I’m a 36 year old male who has been battling joint pain, brain fog, abdominal pain, depression, fatigue, and diagnosed low testosterone for several years. I keep trying to figure out why I feel the way I do. I have been on trt for about 4 months and feel ok. Still, many of my above symptoms persist. I recently had some lab work done that made me think about the possibility of heriditary hemochromatosis. Does anyone in the testosterone group have hemochromatosis? I don’t know if I should get tested to see if I have HH or not. Here are the labs that stood out to me:
MCV: 96 range(80-94)
MCH: 31.5 range(27.0-31.0)
TIBC Blood: 250mcg/ml range(250-450)
Percent Saturation: 46%
Iron Blood: 116mcg/dl range(50-175)
Ferritin: 160ng/ml range(24-336)
Vitamin B12: 893pg/ml range(213-816)
For anyone with knowledge of heriditary hemochromatosis, do the above labs indicate that I could have early stage HH? Should I get the genetic test? Thanks for your feedback.
Hematocrit HTC?
This is the number you need to see.
Males do not need any iron in vitamins and should avoid iron fortified breads/cereals and pasta, unless there is a GI bleed where iron is been lost.
Some TRT guys get high hematocrit and blood donations or similar are helpful.
When TRT lacks expected results, elevated E2 and/or low thyroid function are common issues.
You need to have been using iodized salt to support thyroid hormone production. If not, body temperatures can be low and energy and libido can suffer, along with mood or depression problems. Check oral body temperatures as per the thyroid basics sticky. It is not good enough that your doctor stated that your thyroid is OK.
Abdominal pain needs some attention. Digestive or something else? Any problems with urine flow?
What is your TRT protocol?
Please post labs with ranges.