Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) for me?

[abearsfan]

TRT for me?

Recently had labs and am trying to decide whether testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is appropriate or not for my situation. My background - 48 years old, 5'9 currently 170lbs after years of being overweight. At one point cholesterol was over 300 and I was diagnosed with metabolic syndrome. Through exercise and diet my weight is down and my total chol is now 146. I thought I would feel a lot better making these changes, but over the last couple of years my libido has gone south, I don't concentrate well at work, generally blah and unmotivated. Read that symptoms might be indicative of low T so hooked up with an anti aging outfit and just had labs done. Everything actually looks fairly decent as far as I can tell (meaning within the reference limits) but wanted to see what others thought. My labs are as follows:

Testosterone, Serum 438 (reference range says the bottom is changing from 249 to 348 for adult males as of Oct 17).

Free Testosterone 12.0

Cortisol 23.7 High

LH 5.9

Estradiol 37.0

PSA .9

SHBG 37.9

Given my age what kinds of opinions would you guys offer?

Thanks in advance - Rob

 

[TR90125]

Free T is low. Total T is on the low end of the spectrum and you have symptoms of low T, therefore you may likely respond well to treatment.

 

[abearsfan]

Thanks for the reply TR...that's kind of my thinking at this point even though technically (according to ref range), my test is not "low". I did a little searching and found a chart that shows guys between the ages of 45-55 have an avg. test of approx 606 so by that measure I'm low...for what it's worth.

 

[TR90125]

Lab ranges for Low T, and most other medical conditions have nothing to do with symptoms. An Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) specialist will diagnose based on symptoms and confirm said diagnosis with a blood test, without getting hung up on lab ranges. Most of your non-specialists think everything starts and ends with the "range".

 

[cjw2021]

SHBG is high, free T is probably low. t replacement to get to the 800 range, shbg needs to be lowered. u have metabolic syndrome because ur shbg is high and ur test is low. both need fixing. stanazolol was used to lower shbg. good luck finding a doc who uses it. lol

 

[DeusMalo]

Looks like your estradiol is high, lower it, raise free T and your sbhg should follow e lower in some cases. It'll take a couple months.

cjw is right tho, stan was the shit to directly, more reliably and relatively quickly lower sbhg, but no longer available so you have to try the lowering e route.

TR is spot on wrt lab ranges - they friggin drive me nuts because in the case of nearly all hormones, they work against you with most docs. They're only useful to confirm symptoms of hormonal probs (like you've done) but the reading you want is that which indicates you are feeling optimal. Not normal-mid, not normal-low, but YOUR optimal. Every person knows how they felt when they didn't have a test or e reading so the only baseline we have is how we feel - not what a doctor says is normal. SO, you know your libido is down, can't concentrate, generally feel like something is wrong... Symptoms of low test... You've confirmed you are low on test and other hormones outta whack.

Give it a try. Nothing really to be concerned about esp with a proper protocol (test, Aromatase inhibitor (AI), HCG).

Good luck bro.

 

[abearsfan]

Thanks DeusMalo,

Seems the opinion I'm hearing from most wrt lab ranges...certainly the symptoms I have fit the bill for low t regardless of how the numbers fit. I saw one chart that showed the avg total t for 45-55 yr olds is a little over 600 so going by that alone I'm on the short side. Leaning at this point towards giving it a try. My only question is should I decide it's not for me, are there any issues with stopping therapy in the future (given a proper course with Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) and AI)? I see a lot of guys saying that if you start...you can never stop. I always like to have a choice.

 

[TR2838]

Hey bearsfan.. Did You get in touch w/ Chip yet? If not, save yourself a lot of money and hassles and get w/ Maximus.. From what I hear, Anti-Aging clinics charge an arm and a leg and they probably wont get your shbg down,

As far as getting off,, THere is restart protocols out there that seem to be successful to getting guys functioning again.. But, when you get your hormones dialed in properly, you're going to feel so much better that you will never want to go backwards.. Good Luck

 

[MonsterMedic]

Thanks DeusMalo,

Seems the opinion I'm hearing from most wrt lab ranges...certainly the symptoms I have fit the bill for low t regardless of how the numbers fit. I saw one chart that showed the avg total t for 45-55 yr olds is a little over 600 so going by that alone I'm on the short side. Leaning at this point towards giving it a try. My only question is should I decide it's not for me, are there any issues with stopping therapy in the future (given a proper course with Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) and AI)? I see a lot of guys saying that if you start...you can never stop. I always like to have a choice.

Yes and No. You can always stop any therapy you choose.

However, because our pituataries & HPT Axis in general is already 'broken' a proper course of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) and an Aromatase inhibitor (AI) would, at best, return you to your pre-HRT levels. It will not restart a 'broken motor'.

 

[DeusMalo]

Thanks DeusMalo,

Seems the opinion I'm hearing from most wrt lab ranges...certainly the symptoms I have fit the bill for low t regardless of how the numbers fit. I saw one chart that showed the avg total t for 45-55 yr olds is a little over 600 so going by that alone I'm on the short side. Leaning at this point towards giving it a try. My only question is should I decide it's not for me, are there any issues with stopping therapy in the future (given a proper course with Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) and AI)? I see a lot of guys saying that if you start...you can never stop. I always like to have a choice.

Most folks aim for the higher end of the range putting them normal in the early twenties. Personally, I don't want to feel like a normal 45-55yo (esp based on what I've read and most my friends are in that range). Obviously, it's a personal choice, but for me (and most others on HRT) I aim to be feeling awesome, not feeling like a normal 50 yo .

RE: stopping if it's not for you. Most likely, once you've gotten dialed in, I'd be surprised if you decided it wasn't for you, BUT, if that is the case, the answer is it really depends and how long you've been on TRT. If you're test is low due to primary hypogonadism, not much you can do other than endo supplementation of test so stopping puts you back where you were when you began. If due to secondary, than too many variables to say definitively, but if you have been doing a proper protocol than graduating dosage down (IMO) then ending with Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) and perhaps nolva or clomid, you could be OK, but honestly hate commenting to confidently since it is really a big "it depends" and I personally see no reason to stop because of all the benefits including health: lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, off all other meds, lower bodyfat, motivated to workout, etc etc - zero negative effects for me and many others on Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) since we are NOT talking steroid cycles - simply supplementing to get your body back to what it naturally had earlier in life.

Agree with TR, Chip spares a lot of hassle and he "gets" everything I've said and why I've chosen to be with Chip w/out exception. Too many doctors don't get it - thank god I found Maximus. Chip can definitely help you navigate through your decision process with confidence.

good luck and would love to know what you decide.