High Cortisol, Low Testosterone - 31 Year Old Male - (Levels and Lab Ranges Included)

[Next Level]

Hi Everyone,

Hope you're all having a great night.

I'll give a brief synopsis of my situation:

• I have never used AAS before but have been working out and been diligent with nutrition for 10 years (currently 6' at 185 lbs - started at 140 lbs)
• Have had a number of low Testosterone results in the last year ranging from 288-357 ng/dL (lab range 350-900 ng/dL
• I'm a 31 year old male
• I recently got some results for Estradiol (1.8 pg/mL - lab range is 0.80-6.6 pg/mL)
• I recently got some results for DHEAS (9.1 ng/mL - lab range 4.0-15 ng/mL)
• I Recently got some results for cortisol which was at the high end of the range (9.4 ng/mL - lab range 2.0-11 ng/mL)

I've developed some abdominal fat even with a calorie restricted diet in the last year and believe it is tied to high cortisol and low testosterone. I was actually getting pre-cycle blood work done when I discovered the low natural testosterone and was not too surprised. Given how difficult is has been for me to put on muscle and maintain low body fat levels - particularly in the mid section.

Any insight into how to lower cortisol and if that may be having an effect on my testosterone levels and maybe what to do about it?

The more I research the endocrine system, the more I realize how interconnected these hormones all are.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Austinite]

Cortisol is absolutely related to low T. What time of day exactly did you have blood drawn?

 

[DreDay187]

Cortisol is absolutely related to low T. What time of day exactly did you have blood drawn?

^^^this is important. The time of day could significantly lower your serum levels and put you well into the normal range, again depending on the time the sample was taken.

 

[Alpin]

It's advised you go as early as possible for blood work on T.
I'm in the same range as you and have the same problems.
Get a sleep study done. I had severe sleep apnea.
I'm also Playing between 265-388 ng/dl of Total T.
There's more stuff your doc needs to check, like: SHBG, LH, FSH, Prolactin....
helps to see all of this stuff...gives a better picture for a proper diagnosis.
High SHBG can lower bio available T

 

[Next Level]

Cortisol is absolutely related to low T. What time of day exactly did you have blood drawn?

@Austinite - Good question, it was actually a saliva test ordered by a naturopath; collected first thing in the morning prior to me eating - I'm currently waiting to see a endocrinologist, I have an appointment in October. Always love your profile pics and insight in virtually every thread on this site. That and you take the time to write coherent, punctual and grammatically sound sentences.

It's advised you go as early as possible for blood work on T.
I'm in the same range as you and have the same problems.
Get a sleep study done. I had severe sleep apnea.
I'm also Playing between 265-388 ng/dl of Total T.
There's more stuff your doc needs to check, like: SHBG, LH, FSH, Prolactin....
helps to see all of this stuff...gives a better picture for a proper diagnosis.
High SHBG can lower bio available T

@APOLLON -I have some recent results that test many of the above (these are blood tests):

Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHGB)
Me: 19.5 nmol/L
Range: 10.0-70.0 nmol/L

TSH
Me: 2.3 mU/L
Range: 0.27-4.2 mU/L

Don't have Prolactin or LH results unfortunately. I am scheduled for a Bio Available Testosterone test in Sept though prior to seeing the Endocrinologist. Thanks for the insight and suggestion. I've been waiting to see an Endo for months. It's like torture waiting to get this sorted out before my first cycle (standard 500mg/wk Test E pinned twice a week for 12 weeks with an Aromatase inhibitor (AI) (likely adex), and Nolva and Clomid PCT). One school of thought is to do the cycle and if I don't recover, I would have ended up on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) anyway. The path I've chosen is to wait for 4+ months to see an Endo and see what he says, maybe get may natural test back up to an average level before I cycle. Wish I would have looked into Low T earlier as I have a sneaking suspicion that my T levels may have been low for years. High cortisol is an interesting addition as well.

 

[Austinite]

Thanks for the kind words, Next Level.

This is interesting. Cortisol fluctuations are in approximately 3 to 4 hour waves. Generally higher in the morning, a decent drop around noon and steadily declines as you get into later hours of the night. So your results are in fact, not bad at all. However, cortisol is also very difficult to monitor. Blood draw would have yielded a different result.

One of the possible tests is a 24 hour urinalysis which measures cortisol metabolites in total. Also common, is an Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) test. This will provide your serum cortisol in response to Cortrosyn, which is what is used to determine either primary or secondary deficiency. Primary would yield attention to your adrenal glands for lack of hormone secretion. Secondary would yield attention to the pituitary gland, which in this case, would not be signaling properly.

I'm a secondary, so I have issues at the pituitary myself. My cortisol levels drop, as they should around noon. However, the drop is dangerously drastic to the point that I pass out without medication. I've lost a job because of this.

Anyway, back to you...

A complete thyroid panel would also be in your best interest as that also could be a culprit. Although your TSH is in range, there could be other issues, such as iodine deficiency, which would cause the thyroid gland to slow production, even in the presence of TSH. Naturally low T is often a "chase" until you can narrow it down. But hopefully this will help get you started.

Keep us posted please, I'm interested in the outcome here. As far as supplements, yes, you can use supplements to manipulate cortisol, however, I wouldn't advise doing so until you find out the cause.

 

[Alpin]

@Austinite - Good question, it was actually a saliva test ordered by a naturopath; collected first thing in the morning prior to me eating - I'm currently waiting to see a endocrinologist, I have an appointment in October. Always love your profile pics and insight in virtually every thread on this site. That and you take the time to write coherent, punctual and grammatically sound sentences.



@APOLLON -I have some recent results that test many of the above (these are blood tests):

Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHGB)
Me: 19.5 nmol/L
Range: 10.0-70.0 nmol/L

TSH
Me: 2.3 mU/L
Range: 0.27-4.2 mU/L

Don't have Prolactin or LH results unfortunately. I am scheduled for a Bio Available Testosterone test in Sept though prior to seeing the Endocrinologist. Thanks for the insight and suggestion. I've been waiting to see an Endo for months. It's like torture waiting to get this sorted out before my first cycle (standard 500mg/wk Test E pinned twice a week for 12 weeks with an Aromatase inhibitor (AI) (likely adex), and Nolva and Clomid PCT). One school of thought is to do the cycle and if I don't recover, I would have ended up on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) anyway. The path I've chosen is to wait for 4+ months to see an Endo and see what he says, maybe get may natural test back up to an average level before I cycle. Wish I would have looked into Low T earlier as I have a sneaking suspicion that my T levels may have been low for years. High cortisol is an interesting addition as well.

That SHBG you have is a good level. I too am on the low end.
Go to my blood work that was posted and you will see how similar we are (on paper at least)
Look into your vitamin D levels too!
If you are low, daily D3 supps will help you with some slight T increase and also keeps SHBG from climbing.

 

[Next Level]

@Austinite - thanks for the insight, I always appreciate your perspective. I will update this thread when I know more

@APOLLON - had a look at your bloodwork and we have a lot in common on paper for sure. Have you ever cycled before? What is your current strategy or plan?

 

[Alpin]

@Austinite - thanks for the insight, I always appreciate your perspective. I will update this thread when I know more

@APOLLON - had a look at your bloodwork and we have a lot in common on paper for sure. Have you ever cycled before? What is your current strategy or plan?

I cycled once 10 years ago...
Took testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) 5 years later(for 2.5 years) and stopped it last year in June 2012
My case was fucked bro...I had severe sleep apnea and I went into a testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) clinic with 582-663 ng/dl of Total T levels and the slob there told me it was not optimum for my age...
If I had sleep therapy back then...I wouldn't be in this fucking mess today.

 

[Next Level]

I cycled once 10 years ago...
Took testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) 5 years later(for 2.5 years) and stopped it last year in June 2012
My case was fucked bro...I had severe sleep apnea and I went into a testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) clinic with 582-663 ng/dl of Total T levels and the slob there told me it was not optimum for my age...
If I had sleep therapy back then...I wouldn't be in this fucking mess today.

That sucks buddy. At least you're in a great place for knowledge, Austinite and Halfwit especially. I just got my most recent Testosterone results back, they're below:

Testosterone: 14.8 Lab Range: 8.4-28.8 nmol/L

Testosterone Free Calculated: 426 Lab Range: 170-630 pmol/L

Testosterone Bioavailable Calculated: 10.0 Lab Range: 4.7-15.0 nmol/L

Sex Hormone Binding Globulin: 23.7 Lab Range: 10.0-70.0 nmol/L


Any insight into how risky it would be doing my first cycle (Test E 500mg/wk, Aromatase inhibitor (AI), post cycle therapy (pct), maybe HCG) in the next few months?