LH - Normal
FSH - Normal
Prolactin (4.0-15.2) - 4.2 (lower end of normal)
My main reason for wanting to start t treatment is because I am always tired, always in crisis, generalized anxiety. I feel like a women - always complaining and worried. I am tired of living this way.
I am concerned about 1.whats causing this 2. Long term effects - 3. well the symptoms above get better. I don’t have ED
What’s your estrogen levels? And LH, FSH?
There is no straight answer to why ppl have low T it could be many factors. First thing I would do is get your diet and exercise in place and a good multivitamin with zinc, magnesium, selenium and looks like you need Vit D supplementation. Increase dietary cholesterol and protein, add strength training and use something like Ashwagandha for stress. Do that for 3 months and test again, then figure out if you’re primary or secondary hypogonadism by throwing some clomid and see if that gets you feeling good if not then I would consider T injections.
Low SHBG could be do to low Free T3 thyroid hormones or a combination of good Free T3 and high Reverse T3. Sometimes low SHBG is just genetic.
A TRT protocol is quite different for low SHBG men, daily injections is best for SHBG as low as yours since your ability to hold onto testosterone is less than that of someone with higher SHBG. Testosterone binds to SHBG and when lower, testosterone is secreted into the urine quickly and larger injection less frequently will increase estrogen and Free E2.
I would stay under 450 Total T or you may always have problems with high estrogen symptoms. It’s quite common for low SHBG men to have anxiety to do the higher than average free E2 circulating in the blood.
Testosterone levels, and sperm counts, are down 22% in the US over the last three decades. Pesticides in our food, hormones, plastics, BPAs, etc. pretty much have us swimming in a sea of estrogen. Infertility in men is on the rise.
There are a number of books written on the topic. Use Google. Read to your hearts content. Be prepared mentally to never know the answers to the most important question of all… why. Why you? Why me? Why any of us. Your numbers are garbage and you need intervention or face mortality at a young age and a miserable existence until then. Opt for the higher quality of life.
Your age is the most obvious answer to me, most men start losing testosterone on an annual base when they hit their 30’s, it’s part of the aging process (it doesn’t grow with age but diminishes and all it’s benefits). I don’t care how hard you try with diet, meditation, exercise, it will go down and so will your quality of life unless you turn to TRT imo. I’m 45 and started at 40 and I will never get off it until I die, it’s too important for all facets of health. The side effects of low testosterone in your life will always be far greater than being on TRT and it’s not even close! I can promise you that. I can still remember getting my first shot and waking up the next day fully rested and full of energy for the first time in years and in a couple of years I was in better shape than most 20 year olds and still am 5 years later. The way I look at it is very simple, you can have a natural death and wither away slowly or use science for a superior life! I chose the latter.
Is it possible to do HCG rather than TRT? I have heard rumors that people get testicular/prostate cancer, loose their hair, and can die due to blood clots? What about infertility? I still want to have kids.
First off, HCG will do nothing to help you increase your testosterone but it is used in addition to TRT to help with some possible side effects in particularly testicular shrinkage, gyno and low sperm count and other estrogenic side effects. I am not prone to gyno, don’t care about testicular shrinkage and am done with kids so I don’t even take it because I don’t need it. Please understand that your first step is sitting down with a doctor and going over a plan specifically for you and when you start you will have continuous blood work done to measure where all your vitals are at and making sure you are healthy and safe.
Don’t listen to the anecdotal rumors, most of those are overblown and are predicated on abuse of the hormone and improper use. Remember the doctor is only going to get your test level to the right level of health and nothing more, this is not some dangerous steroid cycle to put you on the stage or coffin, this is just to get you to a normal healthy range and nothing more and once again why you go through a medical doctor and do continuous blood work afterward to make sure you are safe and healthy. Sit down with your anti-aging doctor and see how you feel after 3 months of use and if you don’t like it walk away. You have very little to lose in this prescribed method but a whole new quality of life to gain imo.
TRT doesn’t cause prostate cancer, that study had serious flaws in it. Basically a guy started TRT and later got prostate cancer so doctors point the finger at TRT without any proof or study showing TRT causes prostate.
There have been men injecting testosterone for decades and no increases in prostate cancer or any other diseases that point to TRT as the cause. HCG doesn’t stimulate all the pathways in the testicles and is less effective than TRT and controlling estrogen on HCG only can be a challenge when shooting for high normal.
Losing hair has nothing to to do with TRT, there is a gene responsible for hair loss. If you have this gene you are going to lose your hair regardless, remaining low T just to keep your hair is stupid.
Want kids, freeze sperm. You can also add FSH to any TRT protocol to increase sperm when the time is right.
Thanks for your response. I would love to try it out for three months. I have been told that once you start you can’t stop because the body stops making its own. If I could do a 3 month test run that would be great
You were not told the entire story, if you stop TRT your natural production will likely return, only in rare cases where the person pituitary is failing will natural production not return.
Why anyone would want to return to a lot T state is beyond me.
That’s not true, especially when you are on a 3 month cycle and this isn’t black tar heroine we are talking about here it’s just a hire dose of a hormone your body already produces to balance your health, but here is the reality, you have so little testosterone as is that you probably wouldn’t even notice the difference if you did lose it. Do yourself a favor and talk to a physician in this field and get the facts and not hear say on internet threads.
Yes thank you- I have met with a urologist and he recommend I start TRT. You know how it is though- you get 5 mins with the doctor, you think of things later- and you want to people who have gone through it.