In your case/thread opening post:
-age: 27
-height: 5’11"
-waist: 36
-weight: 220lbs
-describe body and facial hair: full beard since high school, very hairy chest, belly, legs, minimal back and ass hair
-describe where you carry fat and how changed: All around the hips (spare tire)
-health conditions, symptoms [history]: Non, to speak of
-Rx and OTC drugs, any hair loss drugs or prostate drugs ever: No
-describe diet [some create substantial damage with starvation diets]: Fairly healthy- lots of chicken, steak, fish, steamed veggies. Cheat on the weekends. Lucky (or maybe not) for me I prefer salty over sweet, so no cookies cakes candy etc. ever.
-describe training [some ruin there hormones by over training]: weight train 5xWeek. Cardio 4xWeek usually hiking, mtn biking
-testes ache, ever, with a fever?: No
-how have morning wood and nocturnal erections changed: Decreased considerably in the last month.
Labs:
Testosterone Serum: 421ng/dL range: 348-1197
TSH: 2.490 uIU/mL range: 0.450-4.500
Estradiol: 13.7pg/mL range: 7.6-42.6 Roche ECLIA methodology
Hemoglobin A1c: 5.0% range: 4.8-5.6
Prostate-specific Ag, Serum: 0.6ng/mL range: 0.0-4.0
I also have CBC and Complete Metabolic Panel, if those are of any use…
I’ve been researching TRT and cycling AAS for about 4 years. Got tested at 22 and had a Testosterone level of 381, so it has actually gone up in the last 5 years(??). The first time I was tested I was really surprised that my levels were low- I’ve always been really hairy, and have an abnormally deep voice.
When I was tested at 22 I was in the best shape of my life. I was big, I was strong, and I was lean. I was in near competition shape. I ultimately decided not to go on TRT because of my age, and because I had no symptoms that were affecting my life.
Now at 27 I tested low again. Not crazy low, but low enough to qualify and have my insurance pay for it. I’m not in nearly as good of shape as I was a couple of years ago. I’ve lost probably 15lbs of muscle, and put on 25lbs of fat. Over the last 6 months I’ve seen a major decrease in morning erections, and sex drive. I chalked it up to body image issues- I had a super sexy girlfriend, and I was uncomfortable with her seeing me naked.
Anyways, I decided to take the plunge- with my first TRT dose at 140mg given to me yesterday. Part of this decision came from the fact that I plan on cycling in the near future and figured B&C is the safest way to go anyways.
I did have some apprehension because of my age, and because at 421 my T levels aren’t extremely low.
Just looking for some opinions on if TRT is right for me.
Edit: I was also very surprised that my Estradiol was actually a little lower than what is considered optimal, because of how I carry my fat. About a year ago I was lean enough to have veins in my pecs, striations in my delts, and even see my top 2 abs etc. but I still had big ol’ love handles. No fat on the front of my belly, and whenever I put on weight it starts on my hips and tits. I can be at 10% bf and still have little man boobs! I’ve always assumed I had to have high E.