my new blood work results...what does this mean?

[anderson.bos]

Hello everyone,

I'm back after a one month hiatus. Last time, I was here, you guys told me to post my blood work results, which I did. Then you suggested that I get new blood work done. Here's my new blood test results (Monday of this week). Can anyone see anything here that would cause me to feel fatigue, lack of vigor?

My testosterone went down over the past year, from 695 to 627. Is that significant? My age is 53. Thanks.



vitamin D 25-hydroxy, serum
41 ng/mL 30-100

TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) with reflex FT4
1.94 m/L 0.40-4.50

testosterone, total
627 ng/dL 250-827

magnesium, serum
2.0 mg/dL 1.5-2.5

iron, serum
115 ug/dL 50-180

iron saturation percent, serum
46 % (CALC) 15-60

iron binding capacity, total
251 ug/dL 250-425

hemoglobin, blood
13.5 g/dL 13.2-17.1

Hemoglobin A1c/Hemoglobin.total in Blood
5.9 % OF TOTAL HGB <5.7

GE use only - for LinkLogic import when terms are not otherwise specified
133 mg/dL (calc)

ferritin, serum
276 ng/mL 20-380

B-12, serum
263 pg/mL 200-1100

 

[Megatron28]

All your numbers look good. It is normal for your TT to fluctuate a bit every day. Bei g in the 600's -- especially given your age -- is great! I don't see anything that would cause your symptoms.

Have you gotten a sleep study done?

 

[Alpin]

TT is does not give the whole picture.
As age increases so does SHBG, you should get your Free Test, Estradiol, SHBG, LH, FSH looked at.
Get a sleep study done. Add more B12, Vit D to your diet in the mean time.

 

[anderson.bos]

Megatron:

Yes, I've had sleep studies done a few times in the past 13 years. Currently I have no sleep apnea. I am now taking ambien to counter some long term sleep deprivation problem (decades) of unknown etiology. The ambien does wonders...life changing. Still, I want to tackle any other potential drains on physical/mental energy.

My goal is to resume working out vigorously.

 

[anderson.bos]

TT is does not give the whole picture.
As age increases so does SHBG, you should get your Free Test, Estradiol, SHBG, LH, FSH looked at.
Get a sleep study done. Add more B12, Vit D to your diet in the mean time.

What is SHBG?

Also, I'm already taking a vit D supplment.

How about the iron binding numbers? I noticed that my level's a mere one point above the cut-off point.

 

[Chiefy]

B12 and vitamin D are a low, so you may need to adjust your supplementation accordingly.

Something could be funky with your iron. I'm not exactly sure what it is, but that low TIBC might be worth having your doctor investigate a bit further. The fact that the rest of your iron tests look normal might mean that there's nothing to worry about, but it's odd to see just a low TIBC without any other iron values being off. Not sure what that means, hopefully somebody else can chime in there. Maybe it's simply related to diet and/or your low vit D and B12? I dunno, just a guess.

Your A1c is elevated. Were you fasted at the time of blood draw? It's not insanely high, but it could mean that you're on your way to diabetes. Have you had your blood glucose measured recently/regularly?

 

[Megatron28]

What is SHBG?

Also, I'm already taking a vit D supplment.

How about the iron binding numbers? I noticed that my level's a mere one point above the cut-off point.

Sex Hormone Binding Globulin. Testosterone and Estrogen bind to SHBG and are rendered "useless". The less SHBG you have, the more hormones you will have floating freely in your blood stream which are then available to attach to androgen receptors in target tissue (e.g. muscle and the brain).