Low testosterone and don’t know what to do
- Thread starter sanipialo
- Start date
sanipialo
New member
Thanks for the tip on morning temperature. I am going to start a log for that.
The salt I eat is iodized and so is the bread and other products. I looked up what I eat on a daily basis and how much iodine it has and I easily get between the 250 and 400 mcg a day. I am going to see if I can get some iodine only supplements.
I contacted the doctor today and told him about the AACE guidelines of 2002 and he told me those have been changed again and it is no longer 0,3 to 3,0. Plus those are US standard and not that of the EU.
But he has no problem doing additional blood work. I have to go to the lab next week to get my TSH, T4 other thyroid related blood work. He looked into my records and I had done blood work in 2008 and it was 3.12 then. Yet my symptoms have only started in the last half year.
The salt I eat is iodized and so is the bread and other products. I looked up what I eat on a daily basis and how much iodine it has and I easily get between the 250 and 400 mcg a day. I am going to see if I can get some iodine only supplements.
I contacted the doctor today and told him about the AACE guidelines of 2002 and he told me those have been changed again and it is no longer 0,3 to 3,0. Plus those are US standard and not that of the EU.
But he has no problem doing additional blood work. I have to go to the lab next week to get my TSH, T4 other thyroid related blood work. He looked into my records and I had done blood work in 2008 and it was 3.12 then. Yet my symptoms have only started in the last half year.
sanipialo
New member
Thank you.
Looking at the symptoms of hypothyroidism, I don't recognize some.
Weight gain. I have lost a lot of weight, mainly muscle in the last 2 months. No weight gain.
Constipation. No problem with this.
Depression. No depression.
Dry and scaly skin. No dry or scaly skin.
Brittle hair and nails. No problem with this.
I do recognize
Tiredness, slow movements and thoughts, muscle aches and weakness, loss of libido and muscle cramps.
I also does not explain why my sweat no longer smells, mood changes, smaller testicles, ED and why my body hair hardly grows and when it does it is thin. I used to be a horny smelly hairy guy with big balls.
Today I also made an appointment to see an endocrinologist in Belgium as they have a better reputation and track record when it comes to male hormones. But due to the holiday season my appointment is in 6 weeks. On the phone the assistant told me that 299 ng/dl at 10:00 am and 339 ng/dl at 8:30 is still too low for my age and that is why the Dr is willing to see me.
Looking at the symptoms of hypothyroidism, I don't recognize some.
Weight gain. I have lost a lot of weight, mainly muscle in the last 2 months. No weight gain.
Constipation. No problem with this.
Depression. No depression.
Dry and scaly skin. No dry or scaly skin.
Brittle hair and nails. No problem with this.
I do recognize
Tiredness, slow movements and thoughts, muscle aches and weakness, loss of libido and muscle cramps.
I also does not explain why my sweat no longer smells, mood changes, smaller testicles, ED and why my body hair hardly grows and when it does it is thin. I used to be a horny smelly hairy guy with big balls.
Today I also made an appointment to see an endocrinologist in Belgium as they have a better reputation and track record when it comes to male hormones. But due to the holiday season my appointment is in 6 weeks. On the phone the assistant told me that 299 ng/dl at 10:00 am and 339 ng/dl at 8:30 is still too low for my age and that is why the Dr is willing to see me.
Black Beard
@ X450 Gravity
Worst case scenario, you can try self-medicating. Sometimes you need to take things into your own hands. It's up to you. If you feel fine, then don't mess with it. You could experiment though, the thyroid tends to bounce back much more easily than the reproductive system. Speaking of balls, this one study looking at hypo/hyperthyroid and it's effect on sex hormones in rats found that fixing the hypo increased their testes size back to normal. Interesting stuff, endocrinology is fascinating.
Alpin
New member
OP is in Netherlands
Black Beard
@ X450 Gravity
Hard to get stuff there?
sanipialo
New member
The current doctor did not provide me with a referral. This means that I have to pay the Belgium consult and anything that comes out of it myself. The doctor in Belgium has a track record both in research and publications of dealing with hormone problems. He is specialized in hypogonadism, thyroid diseases and osteoporosis. So I think it is worth the money to see someone who knows the subject.
I won't tell the doctor about the smelly horny guy in that way. I will be more diplomatic about it and say that I have noticed a strong decrease libido, body hair and smell plus my other symptoms.
As for doing it myself. I am reserving that as a final option. I have access to Sustanon 250, testosterone patches and Nebido 1000mg per 4ml and as PCT I can get Tamoxifen (Nolvadex). Based on my own research Nebido seems to be the best of the 3 and patches the worst.
Because there is a risk of making my natural testosterone production worse I reserve that for last.
I really want to get rid of this problem as it makes my life very limited due tiredness, mind fogs, low libido and mood. But I don***8217;t want to do something without a doctor monitoring everything. I don***8217;t want to do something that I will regret in the long term. So I will wait for the thyroid results next week and see what the Belgium endocrinologist says in January.
I won't tell the doctor about the smelly horny guy in that way. I will be more diplomatic about it and say that I have noticed a strong decrease libido, body hair and smell plus my other symptoms.
As for doing it myself. I am reserving that as a final option. I have access to Sustanon 250, testosterone patches and Nebido 1000mg per 4ml and as PCT I can get Tamoxifen (Nolvadex). Based on my own research Nebido seems to be the best of the 3 and patches the worst.
Because there is a risk of making my natural testosterone production worse I reserve that for last.
I really want to get rid of this problem as it makes my life very limited due tiredness, mind fogs, low libido and mood. But I don***8217;t want to do something without a doctor monitoring everything. I don***8217;t want to do something that I will regret in the long term. So I will wait for the thyroid results next week and see what the Belgium endocrinologist says in January.
Black Beard
@ X450 Gravity
Leave out the smell part, it makes you sound kind of neurotic and crazy. Last thing you want is this doctor thinking your a quack. As for body hair, the major symptom in regards to thyroid is a thinning of the outer third of your eyebrows. Also, if you are self-treating TRT, it is for life. You most likely won't be doing any PCT you lose your source indefinitely or the apocalypse comes. It's a good idea to have it just in case, but know that the longer you take an exogenous androgen, the less likely your endogenous production will recover. You could end up at 54 ng/dl instead of the 400 ng/dl you have right now, which you might be able to bump up with some lifestyle changes. I can see 700 ng/dl as a possibility with the right lifestyle changes. If you do take it into your own hands, try to optimize your thyroid first. Also, docs are a lot more liberal about treating a thyroid than they are with the demonic, forsaken, testosterone.
I'm seeing a lot of advice stating to find a new doctor. My family doctor and my urologist doesn't seem to be able to do anything because of the insurance companies. I have been to a couple of urologists over the past couple of years and neither one seem to be able to help with the low T issue. So you can understand somebody's "desperation" to find resolution. I"m in the U.S. by the way.
Megatron28
Moderator
I would not let insurance coverage, or lack of, stop you from dong TRT. The treatment is very cheap. You could see your doctor once a year after you get set up on TRT. This could be labeled as a physical exam which most insurance plans cover for free.
The medication is super cheap. If you use Prices, Coupons and Information - GoodRx you can get a 10ml vial of test cyp for about $45. This vial should last you 10-20 weeks on TRT depending on your dosage.
Arimidex generic is really cheap. Something like $15 for 30 pills. If you need an AI, that 30 pills would last most guys about 60 weeks.
hCG as well is pretty cheap if you need it. I can't recall the price though.
If you use Private MD - Buy Lab Tests Online you can get the blood work you need for about $54. You would need more blood work when you first start TRT, but once you get dialed in you could probably get by only doing blood work about twice a year.
So insurance covering your treatment should really not be an obstacle to getting good TRT treatment for hypogonadism.
sanipialo
New member
Get my latest blood results
TSH = 3.16 mU/l and range is 0.400-4.00
Free T4 = 12.6 pmol/l and range is 10.0-24.0
Albumin = 45 g/l and range is 35-50
Prolactin = 142 mU/l and range is 53-360
Based on these number the Dr. sees no reason to look further into hypothyroidism and I agree with him.
All that is left is to see what the Belgium endocrinologist has to say regarding my testosterone being around 10.4 nmol/l (300 ng/dl). I told my current Dr that I am going to Belgium and he said that he would be surprised if a low testosterone is causing my problems as it is within the range of 8 to 28 nmol/l (230 to 800 ng/dl). I will know more in a few weeks.
TSH = 3.16 mU/l and range is 0.400-4.00
Free T4 = 12.6 pmol/l and range is 10.0-24.0
Albumin = 45 g/l and range is 35-50
Prolactin = 142 mU/l and range is 53-360
Based on these number the Dr. sees no reason to look further into hypothyroidism and I agree with him.
All that is left is to see what the Belgium endocrinologist has to say regarding my testosterone being around 10.4 nmol/l (300 ng/dl). I told my current Dr that I am going to Belgium and he said that he would be surprised if a low testosterone is causing my problems as it is within the range of 8 to 28 nmol/l (230 to 800 ng/dl). I will know more in a few weeks.
Megatron28
Moderator
TSH above 3.00 is considered hypothyroidism as we discussed previously. Did you do your own research on this?
sanipialo
New member
I am aware of the post about.com you linked to, but that is dated. I contacted AACE and they did temporarily lower the reference range to 3.0, but their current advise is no longer 3.0 mIU/liter. In fact in their latest Clinical Practice Guidelines for Hypothyroidism they reference >10 mlU/liter as hypothyroidism and 4.5 to 10 mlU/liter as subclinical Hypothyroidism. In both cases I do not have Hypothyroidism.
I also don't have symptoms such as weight gain, depression, dry and scaly skin, brittle hair or nails and many other symptoms and problems associated with hypothyroidism.
There are researchers (such as Spencer CA, Hollowell JG, Kazarosyan M, Wartofsky L and Dickey RA) that would like to lower the reference range to 2.5 mIU/liter as they claim that there is an increased risk for hypothyroidism for people (mostly women) with a TSH higher than 2.5 mlU/liter. Although they are a small minority and an increase risk is not the same as having hypothyroidism.
Most studies that indicate that a TSH of 2.5 - 3.5 mIU/liter or higher can increase the risk of Hypothyroidism talk about pregnant women and elderly women. Not adult men.
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