Hello all and thanks for spending a few minutes here to help! First, a few bits of info:
34M, 83kgs, 185cm. Resistance training for 10 months with PT, slow linear progression. Symptoms of ED, low libido, depression, low energy, lack of focus, etc. Most symptoms have gotten worse over my adulthood, and have not improved with diet, exercise and supplementation. Taking multi-vitamin, fish oil, extra magnesium, extra Vitamin D, St. John’s Wort. Started 87kgs last March, 20.5% BF. Late October, clocked in at 80kg, 13.1% BF. Did a hormone and blood test. Results attached here:
The clinic reported the numbers as ‘normal’ and offered no feedback. I’m considering approaching an endocrinologist for a new round of tests and actual advice. Unfortunately, I am in Hong Kong for a while and doctors/clinics here are really hit or miss. Anti-aging clinics seem to offer proper testing and ‘hormone balancing’ but I am hopeful for constructive opinions on my results to help steer me in the right direction first. Thank you so much!
Your SHBG is really sticky and is holding onto all your T which is why your FT is at the bottom of the barrel. We often see guys with larger reserves of SHBG with higher T scores, when a guy with a good amount of SHBG starts hitting the middle ranges his T status becomes inflated and over exaggerated by shrinking FT. LH is low, T is low but SHBG is overstating T status.
A clueless doctor would take one look at your TT score and proclaim you’re normal, he would be dead wrong! Any doctor that fixates on lab numbers and ignores symptoms just doesn’t have any idea what their doing, endo’s are the worst of the worst doctors out there.
Most doctors in general have no training in male hormones, so it’s easier to fixate on lab numbers instead of having critical thinking and deductive reasoning. Some clinics care not about your overall health and are quick to push overly aggressive protocols in an attempt to sell product.
You require individualised care who will run extensive labs to look at your biomarkers in an attempt to gain insight and provide a protocol designed for you. If you find the blood panels lacking run from that clinic or endo. You will likely go through many doctors before you find one who knows what he’s doing, be prepared for it.
Thank you @systemlord for your reply. I really appreciate the context and the appropriate wording to describe the situation. I’ll be following through with due diligence.
So, last week I had a comprehensive hormone test done again by a recommended endocrinologist. Here are the results:
Testosterone, Total: 20.26 nmol/L (8.33-30.19)
Testosterone, Free: 27.07 pg/mL (4.00-30.00)
DHEA-S: 6.08 umol/L (4.6-16.10)
Coristol (am): 363.9 nmol/L (101.2-535.7)
Estradiol (E2): 76.2 pmol/L (40.4-161.5)
LH: 1.4 mIU/mL (0.5-12.07)
FSH: 2.4 mIU/mL (0.95-11.95)
Prolactin: 163.01 mIU/L (72.66-407.40)
SHBG: 36.6 nmol/K (10-57)
IGF-1 (by CL): 319.3 ng/mL (82-244) / 41.51 nmol/L (10.66-31.72)
The doctor stated that the results were actually quite good, in that my test numbers were both upper normal and growth hormone was strong for my age. The measured units of the results and the ref. range doesn’t appear to be a typical report, but I understand that every lab is different. Furthermore, the rest of the blood test came back quite healthy in normal markers. As an FYI, I am now about 83.5kg at about 15% bodyfat (185 cm, 34M). Blood was drawn about 15 hours after finishing my last meal. I do not particularly feel that my symptoms are that much better since my October test, but I also understand it could be psychological.
What are this forum’s opinions on my results? Thanks very much for your time!
