24 Yo Male - Advice Needed

F

futbolplayer

New member
Hello all,

I am a 24 year old male with extremely troubling symptoms, which I have noticed for the past three years but think it may be related to low T. I have suffered from severe depression, which is currently being medicated somewhat effectively with wellbutrin 300mg. I had tried an SSRI in the past, which worked to some extent, however I thought it was causing me sexual side effects and went off -- it also never completely took care of the depression. I tried Jan - Sept of this year off any type of antidepressant before hoping onto Bupropion. During this time, I was thinking some sexual dysfunction I was having was related to the SSRI I had taken, however after 9 months off one, I am still having sexual dysfunction.

In terms of sex, I have been unable to perform with the past 6 females I have "hooked up" with. Even alone, I do not achieve full erections and have little to no libido. Additionally, I never get spontaneous erections, morning erections, or nighttime erections (possibly an occasional weak one).

Mentally, I suffer from poor memory, poor concentration, incredible amounts of brain fog, intense depression, fatigue, and a general feeling of malaise. As I mentioned previously, the wellbutrin helps some with these symptoms, however I still have fatigue and no libido -- Wellbutrin is supposed to help with both of these.

I went to have my testosterone levels checked as I had heard this could potentially be the cause. I had a total testosterone level of 493 ng/dl (reference 298 - 850) and a free test level of 11.1 pg/ml (reference 9 - 26). Additionally, I had one reading several years ago in which my GP considered low and referred me to a urologist. When my levels came back at 493 and 9, the urologist I was referred to told me what I was likely experience was due to the stress of school..

Honestly, with how I feel, I see no way I am going to be able to carry on like this long term. I literally feel sick all day and the last three years have been terrible. Do these levels seem low and resemble the symptoms of low T? I have heard slep apnea could potentially be causing my symptoms, so I am considering doing a sleep study as well.

I am 6'2'', 210 pounds, well balanced diet, have a routine sleep schedule, and have a relatively low stress job. Never taken steroids or prohormone. I currently supplement with fish oil, a multi-vitamin, vitamin D, vitamin B12, and creatine on occasion.



looking forward to responses.

Thanks
 
Wow. I'm in nearly the exact same boat as you. Same symptoms, same age, treated with anti-depressants, although my t levels are about 100ng/dl lower than yours. It sucks feeling like this. I joined this forum for the exact same advice, so hopefully someone can help.
 
Futbol, sorry to hear you are not feeling well.

I really wish I could tell you that raising your testosterone levels would solve all your problems. The truth is, being at 500 for your age is not that far off from what is normal. Here is a chart that shows normal ranges by age.

View attachment 554551

What time of the day did you have your labs taken? If it wasn't first thing in the morning after waking up that can lower your Total Testosterone (TT) levels. Your TT naturally decreases throughout the day. It is the highest in the morning and is when you want it measured.

You mentioned sleep apnea. You absolutely should have a sleep study done as soon as possible. Sleep Apnea can cause many, if not all, of the symptoms you described.

You should also get your thyroid checked which can cause many of those symptoms as well. Make sure you get a full thyroid panel -- not just TSH.

Are you exercising regularly? That can help a lot with depression and general sense of wellness.

As for ED, have you tried taking Cialis? Living with that would be enough to depress any man. You should get your Prolactin and Estradiol levels checked out too. These can both affect your erections and sense of well being if they are too high or too low.

Like I said, I wish I could give you a different answer. I know you are just looking for answers to your problems. But above are some things you can do and check into.

Finally, are you working with a psychologist to address your depression? You shouldn't rely on medications alone.
 
Megatron,

Thanks for the reply, unfortunately, I have seen a psychologist, made no progress, and have no deep seeded issues causing the depression. There is something simply off that is causing my depression. Had the thyroid checked and that came back normal. I am against using cialis as I want to get to the root of what is causing the ED rather than simply coverng it up. Yeah, my penis doesn't work and I have zero libido, this is frustrating for my age with the addition to being attractive and having no problem getting a girl. This is not psychological, the ability to get an erection is not psychological for me, it just simply doesnt happen. Things down there are dead. I will look into possible other diagnosis. How about the free test, does that seem low? I will have the doc test again for prolactin and others mentioned in your post.

I should add I exercise around 5 days a week with a healthy balance of cardio and weight training. Psychologist useless, there is nothing causing my negative feelings. I have a great job, run my own company (passive income to supplement my job and low stress), have a ton of friends, I just overall feel like shit)

Thanks

P.S - those graphs done make much since to me based off what I have read about the trend of testosterone with age, not arguing that this is my problem. What are the sources of these graphs?
 
Last edited:
Megatron28 said:
Futbol, sorry to hear you are not feeling well.

I really wish I could tell you that raising your testosterone levels would solve all your problems. The truth is, being at 500 for your age is not that far off from what is normal. Here is a chart that shows normal ranges by age.

View attachment 554551

What time of the day did you have your labs taken? If it wasn't first thing in the morning after waking up that can lower your Total Testosterone (TT) levels. Your TT naturally decreases throughout the day. It is the highest in the morning and is when you want it measured.

You mentioned sleep apnea. You absolutely should have a sleep study done as soon as possible. Sleep Apnea can cause many, if not all, of the symptoms you described.

You should also get your thyroid checked which can cause many of those symptoms as well. Make sure you get a full thyroid panel -- not just TSH.

Are you exercising regularly? That can help a lot with depression and general sense of wellness.

As for ED, have you tried taking Cialis? Living with that would be enough to depress any man. You should get your Prolactin and Estradiol levels checked out too. These can both affect your erections and sense of well being if they are too high or too low.

Like I said, I wish I could give you a different answer. I know you are just looking for answers to your problems. But above are some things you can do and check into.

Finally, are you working with a psychologist to address your depression? You shouldn't rely on medications alone.
Click to expand...


OP this is solid advice, Megatron is one of the few go to's on this forum for testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) advice. It is easy to get into the mindset that testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) will solve all of your problems, but as Megatron stated you are not that off from what is considered the average for your age. You could indeed be suffering from low T symptoms since your TT is below average but there are many things that could be causing the low T that can be corrected without a life long commitment to testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) treatment.

Get the tests that Megatron has mentioned, the sleep apnea in itself is enough to push your TT level down, getting that corrected if you have it can make a world of difference.


Best of luck to you!
 
futbolplayer said:
Not arguing just concerned. I will find the exact number for what I believed to be average for my age as well as the source.
Click to expand...

We know. We are all here to help each other and learn. You may have information some of us are not aware of through your research.

Oh... You never answered what time of the day the TT lab was taken.
 
Sorry, going to get you all this information. That particular result was taken at 4:00pm in the afternoon. I went to my doctor this morning and had more blood work done. I don't have the number for my thyroid at the moment but it did come back normal. I also had a test done two years ago, which my doctor gave me the results today that I have forgotten. Free test was 271 ng/dl and total test was 7.1 pg/ml. I will see what the results of this test are in a couple days.

Recap of symptoms:
-no libido
-erectile dysfunction (no morning or nighttime erections)
-fatigue
-poor concentration and memory
-deep/intense depression

I will also find the average results for a male in his mid-twenties and its source that I had read online. Gimme a bit on that..
 
Have you checked your LH and FSH?

Can you post your FULL lab results with normal ranges? That would help a lot.

Oh, and again, one thyroid test does not make for a full thyroid panel. Sounds like you only had TSH tested.
 
I was not given these and will not know them until end of November. Doesn't the free testosterone seem low though? Eh, I just talked to the office and they told me everything was in range and trt doesnt make sense. Why do I have no sex drive, no morning or night time erections, deep depression, fatigue, and general apathy toward everything. Any other idea of causes?
 
As my levels are low and I continue to feel like complete crap, I have gone ahead and ordered some clomid to begin treating this. I will keep everyone posted on the results. Hopefully, once I get an educated doctor, he be willing to treat under medical supervision.
 
Blood Work Full Panel

Total Testosterone 474 ng/Dl [280-1000]
Free Testosterone 11.4 pg/ml [8.7 - 55.0]

LH 4.5 mIU/ml [2.0 - 12.0]
FSH 3.1 mIU/ml [1.0 - 12.00]

Prolactin 13.5 ng/ml [1.6 - 18.8]

Cholestrol 129 mg/DL [100-119]

TSH 3.69 mcIU/mL [.32 - 5.00]

vit D 28 ng/DL [30 - 100] "LOW"

Thank you and looking forward to responses
 
futbolplayer said:
Total Testosterone 474 ng/Dl [280-1000]
Free Testosterone 11.4 pg/ml [8.7 - 55.0]

LH 4.5 mIU/ml [2.0 - 12.0]
FSH 3.1 mIU/ml [1.0 - 12.00]

Prolactin 13.5 ng/ml [1.6 - 18.8]

Cholestrol 129 mg/DL [100-119]

TSH 3.69 mcIU/mL [.32 - 5.00]

vit D 28 ng/DL [30 - 100] "LOW"

Thank you and looking forward to responses
Click to expand...



Looking at what you have posted I would say that you are not low, yes you may be on the lower side of the scale but I think you will be very hard pressed to find any doctor to put you on TRT with those levels.


You can supplement Vit D to get you back into range and your Cholestrol can get back in range with a better diet.

Best of luck to you!
 
You are in hypothyroid range since you are above 3.0. Labs don't report the correct normal range for TSH. You need to get a full thyroid panel run and consult with an enocrinologist. Being hypothyroid can definitely impact your testosterone.

If you are not supplementing vitamin D, you need to start. 10,000 iu's per day gets me up to 88.

Total cholesterol is not very useful. You need to run a lipid panel that also has LDL, HDL and Triglycerides.

Address your thyroid and see if that helps your testosterone. Get a sleep study done too if you have not already.
 
You are not really Low in T Futbolplayer..but for your age it is not great.
You might benefit from Clomid EOD 50 mg and see what that does for you.
def. sleep study.
 
thanks for all the advice. I had previous bloodwork where my tsh came back at 1.4, I don't know why it would be so high this time. I have scheduled a sleep study and am hoping something can be found there. my biggest issues are a lack of sex drive, impotence, no morning erections, no nighttime erections, low libido, depressed mood, fatigue and low energy. I have started to supplement vitamin D at 3,000 ui a day. My urologist told me I had secondary hypogonadism and recommended clomid to raise the testosterone but said it would do nothing for my lack of erections or ed? He told me I needed to see a sex therapist because I was the issue? I never had any issues with my libido until over time it just stopped working. I do not think a sex therapist would be useful. Thoughts? Thanks everyone!
 
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