
Some edits:
I'm on 15mg tirzepatide. Been on it about a year now. I've lost about 90 lbs. Down from 44% body fat to 25%. I'm 40 year old male, 228 lbs, 5'11.5. I do a full body routine 3 times a week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday. I usually do some form of cardio every day, and on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, I play 3-4 hours of volleyball. I eat 200g of protein. I shoot for 2100 calories a day which would put me in a -1000 calorie deficit, but lately I've been really struggling with food noise and cravings and it's usually around -500 cal deficit. I now think maybe it's due to my elevated insulin.
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You should also check your total test, free test, SHBG. The E2 test is not ultra sensitive so can be wildly off, ask your provider to start using that instead of the crappy ECLIA. If it was ordered by a provider, they should know better. HGH would be a very bad idea in your situation. Do weight loss plus weightlifting, depending on where you’re at you could gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. If your test levels are low you could consider TRT through a reputable clinic. I’ve been using AAS and training for years now, I’m not contest lean but in the teens body fat wise and using 10iu of HGH completely fucked my fasting insulin. Even with just 4iu it’s still shit (though going way down), so I’m coming off completely and fixing that whole IR issue. I think a lot of everyday people are insulin resistant, unfortunately a lot of providers just check fasting glucose and A1C and never fasting insulin. Eventually your pancreas goes to shit and then you start seeing the pre and full on diabeetuss.
TLDR; please don’t use HGH, it’s going to wreck your numbers
Skip the GH. You have insulin resistance developing already (especially if you are on Tirzepatide) with a fast insulin of 24. What was your glucose? A1C?
Hgh won't make you lose weight on it's own with no cycle, you need to be taking steroids for it to work properly. Steroids don't amplify gh, gh amplifies steroids which in turn make you burn fat... From everything I've ever heard, that's the best analogy. If you're trying to lose more weight, try some semaglutides. It would suck to spend the money on gh that it takes and it not work how you're expecting.
I’m on a glp-1 already. Everything I’ve read says that GH DOES make you lose weight AND helps to preserve lean mass. You still need to be in a caloric deficit but it works by making your body burn fat for energy instead of glucose and also helps create an anabolic environment through its stimulation of IGF. Using GH while in a cut will theoretically help me lower my body fat quicker by sparing muscle and prioritizing fat.
Steroids work well in tandem because GH helps produce new muscle cells while steroids helps make those new cells bigger.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10352397/
This is a good example of how important it is to do your daily fasted cardio. Bulking I still do 30mins minimum daily fasted cardio, Cutting I do 1-1.5hrs daily fasted cardio. I push the Gear and the HGH pretty hard and daily fasted cardio keeps my bloodwork absolutely amazing. Keeps my insulin sensitivity down, my FBG stays down, etc... For all you guys that don't do daily fasted cardio and your bloodwork is always skewed, it's a gamechanger. If you wanna be in this lifestyle for the long term then you gotta actively "Live The Lifestyle" and that means daily fasted cardio, eat meat, rice, veggies & drink water. You're bloodwork and your gains will thank you for it
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Could you provide actual numbers? Especially for e2?
If you take irongame’s advice, you could look into Retatrutide or Tirzepatide. They’ve helped tons of people lose weight and bring their insulin resistance back in check.
Yeah sorry, I posted an image with it, but it didn't seem to show up. I had my blood drawn at 8:30 AM, fasted for 12 hours.
My Insulin is 23.5 uIU/mL. Reference Range is < 18.4 uIU/mL.
Estriadol is 35 pg/mL. Reference range is <= 39. So high side of normal.
Cortisol is 22 mcg/dl. Reference range is <= 22. So right at the cusp.
IGF-1 is 178 ng/mL. Reference range is 59-328, so around middle.
Also, I've been on Tirzepatide for a year now. On 15mg weekly. Lost about 90 lbs so far.
You may want to skip the GH for now. Itll quite possibly make your insulin issues even worse. Your insulin levels are likely high because your body is already resistant to it. So it’s increasing levels to compensate. And as you know GH can lead to greater insulin resistance which is not what you need right now
I’d look into some weight loss drugs. Local clinics will prescribe this and monitor you throughout. Or you can get them through sources here. But at your current Bf it shouldn’t be hard to lose a considerable amount of BF especially with the help of weight loss drugs. Then hopefully once you’re down some weight and your bloodwork looks better you can consider GH.
It goes without saying but you need to already have your diet and training dialed in.
I'm currently on 15mg of Tirzepatide, been on it for over a year now. Lost about 90 lbs so far, so that's why I'm a little concerned my insulin is that high in a fasted state. Body fat is around 25% currently. 228 lbs, 5'11.5.
Doc told me this morning that I need to eat more protein and fiber, but I'm eating 200g of protein a day lol, and taking fiber supplements and eating some high fiber items.
I did work out the day before in the afternoon, wonder if that could affect things?
Seeing your fasted insulin now on your labs, I would pass on the GH for now and get that under control. You already have insulin resistance (unless you didn't fast prior to the blood draw?). Focus on eating clean, complex carbs and high protein/healthy fats. Get a CGM (like Lingo) to monitor how your body responds to carbs. Berries and vegetables for the most part. Make sure you are doing cardio. I would also add berberine to your tirzepatide to help. Remember, the more muscle you can put on, the more insulin "sensitive" you will become. Muscle is the kitchen sink for glucose (glycogen).
How high was your insulin? What was your glucose? You will see benefits of HGH in sleep/recovery at 2 iu but the magic happens when you go higher. I personally do 4 iu, split evening and morning (fasted prior to workouts). As for insulin resistance, take berberiene or dihydroberberiene, get your diet dialed in, incorporate cardio, and take your HGH when fasted and you will be fine. Purchase a blood glucose monitor and check your fasted glucose often.