I’m kinda floored that the doc was quick to suggest TRT as a potential solution. Dropping 40+ pounds of bodyfat will have a huge impact on your overall health and bloodwork.
I honestly have no idea why nobody’s suggested that yet.
Blood work. Full thyroid I think free t3 is the main value we need to assess true thyroid health. If you find a problem most docs prescribe those t3 and t4 hormones… I think main is called armor thyroid
my endo said that more than likely i will have to go the TRT route if my bloods are still bad but that he won’t be taking any action until my new bloods come in.
Everyone on the forum has implored me to investigate the underlying cause instead of treating the symptom. People have suggested that I rule out my pituitary gland and thyroid before taking any action and I agree with doing this first.
My older bloods suggested that i don’t have diabetes. I think the endo still ordered panels for it anyways though.
As of right now, my best option is to wait for my new bloods and semen ananlysis before doing anything.
Bodyfat is the most obvious underlying cause and it’s the simplest, safest, and quickest to address.
You can spend the next 16 weeks dropping fat or spend the next 65 years on TRT. It’s a no-brainer.
If you invested as much time and energy on dialing in your training and nutrition as you’ve put into doctors and bloodwork, you’d be well on your way to being back on track. I suggest starting a thread that lays out your current training plan and diet so it can be adjusted.
Being legitimately underweight and undernourished? I’d say same general idea.
Fix your nutrition, because at that size there’s pretty much no way you’re providing your body the fuel it needs to function.
I know this is the T Replacement forum, but really guys, when you hear hoofbeats, it’s probably horses no matter how much you’re hoping to find zebras.
But 176 total? Something is up. Maybe losing weight and dialing in he could get it up a few hundred. No doubt it still needs to be done but that number is remarkable.
His SHBG is very low and if genetic, he isn’t as low compared to someone with midrange or high SHBG. If the OP was no higher at his peak 450 Total T, that would be high normal for him and a 176 would be slightly below midrange for him.
If the OP was ever high normal with this low SHBG, his Free T would have been several percent high than the typical 3 percent. He would have felt like a lot of low SHBG men here who are having trouble controlling their free hormones.
Sure, but there’s a reason I made sure to edit his weight into the thread title. It’s as relevant a factor as his age.
The cart was being put way ahead of the horse when the dude’s getting advice about injection frequency and ultrasounds and semen analysis long before there was any mention of the most obvious issue to address.
It’s like when 140-pound lifters post in the Beginners forum about wanting to improve their upper chest or their quad sweep. What they think is the problem is not really the problem.
Total is bound to SHBG, Free T is the unbound hormone. Ordering Total T without Free T is meaningless and a waste of your time. Tomorrow Total T could be right back at 176, levels aren’t static and do fluctuate day to day.
Yah so you need free t. Read up on it . You need to understand the process of T making a man feel well. Total t serum and how t converts to e2 and free t.
Your levels are moving up so that’s good. I hope you can get the other tests to get a way better snapshot.
Right now, no treatment or anything. I can’t go to the gym because i feel very lethargic and even when I go, I get tired very fast and can’t lift anything close to my working load. I can barely get a pump either.
These tests were what the doctor ordered. After the next appointment if there is no progress I might have to switch doctors because it is starting to affect my quality of life.
Straight up Just Switch doctors now. Its a waste of time and money. Especially if your in dier need to get this moving along.
It’s obvious he’s not a hormone expert or even an amateur . The guys here’s could probably find a better solution for you then him if he can’t even order feee t and proper labs to identify your hormonal imbalance.
Here’s my suggestion. I’m sure everyone here will say the same. Find a doctor who specializes in hormones. Not an endocrinologist or urologist.
As a physician, much of the advice is being offered on here is well meaning, but highly inappropriate. At your age, the last thing you want to do is start messing with your hormones if you don’t have to. Your neuroendocrine system is still evolving. An endocrinologist is EXACTLY who you should be seeing at this point. It is the specialty of medicine concerned with the endocrine glands and hormones. These guys have gone through med school, a three year residency in internal medicine and a two year fellowship in endocrinology. Before you even THINK of going on TRT, you need to find out if you have primary or secondary hypogonadism and if there is a reversible cause. In the blood work you posted I don’t see FSH, LH or estradiol levels? Fatigue can come from many factors, as can your low normal T levels. I agree with Chris that your obesity is likely a factor , and this can easily be addressed with no side effects.
There is an endocrinologist physioLojik who regularly posts on these forums who has also been a high level bodybuilder. You can find his email on the " To all you AI preachers" thread. Let me earnestly suggest you stop listening to the " experts" on here, and ask him for advice.
Read the first post below his original post. Nobody here is an expert. Jsut passing along valuable info.
At times some feel the men here are more experienced in this area than some of these docs. This specific doc was worried about heart attacks and such. Tells us he’s not on top of his knowledge. Truly sad …