The “Test” Test: Final Results
Got the blood test results back…here are John’s final numbers from April 9th through May 30:
- Weight: 214 lbs. to 208 lbs. (-6 lbs.)
- Body Fat Percentage: 17.8% to 16.3% (-1.5%)
- Total Testosterone: 722 ng/dl (1st test) and 651 ng/dl (2nd test). This is within normal variation for tests spaced this far apart, but suffice it to say, there was no improvement.
- Free Testosterone: 14.7 pg/ml (1st test) and 13.9 pg/ml (2nd test)
- Estradiol: 37 pg/ml (1st test) and 46 pg/ml (2nd test)
I’m gonna turn the floor over to John to sum up his experience with IsaTest:
“I used IsaTest as part of a consistent eating and workout program. So, one of the things to keep in mind is how much of the gains in strength, fat loss, weight loss, etc. are from the product and how much from the program. In the end, what’s probably most important was that using IsaTest was one of the things that helped me stay in the harness. The product clearly produced libido effects. I experienced “morning wood” more frequently and as Elissa can attest, was fairly frisky over the first six weeks or so of using the product. Libido felt like it declined during the last few weeks, which could have been the result of becoming acclimitized to the product; or it could have been stress-related. It would be interesting to start another course of IsaTest in a few months to see if this happens again. In terms of strength, the gains were steady but nothing dramatic; I raised weight in the exercises I was doing over the couple of months I used the product – at the same time, I can’t rule out the role the eating and training had in those gains. While these might be “mixed” results, I may try IsaTest again in the future, for the libido kick if nothing else.”
Personally, I see these results as applicable to herbal test boosters in general, not IsaTest in particular…I have confidence in iSatori’s QC and feel the formula is probably about as good as it gets for this type of supplement. I also feel pretty confident, however, that whatever effects that could be attributed to the supplement were NOT testosterone-related, so other mechanisms (such as antioxidant activity or Viagra-like phosphodiesterase inhibition) were likely responsible.
June 16, 2008
I have followed you on this first “test” trial. It will indeed be interesting to see how it goes during the next stage after which the body has (for the most part) adapted to the initial benefits of consistent training.
June 17, 2008
There were a couple of good things about doing the trial…the big one was just getting the blood work done. It’s one of those important things, yet it’s pretty easy to put off. But you should know where your body is at w/regards to hormones. We did the works: T, free T, DHEA-S, estradiol, TSH, T3, T4 (not to mention all the blood chemistry, cholesterol, PSA, c-reactive protein, homocysteine, etc.). He came out of it looking pretty good – it’s nice to have that reassurance.
The second was actually doing a sort of “average guy in the trenches” test. While I don’t hang around on the various forums, I’ve read enough to know just how common tribulus, etc. is in people’s supp stacks – esp. when they’re doing PCT. It’s frustrating to get any decent info: it’s all of the “I’ve got more wood so I know my T is up” kind of stuff. Well, we got more wood too ( 😉 ) – but T was definitely not affected. It’s an n=1 observation, for sure, but this is as much reliable clinical data as I’ve ever seen – lol.
So all in all, it was an interesting experiment.
June 17, 2008
Now I’m more curious. So when you get a test result, does the lab give any interpretation of what the results mean or recommendations of waht to do about it?
You mention all those items above, but if there is a defiency in any of them how does a person know what to do next about it? I know a little about the subject but not enough at this time. Can you recommend something or someplace (unbiased of course) that laymen can get educated on this matter?
June 17, 2008
What you get from the lab is your values, alongside a “reference range” that represent values for that parameter that are considered to be within normal limits. Values that lie outside that range are flagged as “high” or “low” – and certain calculations, such as CHD risk, may be done, but that’s as much as you get from the lab.
What you do if a deficiency exists is going to depend on what the problem is. T is a good example. If John’s T had been at or below 241 ng/dl (low end of the reference range of 241 – 827 ng/dl), then he’d likely be a candidate for hormone replacement therapy. Needless to state, there would almost certainly be symptoms too: a man presenting with a healthy libido and active sex life with a T in the gutter would probably be a candidate for a retest vs. a prescription for Androgel or Testim.
The bigger problem is where values are suboptimal – that is, you may be in the normal range, but not up to snuff. Medically, you may be SOL…in this day of “managed care,” “you’ll manage” is often the way it falls out. But there may be lifestyle adjustments that can be made (such as weight loss or diet/exercise) or supplements that could help (such as DHEA if DHEA-S is low) – depends on what it is.
There’s a pretty thorough article here: http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2004/may2004_report_blood_01.htm that’s a decent place to start on the subject.
March 23, 2010
E,
Really interesting and impressive reporting and feedback. I have a question about side effects. I have read that there are little to no side effects from supps like this- Isa-test included- yet I have noticed a thinning of my relatively thick hair in the front of my head. I have zero family members with male pattern baldness nor completely bald heads… So after some quick research- out of the ordinary thinning in the front area of the head could be a result of “out of the ordinary” testosterone. What is your opinion or findings in your research…
I do realize the last submission from this blog was in June 2008 but I thought I would give it a shot.
Thanks
Paul
March 23, 2010
Actually, this blog is quite active – it’s just that 2008 is the last post on this particular subject.
Hair loss is certainly associated with DHT – a product of T metabolism – but DHT is not the only trigger for this.
Thyroid over-/under-activity and high cortisol (typically from stress) can result in hair loss, as can certain medications. So we know that pharmacological effects – either alone, or through their influence on certain hormones (other than T) – can affect hair…and that may be what’s happening here. In the end, consuming supps = DIY pharmacology. In essence, you’re medicating yourself when you take a supp… except that in the case of many traditional medical herbs and standardized plant extracts, we know less about them than we do prescription drugs.
Nonetheless, that doesn’t exclude some sex-hormone-related effects by a supp. For example, if you look around, you’ll find a number of anecdotal reports from men taking creatine, who swear they’ve seen an increase in hair loss as a result. Yet, creatine is not known to have any effects on T… directly. But some recent research has shown that it could have an effect on the T:DHT ratio – which could conceivably be a trigger (although the study did not look at hair loss, nor make any measurements of scalp DHT, so we’re still in the realm of speculation, here).
So, there simply isn’t a straight line connection between elevated T and hair loss such that the latter can be taken as “proof” of the former. My husband certainly didn’t notice any increased hair loss while using IsaTest, but he DOES have MPB, and keeps his hair buzzed short (or what’s left of it, at any rate), so this could be something he overlooked, since he’s pretty much resigned to his fate. 😉
FWIW, my bud, Will Brink wrote a pretty solid article on the subject of T-boosting supps here: http://www.brinkzone.com/articles/the-facts-on-testosterone-boosting-supplements/ – worth a read.
August 13, 2010
When a product contains Tribulus, one must know it only works for about 8 weeks before the brain realizes its been tricked, so it stops the signal from the pituitary gland. Tribulus works best when taken with Mucuna (contains dopamine). Take 8 weeks, stop 2 weeks, then trick the brain again.