Advice on low test level

[tje77]

Hey Guys- I'll start by saying that I'll be 36 next month and have been feeling many symptoms of low T, I think we all know these by now. I took a visit to my GP and the first thing he suggested was to put me on an anti-depressant. He did order blood work which included a full workup including total T. My results came back which I checked online. My T was exactly what I expected, 285 ng/dl...........way low. I haven't had my follow up yet but I want to be ready to battle my case if need be, especially if he says that is normal. My Dr young and I think he will at least hear me out. I feel I've been living with the sides of low T for many years already and now as I'm getting older I see the effects on my life both personal and professional. I really feel I'm at a point where something has to happen. I can't bear to think of how I will feel in 4 years when I reach 40.

Advice,Comments, Suggestions appreciated.

Thanks
tje

 

[Daniel_IMT_Staff]

Anti depressant for depression caused by low testosterone... Damn doctors, get comprehensive testing done and have an experienced doc take a look so that causation can be established and then treated with the proper medication. Good luck

 

[Megatron28]

I remember before getting diagnosed with Low T that I asked myself if I was depressed. I thought about it for a minute and realized I was most definitely not depressed. I was just constantly tired. I am sure most guys on this website have asked themselves that at one point as they were trying to figure out what was going on with them.

Any other lab results that you can share? Most likely you will have to repeat the Total T test to confirm the result and get some additional tests done depending on what was run initially.

Total T of 285 is low for your age. You are a candidate for testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) unless they can figure out what is causing it and remedy that. But that is often hard to do.

If you go on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), most guys here will recommend that you ask for injections over gels/creams. They are cheaper and more effective. And no risk of transfer to your kids or wife/girlfriend.

 

[tje77]

Some of the tests:


Component Your Value Standard Range Units Flag
BUN 17 6 - 20 mg/dL
CREATININE 1.1 0.6 - 1.2 mg/dL
GFR should be used to assess renal function. Plasma/Serum creatinine may not
be able to properly reflect renal function in some cases.
GFR ESTIMATED >60.0 >60 mL/min
SODIUM 145 135 - 146 mmol/L
POTASSIUM 4.6 3.5 - 5.1 mmol/L
CHLORIDE 106 98 - 111 mmol/L
CO2 31 22 - 32 mmol/L
ANION GAP 8 7 - 15 mmol/L
GLUCOSE 103 70 - 120 mg/dL
ALBUMIN 4.6 3.8 - 5.0 g/dL
AST 23 10 - 50 U/L
ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE 61 0 - 153 U/L
BILIRUBIN, TOTAL 0.4 0.3 - 1.3 mg/dL
CALCIUM 9.6 8.3 - 10.5 mg/dL
PROTEIN 6.4 6.0 - 8.3 g/dL
ALT 28 10 - 50 U/L

WBC 4.63 4.00 - 10.80 K/uL
RBC 4.99 4.50 - 5.25 M/uL
HGB 15.1 14.0 - 16.5 g/dL
HCT 43.4 40.0 - 47.0 %
MCV 87.0 82.0 - 99.5 fL
MCH 30.3 27.0 - 34.0 pg
MCHC 34.8 32.0 - 36.0 g/dL
RDW 12.6 11.5 - 15.5 %
PLATELET COUNT 213 140 - 400 K/uL
MPV 9.7 6.6 - 11.1 fL

TSH 1.98 0.27 - 4.2 uIU/mL

FOLIC ACID 14.8 4.2 - 19.9 ng/mL

VITAMIN B12 882 211 - 946 pg/mL

HOURS FASTING 12 hours
TRIGLYCERIDES 141 <200 mg/dL
TRIGLYCERIDE REFERENCE RANGES (mg/dL)
______________________________
<150 NORMAL
150-199 BORDERLINE HIGH
200-499 HIGH
>499 VERY HIGH
CHOLESTEROL 234 <200 mg/dL H
TOTAL CHOLESTEROL REFERENCE RANGES(mg/dL)
______________________________
<200 DESIRABLE
200-239 BORDERLINE HIGH
>239 HIGH
HDL 56 >39 mg/dL
HDL CHOLESTEROL REFERENCE RANGES(mg/dL)
______________________________
<40 LOW(UNDESIRABLE)
>59 HIGH(DESIRABLE)
CHOL/HDL RATIO 4.2
LDL (CALCULATED) 150 0 - 129 mg/dL H
LDL CHOLESTEROL REFERENCE RANGES(mg/dL)
______________________________
<100 OPTIMAL GOAL FOR HIGH RISK PATIENTS
100-129 NEAR OR ABOVE NORMAL
130-159 BORDERLINE HIGH
160-189 HIGH
>189 VERY HIGH

Seems my cholesterol is a bit high which does not make much sense since starting some time in 2008 I made some serious changes. I began exercising religiously and eating whole foods almost entirely. Absolutely NO fast food, just the occasional Pizza on a Friday night.

I want nothing to do with a gel just for the fact i have two young boys and they are always climbing all over Dad. As long as my Dr recognizes my symptoms and links it to the obvious low T then I should be on the path to a better life.

 

[Megatron28]

You need to recheck your Total Test again - make sure you do it first thing in the morning. Look at your LH and FSH to help determine if you have primary or secondary hypogonadism. Check your Prolactin. May not be bad to throw in an Estradiol lab too. And check your Vitamin D. This should give you a good baseline for going into testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) if it becomes necessary.

A big percentage of cholesterol is genetic. Diet only plays a part in it. Eating lots of Fiber helps, but it is hard to get 20 grams or more of soluble fiber a day. Not to mention the side effects it causes in the bathroom. You might want to just get on some cholesterol meds now rather than waiting for it to get worse. Get your LDL down.

 

[tje77]

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate your opinion. My blood test was done at 8 am, I had the first appointment of the day. Considering reading other logs and blogs throughout the day my test could drop almost 13% is almost hard to believe.
I'll take your advice to the Dr on my next appointment. I'm sure he'll want to talk to me regarding the low test and high cholesterol.

Thanks Again!!
tje

 

[halfwit]

Low testosterone can also elevate cholesterol levels as that's what our body uses to make test. Definitely agree with Megatron in getting more tests done. With that said, I was SEVERELY depressed but didn't know it as I had learned to live with the way I was feeling for several years. As long as you mention to your doctor that you just want to FEEL BETTER and don't mention ANYTHING about muscles/fitness/weight loss/body composition, you'll be fine if they're younger. Worst case, you can always find a new doc if this one continues to try to put bandaids on a gunshot wound.

My .02c

 

[Sedg1]

Anti depressant for depression caused by low testosterone... Damn doctors, get comprehensive testing done and have an experienced doc take a look so that causation can be established and then treated with the proper medication. Good luck

+1

It pisses me off, more and more, to think of the number of guys who have been diagnosed with clinical depression, and are treated for it, when the root cause is not a serotonin imbalance but a testosterone one. Much in western medicine is two dimensional, symptom-driven care.I had to suggest the T test to my doc and then request a referral to a urologist who is a very good guy and advocate for this kind of care. Though I think it was my low bone density that was the "go-to" issue for him, rather than the "existential" ones that really matter day to day.
And beyond that there is the whole "steroid" thing that we have to deal with. "Yes, I am taking testosterone, but I am not a juice-monkey."
Perhaps, in time, the stigma will fade, primary care providers will tune into this condition and write fewer scripts for happy pills for those who are really suffering from hormonal deficits.

 

[halfwit]

+1

It pisses me off, more and more, to think of the number of guys who have been diagnosed with clinical depression, and are treated for it, when the root cause is not a serotonin imbalance but a testosterone one. Much in western medicine is two dimensional, symptom-driven care.I had to suggest the T test to my doc and then request a referral to a urologist who is a very good guy and advocate for this kind of care. Though I think it was my low bone density that was the "go-to" issue for him, rather than the "existential" ones that really matter day to day.
And beyond that there is the whole "steroid" thing that we have to deal with. "Yes, I am taking testosterone, but I am not a juice-monkey."
Perhaps, in time, the stigma will fade, primary care providers will tune into this condition and write fewer scripts for happy pills for those who are really suffering from hormonal deficits.

Maybe if big pharma can find a way to make testosterone replacement more profitable. I've never seen a Watson or Paddock labs rep at my doctor's office, but you can bet your ass that the Eli Lilly/Sandoz/etc are in there pushing the latest and greatest on them. This is probably why the gawd-awful pellet and patch/gel/creams are starting to become more prevalent - they can patent those.

 

[tje77]

** Update-
I finally got a call back from my Dr and he said that everything is within normal range. So having a test level of 285 for a 36 year old is NORMAL. I asked him if he thought my side effects were related to the low test and he said no. I feel like shit and thought I was on track to getting better and now I feel even worse knowing that I'm back to square 1. I have no idea where to turn now. I'm in Northeast Pa and have no idea what to do.

Thanks in advance for any help.

tje

 

[tje77]

** Update-
I finally got a call back from my Dr and he said that everything is within normal range. So having a test level of 285 for a 36 year old is NORMAL. I asked him if he thought my side effects were related to the low test and he said no. I feel like shit and thought I was on track to getting better and now I feel even worse knowing that I'm back to square 1. I have no idea where to turn now. I'm in Northeast Pa and have no idea what to do.

Thanks in advance for any help.

tje

Not to mention he said he wouldn't want to do any replacement due to side effects of heart attack!!

 

[halfwit]

Not to mention he said he wouldn't want to do any replacement due to side effects of heart attack!!

Congratulations, you have just discovered that a half-million dollars in education does not necessarily guarantee that person will be intelligent or well versed in their profession! Time to fire this bozo and move on to someone that understands male hormones. Heart attack my ass. Low testosterone has been clinically proven to kill you, not the other way around! If money isn't an issue, I'd give the guys here at IMT a call. Screw messing with docs that don't know the difference between their ass and a hole in the ground.

My .02c