Bloodwork: Low T, High FSH

Pharma / TRT Testosterone Replacement
21

Only if he tests for it, which he likely won’t if you don’t give him a reason to. I’m not certain, but it may go against his ethics board (or even the law) to run a test like that on an adult without that adult’s permission.

Here’s the problem with telling him honestly: some physicians are going to latch on to the fact that you’ve abused substances for the purpose of bodybuilding in the past, and not treat your low testosterone because they may be concerned that you’re really just looking to ‘juice’.

Still, telling him may be the best route. I am not familiar with your body chemistry, and it’s possible that he will be able to find something relevant to your case that could affect treatment.

If you want to go the honest route: be very honest and forthcoming with him. Tell him that you were on propecia for 6 months, and that you have only ever taken a single shot of AAS.

Try to avoid telling him what you think the problem is, as that will color his judgment; show him the lab results, mention that you are concerned about out-of-range levels, and if he’s a competent physician he’ll decide that you have primary hypogonadism and hopefully prescribe TRT. If he doesn’t immediately, you may have to advocate for yourself; mention that, at your age, testosterone levels should be in the 600s at the least, and that testosterone in the 300s is very low, and that it’s negatively affecting your life.

It would be useful to get more lab tests, but you need to wait for the AAS to leave your system, which could take a few weeks. The following labs will be useful:

Free Testosterone
SHBG
Total Testosterone
TSH (TSH can vary, you’re concerned about possible hyper, so get it tested again just in case)
E2
Cortisol
Vitamin D25-OH

Do these tests as near to 8 AM as possible (7-9 AM should be okay).

Yes. You should be getting proper treatment for primary hypogonadism through a physician in some form. Avoid illegal, unmonitored juicing. Treatment for primary hypogonadism is TRT. See stickies for more info.

Atrophy isn’t always an issue of size, firmness, etc. You can have functional atrophy without noticeable symptoms.

22

Just got back from my appointment with the urologist.

He inspected my testicles, said they were fine. He wanted to reorder the tests at which point I told him about my plans to use AAS and the first injection. He said to wait three weeks from today to wait for the AAS to clear my system and then to have more blood work done (FSH, LH, Prolactin, Estradiol, Testosterone Total and Free). He was very cool about the whole thing and said that if I wanted to use exogenous testosterone than that was my business.

He asked if I was having any issues with my nipples (which I do not) wondering if I had elevated prolactin levels. His approach was to retest before doing anything else. Appointment again in 5 weeks.

I’m still left wondering what the problem could be… if any…

I’ve read that secretion of LH/FSH is pulsatile. Is it possible, that despite it being early in the morning, my test levels were low so my pituitary was just releasing large amounts of LH/FSH to get my Testosterone levels up?

23

Unintentional double post?

Glad to hear that the doc was cool. Some are, some aren’t - it’s usually the pompous douchebags that think they know everything that aren’t cool. There’s a decent chance that the doc you found may work well for you.

Yes, that’s how the pituitary works – your testosterone was low, so it ramped up LH/FSH production. The problem here is that your testosterone sounds to be chronically low, meaning that your pituitary is consistently overstressing itself trying to produce enough LH/FSH to get it up; however, it’s unsuccessful because your balls don’t work.

If your results in 3 weeks are similar (i.e. high FSH/LH, low TT/FT, etc.) then he will likely put you on TRT, as he should. For now, you’ll need to wait - it will fudge with the results if you try to do anything before the three weeks are up, and possibly delay treatment further. As for TRT itself, look in to the stickies for more info on types of treatment (e.g. patch, gel, injection, etc.), treatment advice, etc.

24

I don’t necessarily believe its chronically low. I’m just wondering if test results like mine could be from catching me at a bottom test level and peak LH/FSH levels?

I’m not considering TRT. I got the blood work done to confirm my body was healthy enough for a 10 weeks AAS cycle. I just want some sort of confirmation that I don’t have a pituitary tumor. Say I did continue with the cycle with 500mg/wk of Test Cyp. for 10 weeks, could I test my LH/FSH in a few weeks to see if they’ve gone down? If they have then the pituitary is responding normally?

25

Yes, it could, but it’s more likely a chronic condition. Performing an additional TT/FT/FH/LSH lab would help determine chronic vs. coincidental.

Why not? You’re hypogonadic, which is why you aren’t getting the results from lifting that you want. Why not go with a supervised, legal treatment for a known condition, and then consider AAS later?

Yes, LH and FSH should go down significantly. Testing after 4 weeks should show reduced levels. If either stays high, there is a possibility of an LH or FSH producing tumor.

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t understand the desire to do AAS in the first place - putting 500mg/wk of testosterone into your body is going to mess up things, possibly permanently, and I don’t see what benefit you expect to get out of it. Maybe I’m missing some psychological aspect of this.

26

I guess I really didn’t learn too much from this visit other than I don’t have a testicular tumor and these tests can be wrong. Now I’m still left wondering if a normal functioning HPTA would produce tests results like that.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not opposed to TRT. Just from reading this board it is evident that the HRT system in place is far from perfect. My experience trying to get routine blood work was enough to deter me. It just makes me consider doing things on my own (which unfortunately is more appealing option to many people)

I think that most people don’t understand the desire to do AAS. I also think most people don’t want to be competitive powerlifters. For some reason certain people really enjoy it. But I also don’t think 500mg/wk of test for 10 weeks (with the appropriate controls & ancillaries) is anything outrageous or dangerous for a healthy adult male. The question now is am I one of the healthy ones?

The benefit I’m trying to get out of it is increased strength. I’m not trying to justify it, it’s just something I’m after.

27

I know that this is an old post I’m just wondering whatever came of it I just got back from my third blood test showing Low T High FSH High LH and everything else normal. Results have been that way for about a year now I’m waiting to hear back from an endocrinologist just curious about what happened with you because I’m probably going to be going through something similar soon thanks