Lab Results Help - TRT Needed?

[ToDie4Test]

Age 36/m. History of PH and mild AAS cycles in my 20s. Should I consider TRT?

Total Testosterone: 534.9 ng/dL
Free Testosterone: 14.2 pg/mL
FSH: 5.3 mIU/mL
LH: 6.3 mIU/mL
TSH: 1.76 uIUmL
SHGB: 32.3 nmol/L

 

[Megatron28]

Nope. Your TT is right where it's is supposed to be.

 

[ToDie4Test]

Nope. Your TT is right where it's is supposed to be.

Thank you

 

[mikelaurey]

Age 36/m. History of PH and mild AAS cycles in my 20s. Should I consider TRT?

Total Testosterone: 534.9 ng/dL
Free Testosterone: 14.2 pg/mL
FSH: 5.3 mIU/mL
LH: 6.3 mIU/mL
TSH: 1.76 uIUmL
SHGB: 32.3 nmol/L

Wow, you are in a good condition!

 

[ToDie4Test]

Wow, you are in a good condition!

Really? Why do you say that?

 

[Nicky_eye_lids]

Really? Why do you say that?

What low testosterone sides are you experiencing? are you on any meds? what about your lifestyle?

 

[ToDie4Test]

What low testosterone sides are you experiencing? are you on any meds? what about your lifestyle?

Fatigue, lower libido, difficulty putting on muscle, etc. I also just assumed I had low T by my age due to irresponsible use of PHs at a young age (late teens) and then AAS use (mid-twenties), although I always followed up with proper PCT after each cycle. I guess I'm a bit surprised by the lab results due to the aforementioned PH/AAS use. I do, however, use a daily natural testosterone booster with zinc, vitamin D, ashwaghanda, etc. (Roman Daily Testosterone Support). I also eat a fairly healthy diet of fish, veggies, occasional red meat, nuts, dark chocolate, and raw garlic.

No meds except topical tretinoin (Retin-A) for my face. Office lifestyle but weight train 3-4x per week and do daily cardio. Not overweight at all.

 

[appleton111]

Megatron said ^^^^^^^^^ that your TT is good and dont need TRT, then perhaps your diet should be looked at. how much junk food and proceesed foods do you eat? what about alcohol use?

 

[Megatron28]

Could be lots of things. Sleep Apnea or some other sleep disorder? Depression. Stress? It wouldn't hurt to try and look at your lifestyle and talk to your doctor so you can try and figure out what's going on. I would also suggest getting off the "Test Booster". They don't do anything other than drain your wallet. And who knows what's in it.

 

[ToDie4Test]

Could be lots of things. Sleep Apnea or some other sleep disorder? Depression. Stress? It wouldn't hurt to try and look at your lifestyle and talk to your doctor so you can try and figure out what's going on. I would also suggest getting off the "Test Booster". They don't do anything other than drain your wallet. And who knows what's in it.

Thanks. Appreciate the advice.

 

[Gossamer]

The guy has multiple low t symptoms, but his total t(the number) looks “fine”, so you’ve concluded that he doesn’t need trt?

Seriously? He has low t symptoms. Doctors are supposed to treat symptoms, not shoot for some “magic number” on a total t scale. I can see it now:

Patient: “Doc, I have constant fatigue, no libido, can no longer gain muscle when I work out. Can you help me alleviate my symptoms?”

Doctor: “No sir. Your total t is “in range”.

ToDie4Test,

Go find a doctor that’ll help treat your low t symptoms. Not everyone feels optimal with 400-500 total t, and free t under 20.

 

[Megatron28]

The guy has multiple low t symptoms, but his total t(the number) looks “fine”, so you’ve concluded that he doesn’t need trt?

Seriously? He has low t symptoms. Doctors are supposed to treat symptoms, not shoot for some “magic number” on a total t scale. I can see it now:

Patient: “Doc, I have constant fatigue, no libido, can no longer gain muscle when I work out. Can you help me alleviate my symptoms?”

Doctor: “No sir. Your total t is “in range”.

ToDie4Test,

Go find a doctor that’ll help treat your low t symptoms. Not everyone feels optimal with 400-500 total t, and free t under 20.

So you can't think of anything else that shares symptoms with Low T?

 

[Gossamer]

So you can't think of anything else that shares symptoms with Low T?

You basically told him that since his total t is in range, and not “low”, then he’s not suffering from low t symptoms.

That’s just irresponsible. You can’t just dismiss the possibility of low t symptoms, just because his number is in some “normal” range.

 

[Megatron28]

You basically told him that since his total t is in range, and not “low”, then he’s not suffering from low t symptoms.

That’s just irresponsible. You can’t just dismiss the possibility of low t symptoms, just because his number is in some “normal” range.

I didn't say he isn't suffering symptoms. I said Low T likely isn't the cause of his symptoms. Big difference.

I think you need to be careful of the old adage that when you have a hammer in your hand, everything looks like a nail.

 

[A.B]

I didn't say he isn't suffering symptoms. I said Low T likely isn't the cause of his symptoms. Big difference.

I think you need to be careful of the old adage that when you have a hammer in your hand, everything looks like a nail.

No kidding

So many other possibilities only blood work will tell

 

[Gossamer]

I didn't say he isn't suffering symptoms. I said Low T likely isn't the cause of his symptoms. Big difference.

I think you need to be careful of the old adage that when you have a hammer in your hand, everything looks like a nail.

He asked, “Should I consider Trt?”

And your answer:
“Nope. Your TT is right where it's is supposed to be.”

 

[Gossamer]

No kidding

So many other possibilities only blood work will tell

What will bloodwork tell? That his tt is around 400, therefore he doesn’t need trt?

 

[Megatron28]

He asked, ***8220;Should I consider Trt?***8221;

And your answer:
***8220;Nope. Your TT is right where it's is supposed to be.***8221;

So you would put someone on TRT just to get him back to the same level that his body is already producing naturally? That's what you would suggest a doctor do in his case? Is exogenous testosterone somehow better than what your body makes itself? And if you are suggesting that a doctor will prescribe enough to give him supraphysiological levels, there just aren't many doctors out there willing to do that. Nor is there any guarantee that would aleve his symptoms.

There are so many other things he could explore to see if they are causing his symptoms. Maybe he has sleep apnea. Maybe he has depression. Maybe it's an adrenal gland problem. And so on. All we know is his hormone levels look good and he has fatigue + low libido + can't build muscle. I would start with checking the easy things rather than putting him on a treatment that he will have to be on for the rest of his life and we don't even know if it would help. Again, not every single ailment in this world is caused by low testosterone. And when you have blood work showing that your hormone levels are fine, I'm inclined to think that the problem lies elsewhere.

 

[Megatron28]

What will bloodwork tell? That his tt is around 400, therefore he doesn***8217;t need trt?

Blood work can screen for things from Cancer to vitamin D deficiency. It does a whole lot more than just check testosterone levels. Blood work along with a medical history and consult can help answer a lot of questions.

P.S. his TT was at 535ng/dl.

 

[Gossamer]

Megatron28 wrote:
“So you would put someone on TRT just to get him back to the same level that his body is already producing naturally? ”
No, of course not. If his symptoms are low T, then he should be given the lowest dose that will alleviate his symptoms. The total t level is irrelevant.

Megatron28 wrote:
“That's what you would suggest a doctor do in his case?”
No, that’s absurd. I’d suggest that a doctor treats the symptoms, not shoot for a level. There’s no one size fits all t level.

Megatron28 wrote:
“Is exogenous testosterone somehow better than what your body makes itself?”

If one's body isn’t making enough T, then of course taking enough exogenous t to alleviate symptoms, is better than naturally low t.

Megatron28 wrote:
“And if you are suggesting that a doctor will prescribe enough to give him supraphysiological levels, there just aren't many doctors out there willing to do that.”

Define “Supraphysiological”.

Remember, I didn’t say his symptoms are from low t. But you did tell him not to go on trt.

You do realize there are outliers on both ends, right? Some people need more t to alleviate all symptoms, than the majority of people on trt.