[quote]JSMaxwell wrote:
Hello Sir,
I would like your thoughts on the following situation. I understand you are not a doctor, and I certainly don’t want to put you in a situation where you feel offering such advice would be risky, so if you choose not to respond I understand. However, I am an avid reader of T-Mag and am looking for thoughts and advice other than those offered by the overly cautious medical establishment.
I am 28 years old and have never been what would be called a high testosterone, individual. I have always gotten along fine, however I have never been overly aggressive, athletic, or libidoed. Recently, things have gotten worse. No sex drive, no passion for anything. I went to a doctor and had some blood work done. He said he has never seen someone my age with Testosterone levels so low that had not sustained some kind of injury or had some other kind of medical condition. Please see my stats.
Age: 28
Overall Health: Good
Testosterone: 369 ng/dl
Free Testosterone: 12.3
TSH (Thyroid): 1.3 Thyroid is good according to the doc.
I would like your thoughts on some things?
1.)What levels (Testosterone and Free Testosterone) should I shoot for? I am not just looking for OK, but optimal.
2.)What about any of the medications (pills, injections, patches) on the market and do you have any suggestions for which are preferred?
3.)I believe, as does my doc, that Testosterone replacement therapy is warranted here. Can you talk to me (or refer me to some resources) where I can learn about it and potential drawbacks?
4.)If I choose to use something like Alpha Male, how would I go about cycling that over a lifetime.
Thank you very much for taking the time to read my question. I appreciate it.
Jason Maxwell[/quote]
Jason,
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I think I often make the mistake of making there seem to be a specific number for which people should shoot for in terms of being “optimal” but the truth is that it’s highly variable. For example, if I were to tell you and another male that a particular level of total or better yet, free testosterone is optimal, and you both achieved similar levels, there’s nothing which says that you’ll experience the same biological response as the other male. In other words, this is where both subjective data (as obtained from your physician questioning you on various aspects) as well as monitoring blood levels, comes in to play. Qualitatively, yes, I can say you want higher testosterone levels, but I don’t want to give a generalized figure, other than saying the “high-normal” but even that implies a certain level of specificity.
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Given what you’ve said, either parenteral administration (injecting it) or something like Androgel (probably 10 grams instead of 5, daily), but this is all kind of moot as you’re really going to have to work closely with your physician, so my opinion isn’t as important. Striant is something you may want to discuss as well.
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This is a bit of an older review (relatively) but it still has some good information and it’s by a very smart and respected endocrinologist. http://archfami.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/8/3/257
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You’re kind of jumping the gun here, so to speak, as it’s not clear where the problem is at, in respect to testicles or the hypothalamus and pituitary. If it’s at the testicular level, Alpha Male may help, but it’s much less likely to be sufficient as compared to a secondary problem.
I’d definitely recommend that you talk more with your physician, as he/she is who you’ll be working with closely. If he/she is your primary care physician, and isn’t well versed in this area, you may want to ask that they refer you to an endocrinologist and/or a physician specializing in hormone replacement therapy, with some sort of good track record.