Everything is normal except for the Serum Testosterone which is as follows:
Testosterone, Serum: Result 278, Low, Reference Range 348-1197
Obviously this is concerning, although in reality its not too surprising because the reason I even got checked was that I suspected this might be the case. Here was the “symptoms” that aroused my suspicion:
Little to no sex drive
Typically female fat deposits (love hands, butt, hips)
Gains in the gym not matching my commitment level (Diet, training, intensity has been dialed in 100% for years now and I’m still kind of small, struggle to remain lean unless I’m borderline crazy about it)
I am sorry to hear this but not suprised. At least you now know what is wrong and can take steps to correct it.
Yup. Find an MD and he will probably do the lab work again himself to confirm it. If it’s consistant, he will likely put you on testosterone replacement therapy which is very expensive but your health insurance shouuld help out.
Simple solution, right?..if your body doesn’t make something, give it that something exogeneously…OR you could make your body produce it. Keep in mind what worked for me. I’m not saying that it would definitely help you, but it may be worth a shot rather than starting T-replacement for the rest of you life. Just something to consider my friend.
Time to go to an MD and like the above post he will most likely do his own tests. Lots of good reading material in this forum in the stickies So i highly reccomend going through them.
A SERM kick start would be a good first place to start rather than jumping on TRT.
If you do go TRT then do shots. Do not do adrogel or the like it sucks!
I’m following up on this by looking at doctors in my area. I’ve got a few leads and some contacts have been made.
I’ve had a bit of time to think about all of this, here are some random thoughts maybe some of you guys can help me think through:
I dont FEEL like I have low Testosterone. I’m NOT depressed, I’m NOT a push over, I’m not a “beta male.” I have all the desire in the world to accomplish tasks, go to the gym, improve myself, and have no problems getting things going in my every day life. I have decent levels of “mental aggression,” (I am not a guy who would get in a verbal/physical confrontation, but things piss me off regularly), 99 days out of 100 I feel great and on top of the world.
The only “tip offs” I had that made me get my blood tested was a lack of drive to pursue girls (decrease in sex drive in general over the last year or so, not GONE but definitely down), the places I store body fat,and my results in the gym are what I would call mediocre despite a PROFOUND effort in the gym and in the kitchen. I dont have too many natty lifters to compare to on an 1:1 basis, but many of the guys at my gym are well ahead of me and I have a tough time NOT getting fat after the 170-175 pound mark.
However, not knowing how long I’ve had this issue, I have no idea what being “normal” or even “high T” feels like so maybe things will go from being good to amazing, who knows?
I would hate to start down the road to “fixing” this issue, which I dont feel really affects me much, only to mess up my hormones further or have to be “on” the rest of my life. On the other hand, I realize that my T being low means that I’m not where I should be hormonally and health wise… I “unhealthy” from that stand point and would like to fix that issue.
And quite honestly I wouldn’t mind being bigger/leaner/Stronger. This is a huge part of my life and that, above all the other issues, is the main thing I would do this for.
Anyone else have these thoughts? Any experiences anyone can share would be greatly appreciated at this point.
Obviously these are all issues I will bring up with the Doctor I decide to see, but I’m just trying to get in the community here and see what other guys are going through.
The Free T wasnt in the test panel I ordered, just the Serum level.
As far as “symptoms” - The MAIN reason I would do this, if I’m being completely honest with myself, would be my weight lifting efforts. This is a HUGE part of my life, and if I could get more out of it that would mean a lot to me.
However, the libido issue is a very close second. This is something I’ve noticed, and I dont want it to get much more pronounced than it already is.
One of the doc’s contacted me, and the rates are very reasonable and within my budget, so I may have some updates on this front soon. He may want more lab results than I provided (free T, etc…) but like I said, everything else is WNL.
Also, I might wait 4 weeks and get retested just to make sure it wasnt a fluke reading, including the Free T this time around. I dont want to freak out over a one-off and start up on drugs I dont need. Does this seem like a good idea?
I have a contact in new port beach CA who specializes in TRT as well as looking at other factors Dr’s do not ever look at. You need to find out why your T is low and what other things are out of balance which could be effecting it. TRT is just a small part of the equation…
Yeah, thats why I’ve decided I am going to wait a few weeks, get retested (with a few additional), and confirm the number before I make some big decision like this. I think yesterday I just got emotional about it and now that I’ve had time to step back and actually think it through thats the way to go.