About me, I’m almost 61 years old, stand about 5’9, 201lbs, I have been working out for more than a year now after a long hiatus. I have lifted continually from my late teens through my mid-forties and powerlifted for years and have won a number of state and regional titles. I’ve never used AAS and tried to lift in tested orgs but that never stopped me from competing in other orgs. My recovery isn’t what it used to be and I’m certain T production also is not what it used to be, so I been reading up on this subject on this and other forums and have just received the results of the BW I had done last week and this is what I received;
Testo Total 751ng/dl Range 250-1100
Testo Free 73.6 Range 35.0-155 pg/mL
PSA Total .93 ng/mL Range .00-4.00
The Dr just sent me a letter with the results, nothing else, so I’m assuming that based upon what she saw, she’s ruled me out as a candidate, what do you guys think?
First most doctors are terrible at diagnosing low T, yours may have failed to run adequate labs!
Those are great numbers, but we see guys in here all the time with high SHBG, high TT and lower FT. Essentially if SHBG is high enough it will bind up all T and since FT is the active hormone it matters more than your TT number. I’ve seen guys with over 1000 ng/dL who feel terrible do to high SHBG which shrinks FT and just because you are within range doesn’t mean you are alright. I’m willing to bet your SHBG is high end of normal range.
Most doctors knowledge is limited and narrow within their field and the result is a doctor who stares at a bunch of lab numbers to make decision not realising everyone is different, SHBG is known to increase as you get older and it starts binding up your FT as you age. Your FT is low compared to your TT, was your FT labs direct measured or did you get it from through calculating SHBG, TT and albumin? This is how we obtain accurate FT numbers, any other method is good enough.
If direct measured these labs are inaccurate and your FT could be even lower. Post all labs including ranges. Thyroid labs are needed, lots of symptoms of a lagging thyroid has some of the same symptoms as low T.