23 Years Old. Longtime Symptoms. Low T. Advice?

Pharma / TRT Testosterone Replacement
1

Aged 23. Had low T symptoms now for as long as I can remember, low energy, no drive, social anxiety, slowed thinking, weak erections + no morning wood for as long as I can remember. I seem to just exist rather than live. Has anyone had levels like this before, hopped on TRT and had any success?

Eat reasonably healthy. Plenty of calories, fats, carbs and protein. Typically on average 200g protein 300g carb 100g fat. Consisting of the usual bodybuilding staples + “test boosting foods” such as bacon and eggs.
Train full body 3x per week and do cardio not as often as I should.

Supps: Vitamin D, ZMA

Sleep on average would be around 7 hours. Slept plenty before this test although I never ever wake up refreshed.

Tested at 14nmol around 3 or 4 years ago (420ngdl) (still had symptoms then)
CRP - 5.20 (<5) *Flagged high
Ferritin 157 (30-400)
Oestradiol 79 (<192)
Testosterone 13.6nmol/380ngdl (7.6-31.4)
SHBG 45 (24-104)
Free androgen index 45.5 (24-104)
Free testosterone calculated 0.2999 (0.3-1.0) *Flagged low

TSH 1.61 (0.27-4.20)
T4 total 99.7 (64.5-142)
Free T4 18.25 (12-22)
Free T3 4.68 (3.1-6.8)
Reverse T3 30 (10-20) *Flagged high

2

Hello mate, I’m at the same stage as you right now in the T journey so afraid I can’t offer any inspirational stories but just wanted to say good luck. I know how it feels to do everything you can to keep those levels up and just feel “normal”.

There’s a great community here and I’m confident they’ll be able to help.

3

TSH should be closer to 1.0
Thyroid ranges are bogus.
fT3 a little bit below mid-range
rT3 will be blocking some fT3 at T3 receptors
You may be feeling cold easily.
Outer eyebrows sparse?
Please self-eval overall thyroid function via last paragraph in this post.

Elevated rT3 is a sign of and can be caused by stress that weakens the adrenal glands. This can be day to day stress or major stress events like accidents or surgeries. Chronic infections or inflammation [CRP] can do this too. See the thyroid basics sticky and note references to stress, rT3, adrenal fatigue.

Training with low-T, low thyroid function or adrenal fatigue can really make things worse as a whole other layer of stress. Often with young guys who power through training with adrenalin when everything else points to low energy.

Note that most of the symptoms of low thyroid function are the same as low-T and as you described. Many here have the combined effects of both problems. Guys with high TT and FT numbers can feel as you describe with low thyroid function.

TT was mid-range. FT changes a lot during a day with natural guys, so hard to know if a lab caught a high or a low.

CRP is a generalized marker of inflammation. Not cardio specific as often claimed, that was found incorrect years ago. Test again after these 3-4 years.

You need new labs:
TT
FT
LH/FSH
E2
prolactin
CBC
TSH, fT3, rT3
CBC
hematocrit
AST/ALT
AM cortisol [at 8AM please]

Where are you located? Affects diagnostic and treatment options.

Post those body temps ASAP and describe your history of using iodized salt.

The best thing that you can do now is reading the stickies and requesting more lab work.

Please read the stickies found here: About the T Replacement Category - #2 by KSman

  • advice for new guys
  • 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.

4

Hi there thank you for your reply. I do not feel cold all the time if anything i feel hot. Eyebrows are definitely not sparse. Had a blood test a couple of years ago when i still had the same symptoms and tsh was pretty much dead on 1. Rt3 was flagged high in that test too. Had cortisol tests done and they came back fine in the middle of the range. Especially morning (saliva). I’ve had no accidents or surgeries. Never get infectioni havesthe only inflammation I have is a mild case of psoriasis on my elbow that doesnt itch or hurt at all. The only stress i have is feeling like the way i do. The extreme social phobia i have is 100% due to me feeling to tired and unmotivated in social enviroments. Felt like this for so many years now i just want my quick fix. Thanks again

5

Hi there thank you for your reply. I do not feel cold all the time if anything i feel hot. Eyebrows are definitely not sparse. Had a blood test a couple of years ago when i still had the same symptoms and tsh was pretty much dead on 1. Rt3 was flagged high in that test too. Had cortisol tests done and they came back fine in the middle of the range. Especially morning (saliva). I’ve had no accidents or surgeries. Never get infectioni havesthe only inflammation I have is a mild case of psoriasis on my elbow that doesnt itch or hurt at all. The only stress i have is feeling like the way i do. The extreme social phobia i have is 100% due to me feeling to tired and unmotivated in social enviroments. Felt like this for so many years now i just want my quick fix. Thanks again

6

Never had iodized salt.
Will be booking another blood test this week. But have also tested prolactin a couple years back and that came back normal too. Is TRT an option in your opinion? 23 years old 380ngdl TT. Lowish-mid free T with all the classic symptoms? Imagine 5 or 10 years from now it would be even worse. Not sure if i see the point in waiting for the inevitible

7

fT3 blocks fT3 at T3 receptors

Please measure your body temperatures, may not be as you perceive.

TSH=1.0 is only one page in the book.

You need to start using iodized salt and should be getting selenium in a multi-vit.

You need to be reading those stickies, I can tell you everything in this thread. You will find many answers to questions you do not even know about.

Prolactin was normal high or normal low?

You have no business thinking of starting TSH until you get LH/FSH. I asked for that before. Please read everything I have posted and resist cherry picking.