T Nation

Got Bloodwork. Should I Look into This Further?

T Replacement
#1

-age: 36
-height: 6’4"
-waist: 33"
-weight: 186lbs
-describe body and facial hair: Tall and lanky, ectomorph but in “good shape”, thicker facial hare around mouth and chin but sparser and thinner from ear down through cheeks
-describe where you carry fat and how changed: always carried more in butt and thighs but my overall body fat right now is sub 10%
-health conditions, symptoms [history]: Orinigally diagnosed May '16 as T2 Diabetic, was on Metphormin 2000mg from GP, then went to an Endo and They said I was actually T1 LADA, put me on Lantus 9 units from Dec - Sept. Recently now also on Humalog 2-3 units pre carb meals.
-hair loss drugs or prostate drugs ever: Nope
-lab results with ranges:
Early results though today show this: Sorry i don’t have the lab ranges yet but will ask for them.

Total Test: 372 ng/dl
SHBG: 49.7 nmoL/L
Calc Free Test: 57.4 pg/mL
% Free: 1.54

-describe diet [some create substantial damage with starvation diets]: Bulking diet 3400 calories,45/30/25 c/p/f
-describe training [some ruin their hormones by over training] Body Beast program 6x week body part training though i’ve recently tried modifying it with push/pull/legs split
-testes ache, ever, with a fever? Nope
-how have morning wood and nocturnal erections changed: Nope

I was diagnosed with t1 diabetes last november and since then I have been hitting the weights, improved nutrition and get at least 7-8 hours of sleep per night.

I became curious about my test levels the more I’ve learned about exercise and nutrition and decided to go get some blood work done. Still waiting for estrogen, fsh and vitamin and mineral levels to come back.

My wife also has been complaining about my irritability and moodiness, as well as lack of desire to go out and do anything. I dismissed it at first but given some time to reflect, she’s right. I used to be way more easy going and wanting to go out and do stuff. I was the guys trying to push other people out the door. Like this weekend we were going to go to a wine festival. We just had our second child 4 months ago and haven’t had any time like that for just us. I should have been excited and looking forward to it. I had fun when I was there but could have cared less and felt annoyed having something on my calendar. That’s not right.

Libido fine, not extra tired - just everything feels “beige”. I wish I knew if this was related or just psychological. Hoping that this forum can help me.

Suspicions or first impressions welcome. Google results don’t give me much to go on to interpret this…so hoping folks with experience can lend some points of view.

#2

First how do you feel? Secondly yes those levels are low (especially the free that should be flagged on the reference range) but please post full labs with ranges and post all the usual information found in the beginners guides found here:

#3

Thanks - i edited my original post based on the stickies advice.

#4

First off I have to admit I did the conversion for free test wrong. You are not likely out of range at 5.74ng/dl but at the borderline for your age. The same can be said about the total test level as well. When your LH/FSH tests come back you can see if the issue is primary or secondary. As for the description of your issues, it matches very well with what the DSM would classify as depression. With that said, from personal experience I was taking an SSRI, mood stabilizer and xanax for similar symptoms (in addition to OCD). After a few months of TRT I was able to stop taking those drugs as the symptoms melted away (took three months for me) and I have been off of them quite successfully and happily for 10 months now. I look forward to seeing the rest of your labs before weighing in with any recommendations.

BTW, great work on editing your post and posting the needed information as you have it currently.

#5

Thank you so much for replying and especially sharing your experience. I sincerely appreciate it. I have no one to talk to about this otherwise. Could I also be doing this to myself unintentionally by limiting my fat intake? I’ve kept my % fats to 25% or less since last February (I did a small 3 month cut and started bulking again at the end of June).

#6

potentially but there is little that can be said without the rest of the labs. Your CBC is needed to help with that question.

#7

Low thyroid function and low-T share many of the same symptoms so many guys here have had a double dose of problems. Very often we see that low thyroid function is a result of not using iodized salt or vitamins that list iodine+selenium. And almost always, the lab results are “normal” because thyroid lab ranges are mostly useless. Please eval your thyroid function via oral body temps as per below.

Low iodine intake often affects whole families. Women need more iodine than men as you can see from prenatal vitamins. Iodine is critical for mental development of babies/children.

Intense training with low-T and low thyroid function creates some risks to adrenal function when low energy levels are overcome with adrenalin.

Please read the stickies found here: About the T Replacement Category

  • advice for new guys - need more info about you
  • things that damage your hormones
  • protocol for injections
  • finding a TRT doc

Evaluate your overall thyroid function by checking oral body temperatures as per the thyroid basics sticky. Thyroid hormone fT3 is what gets the job done and it regulates mitochondrial activity, the source of ATP which is the universal currency of cellular energy. This is part of the body’s temperature control loop. This can get messed up if you are iodine deficient. In many countries, you need to be using iodized salt. Other countries add iodine to dairy or bread.

KSman is simply a regular member on this site. Nothing more other than highly active.

I can be a bit abrupt in my replies and recommendations. I have a lot of ground to cover as this forum has become much more active in the last two years. I can’t follow threads that go deep over time. You need to respond to all of my points and requests as soon as possible before you fall off of my radar. The worse problems are guys who ignore issues re thyroid, body temperatures, history of iodized salt. Please do not piss people off saying that lab results are normal, we need lab number and ranges.

The value that you get out of this process and forum depends on your effort and performance. The bulk of your learning is reading/studying the suggested stickies.

#8

Thank you for your thoughts. Here’s some more info and background in response to that…

My sister has Hypothyroid and I did test positive for antibodies 11 months ago but function was fine at the time. I guess I haven’t been too concerned about thyroid (yet) as I never feel tired during the day and am pretty regular about going to bed at 10pm and waking up around 6am.

I should have more updated bloodwork tomorrow and will post. Below is all i know about my thyroid right now in terms of blood work.

I use Orange Triad + Greens multi and before that was using Opti-men multis since May 16. Both provide at or above RDA of selenium and iodine (if that’s helpful to note)

11/28/16
Report Result Range Units Status Lab
THYROID PEROXIDASE ANTIBODIES 106 <9 IU/mL High Final HQ

11/28/16
Report Result Ref. Range Units Status Lab
T4, FREE, NON-DIALYSIS 1.0 0.8-1.8 ng/dL Final QBA

11/28/16
Report Result Ref. Range Units Status Lab
TSH 1.52 0.40-4.50 mIU/L Final QBA

5/17
Report Result Ref. Range Units Status Lab
TSH 1.66 0.40-4.50 mIU/L Normal Final QBA

#9

Strong on iodine, perhaps a bit light on selenium.
Given thyroid antibodies, you should get 200mcg selenium. Might resolve. Talk to sister re these things.

Thyroid:
fT4 is well below mid-range - suggesting iodine deficiency
fT3 is the [only] active hormone and not tested.
TSH better closer to 1.0

Body temperatures please.