Intro of myself/symptoms
I have had weight issues as most of my family has for years, I’m the leanest person in my family, but it takes tons of work and dedication, I rarely break from my diet, and when I do it’s usually no sugar added cheesecake or something on my birthday or a holiday. I have thought I have had low T for years but I do not like going to the doctors, especially needles.
I finally can’t take the physical/emotional/mental issues that this journey has caused. I can burst into tears over just thinking about this, I have read most of the info on this site and countless others over the years.
Symptoms
No desire for sex almost at all. Maybe once every couple of months and generally its after I workout and its a really what I would call productive workout/heavy weights etc.
Moody, no morning erections, always tired even though I make sure to get 8 hours of sleep, depressed often, no strength, the list just goes on and on with everything matching on the web.
Age: 38
Height: 5’ 10"
Weight: 160lbs currently - Usually varies, lowest I’ve been 155lbs. usually in the 180lbs area
Measurements:
waist just above belly button 29 7/8 fatty loose skin
waist just below belly button lose skin more with about where belt is 33 ½
hips around butt largest 39 1/2
Body hair: mostly sparse/light hair, very little on chest/lower back/stomach, takes along time to regrow hair if shaven. Facial hair grows slow and I can’t grow a full beard, around the mouth/mustache area its seems like it only grows sparsely. Balding since I was 18 years old as every male in my family. Brother diagnosed with Low T but the doctor only gave him tribulus and then he never followed up.
Body type: I tend to not gain muscle and hold fat in mostly my hips, thighs, waist. I could describe my body type as more womanly then manly. Very little muscle definition, very weak, joints tend to hurt.
Drugs: No drugs, I don’t even drink. I take workout supplements, daily vitamins, fish oil, some preworkouts that don’t have caffeine but have some Creatine in them, Glucosamine for joints, zinc/magnesium/calcium, tribulus on and off, I tried DHEA to try and help out. I have researched/spent a lot of time assuming low T was my issue but just never went to get the blood test done.
Health conditions: Well to be honest I have always been one to avoid doctors like the plague. I have a fear/hate of needles and do pretty much everything I can to not go to the doctors. The issues described here seem to be my only health condition.
Training/exercise: On and off since I was around 11 years old, at 10 I started a “healthy type diet”. Everyone In my family is overweight/has diabetes. I started eating right at a early age, would workout with weights trying to stay healthy and get stronger but after awhile I would not gain any strength and would struggle to keep the strength I had.
I took some time off over the years, sometimes 3 months, sometimes 6 months, one time for about 4-5 years in my late teens/early 20’s. During that time I ate mostly unhealthy foods, not much ever for candy, but I would eat out etc. I put on a lot of weight in that time 100lbs. One day I seen a picture of myself and immediately slapped myself and got right back on the eating right/exercise plan. It took a few years but I lost the weight, I then started doing a bulk/cut type diet and over the winter I would workout heavier, eat more trying to gain .5-1lb max a week, mostly in the .5 area per week. I would only get a little stronger over that time but my weight would shoot up along with my body fat levels, then I would “cut” for summer hoping that the muscle I added stuck and I would end up leaner. It barely worked, ATM I’m 10 years into this and my weight has been up and down but in general I’m at best just as strong, currently since I’m lower in weight I’m actually weaker then when I started. It’s beyond frustrating. But its been 10 years constant diet/working out
I recently got a Bod pod done and was 158.8 LBS, 22.6% BODY FAT With only 122.9 lbs of lean muscle. I seriously broke down into tears. I look into the mirror and see that I do appear leaner but only a little over the last 10 years. I also had my RMR tested and I was really nervous and my results came back as 1500 Resting metabolic rate
Workouts: Generally I hit the weights 4-5 times a week. I tried mostly in the moderate/low rep ranges with mostly compound lifts. My lift numbers are terrible for how long I have worked out. I can bench ATM maybe 135LBS for 6-10 reps. As my body weight increases I gain back some of the strength I lost but still I have never benched more then 175lbs for 5-7 reps at a body weight of 215LBS and had no definition at all.
I walk/jog 3.5-4.5MPH/ride bikes mostly for cardio. Bike rides 1-3 times a week 10-20 Miles per ride.
Mostly I feel I will myself to workout, I almost never have the energy but I amp myself up to do it probably 2 hours a day I’d guess, yes it’s hard to do and when I lift heavy weights it feels like my will/joints are what gets the weights up, it’s hard to describe but that’s the best I can do.
Diet: I have tried every diet pretty much. I don’t lose weight easily at all. I have tried higher carb/moderate protein/moderate fats and I seemed to pack on weight super fast while weighing all my food.
I spent a long time on a low carb/high protein/moderate fat diet and that seemed keep my weight under control much better at similar calories.
I also spent about 9-12 months on a under 25 carb keto Diet/high fats/moderate protein, weighed everything and as my other diets as my weight drops my energy levels die/my strength dies and at the end I can’t lose weight on 1600 calories a day. I tried carb up days, other options, changing things up and still basically Its the same result. When I go through a time frame that I’m trying to gain weight/strength/muscle mass I usually can’t get over about 2400 calories without putting on 1lb a week
I still have all the symptoms when I’m heavier/eating more etc, some of them feel a little better like my emotional state but most of the other stuff is very much the same.
Most of the diets consist of lean meats, brown rice, wheat bread/pasta, broccoli, string beans, eggs, cheese,peas, salads with low fat/calorie dressing
Testes/erections: Not sure if its mental or not but they always feel like they ache slightly. Not sure how to describe it. Its likely mostly when I think about needles lol. No fevers, but I honestly don’t check my temp often.
Erection wise, they have been very weak for years. Probably in the area of the age or 22-23 I could guess.
Morning wood/nocturnal erections: For years no, I mean almost never unless I have to urinate pretty bad and wake up. That’s really really rare though, like maybe once a month at best.
Test Name Result Flag Reference Range Lab
CBC With Differential/Platelet
WBC 5.8 3.4-10.8 x10E3/uL 01
RBC 5.13 4.14-5.80 x10E6/uL 01
Hemoglobin 15.6 12.6-17.7 g/dL 01
Hematocrit 46.7 37.5-51.0 % 01
MCV 91 79-97 fL 01
MCH 30.4 26.6-33.0 pg 01
MCHC 33.4 31.5-35.7 g/dL 01
RDW 13.4 12.3-15.4 % 01
Platelets 216 150-379 x10E3/uL 01
Neutrophils 51 % 01
Lymphs 40 % 01
Monocytes 8 % 01
Eos 1 % 01
Basos 0 % 01
Neutrophils (Absolute) 2.9 1.4-7.0 x10E3/uL 01
Lymphs (Absolute) 2.4 0.7-3.1 x10E3/uL 01
Monocytes(Absolute) 0.5 0.1-0.9 x10E3/uL 01
Eos (Absolute) 0.1 0.0-0.4 x10E3/uL 01
Baso (Absolute) 0.0 0.0-0.2 x10E3/uL 01
Immature Granulocytes 0 % 01
Immature Grans (Abs) 0.0 0.0-0.1 x10E3/uL 01
Comp. Metabolic Panel (14)
Glucose, Serum 92 65-99 mg/dL 01
BUN 22 HIGH 6-20 mg/dL 01
Creatinine, Serum 0.91 0.76-1.27 mg/dL 01
eGFR If NonAfricn Am 107 >59 mL/min/1.73 01
eGFR If Africn Am 123 >59 mL/min/1.73 01
BUN/Creatinine Ratio 24 HIGH 8-19 01
Sodium, Serum 143 134-144 mmol/L 01
Potassium, Serum 4.4 3.5-5.2 mmol/L 01
Chloride, Serum 103 97-108 mmol/L 01
Carbon Dioxide, Total 23 18-29 mmol/L 01
Calcium, Serum 9.5 8.7-10.2 mg/dL 01
Protein, Total, Serum 7.5 6.0-8.5 g/dL 01
Albumin, Serum 4.6 3.5-5.5 g/dL 01
Globulin, Total 2.9 1.5-4.5 g/dL 01
A/G Ratio 1.6 1.1-2.5 01
Bilirubin, Total 0.7 0.0-1.2 mg/dL 01
Alkaline Phosphatase, S 44 39-117 IU/L 01
AST (SGOT) 19 0-40 IU/L 01
ALT (SGPT) 17 0-44 IU/L 01
Lipid Panel
Cholesterol, Total 219 HIGH 100-199 mg/dL 01
Triglycerides 40 0-149 mg/dL 01
HDL Cholesterol 62 >39 mg/dL 01
According to ATP-III Guidelines, HDL-C >59 mg/dL is considered a
negative risk factor for CHD.
VLDL Cholesterol Cal 8 5-40 mg/dL 01
LDL Cholesterol Calc 149 HIGH 0-99 mg/dL 01
Thyroid Panel With TSH
1 of 2
TSH 1.940 0.450-4.500 uIU/mL 01
Thyroxine (T4) 9.4 4.5-12.0 ug/dL 01
T3 Uptake 29 24-39 % 01
Free Thyroxine Index 2.7 1.2-4.9 01
Testosterone, Free/Tot Equilib
Testosterone, Serum 261 LOW 348-1197 ng/dL 01
Comment: Comment 01
Adult male reference interval is based on a population of lean males
up to 40 years old.
Testosterone,Free 6.42 5.00-21.00 ng/dL 02
% Free Testosterone 2.46 1.50-4.20 % 02
Estradiol, Sensitive
Estradiol, Sensitive 10.8 8.0-35.0 pg/mL 02
This test was developed and its performance characteristics
determined by LabCorp. It has not been cleared by the Food and
Drug Administration.
Methodology: Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry(LC/MS/MS)
Prostate-Specific Ag, Serum
Prostate Specific Ag, Serum 0.5 0.0-4.0 ng/mL 01
Roche ECLIA methodology.
.
According to the American Urological Association, Serum PSA should
decrease and remain at undetectable levels after radical
prostatectomy. The AUA defines biochemical recurrence as an initial
PSA value 0.2 ng/mL or greater followed by a subsequent confirmatory
PSA value 0.2 ng/mL or greater.
Values obtained with different assay methods or kits cannot be used
interchangeably. Results cannot be interpreted as absolute evidence
of the presence or absence of malignant disease.
IGF-1
Insulin-Like Growth Factor I 222 83-233 ng/mL 02
Sorry for the long post, I tried to be fairly detailed, I have other info if needed including more specific diet/workouts/issues. I’m working on getting to the doctors and seeing what can be done from here but its really been rough, I feel like I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place with hating needles, my medical insurance being horrible and what my issues are.
Mostly I’m seeking for someone to look over my results and give me what they think my options are/ help me fully understand whats going on and what TRT could do for me. Because of my fear of needles its a struggle because gels seem so easy, but it would probably been more expensive then I could afford.
Thanks in advance for anyone’s advice/help in this matter