Primo Bloodwork
Hi everyone,
I could use some advice. I'm still fairly new to experimenting with different compounds. Up until now, I've only been on TRT at 150 mg/week.
I wanted to try what I thought would be a relatively "healthy" TRT+ stack. I have a source that I trust, so I ordered Primobolan. I increased my testosterone to 200 mg/week and added 200 mg/week of Primobolan plus 20 mg/day of Anavar. I pinned on Monday/Wednesday/Friday, and took Anavar daily.
After about a week, I started feeling a mild sense of anxiety/restlessness, along with increased sweating. So I got blood work done to see what was going on.
To my surprise, my estradiol came back elevated at 224 pmol/L, even after adding Primo. My testosterone levels also increased after adding Primo.
I asked my source how that was possible, and his response was that Primo was blocking aromatase and that the elevated E2 was likely due to cross-reactivity on the assay, since I didn't use an ultrasensitive test.
The interesting part is that once I discontinued the Primo because I wasn't feeling great on it, both my testosterone and estradiol levels dropped again.
Could the "Primo" have actually been testosterone instead?
Another possibility I considered is Anavar. Since it can lower SHBG, could that have increased my free testosterone enough to explain what I experienced?
I've also had something similar in the past. I once added 150 mg/week of Masteron to my usual 150 mg/week of testosterone, and I experienced very similar symptoms—mild anxiety/restlessness and increased sweating. Maybe I'm just particularly sensitive to low SHBG? Maybe stimulated nervous system ?
Also, if it really was Primobolan, could it even have had enough time to start working after only one week?
Hi everyone,
I'd really appreciate any thoughts or experiences. Thanks in advance!
On primo:
TST - 51.00 nmol/l
FTST - 107.14 pmol/l
SHBG - 22.60 nmol/l
FAI 225.66 %
PRL - 8.68 ug/l
DHEAS - 14.800 umol/l (always slightly elevated even before TRT)
E2 - 224 pmol/ l
Without primo:
TST - 38.50 nmol/l
FTST - 95.46 pmol/l
SHBG - 24.20 nmol/l
FAI 159.09 %
PRL - 9.15 ug/l
E2 - 173 pmol/ l
- Bookmark
- 0
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There are a few possibilities here, and I don’t think anyone can say with certainty from these labs alone. Here’s how I’d look at it.
Unfortunately, underground Primobolan is one of the most commonly substituted compounds because real methenolone is expensive to manufacture.
The estradiol assay may be misleading.
Your source isn’t completely wrong here. Standard immunoassay estradiol tests are known to have cross-reactivity with several anabolic steroids. Methenolone has been reported anecdotally to interfere with some assays, producing falsely elevated estradiol values. An LC-MS/MS (ultrasensitive) estradiol test would be much more reliable.
However, assay interference doesn’t explain why your testosterone also increased.
Primo does not directly “block aromatase.”
This is a common misconception. Primo is not an aromatase inhibitor. What people often observe is lower estradiol while using Primo because: it does not aromatize, it increases the total androgen pool, some users experience altered androgen-to-estrogen balance,there may be competitive effects at estrogen-responsive tissues.
But it doesn’t inhibit the aromatase enzyme the way anastrozole or exemestane does.
Anavar probably isn’t the primary explanation.
Oxandrolone can: lower SHBG, increase free testosterone,
make people “feel” like testosterone is stronger. But your SHBG only changed from 24.2 → 22.6 nmol/L, which is a very small difference. That’s unlikely to explain the magnitude of the testosterone increase or the estradiol change.
Your symptoms don’t necessarily point to high estrogen.
Mild anxiety, restlessness, and increased sweating can result from: higher androgen levels,increased sympathetic nervous system activity,elevated DHT signaling, individual sensitivity to androgens.Many people experience exactly these symptoms on Masteron or Primo despite having normal or even low estradiol.
The Masteron experience is interesting.
The fact that you experienced nearly identical symptoms on Masteron is actually one of the strongest clues.
Masteron and Primo are both DHT-derived compounds. That makes me wonder whether you’re simply very sensitive to DHT-based steroids rather than estrogen itself.
Some say when on these they: feeling “wired,” increased sweating, more anxiety, higher resting heart rate,poorer sleep on DHT derivatives even when bloodwork looks fine.
Methenolone enanthate has a relatively long half-life, so it isn’t at steady state after one week. However, blood levels are absolutely rising during that first week, and plenty of people notice subjective effects before steady state is reached. So yes, if it really was Primo, it could have contributed to how you felt.
Looking at your labs
On “Primo”:
TT: 51.0 nmol/L
E2: 224 pmol/L
Off “Primo”:
TT: 38.5 nmol/L
E2: 173 pmol/L
That’s roughly a: 32% increase in testosterone, 29% increase in estradiol. Those percentages track remarkably well together. That pattern actually fits more testosterone available for aromatization better than it fits “Primo magically raising estradiol.”
If it were me, I’d:repeat estradiol using LC-MS/MS (ultrasensitive), verify the product (jano), monitor hematocrit, lipids, AST/ALT, and blood pressure, avoid jumping to an AI based on one potentially inaccurate estradiol result.
Overall, I think the two most likely explanations are either:
The repeat occurrence with both Masteron and this “Primo” makes me lean toward a genuine sensitivity to DHT-based compounds, but the simultaneous rise in both testosterone and estradiol also means I’d want to rule out product authenticity before drawing any firm conclusions.
There are a few possibilities here, and I don’t think anyone can say with certainty from these labs alone. Here’s how I’d look at it.
Unfortunately, underground Primobolan is one of the most commonly substituted compounds because real methenolone is expensive to manufacture.
The estradiol assay may be misleading.
Your source isn’t completely wrong here. Standard immunoassay estradiol tests are known to have cross-reactivity with several anabolic steroids. Methenolone has been reported anecdotally to interfere with some assays, producing falsely elevated estradiol values. An LC-MS/MS (ultrasensitive) estradiol test would be much more reliable.
However, assay interference doesn’t explain why your testosterone also increased.
Primo does not directly “block aromatase.”
This is a common misconception. Primo is not an aromatase inhibitor. What people often observe is lower estradiol while using Primo because: it does not aromatize, it increases the total androgen pool, some users experience altered androgen-to-estrogen balance,there may be competitive effects at estrogen-responsive tissues.
But it doesn’t inhibit the aromatase enzyme the way anastrozole or exemestane does.
Anavar probably isn’t the primary explanation.
Oxandrolone can: lower SHBG, increase free testosterone,
make people “feel” like testosterone is stronger. But your SHBG only changed from 24.2 → 22.6 nmol/L, which is a very small difference. That’s unlikely to explain the magnitude of the testosterone increase or the estradiol change.
Your symptoms don’t necessarily point to high estrogen.
Mild anxiety, restlessness, and increased sweating can result from: higher androgen levels,increased sympathetic nervous system activity,elevated DHT signaling, individual sensitivity to androgens.Many people experience exactly these symptoms on Masteron or Primo despite having normal or even low estradiol.
The Masteron experience is interesting.
The fact that you experienced nearly identical symptoms on Masteron is actually one of the strongest clues.
Masteron and Primo are both DHT-derived compounds. That makes me wonder whether you’re simply very sensitive to DHT-based steroids rather than estrogen itself.
Some say when on these they: feeling “wired,” increased sweating, more anxiety, higher resting heart rate,poorer sleep on DHT derivatives even when bloodwork looks fine.
Methenolone enanthate has a relatively long half-life, so it isn’t at steady state after one week. However, blood levels are absolutely rising during that first week, and plenty of people notice subjective effects before steady state is reached. So yes, if it really was Primo, it could have contributed to how you felt.
Looking at your labs
On “Primo”:
TT: 51.0 nmol/L
E2: 224 pmol/L
Off “Primo”:
TT: 38.5 nmol/L
E2: 173 pmol/L
That’s roughly a: 32% increase in testosterone, 29% increase in estradiol. Those percentages track remarkably well together. That pattern actually fits more testosterone available for aromatization better than it fits “Primo magically raising estradiol.”
If it were me, I’d:repeat estradiol using LC-MS/MS (ultrasensitive), verify the product (jano), monitor hematocrit, lipids, AST/ALT, and blood pressure, avoid jumping to an AI based on one potentially inaccurate estradiol result.
Overall, I think the two most likely explanations are either:
The repeat occurrence with both Masteron and this “Primo” makes me lean toward a genuine sensitivity to DHT-based compounds, but the simultaneous rise in both testosterone and estradiol also means I’d want to rule out product authenticity before drawing any firm conclusions.
Thanks a lot for the detailed explanation, I really appreciate it.
I've actually been wondering if I might just be sensitive to DHT-derived compounds. For now, I've gone back to 140 mg of testosterone per week, and in about a month I'm planning to try boldenone to see if I tolerate it better, probably at around 300 mg testosterone / 100 mg boldenone. Depending on how boldenone affects my estradiol, I might adjust the ratio later.
I seem to aromatize quite easily, so I'm looking for something that would let me run a higher testosterone dose while helping keep E2 under control. At this point, boldenone is really the last option I want to try. I'd prefer to avoid using an aromatase inhibitor if possible.