Where are you located?
Most guys who come here have some thyroid problems, so do you.
FT is low
so FT–>E2 is low and E2 thus lower end
SHBG is high creating more non-bioavailable SHBG+T that lowers FT and inflates TT so that TT overstates your T status. TRT can change this as more bio-T reduces. But SHBG can be elevated by liver problems, so do liver lab work. Sex hormone-binding globulin - Wikipedia
LH is not so bad, but you need to test LH/FSH together. LH is released in pulses with a very short half life. FSH often is a better indicator of LH status than LH lab results.
TSH is way too high and should be closer to 1.0
Thyroid lab ranges are quite useless and too broad.
Doc sees “normal” but you are not.
Labs: - FASTING!
LH/FSH
prolactin
TSH
fT3
fT4 [please not T3, T4 or indexes etc!]
rT3 - reverse T3
AST/ALT or liver panel that doc selects.
CBC
hematocrit
fasting glucose
fasting cholesterol
DHEA-S
AM cortisol - do at 8AM or 1 hour after waking
Your thyroid function could be poor because you are not using iodized salt. Whole family can be affected.
Low thyroid function lowers body temperature, lowers energy and libido and is quite depressing and symptoms are largely the same as low-T, so you have a double hit.
If you do TRT without addressing thyroid you could feel worse.
Low thyroid function explains fat gain.
Symptoms:
- feeling cold easier
- sparse outer eyebrows
- low: libido, energy, mood
- possible brittle nails or general hair thinning
- dry skin
Evaluate you overall thyroid function via oral body temperatures, see below. Check others in your home.
When we see low-T + low thyroid function + training we expect adrenal issues caused by lost natural energy been replaced with adrenalin. rT3 can increase that starts to block fT3 receptors and adrenal fatigue is next. See the thyroid basics sticky noting references to: rT3, training, adrenal fatigue and Wilson’s book.
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.