So, I just got the results from my first post op blood test and my Testosterone levels are:

Total Testosterone: 6 ng/dl

Free Testosterone: .5 pg/ml

I’d be curious to know if these numbers are in line with what other members had for their first post op readings.

Well looks like you were already on antiandrogens and your last reading was total T of 19 so a drop to 6 in 3 weeks. Not sure how that would compare to someone not on antiandroges with a normal T level, and wonder what the drop there would be after 3 weeks.

One month post orchi my levels were 18 ng/dl and 1.3 ng/dl.

8 months later it was 10 and 0.6

Testosterone levels in blood will drop to castrate levels in day or two. But the feeling of low T levels will appear much later, as T will be present in T receptors for much longer.

It usually takes about 2 months after an orchiectomy for T levels to drop down to their lowest levels. At least that is what Dr. Kimmel told me after he did my surgery. Of course that is if you stop taking the chemical castration. If you don't want to wait 2 months simply keep taking the chemical and after 2 months then stop because you will no longer need it obviously. But those 2 months are well worth the wait toward becoming a full blown legitimate eunuch with no need to take any kind of anti-androgens whatsoever.

FYI, guys.

Indeed, testosterone concentration and effect of testosterone are not the same. Erikboy is correct.

Take care, Vesal.

Urology. 1994 Jun;43(6):834-7.

The time for serum testosterone to reach castrate level after bilateral orchiectomy or oral estrogen in the management of metastatic prostatic cancer.

Lin BJ, Chen KK, Chen MT, Chang LS.

Department of Surgery, Veterans General Hospital-Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.

OBJECTIVE. To understand the time for serum testosterone to reach castrate level after bilateral orchiectomy or oral estrogen in the management of metastatic prostatic cancer.

METHODS. A total of 20 consecutive patients with adenocarcinoma of the prostate with bony metastasis were enrolled in this study. Their mean age was 72.8 years old (range, 57 to 82 years). Pretreatment serum testosterone levels were obtained in all men. Thirteen men were treated with bilateral orchiectomy. Immediately after removal of testes, serial blood samplings for serum testosterone levels were drawn every fifteen minutes for the first two hours, then hourly for another sixteen hours. Seven men were treated with oral estrogen diethylstilbestrol (DES), 3 mg per day. Serum testosterone levels were checked on a weekly basis for two months, and then biweekly for another two months.

RESULTS. Castration time of bilateral orchiectomy ranges from three to twelve hours (mean, 8.6 hours). The biological half-life of serum testosterone was from thirty to sixty minutes (mean, 45 minutes). Castration time of oral estrogen (DES) was from twenty-one to sixty days (mean, 38.3 days).

CONCLUSIONS. Bilateral orchiectomy and oral estrogen were both effective ways of castration for patients with bony metastatic prostatic cancer. Bilateral orchiectomy provides a more rapid castration and is one hundred seven times faster than oral estrogen in reaching castrate level.