-describe body and facial hair - thin hair on legs/chest/stomach/back. Facial hair ok probably a little light for my age but i am fair.
-describe where you carry fat and how changed - fairly even fat distribution
-health conditions, symptoms. I lost a testicle in my early teens so have only ever had one from the age of 13. Suffered from a few spells of depression but aside from that no major low T symptoms. Training hard and eating well for the last 3 years but feel like i am ‘spinning my wheels’ a bit. If i eat to gain i put on a lot of fat and when i try to diet i lose a lot of muscle.
-Rx and OTC drugs, any hair loss drugs or prostate drugs - No
-lab results with ranges - All my blood work has been done by the NHS in the UK so i have not been able to specify the exact tests so lab work is limited.
Serum Testosterone Level - 11nmol/L (8.0-31.0). I believe this is 317 ng/dl.
LDL - 2.3
HDL - 1.8
Trigs - 0.6
Cholestrol Serum 2.4
Blood pressure - 109/70
-describe diet - well balanced diet following general bodybuilding macros
-describe training - 4-5 weight session per week with 1 HIIT session and maybe a low intensity cardio session. Play Squash once a fortnight.
-testes ache, ever, with a fever? - No
-how have morning wood and nocturnal erections changed - no change, their occurrence is probably 50/50.
I have suspected low T for a while based on my medical history and the lack of changes to body compostion and strength gains i can make in the gym despite everything being dialed in and training hard. I do make some progress it is just very slow in comparison to most other serious trainers that i know. Following my blood work last week to check my testosterone i am considered to be in range with no further action required. This means i will have to self medicate should i wish to make a change and any advice would be appreciated.
You did not show any thyroid labs. We see this factor quite often here. If you have not been using iodized salt, you are probably deficient. You can eval your overall thyroid function by checking your body temperature at the two times suggested in the thyroid basics sticky. Low thyroid function can create the symptoms that you describe and these are the same as you get with low-T. In your case it might be from both. Simple iodine deficiency can be easily addressed. If you do thyroid labs: TSH, fT3, fT4 [please not T3, T4].
It would be useful to know why your T levels are low. LH/FSH would be a good diagnostic step. If low, then look at E2 and prolactin which can cause that. If LH/FSH are high, its primary hypogonadism and the only way out of that would be finding a surgically correctable vascular problem.
[quote]KSman wrote:
You did not show any thyroid labs. We see this factor quite often here. If you have not been using iodized salt, you are probably deficient. You can eval your overall thyroid function by checking your body temperature at the two times suggested in the thyroid basics sticky. Low thyroid function can create the symptoms that you describe and these are the same as you get with low-T. In your case it might be from both. Simple iodine deficiency can be easily addressed. If you do thyroid labs: TSH, fT3, fT4 [please not T3, T4].
It would be useful to know why your T levels are low. LH/FSH would be a good diagnostic step. If low, then look at E2 and prolactin which can cause that. If LH/FSH are high, its primary hypogonadism and the only way out of that would be finding a surgically correctable vascular problem.[/quote]
Hi Ksman,
Thanks for the reply - I will look into Thyroid and check with the Doc to see if they took any of the other readings you mention.
I would assume T levels are low due to the loss of a testicle but maybe this is not always the case?