Possible low testosterone and in the military need help

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BDTMD

New member
I'm a 34yr old male with no prior steriod or testosterone use. About a year ago I started to get a feeling of fatigue, trouble concentrating at work, loss of sex drive (which could be from just being tired), loss of morning erections (I would get one here or there, but not often). I'm in the military and never asked about testosterone, so they did regular blood work and said I was fine. Finally, last month I asked for Testosterone and here were my levels and the dates of the tests:
May 14- 190 (afternoon test)
May 15- 150 (0730 am)
May 16- 256 (0730) also Albumin 4.8, LH 2.9, SHBG 21.2, PSA .204, prolactin 8.5, Thy Sensitive 1.9, Thy Free 1.24.
May 19- 246
May 20- 249

I then saw a Urologist, but he wanted more tests a few weeks later. These results were
June 03- 385
June 10- 319, Albumin 4.8, SHBG 15.1

When I saw him after these two tests, he said I was healthy and sent me on my way. Not truly satisfied, I had my primary Doc but me in for another Total Testosterone. I'm mainly fatigued after 1230ish, so I took the test at 2:30 pm on June 12th and it was 191.

My thought is that most of my tests are low, two of them in the 300's, but most of my problems kick up in the afternoon. After 1230 (lunch) I have trouble concentrating at work and when I get home I'm exhausted which isn't fair to my wife and 2 kids. I feel like the 190 afternoon readings prove that I could benefit from TRT, but being in the military, i'm not sure how to explain this to my doctor or what I should do. Any thoughts or suggestions would be helpful.
 
The question is how do you feel at those levels of 385 ?
Ever had a sleep study done?
Ever use AAS in the past ?
Your T levels are way too low.
Get Bio Available T dobe at 8 AM and see what it is.
Get restful nights sleep when doing these blood labs.
Are you at a healthy weight ? Bmi?
 
I haven't felt any different. It wasn't like I went in for the blood test thinking "wow I feel great and I'm going to score a 385" I was surprised since I actually slept like crap the night before the 385 test because I got a sleep study done that night. The sleep study came back with no signs of sleep apnea. What is AAS? How do I get bio available done? All my doctor did was put in my albumin, SHBG and Total into a calculator to give me my Free T number. Using my 16MAY test, Free T was 5. The second time I saw him he took the average of 385 and 319 (I think he used 350) along with my albumin 4.8 and he used the SHBG of 15.1 which gave me a 9 Free T which he said was normal and then he said I'm a healthy 34 yr old. I don't buy that, should I? I'm 6'0 200lbs and workout regularly. I could lose some weight, but I'm not out of shape. I lift weights 4 days a week, run about 12 miles a week and also do 1-2 days of circuit training.

Any other help or insight is appreciated.
 
That doc is a dirt bag. Find one that will listen to you. In the u.s. anything lower than 348 ng/dl is hypo. You were below it on many labs and now just hovering above it.
Make sure you get enough zinc in your diet etc.
Not that it will create miracles.
What a loser doc plugged it into a calculator to figure out free t. Whats wrong Obama care doesnt cover free t bloodwork.
You put your life on the line for them and they are not looking after you my friend.
 
Thanks for this, I've ton a ton of reading about this, but being in the military I don't have many Doc options, but I've seen a Urologist, so I'm not sure if I can tell my Primary I'm unhappy and want to see an Endocrinolgist. Is my LH of 2.9 good? Also why do they only recommend morning tests? If your morning T was 700 but afternoon T was 190, you would feel great in the AM and crappy in PM! I mean maybe there is no way if can drop that low, but for someone like me, even 385 in the AM isn't below 350, but if I drop down to under 200 after 1230pm, then all afternoon I feel like crap. Unless morning T should keep you going all day, but I don't see much of that talked about, only to get it done in the AM.

Also my Doc is saying that everyone is different so the total T is just a number. 300 for him is different that 300 for me. (I feel like that is easy for him to say because I never had a baseline T taken in my 20's). Is any of that true?

I feel I might be lost until I retire in 3-4 years and can just pay for it on my own. Does anyone know how much T injections weekly along with an Estrogen blocker and possibly HCG would cost per year if you paid for it on your own with zero insurance?
 
You obviously live an active lifestyle. You do military drills everyday etc and wake up early in the a.m. ?
Those T levels are way too low to fight in wars let alone prepare to train for one.
Bio avail T is just another blood test...just like the blood work you got you will need referal.
Without insurance the TRT will cost you sone decent money. I estimate about 1000$-$1500 a year minimum. HCG is pricey...dont know about u.s. prices. HCG is dirt cheap in europe
 
Having been in the Army, I truly feel bad for you buddy. It seems like your going to the on base hospital or clinic?

Don't.

You are allowed to go see your OWN doctor that you so choose. You do not have to go by what the military "Doctors" say.

Get all copies of your blood results and T labs from them. And take it to a anti-aging doc, or a primary that will prescribe you testosterone once they look at your results. In the military, you are more fit that you will EVER be, and as such your testosterone levels shouldn't be that low.

You workout and eat great daily, you exercise, you don't do drugs, you get a full nights sleep. You NEED testosterone to keep you motivated and up to par with everyone else.

I know what it feels like to have low T, where it is needed most... as a soldier, and it is absolute hell my friend.
Good luck and thank you for your service.
 
Last edited:
The Urologist made it seem that Total Testosterone is just a number and that since the Ref Range is 280-800, that 319 an 385 are in the range. Also since my LH is 2.9, that is normal so my brain is telling my testes to make Testosterone. Since my SHBG was 15 and 21, that is normal and my albumin was 4.8 also in the normal range. He said that all the reading are good and you can't look at just 1 number but all of them together. PSA was good, Thyroid was good, etc. Only thing that was low was Vitamin D, so I'm on weekly 50,000 iu's of that. Does any of this make sense and is there any legit research to look at?
 
Vitamin D plays a role in T production. How low were you?
I've noticed a difference having my D in upper normal range.
Don't over look the importance of that vitamin.
Take 50 mg zinc picolinate ED and a good quality TOTAL vit. E.
Sounds like you are secondary.
You might do very well on HCG mono since you have low normal T and low normal LH.
I had 4 for LH and lower T than you and have gotten my natty T to 500 ng dl on HCG mono.
You might do well on clomid too
Who knows.
I would try seeing how far up you can raise T on your own.
 
Remember TRT is for life and should only be used after you have exhausted all other avenues to naturally restart.
 
BDTMD said:
The Urologist made it seem that Total Testosterone is just a number and that since the Ref Range is 280-800, that 319 an 385 are in the range. Also since my LH is 2.9, that is normal so my brain is telling my testes to make Testosterone. Since my SHBG was 15 and 21, that is normal and my albumin was 4.8 also in the normal range. He said that all the reading are good and you can't look at just 1 number but all of them together. PSA was good, Thyroid was good, etc. Only thing that was low was Vitamin D, so I'm on weekly 50,000 iu's of that. Does any of this make sense and is there any legit research to look at?
Click to expand...

That's true. TT is just a number and you do need to look at TT, LH, FSH, Estradiol, TSH and Prolactin all together. But the problem with your numbers is that your TT is in the hypogonadal range and your LH/FSH are in the low/normal range. Your pituitary should be cranking out the LH to tell your testicles to make more TT, but it isn't. Your TT is low for someone your age - hypogonadal in fsct.. You have Secondary Hypogonadism .

You need to try and figure out what is causing your hypogonadism or treat it if no cause can be found. Living with Low T brings on serious long-term health risks like early heart disease. Men need healthy T levels.
 
Megatron28 said:
That's true. TT is just a number and you do need to look at TT, LH, FSH, Estradiol, TSH and Prolactin all together. But the problem with your numbers is that your TT is in the hypogonadal range and your LH/FSH are in the low/normal range. Your pituitary should be cranking out the LH to tell your testicles to make more TT, but it isn't. Your TT is low for someone your age - hypogonadal in fsct.. You have Secondary Hypogonadism .

You need to try and figure out what is causing your hypogonadism or treat it if no cause can be found. Living with Low T brings on serious long-term health risks like early heart disease. Men need healthy T levels.
Click to expand...

Well said. Don't forget the importance of Bio Avail. T as well.
 
I've seen a Urologist, should they know about hormones or should I try and get a referral outside the military healthcare and see an Endocrinologist? With my numbers do you think I'll keep seeing the same answers? I feel like because of all the negative testosterone info out there, thats why im getting these answers.
 
Also is there a special test for Free Testosterone and Bio-available Testosterone? All my Dr did was get my Albumin, SHBG, and Total Testosterone and put it into a calculator. Is that the right thing to do?
 
BDTMD said:
Also is there a special test for Free Testosterone and Bio-available Testosterone? All my Dr did was get my Albumin, SHBG, and Total Testosterone and put it into a calculator. Is that the right thing to do?
Click to expand...
Yes they are separate tests.
I don't think they fall into the category of "special".
The method your doc used is not up to standard...imo
 
My last test was 319 total, 4.8 albumin, 15.1 SHBG which according to the calculator puts my Free T at 8.47 ng/DL and my Bio-Available at 221ng/DL. Even though using the calculator is outdated, are those levels normal? Also my SHBG has am L next to it meaning low, what would be causes of low SHBG and is that good or bad? Thanks for all the help so far.
 
APOLLON said:
That doc is a dirt bag. Find one that will listen to you. In the u.s. anything lower than 348 ng/dl is hypo. You were below it on many labs and now just hovering above it.
Make sure you get enough zinc in your diet etc.
Not that it will create miracles.
What a loser doc plugged it into a calculator to figure out free t. Whats wrong Obama care doesnt cover free t bloodwork.
You put your life on the line for them and they are not looking after you my friend.
Click to expand...
Obamacare and the coverage you get for being a federal employee are completely different.
 
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