First Clinic Appointment This Week - Advice Appreciated

[Savage Tenacity]

What’s up All,

It’s been a while since I posted on this forum. I use to be a bit more active, however, as I’ve got a bit older and busier, I kinda fell off with logging in.

I hope everyone is well. I recently got my blood work done as I had messed around with anabolics in my early 20s and have since not touched any for about 5 years. I’m 30 now.

Anyhow, in getting my bloodwork checked (which I hadn’t done previously for money and insurance purposes) I saw I’m mostly healthy, but I’m low on vitamin D, IGF-1 is low for my age (about 60 ng/ml below the minimum of the optimal range), and my LH is pretty low. My test while falling into normal range, is also low for my age (315)

Obviously I feel a bit more tired these days. Fatigued easier. Insurance and money aren’t as much of an issue as they once were. I still workout but I’m not obsessed like I use to be. I just want optimal health, to feel good, and have the ability to have kids in maybe 3-5 years time.

I imagine my doc is going to want to get me started on some hgh, maybe test, and hcg. Considering my low levels, what would y’all do in my position? My goals are literally to just have some more energy day to day, and be as close to optimal health levels as I can be. I’m in no rush for kids but I would like the ability to have them down the line.
I workout 4-5 times a week and all things considered still keep a decent physique/strength. I’m 5’11 about 195ish and at present, probably about 15% body fat as I’ve been bulking (dirty style of course) during the holidays. Can pull around 500, probably a bit under at present, bench 315, squat I just train for volume never going above 315 for reps.

I was tested on about 60 different things and everything was fine except what was outlined. Any info/opinions/insight would be much appreciated guys.

Thanks,
Savage

 

[Nicky_eye_lids]

LH, FSH, estrogen, prolactin numbers would be good to see.
which panel did you get done when you did your last blood labs?
can you post that for us to have a look at?

 

[Savage Tenacity]

Hey Nicky, thanks for the reply.

There were multiple panels selected on the chain of custody form ordered by the doctor, however, FSH, prolactin don’t appear to be apart. The LH was low though. Under 1. ESTRADIOL was ran it came back 32 pg/ml.

I can try to see if I can get the full form uploaded. IGF-1 was tested. SHBG. Testosterone IA. T3. Lipids. Vitamins. Few others.

 

[Nicky_eye_lids]

Hey Nicky, thanks for the reply.

There were multiple panels selected on the chain of custody form ordered by the doctor, however, FSH, prolactin don***8217;t appear to be apart. The LH was low though. Under 1. ESTRADIOL was ran it came back 32 pg/ml.

I can try to see if I can get the full form uploaded. IGF-1 was tested. SHBG. Testosterone IA. T3. Lipids. Vitamins. Few others.

Cool, looking forward to seeing them. thanks!

 

[Savage Tenacity]

Hey Nicky,

I’m having trouble uploading. My test consisted of the following:
CBC
DHEA Sulfate
Estradiol
IGF-1
LH
Lipid Panel
PSA Total
SHBG
T3 Free
Testosterone Male IA
Vitamin D

I can tell you where I came in on any of the above. I’m assuming more information might be needed for you to be a suggestion. My test being low at just age 30, LH being sub 1, and IGF 1 being 131 all has me a bit uneasy.

With my goals in mind of just trying to get to an eventual place of not having to use anything, what would you do? I’m not opposed to anything at present, but my goal would be to eventually be able to be in normal levels if possible without supplementation.

 

[Savage Tenacity]

Bump for any other additional suggestions. Do I do TRT short term until I wish to have kids? Just incorporate HCG? Do I incorporate growth hormone therapy for the low IGF-1? Again, goals are just to have energy, feel good, have kids in 3-5 years.

Currently I feel decent until about 6PM and then have a major drop off. Working out past this time becomes difficult

 

[Nicky_eye_lids]

Hey Nicky,

I***8217;m having trouble uploading. My test consisted of the following:
CBC
DHEA Sulfate
Estradiol
IGF-1
LH
Lipid Panel
PSA Total
SHBG
T3 Free
Testosterone Male IA
Vitamin D

I can tell you where I came in on any of the above. I***8217;m assuming more information might be needed for you to be a suggestion. My test being low at just age 30, LH being sub 1, and IGF 1 being 131 all has me a bit uneasy.

With my goals in mind of just trying to get to an eventual place of not having to use anything, what would you do? I***8217;m not opposed to anything at present, but my goal would be to eventually be able to be in normal levels if possible without supplementation.

what about the numbers?its easy to upload an image here, just blot out the sensitive personal info.

 

[Megatron28]

I agree that it would be nice to see all of your numbers. Sometimes even though things fall in the normal range (like your total testosterone) they help paint a picture.

But on the surface your total testosterone appears pretty low. The low LH points towards Secondary Hypogonadism. I think the next step is running more labs and going over your medical history with your doctor to see if you can identify a cause. Often you can't, but it is worth investigating before getting on TRT for the rest of your life. So talk about things like sleep apnea for example. Check your prolactin. Drug use or alcohol consumption. Head trauma. Etc. Below in my signature is a link to a FAQs thread that has info on TRT.

You would not have to come off TRT to have kids. If you are currently fertile, taking hCG while on TRT should maintain your fertility. Some docs think you have to come off TRT to have a baby, but we see guys on TRT and cycles slipping one past the goalie all the time.

I doubt a doctor will prescribe you HGH. They just don't like doing that unless you fall within some pretty strict conditions. But it doesn't hurt to ask about it and get it tested.

 

[Savage Tenacity]

Hey Fellas,

I appreciate the response. I consulted with my doctor today. We’re taking a conservative long term approach. Gonna just hop on some hcg for the next couple of months and see how that impacts the labs. We’re trying to avoid TRT as I’m just not ready to make that commitment so young. Our hope is to get my T back up naturally to 700-800. Doc said with where my LH is, I’m completely shut down and it’s pretty surprising that my T isn’t even lower. He said he’s pretty confident we can restore natural levels through HCG.

I’ll try to keep everyone posted with how the HCG therapy goes and on my second round of labs. No HGH prescribed although they were open to peptide therapy if I wanted to proceed in that direction. Doctor didn’t think it made a lot of sense financially considering my age and my goals, but it’s something we’ll reconsider after a couple months when I’m reassessing how I feel.

Thanks for the input fellas.

 

[casanovaaa]

Hey Fellas,

I appreciate the response. I consulted with my doctor today. We***8217;re taking a conservative long term approach. Gonna just hop on some hcg for the next couple of months and see how that impacts the labs. We***8217;re trying to avoid TRT as I***8217;m just not ready to make that commitment so young. Our hope is to get my T back up naturally to 700-800. Doc said with where my LH is, I***8217;m completely shut down and it***8217;s pretty surprising that my T isn***8217;t even lower. He said he***8217;s pretty confident we can restore natural levels through HCG.

I***8217;ll try to keep everyone posted with how the HCG therapy goes and on my second round of labs. No HGH prescribed although they were open to peptide therapy if I wanted to proceed in that direction. Doctor didn***8217;t think it made a lot of sense financially considering my age and my goals, but it***8217;s something we***8217;ll reconsider after a couple months when I***8217;m reassessing how I feel.

Thanks for the input fellas.

good for you and i hope it works out well for you so you can reach your goals. looking forward to your updates.

 

[LateStart]

Hey bro. I used to say this a lot when I was more active on here but in your position I would try clomid and see how it goes for your test levels. Many people I know have had success with nothing more than clomid. Raising their natty test levels by up to 50%
For me personally, I tried it before I ever used hormones and raised my levels from 550 up to 875 or so. This raises your LH and FSH and will not negatively impact fertility. This is obviously not getting anywhere near above high levels and will have little or no effect on your muscle mass......but it could possibly get you back in range while maintaining and even enhancing fertility for the future.
Do some research on it and see what ya think. Good luck bro

 

[Savage Tenacity]

@casanovaaa appreciate it man. I’m going to keep everyone posted. Hopefully if I can get right it’ll help some others out.

 

[Savage Tenacity]

@LateStart thanks for the input man. I’m going to dive into some research tonight on clomid studies and see pros / cons. The doc did mention we could go that route too, he’s able to prescribe upon request.

 

[Megatron28]

I agree with giving clomid a go first unless it has been determined that you have severe testicular atrophy or some other issue with them that needs to be remedied with hCG.

HCG is going to help restore testicular function as it mimics LH. But hCG is suppressive to the HPTA. In other words, your Pituitary is going to put out less LH because your body already has enough of it.

Having Secondary Hypogonadism it seems like your problem starts with the pituitary. So why not work on that with some clomid? Your testicles are probably ready to go. They just need the LH to tell them to get to work. Clomid is going to "trick" your Pituitary into cranking out more LH. And if it doesn't work, you know that it's time for TRT.

I'll throw one other thing out there. You could consider running hCG for about a month and then switching over to clomid. Basically kind of like you would do during PCT.

 

[Double Down]

Hope all goes well with the HCG. If not I would do the TRT ( been on TRT for over 4 years now), had low test for god knows how long before that. They can give you HCG treatments once or twice a year to get your natural sperm count up again ( more frequent if your trying to have kids) TRT has been great for me for mood, sex drive , energy and body comp. good luck