Hey guys, looking for some advice on how to proceed with my situation.
I’m 22 year old male, fairly healthy and lift 4-6 days a week.
I’ve been feeling like garbage for a while but I could never figure out what’s wrong, recently I got my total testosterone checked and it came back at
224ng/DL. Ref range 219 ng/dl- 904 ng/dl
After I got this result I went to my walk it clinic and got some more blood paneling done.
Free test- 311 pmol ref range 196 pmol/l- 636 pmol/l
TSH 1.88 Miu/l ref range 0.35-5 Miu/l
I called my GP and she said my fee testosterone was in the normal range. Then she told me testosterone isn’t and important hormone for men, doesn’t effect energy levels and is dangerous to heart health (wtf) then finished the conversation saying there is nothing she can do and to go to a men’s clinic.
My concern was that maybe another hormone was too high causing these symptoms , I don’t want to get sold trt for life if it’s not necessary but it would be great to be able to start feeling somewhat normal.
Symptoms
-no libido
-ed (no morning wood either)
-low energy, no matter how much I sleep by 2pm I’m exhausted
-brain fog
-reduced cognitive ability
-memory loss
-no drive or I lose motivation quick
-emotional and irratble
-gyno , nipples get itchy and sensitive often
can’t retain muscle if, I take a break from the gym for a week or so I lose a considerable about of size. According to my measurements
-very difficult to lose fat, even if in a deficit while following macros I still end up skinny fat.
-anxious
-depression
Sorry to hear that you just experienced the “dumbass doctor” phenomenon. The good news is that ALL of them are not like that, but a lot of them are.
You’ll need to get full blood panels done.
Total T
Free T
Sensitive E2
SHBG
T3
T4
RT3
LH
FSH
I would also get the normal wellness tests too
HDL
LDL
Triglycerides
Blood glucose
Sodium levels
Iron
Ferritin
HCT
Some other guys may have a few more to add. Get a full panel done and then you can tell if your low T is something that you can fix or if you need to consider TRT. Yes, no matter what ANY doctor, or anyone else for that matter, says…
Ah, this was exactly what mine said, ignore her and get all the tests that bmbrady above me suggested. My story/past symptoms are fairly similar to yours but I was about 25 when it started happening to me. The only thing that stumped me for years is that I had a high libido and could get erections. Then I found out my test was 250 on 3 separate tests. You’re 22 y/o and should not be feeling the way you do.
You’re right in not wanting to jump on the TRT-for-life train. Try everything else you can before going down that road. How’s your sleep? Have you had a sleep study done?
You don’t recover naturally from being as low as you are, you are scoring were most 90 years olds are scoring and something is broken inside.
The majority of doctors are profoundly hormone ignorant and most will make stupid comments that defy logic, really doctors are afraid to prescribe TRT to men and will say just about anything so that you leave their office.
Your lab testing is seriously lacking, what you have provided is NOT enough.
The experience was definitely odd as she downplayed all of my sypmtoms and contradicted all of the things I’ve read.
I think my next plan of action would be to end my relationship with my current doctor and search for a new one so I can get the neccessary blood work done that you’ve mentioned above.
How has your quality of life been since starting trt? was it difficult to find a doctor to take you seriously at your age?
Ive been taking supplements (magnesium,zinc,ashwaghanda, vitamin d) and changed my diet to help boost my levels naturally but nothing has really brought me any noticeable improvements.
I average about 7 hours a night, but feel roughly the same no matter how many hours I get (6-10) friends have even commented on it because I will often sleep through things. A sleep study may be something to consider though!
During my first round of TRT I felt superhuman, everything was on point. However, 7 months in I started having panic attacks after every shot, they’d last 2-3 days straight, it was debilitating. My second round has been slow going, it’s only been a month and I was having really bad anxiety, depression and fatigue along with other symptoms. People on this site told me they’d gone through the same thing so I’m sticking it out. I will say the past 3 days have been promising, feeling decent.
As far as being taken seriously, my PCP brushed me off but I advocated for myself and got a referral to a urologist. He took me seriously because I was young, in shape, had a great diet, slept enough, etc. He ran labs to rule out thyroid problems and pituitary tumor. When everything else came back normal he put me on treatment. I DO NOT recommend going this route, urologists and endocrinologists who are knowledgeable about TRT are rare. My urologist meant well but didn’t know anything about the influence of high estradiol and that was a red flag.
My advice would be to get the necessary lab work done. Also, read the stickies posted on this website, there’s a wealth of knowledge there. Again, I really wouldn’t jump on TRT immediately, it will be the worst experience of your life if not managed properly.
This could be a result of sleep disturbances or it could be the influence low testosterone. A sleep study would be good to rule out any other factors besides hormones.
My advice is to seek private care, state healthcare or managed health care just aren’t well educated in sex hormone therapies, urologists and endocrinologist typically know virtually nothing about sex hormones and proper testing other than what’s written in the guidelines which is outdated by decades.
The protocols that most urologists and endocrinologist put young men on are ancient protocols that was used back during the clinical trials and have been proven to not work for 98 percent of men.
The reason why your doctor reacted the way he did when asking if it could be low testosterone, low testosterone is usually a middle aged man disease, not a young 22 year old man. Yet in the last 10 years men of all ages have been coming in with all the classic symptoms of low testosterone.
GP’s are going to be even more ignorant than the urologists and endocrinologist, the majority of doctors will be hormone ignorant.
My GP told me testosterone only affects a man’s mood, not muscle mass and strength. Bodybuilders don’t inject inject testosterone for mood benefits.
It’s at this point it’s best to just get up and walk out of the office.