Hi all, I’m 42 and I’ve been exercising for my entire adult life. I’m in decent physical shape, I’ve never been very ‘fat’ and I’ve always done some sort of strength training along with some form of cardio like running or cycling. I’d consider my diet to be very good, with adequate protein and plenty of food variety. I don’t drink anymore, and even when I did I was not much of a drinker. I’ve been aware these last couple of years that my body isn’t quite responding to strength and hypertrophy training the way it used to and I’ve had some feelings of anxiety that I’ve found it hard to get to the bottom of. I ended up getting some bloodwork done and you can see my results below. Am I a ‘good’ candidate for TRT, based on the info I’ve shared? I’m UK based and
According the British Society of Sexual Medicine, Free T <.225 nmol/L, you do qualify for TRT. Many experts believe that Free T in the lower 25 percentile or low normal ranges to be a sign of hypogonadism.
The problem in the UK if finding a doctor that is aware of the guidelines, and also the treatment protocols are problematic for many patients.
Thresholds for therapy:
The FT level lower than .225 nmol/L provides supportive evidence for T therapy in the presence of appropriate symptoms.
The UK is one of the worst places to get TRT. If you get tired of dealing with clueless doctors and or ineffective treatments protocols, there’s Balance My Hormones in Dorset, and The Men’s Health Clinic in Ferndown, England.
The majority of men on TRT use cash only private clinics for reasons stated above.
Thanks for all these details. I’m getting my second blood test done with a private clinic specializing in TRT as I’m aware of the limitations of the National Health Service. I actually thought UK Drs only used total T as the benchmark by which your suitability for treatment is judged. I’ll have a good read of the document you shared.
Testosterone deficiency isn’t defined by Total T, the Free T is the hormone that provides all the positive effects on the body. Higher end SHBG will increase the Total , T independent of the FreeT.
What I find strange is your SHBG is elevated and your Total T is low. Normally, you would expect to see a high Total T and lower Free T with your numbers.
Thanks. This is the kind of insight I was hoping to get here. I was aware that Free T is the more important measure, but was assuming that, from what I’ve read elsewhere, UK guidelines only referred to Total T. Thanks for correcting me on that one. I was not aware of the relationship between Total T and SHBG, which has me scratching my head as to what is going on. I have my second test tomorrow and will have results by the end of the week. I’ll follow up on here, although there’s no expectation on my part of you commenting on those results. Thanks again for your time!
I dont think there are any cash only TRT clinics here in the UK, only monthly subscription services ones like Optimale etc.
Also not aware of any nationally compiled statistics of men on TRT, the NHS might have some for GP referred patients but very unlikely there are stats for private services?
From my experience with the NHS they wont even consider TRT for you unless you are chronically low and even then it will be a struggle.
I started off private, shared all of the info including blood test results with my GP and after a period of time asked them take the over the management of the process so they could keep proper tabs on me…
Sorry to hear the NHS were about as much use as a chocolate teapot. So to be clear, are you saying that the NHS would not take you on after you started off privately? Disappointing!
I’m happy to pursue this via a clinic like Optimale. Is that who you used initially? If so, were they good? My second blood test is through them.
If you get the proper diagnosis, two tests below their cut off, then the diagnosis is legit. Whether or not you want to go private or not, it’s up to you.
on another thread systemlord mentioned it and so I had a look but no luck, as he stated it again I thought I’d just ask where he got the info as I didn’t think it would be available.
I use optimale for bloodwork and have found them to be very helpful.
Your results aren’t’ too different to what mine were, and I’m 42. And week 6 into TRT via Optimale. So I think you’re get approved and then a case if you want to go with a private monthly subscription clinic like Optimale or an alternative
