Just received testosterone lab results. Im 30, eat a clean diet high in healthy fats, protein, mostly natural foods. Im in good shape, lift heavy about four days a week for 45 minutes, careful about recovery and avoiding overtraining. My Dr. is a bodybuilder, and specializes in HRT in addition to his family practice.
When I asked to have my test checked, he genuinely thought that it would be very high based on my age and appearance. So the results came in today, Total test 444.2 (348-1197); and free test of 6.7 (8.7-25.1). I have never cycled AAS, and take no medications. We were both very surprised at the results. I honestly thought the level would be high normal, as I haven’t cycled AAS and sleep well, eat well, train hard, etc.
We are going to recheck in 6 weeks, and he said he would probably refer me to an endo, and that the odds are that nothing would be prescribed because I am 30 years old. This concerns me because I dont want to spend the prime of my life walking around with low T.
I thought you are currently running a cycle? Or am I mistaken?
Anyways, your T is definitely on the low side for a guy your age, and Free T is even worse. What time were the results taken?
Check out some of the stickeys to figure out what all blood test you need to paint a full picture.
No VTBalls, I posted a proposed cycle, 2 weeker, and acquired everything needed for it. I wanted to get clean bloodwork before starting any type of usage. Picked a primary care guy who specializes in HRT, he ran a BMP for my physical. Dont have those numbers, but they were great, cholesterol very good (LDL and Triglycerides low, HDL high - think it was 55. All liver values normal. The doctor is no stranger to AAS, was a pro bodybuilder at one time. I told him I wanted my test checked just to see where it was. The labs were drawn at about 9:15 am. I probably had about 5 hours of sleep, dont know if that matters that much.
My training has been pretty good, Im about 185, 5’10", leaner than ever, and pretty strong. Training has pretty much been my life (outside of work and school) since I was 20 years old, with minor layoffs here and there due to injuries. I’d post my lifts, but I dont think that is necessary, definitely respectable, but nothing spectacular. Occasionally Im not what I would like to be as far as erectile strength is concerned. Tonight the girl wanted a round two and asked if id b able to do it again, and I told her I cant because I have just found out I have low T LOL…
The doc said it may have been a fluke result. I am glad that I got it checked before messing around with AAS. Definitely gonna have to put the cycle on the back burner until I find out what is going on. Went into the office expecting some high number, because I eat ALOT of healthy fats, probably about 200 g plus per day. I take ZMA, multi, eat lots of canned oysters, avocados, etc. I eat a pretty much all natural whole food diet, with the exception of whatever protein ofr meal replacement supp i happen to be on at the time. I try to eat everything that contributes to testosterone production. I sleep well, although I do work some night shifts. I limit my training to about 2 heavy days per week, 2 speed days, at about 45 minutes per session.
The doctor is going to retest in about six weeks, and said if it is low again he is going to refer me to an endo. He said that the endo most likely will not do much with it. I did not walk in there wanting to get a script, and do not want TRT if I dont need it. However, his reaction concerned me, because i am not trying to walk around with low T, if that happens to be the case. If it is legitamitely low, I hope to get treated just as any patient with low T would, regardless of age.
Also, my sleep schedule is kindof weird. The doctor did not seem to think that that was much of an issue with the results. I will work a couple 12 hour nights, sleep after from like 9 am-330 pm or so. When off, I sleep from like 3 am to 11 am. I just read in the stickies that free T is more important than total, and that those levels fluctuate throughout the course of the day. Perhaps my weird sleep schedule distorted the results, even though the test was at 915 am and had sufficient sleep?
My vitamin D was low normal, dont remember numbers, but remember it was at the absolute bottom end of the range. Ive read that vitamin d is associated with testosterone levels. So I am thinking of really cranking up the fats, get religious about taking the cod liver oil, and some occasional tanning until the next test. Erectile strength is great at times and not so great in other times. I ejaculate every day, sometimes twice, if that is pertinent info.
In the winter time I was extremely depressed and tearful, but that seems to have subsided. That was partly due to personal issues, breakup and death in the family. I do wonder if the night shift work is a culprit, although it is only half of the days of the week. If it is low after further testing, and I pay out of pocket, I would not imagine there should be a problem getting treated. Im thinking maybe he thinks there would be issues with insurance.
Also, I do experience testicular pain at times, though not for a few weeks. Kindof always figured I have either a groin pull or hernia, from squats or goodmornings or whatever. I have lots of body hair on chest, abdomen, groin, and calfs and forearms.
Good posts…I’ll offer more detailed thoughts a little later, probably later this weekend as my girlfriends folks are in town and I have to entertain.
But read through the stikeys
You have a lot of reading to do, but from your other posts you seem to be a smart capable guy so you should be able to digest most of it. Pay particular attention to the blood tests you need to get in order to really shed light on the situation and understand why they are so.
Cool I appreciate it. Ill spend some time in the stickies.
I did a fair amount of reading in here, still have alot to do. I understand that further testing must be completed before any conclusions can be drawn. So I have a couple of questions./thoughts
- I read in the stickies that prolactin should not be tested within 48 hours of orgasm. Being that prolactin elevation inhibits testosterone production, it is possible that orgasm on a nightly basis has kept my prolactin elevated enough to cause a lower test and free test reading? I did orgasm the night before the test. Also, I remember reading that orgasm does diminish zinc levels, which is an important mineral for testosterone production, but I do take ZMA every night.
- One thing I failed to mention is that I have fallen off of a scaffold, 8 feet in the air, head first onto a concrete floor, when i used to work construction. It knocked me out for a few seconds, and all of the witnesses said they could not believe i got up and were sure that i would be carried out on a stretcher- i must have a thick skull lol.
- 4 shots of expresso every morning, and occasional spike drinks before intense workouts. Possibly leading to fatigues adrenals?
- Difficulty maintaining attention span. Hard to focus on schoolwork or daily personal tasks, such as cleaning, organizing, etc. THis is common in people, but extremely noticeable in me. Although I can read about something i am interested in or do something i am having fun with without issue.
- I am careful to get adequate recovery, but cannot recall my training schedule before the test. Perhaps I had a hard workout the day before, leading to a temporary decrease in T/free T?
- I do usually pop cialis or viagra before sexual activity is anticipated, but kindof chalked that up to nerves, because havent had a steady gf in a year and half. Whenby myself, it usually is pretty solid without any pde5 inhibitors. With girls, sometimes, it takes a few extra minutes to get hard, but i think that is because i am not as familiar with partners as i should be lol… so i get a little nervous.
- Is it uncommon to have one low test but still be normal, b/c the doc said it may be a bum reading. I know the test does not need to be fasting, but would eating and drinking coffee right before perhaps distort the results?
- As a pre adolescent, I have a vague recollection of the doctor being concerned that my left testicle was not dropped enough. During the visit, she actually thought it was missing. They now hang normally.
I am 5’10", 185 lbs. On no medications. Train with westside approach, modified to my own recovery times. Carry fat on lower abs, low back, inner thighs. I am however, leaner than ive ever been. 6 pack visible, very vascular forearms, veins on biceps, etc. My physique is actually the best its ever been, although ive been heavier but not as lean. Sleep, although i work night shift half of the time, is better than ever. I usually feel pretty well rested.
So I have this retest in 6 weeks. I think i am going to cut back on masturbation, instead of every night (r/t to posssible proactin elevation leading to decrease of test.). I will not do it 2 days before the test. Ill try not to train too hard a couple days before the test. Take more vitamin D and tan. As stated before, I eat alot of healthy fats, probably over 200 grams per day. Include more avocados, (due to their possible bromocrypteine content- to decrease prolactin-which may or may not be an issue.)
I know all of my questions cannot be answered without proper bloods. My test is 6 weeks away. I want to make sure that there are no behaviors of mine that contribute a distorted reading, and I want to make any necessary changes for the next six weeks to ensure that there are no outside factors interfering with my results. Maybe I am in denial and grasping for straws, but I find this subject to be very interesting, and it will be interesting to see if certain modifications influence results.