I recently found out I have low t. Total T at 201, free t at 3.2. I will post lab results when I get them in hand. I was referred to an endo and I recently met with her, I am waiting to get the results of my second blood test, and then I will retest first thing in the morning in the next week or so. I am going to present the dr with research on Hcg and Ai. I had already mentioned it but she said he had never done that, so it may take some convincing. Right now I m trying to stay positive on the future. I had suspicions years ago and was tested, but the doctor said I was in range and blamed my symptoms on my low white blood cell count, saying I was probable jut sick.
Over the past 6 yrs I have been busting my ass in the gym, eating extremely healthy, and doing all the research I could to achieve my goals. It seemed as If no matter how hard I tried, or how hard I dieted only minimal changes would occur, both in strength and aesthetics. I always figured I must be doing something wrong, or there must be an explanation, regardless I continued to train harder to no avail. My relationship of 7 yrs in the mean time was a roller coaster ride due to my low sex drive and Zoloft floating head syndrome. It caused so many fights which basically ended up with me saying I don’t know why, I want to, I just don’t have the drive. We have been on the rocks for a while because of this and I feel like this whole ordeal brings me a sense of hope. I am trying hard to not think about how the past years seem almost wasted, I don’t want to think of them that way. Since finding out, I have been pushing harder at the gym trying to break Pr’s and trying to get out Some frustration. Sorry for my rant, heres to brighter futures! I’ll keep you posted.
Did you get FSH/LH, thyroid, and am cortisol tested? If you have secondary hypogonadism, I would hold off on the TRT and try to find the actual problem.
You say you eat extremely healthy, but what are the details of your diet? Are you sure you get enough calories. Also, you may be pushing yourself to hard in the gym and that could be a part of the reason for low t. I think my levels may be low due to working out to hard and not eating enough. Check out a few of these articles.
Thanks for the response. Yes I am currently awaiting the results from my second test. I have experimented with different calories/ macros, pretty sure my diet is fairly solid. I’ve been on the updated anabolic style diet for about 6 weeks, I’ve gained about 5 lbs but progress has stalled. The largest I have ever been was 195 at 20 yrs old, haven’t been able to get much past 180 since without a lot of fat gain. I’ve been training recently following wendlers 531 with slow strength gains.
I try to rest 2 days a week. I am an avid mountain biker but riding has been limited this summer. I don’t do much else cardio. I am not looking for Trt to be a savior and really I would not like to not have to do it at all. Luckily my doctor isn’t rushing into anything, so I’m researching alot first. Any other alternatives to be tried first would be great as I am always in favor of a natural approach. I don’t take medicine, and eat a natural paleo
style diet, 2-3 drink per week. I appreciate all input.
I’ve been using 531 for a long time. And I did IF for over a year sort of like the lean gains approach.
IMO you need to eat a decent amount of carbs everyday and every meal except maybe breakfast. I’m still having a protein/fat breakfast. At our ages stress is most likely the culprit. Cutting back on that in all aspects can help us get back on our feet. That would mean going back to the 4-6 small meals a day. Doing this will take stress off your adrenals. When you go a while without carbs your adrenals put out the hormone in charge of gluconeogenesis. Either way this will occur to some extent, but it will be much less when you are supplying yourself with carbs on a consistent basis.
As for exercise, 531 is a great program and I suggest you stick with it. Even though it would suck, you could trim it down to the 2 day template and just do the prescribed reps for a while. Thats what I’m currently doing, and I took a complete month off before I started (am also only using 85% training max). I’ll be taking more blood work sometime the next 2 months to see what progress I’m making.
I do eat somewhat paleo-ish, but I have added oatmeal back in and am doing just fine. My main carbs are white rice, potatoes, oatmeal, and a banana most days. Also, don’t underestimate intra workout nutrition. Drinking protein/carbs/BCAAs intra can also help take stress off the adrenals.
I know this is not all very well organized, but hope this helps more. In short, find ways to relive stress in all areas, eat in at least a small surplus everyday, and get carbs in consistently. Oh, and get some legit sea salt like celtic grey or himalya.
Thanks for the advice bro. I have decided to stop the Anabolic diet for awhile and just go back to IF with good carbs. The AB has been hard on my digestive system anyways. I’m definitely sticking with 5 3 1, I like it a lot and would like to compete in powerlifting in the near future. I am going to try a few things and await my blood test results. I don’t meet with the doc again for 6 weeks.