Hello, I need advice on whether or not I should start testosterone replacement therapy immediately as I am in a very desperate position. I’ve basically suffered from anxiety and depression for most of my life but ever since 3 months ago my depression has become very bad to the point where I had to drop out of university. Recently it’s come to my attention that low testosterone could be a factor in major clinical depression, so I took the test and these were my results:
Glucose: 5.3 (normal is up to 11.1) mmol/L
Creatnine: 96 (range is 71-115) umol/L
T.S.H: 2.469 (range is 0.35 - 4.94) uIU/ml
HGB: 135 G/L (normal is 140 - 180)
HCT: 0.387 (normal is 0.42 - 0.52)
Total Testosterone: 2.30 ng/ml reference range: (3.3-8.05)
Free testosterone: 0.157 nmol/L reference range(0.198-0.619)
Free testosterone(percentage): 2.62% reference range: (1.53-2.88%)
All the blood work was done at a local testing clinic, I haven’t spoken to a doctor yet. Also, I am very confused on what the difference between the free testosterone measurement and the percentage is.
So your numbers look low, based on the ranges given. I’ve battled depression since I was 19, I’m now 35. So I absolutely understand how you feel and what it’s like to be looking for a way out of the darkness. You already took the first step and actively got blood work done. That’s good. Now follow up with a doctor—a specialist, not just your family doctor—and see what he/she says. I’m not in a position to give advice about anything medical, but I (and many others here) will be more than happy to give encouragement and such.
Yeah. You are low T fo sho. - YouTube
Check out Bignoknow on youtube. Great story. Lots of content. Check him out.
I scored very similar to you over a year ago, depression and anxiety came out of nowhere, if it wasnt for my anemic and muscle wasting situation doctor’s probably would have thrown SSRI’s at me and leave me to my misery. You are in the range where all the dangerous diseases hit you, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, heart disease, dementia, Alzheimer’s.
You need to find a hormone specialist that manages a guy’s hormones because most doctors have no idea how to administer TRT. Have a look in the sticky threads “protocols for injections” and “how to find a doctor”. Educate yourself so you can vet your doctors.
You have low T, now try to find out how and why.
Labs:
- LH/FSH - cannot do this after starting TRT
- prolactin
- TSH
- fT3
- fT4 [please not T3, T4 or indexes etc]
- rT3
TSH=2.469 is bad, should be closer to 1.0
The lab range is stupid and your doc will not understand.
Thyroid hormone fT3 regulates your energy levels and body temperatures. Use your oral body temperatures to see how bad things are - see below.
Signs of low thyroid function:
- almost all of the symptoms of low-T
- feeling cold easily
- dry skin - low T can too
- sparse outer eyebrows
With low T and low thyroid function, many young guys have been running on adrenaline which stresses out the adrenals then rT3 can increase and rT3 interferes with fT3. Many/most guys who come here have some thyroid/iodine issues. All the more for young guys.
In thyroid basics sticky find references to: stress, illness, accidents, adrenal fatigue, Wilson’s book.
HTC is very low for a male. This can be from low T to some extent, but a GI bleed can be an issue. Any digestive issues? An occult blood test can detect blood in your poop and your doc can get that.
Please read the stickies found here: About the T Replacement Category - #2 by KSman
- advice for new guys - need more info about you
- things that damage your hormones
- protocol for injections
- finding a TRT doc
Evaluate your overall thyroid function by checking oral body temperatures as per the thyroid basics sticky. Thyroid hormone fT3 is what gets the job done and it regulates mitochondrial activity, the source of ATP which is the universal currency of cellular energy. This is part of the body’s temperature control loop. This can get messed up if you are iodine deficient. In many countries, you need to be using iodized salt. Other countries add iodine to dairy or bread.
KSman is simply a regular member on this site. Nothing more other than highly active.
I can be a bit abrupt in my replies and recommendations. I have a lot of ground to cover as this forum has become much more active in the last two years. I can’t follow threads that go deep over time. You need to respond to all of my points and requests as soon as possible before you fall off of my radar. The worse problems are guys who ignore issues re thyroid, body temperatures, history of iodized salt. Please do not piss people off saying that lab results are normal, we need lab number and ranges.
The value that you get out of this process and forum depends on your effort and performance. The bulk of your learning is reading/studying the suggested stickies.
What meds are you on? - history.
Supplements? - history
Many have thyroid issues from iodine deficiency caused by not using iodized salt. What is your history of that.
Thank you guys for all your replies, this all started after smoking weed and bad tripping alone in my room. After I woke up the next day, i felt very very lethargic and couldn’t move out of bed. I was in a state of panic, i began shaking and hyperventilating. From that moment forward, i’ve suffered from panic attacks, anxiety and depression.
I’d also like to mention that i’ve started an SSRI (brintellix) 10 mg about ten days ago and also took xanax and ever since then i’ve noticed my sex drive had completely taken a hit. I suspect that is how my testosterone levels have dropped but my psychiatrist assured me that it had nothing to do with the medication. I do remember suffering from a slight erectile dysfunction for years now. I also suffer from a great deal of chest pain and elevated heart rate, however EKG’s uncovered that my heart’s completely healthy.
I’ve contacted a doctor who’s made me take more lab tests, here are my results:
A.L.T (S.G.P.T): 28 U/L (range 14-59)
Alkaline Phosphate: 144 U/L (range 48-116)
Vitamin 25(OH) D3: 38.32 nmo/L (range 75-125)
Prolactin: 232.97 mIU/L (range: 72.66 - 407.4)
Doc initially suspected these lowered levels could be due to increased levels of Prolactin which decreased my testosterone levels but this result seems to tell that there is something else going on.
Also I’d like to add that I used minoxidil for beard growth (on my face)
How does minoxidil fit into the timeline of other issues surfacing?
You should try to get Vit-D25=~60 with 5000iu tiny oil filled Vit-D3 gel caps.
Monitor ALP: “High levels. Higher than normal levels of ALP in your blood may indicate a problem with your liver or gallbladder. This could include hepatitis (liver inflammation), cirrhosis (liver scarring), liver cancer, gallstones, or a blockage in your bile ducts.”
SSRIs typically mess up sexual functioning and with low-T, this can often wreck what is left of ones sex life.
We have some cases of panic attack caused by low thyroid function and in those cases this resolves by addressing iodine deficiency with iodine+selenium. Thyroid meds might have similar effects.
The weed might have been contaminated with an agricultural chemical. But this cannot be determined.
We need your body temps and history of iodized salt use. Please do not cherry pick, reread my post and try to work all issues and questions.
We have a lot of guys your age who come here. Your age group is more likely to seek info on the WWW and the number of young guys seen here may be over representing this problem in your age group VS actual cases per 100,000 etc.
Previously 30 year Klonopin user here so I know firsthand how these SSRI’s can destroy sex drives and kill libido. Low T a lot of the time is the cause of depression and anxiety, when I started withdrawing off Klonopin is caused my T levels to tank and this gave me depression and anxiety. After starting TRT the depression and anxiety completely disappeared and now I’m as calm as a turtle and happiest I’ve ever been at any point in my life.
In the long run these medications will destroy your mind and body and soon you’ll be in a worse situations than before you started taking them. These medications mess up all your hormones and create nutritional deficiencies, you can’t live a healthy like of drugs because there not natural to the body. We are constantly being bombarded be chemicals, low T is dangerous and these medications cause my low T situation, or rather the withdraw off of them. You have the hormones of a 100 year old man, no wonder you feel the way you do.
Lots of guy once they get dialed into TRT are able to remove their medications completely.