I recently got some blood work done out of curiosity of being tired all the time, low sex drive, etc. I work out regularly and eat pretty well for the past 10 years or so. I’m 28 and I’m just unsure as to if I should try something else before committing to it or will I just be spinning my wheels? Any help is appreciated.
Your Free T is on the lower end, SHBG midrange and Total T below midrange. We usually see men having problems in this scenario, there is just not enough Free T circulating in the bloodstream.
Testing LH would confirm low testosterone production/stimulation. At your age you should be seeing high normal levels with Free T at the top of the ranges, not the lower end until much older. Testosterone levels have been declining for decades and no one knows why, in the last 10 years doctors are seeing men of all ages with low testosterone.
Most men never find out why testosterone is low and cannot correct it. Thyroid levels look good.
What time of day were labs drawn?
How well do you sleep?
Do you skip meals or eat lightly to trim up?
Do you overwork yourself in the gym?
Most men never find out what is wrong with them because many are ignorant to their current lifestyle choices (IMO). Going through college, most guys think it is ok to have shitty workouts (or no workouts), no sleep, drugs, pot noodles 3 times a day and stimulants.
Some have a genetic problem, but most, just need to accept that they are going to have to change their lifestyle in order to improve - even if that means chaging jobs, moving to a different location, spending a little more money on quality food, sleeping in more, doing whatever it takes.
I am 28 and I still feel like a 20 year old, simply because I watch what I eat, sleep more, accept less money for a more flexible job and hence balanced lifestyle.
Most of the guys I know work in finance, look 50 year old and have pot bellies al ready.
At 28, you should be on top of the world.
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Labs were drawn in the morning post workout.
Sleep can be hit or miss but I average about 6-9.
I eat well but when work gets busy I forget to eat sometimes but weigh 180 eat about 2500-2800kcal/day.
I workout probably 4-5x/ week for 1-2hrs depending.
I have a degree in health and exercise science and work in finance now. I take care of myself.
I bulked last fall and got to 190lb. Normally I’m comfortable at 170lb and 9% bf maintainable verified by dexa. Probably closer to 13-14% currently and struggle to keep my strength and lean out at all.
Work is your problem probably.
As much as you will hate to hear it, humans just were not made for office jobs. Period.
Sleep apnea can lower testosterone, can anyone confirm whether you snore or make noises while sleeping?
Overtraining can lower testosterone grouped together with sleep apnea and can be a reason for lower than normal testosterone.
So you are not on TRT and do not have low T? Based on your views on life I would imagine you are not into AAS. So how did you end up at t nation, just curious?
Because it pains me to see people under the age of 30 needing TRT if the underlying cause is not genetic. It seems to me that people are using TRT to treat the symptoms, not the cause.
When it comes to AAS, we always tell people to get their training and diet in order first before hopping on, but with TRT it seems in many cases, people do this without actually first,taking a critical look at their current lifestyle choices.
I am also interested in AAS
Plus, as a pharmacology graduate, this shit interests me
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My levels were about like yours when I started at 31. I measured total at 479, 380 and 390 ng/dL. Free was measured twice at 14 and 10 Range was something like 10-29.
I had lots of symptoms, and worked out like 4X per week. I tried dialing back training to see if it was over training. No dice there.
WLWL (not writing the whole thing) is probably right, but for me it came down to practicality. I was not wiling to go to bed at 9 pm on the weekends to get my testosterone in the 500s, or get rid of my 3-5 beers a week to get to 550. I figured even if I did those things, by the time I made 40 I would be low even with completely optimized lifestyle.
They recommended I get on trt. So I started researching. I’ve followed t nation for years. I’ve considered aas but never actually did them. I figured every article I read said the same thing so I would ask people who actually have done it and know much more about this stuff than I do.
I don’t snore or anything maybe if I’m really exhausted and in a weird position.
That wasnt directed at you. I was refering to the guy that comes to gawk at us and be entertained and tell everyone they should quit their jobs and give up their responsibilities to their families and kids and live care free like him but somehow have tons of money for health food and gym memberships so that they dont have to be on TRT. I wish i could live responsibility free like i was a carefree teenager but that shit just isn’t in the cards. Life didn’t work out that way and i have to do what i gotta do to handle my responsibilities day in and day out
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Yeah, I worked in the fitness industry for awhile but it wasn’t paying the bills and my overall quality of life was shit even though I was “healthy” I was stressed beyond belief because of finances. It’s a grind. I realized that it wasn’t towards me after I posted. My bad.
Well I just got a 2000mg/10ml vial of test Cypionate for $60. Was told to do 200mg/1ml a week. It’s normally $300 but I’m friends with them.
Thoughts?
I had sub 300 Total test in my late 20’s. I was a competitive Strongman and training 4 times a week. I wish I had known that the numbers meant that I was low and could have done something about it at the time. TRT doesn’t cure everything, but there’s no point in suffering if you can do something about it.
Have you only had ONE blood test?
Or multiple tests to confirm shitty levels?
I keep seeing Drs prescribe TRT off of ONE test. THAT IS MALPRACTICE.
Wow your very lucky to have a doctor that will give you TRT based on those numbers. Mine was at 300 and doc said your within the normal range your fine you dont qualify. I can promise you, you get on TRT your gonna feel like a new man! If I knew how good it would make me feel I’d of done it years ago honestly.
Strength is genetics and work ethic. I have a friend that had total test barely above 100 ng/dL, and was deadlifting like 700 lbs @ 200 lbs.
TRT is for the shitty symptoms. Body comp. will likely improve too, but people have this idea that TRT is going to get them bodybuilder jacked, or super strong.
I just hear people say that they need TRT or AAS to get stronger, and maybe they will get a bit stronger initially, but the fact is they need to learn how to train.
True dat. My training partner was cranked (multiple grams) and still lost to me at every contest. But, I would have done a lot better with decent test levels. It does wonders for recuperation and anaerobic capacity.
Those are sick care rules in order to restrict TRT do to bias within the medical community, private doctors have more medical freedom and are less robotic with all the “in range is normal” brainwashing in medical school.
Most doctors do not read the guidelines and can prescribe TRT with levels higher than 345 ng/dL, sadly most insurance companies only cover TRT some <200 and most <300 to quality for TRT. It’s not always the doctor saying no, it’s the insurance company.