Got Lab Results, Need Advice Prior to Dr Review

Seeking some help interpreting my lab results. I am 36yo, in great health. I have been a regular lifter living a vigorously active lifestyle up until recently when I hit a brick wall. Now it seems no matter how much I sleep, its not enough. Whether I get 8 or 10hrs, im still tired. I have almost Zero motivation to hit the gym or the weights, my weight has started creeping up, even with more attention and detail to my diet. And to make matters works, I am now only good for 1rd in the bedroom. Im assuming the aging process has been creeping up on me, but its now starting to take its toll on my quality of life.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I am currently waiting on Dr availability to schedule an appointment to review results, but in the mean time I would like to info/advice/thoughts around questions to ask, suggestions to make, or points to add when visiting my Dr.

Thanks again.

HORMONE

TESTOSTERONE 573 (300-1080 NG/DL)

CALC FREE TESTOSTERONE 9.4 (4.8-25.7 NG/DL)

SEX HORM BIND GLOBULIN 50.1 (16.5-55.9 NMOL/L)

DHEA SULFATE 163 (103-446 UG/DL)

CORTISOL, RANDOM 7.4 (A.M. SPECIMEN, UG/DL 4.8-19.5)

LUTEINIZING HORMONE 5.3 (1.2-8.6 IU/L)

GROWTH HORMONE (HGH) <0.05 (0.05-4.00 NG/ML)

ESTRADIOL <17.0 (<=60.7 PG/ML)

PROGESTERONE <0.20 (MALE NG/ML <0.15)

PSA, TOTAL 0.86 (<=4.00 NG/ML)

PROLACTIN 6.8 (4.0-15.2 NG/ML)

THYROID

TSH 1.93 0.40-4.10 UIU/ML

T3 UPTAKE 29.9 24.3-39.0 %

T4 (THYROXINE) 6.6 4.5-12.0 UG/DL

FREE T3 3.6 2.4-4.2 PG/ML

Many more experts than me but your Test isnt that bad but its not optimal. Over 800 would be better and your Free Test seems pretty low. KSMan will probably have a reason why your Free Test is so low. He will also recommend you ask the Dr to look at your Thyroid hormones. To be prepared make sure you go and look at all the stickies in this thread. They are the first 7 or 8 threads in this forum.[quote=“primetime008, post:1, topic:228473”]
And to make matters works, I am now only good for 1rd in the bedroom.
[/quote]

Welcome to middle age!! LOL

Thanks for the reply. The original post has been updated with Thyroid lab data.

The progesterone lab used is not sensitive enough to be useful. It could be zero. Progesterone is a precursor for progesterone–>cortisol in the adrenals.

We cannot interpret cortisol without knowing time of day. Random cortisol is only useful for detection of high levels. Should have tested AM Cortisol and done labs at 8AM or 1 hour after waking up.

DHEA-S is low for your age. This is also an adrenal hormone.

Adrenals: How has stress been part of your life?

hCG should not be tested as released in pulses with a very short half-life. IGF-1 lab results are the best indicator of hCG status.

E2 < 17 is not useful, will need a more sensitive lab in the future that resolves to these low male levels.

SHBG=50.1 is very high. With lower E2 levels not causing elevated SHBG, we suspect that a liver problem might be involved. SHBG is created in the liver. AST/ALT as part of a liver panel might be useful. Do stop training so sore muscles do not interfere with that lab.

High SHBG inflated the TT number by causing a lot of SHBG+T, which is not bioavailable. That also lowers FT. It is also good to test FT directly.

Thyroid lab ranges are rather useless.
TSH should be closer to 1.0
T4 is well below midrange
fT3 is good, by it self, but that does not tell the whole story.

If rT3 is blocking fT3 [from stress] your body temperatures can be low. See last paragraph in this post to eval overall thyroid function.

When young[er] guys have lower T and or thyroid function, then keep going at the gym with adrenalin, which is a huge stress factor.

Have you been using iodized salt to support thyroid function?

Thanks for info.

Stress ebbs and flows based on work schedules and project needs. Not really a big deal. Recently completed a relocation to a new state, so im now getting settled in.

I did notice the SHBG level is on the very high end, which as I understand it, has an inverse effect on Free T; which could be detrimental in my case.

Labs were conducted in the morning, however since I rise at 5AM, and most labs not open until 8AM, getting to them within an hour of rising is difficult. I’ll need to work on scheduling next labs on a day off to coordinate this for better labs.

I do not use iodized salt to support thyroid.

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.

Please read the stickies found here: About the T Replacement Category - #2 by KSman

  • advice for new guys
  • things that damage your hormones
  • protocol for injections
  • finding a TRT doc