43, Probably Going on TRT

Hi Folks,

I just had my second blood test this morning to confirm I have low testosterone. My family Doctor is brand new to me and has been very cooperative thus far. The labs he had me scheduled to do today were FSH, HIV, LH, Prolactin, PSA Screen, Testosterone. After reading here and elsewhere I called his office and asked to add Free test and Estrodiol sensitive. He added them without question. The lab didn’t have a “sensitive” test for them to pick. The lab tech who drew my blood put in a note for LabCorp to do the sensitive version of Estrodiol.

-age : 43
-height: 5’10"
-waist: 35in
-weight: 209lbs
-describe body and facial hair: furry like monkey, bald due to chemo 20yrs ago.
-describe where you carry fat and how changed: Standard places, haven;t started TRT yet

-health conditions, symptoms [history]: had testicular cancer when 21. Lost one testical and had chemo plus surgeries. Overall, okay shape…on again…off again at gym. Last couple years seemed I couldn’t get in a groove at all. Lack of motivation, lifts went down despite solid nutrition, protein, etc…my one testical has always been pretty small. Lately I had an anxiety attack one night for no apparent reason and haven’t been on a date (no sex) in over a year. I do masterbate, but I make no efforts to get out and do stuff. Overall, withdrawn. Low level depression, lack of motivation in general.

-Rx and OTC drugs, any hair loss drugs or prostate drugs ever: I take Blood pressure meds…Verapamil ER 180mg. Lost my hair to chemo many years ago.
-lab results with ranges:

Testosterone 315 (348-1197)
Vit D 57.3 (30.0-100.00 ng/mL)
TSH 2.34 (0.450-4.500 ulU/mL)
C- Reactive Protein .09 ( 0.0-4.9 mg/L)

All labs but Testosterone and Glucose came back within normal range. Glucose was just 1 point over at 100.

-describe diet [some create substantial damage with starvation diets]: All whole foods (lean chicken breast, some red meat, lots of salmon steak), lots of veggies like Kale, Spinach, broccoli. Lots of fruits. Wild grain rice or Quinoa, some nuts/seeds daily and 1 or 2 squares 70%+ dark chocalate a day. Lots of Optimum Nutrition Whey protein. Gold Standard 2 scoops in cold water at least twice a day.

-describe training [some ruin there hormones by over training]: Started a “cross fit-esque” gym…but not gay. Classes are 1-2hrs (due to me being fat and slow) and are VERY well designed for overall strength, speed and endurance. Lots of body weight stuff with squats, deads and presses mixed in- as well as some running. A class destroys me for days. I’m usually dead last and that includes “housewives” older then me. Gym owned/operated by former Navy Seal who employs two full time trainers with BA degrees from solid university. Classes are small so lots of semi private instruction. few years ago when I hit 40 I decided to get lean rather then big and started running…did a couple half marathons, lots of 5’s, 10K’s etc…but limited to no weight training. Got down to 186lbs but weak as hell. Now doing limited running and the new gym classes. Being generally out of shape, the full body classes DESTROYED me. I just started and have only done 3 classes. Takes me 4+ days to feel ok. One of the reasons I decided to get my test levels checked.

-testes ache, ever, with a fever?: Nah. No aches, no fevers.
-how have morning wood and nocturnal erections changed: I can’t recall having “morning wood” for years. Then again, I have only rarely had issues with erections.

So, now that the second batch of labs are in all I can do is wait. The labs should be available online in 2-3 days.

My Doctor has been and seems to be very understanding/accommodating. He has a few people on Test replacement, but just the gel and he doesn’t seem to have a solid understanding of TRT.

He actually brought TRT up before I mentioned it. But when I told him my insurance listed Depo Testosterone injections he was very surprised insurance covered it. However, he seems open to injections and I have printed out some of the stuff from this site and another site to give to him.

I THINK (hope) I got a GOOD Doctor concerned about my overall well being.

Blood labs are a chore for me. Since I had a lot of chemo, my veins are shit. I needed a mediport installed when I was 22. I tend to get full blown panic attacks when I give blood. I pass out like 80% of the time. It sucks. I did OK today though. I asked for the same women who did my labs last time and she’s nice and talks to me to take my mind off stuff.

I’m VERY eager to get the latest lab results!

It wouldn’t surprise me at all if my Estrodiol was very high. :frowning: But I’m on the right path…

My goals are to be able to workout more, get down to 190lbs but have some decent muscle along with endurance. But more so, I want to feel enthusiastic about women, working out, life in general because I haven’t in a very long time. I got my test checked a few yrs ago, and the PA said it was normal. I have the lab results somewhere, but have to find it. Wouldn’t be surprised if I was <400 a few years ago.

I’ll post back here with an update in a few days. It’s good to have a decent resource.

Dean

I would say you qualify for TRT just by looking at your total Testosterone of 315. IT will be interesting to see your other labs when you get them.

I was is some ways in a similar state, same age, similar body size, minus the cancer, here is a primer of what you might expect…

I’ve been very happy with my choice to pursue TRT.

After being on pins and needles I logged into the online “chart” and saw my new test results. Only, several tests including the Testosterone tests are not there! :frowning:

I called the doctors office and the receptionist stated that not all tests are updated at once, to give it another couple days. Well, another day passed and I don’t see any new results. That doesn’t make sense to me. I’ll call Friday morning if the testosterone (total and free) plus the Glucose isn’t there.

What I did get:

ESTRADIOL (7.6 - 42.6 pg/mL) 32.8
PROLACTIN (4.0 - 15.2 ng/mL) 12.4
FSH (1.5 - 12.4 mIU/mL) 12.1
LH (1.7 - 8.6 mIU/mL) 8.1
PSA Serum 0.0 - 4.0 ng/mL 4.1

Isn’t high end LH and high FSH with low testosterone “primary hypogonadism”? Or does it have to be out of range high? The one testicle I have is pretty small, and the doctor even’t mentioned that in my exam.

My PSA is interesting as my Father’s PSA has always ran very high, in the 7’s for 20+ years, but he never had cancer, but 2 biopsies.

My Doctor wrote a little note stating that all my test results looked good except my PSA, but I don’t know if he’s already seen the testosterone or not?

Your lvls are low enough for hrt, but understand when you start it you will increase your red blood cells in turn thicken you blood causing a greater chance for stroke because of the blood being thicker. Which in order to remove the thicker red blood and let your body produce more will require regular donations to reduce the chance stroke. I think a antidepressant might help more you should discuss that withyour doc also.

So, I JUST got back my Test labs:

TESTOSTERONE 348 - 1197 ng/dL 340
Testosterone Free 6.8 - 21.5 pg/mL 12.4

Primary hypogonadism is associated with low levels of testosterone and high-normal to high levels of LH and FSH.

What are Optimal Free Testosterone Levels?
The number of men who suffer testosterone deficiency is so high that laboratory reference ranges accept ridiculously low levels as â??normal.â??

We at Life Extension suggest that men maintain their free testosterone in the range of 20 to 25 pg/mL of blood. Others with expertise in this area believe free testosterone as low as 15 pg/mL is adequate.

Conventional blood labs, on the other hand, say aging men are alright with as little as 6.6 pg/mL of free testosterone in their bloodâ??an absurdly low level!
http://m.lef.org/magazine/mag2012/jun2012_Testosterone-Controversy_02.htm

Just an update:

Instead of calling the Doctor’s office like they asked I dropped in. I only saw the secretary and she had several Urologist offices for me to call.

So, I called all three Urologist offices and the first one they wanted me to see didn’t have an appointment until MID JULY.

Another was closed for today. The last one had an appointment available on June 2nd. I called the Doc’s office and asked if they had any other Urologist offices to recommend…I didn’t mind driving. She’ll get back to me on Monday.

So, it seems to me he is dumping me on a Urologist given my higher PSA results. My Father’s PSA has been in the teens through the 30’s for about 15yrs. Had 4 biopsies and no cancer.

The receptionist said that it’s pretty normal for specialist offices to be booked a month+ out. There goes my summer. :frowning: