A friend of mine is 27 years old, he has no muclse, cannot grow any type of body or facial hair, and is depressed and anxious, basically me pre-trt. I feel like he could have low T, but he has no medical issues that I know of that could cause low T for his age. He won’t get tested though, need advice for convincing him to get tested. He has a rough childhood and shitty parents, and believes his mental issues are from that, which it could be, but that doesn’t explain why he looks like a 15 year old, no one would believe he was 28.
It sounds like he has low testosterone, but I would also have a look at his IGF-1 levels, this will represent growth hormone levels. He needs a full thyroid panel wouldn’t hurt either, but he may have to order some labs testing through Discount Labs because I expect the doctor to push back on at least half of the testing needed.
Describe your friends physical appearance, weight, height and build (skinny?).
- Total T
- Free T
- SHBG
- Estradiol Sensitive (E2)
- LH-Luteinizing Hormone
- FSH-Follicle stimulating hormone
- Prolactin
- Cortisol
- Ferritin
- Thyroid Panel
- CBC-complete blood count
- Comprehensive Metabolic Panel
- Lipid profile/panel
There are easily a half-dozen reasons for all of these that have nothing to do with low T. These “symptoms”, when taken at objective face value without you already thinking about Testosterone, absolutely do not suggest low T.
I get that you want to be a pal, but if he doesn’t want to get tested, you’re not likely to convince him. You’d do much more for him, and would probably be better received, if you took him to the gym with you for a while and got him started on a good lifting and eating routine.
3 Likes
He was obese for years but lost over 100 pound son keto, and was super skinny, no muscle, and now he’s back up to like 210. He is like 5’8, has no trace of facial or body hair, he looks like a boy seriously. He was over 300 pounds being 5"8, so his obesity could have hurt his testosterone but he’s been around 200 pounds for over a year now.
I’ve tried, but he’s too anxious and depressed… I know their are alot of other reasons for these symptoms, specifically the mental ones, but the fact he’s almost 30 and looks like he’s 15 seemed like a good indicator.
It seems like a good indicator because you approached the situation with TRT on the brain. It’s 100% the old “got a hammer, looking for a nail” situation.
Genetics would be the first place to look regarding the lack of hair. Good to hear he lost some of the weight. 210 at 5’8" is still pretty chubby (especially since you said he has no muscle), so he’s still got a ways to go. Definitely get him on a good plan and get him eating better.
The keto diet, even though it should have plenty of healthy fats, may negatively impact Test levels (discussed here), so if he was keto for a while or if he still is, then there’s a chance he’s having an issue that more moderate carb intake could address, so the first priority is still to fix diet and training.
It may be Klinefelter syndrome, but usually these men are skinny and tall with no muscle features.
So it may be Klinefelter, except that he doesn’t fit one of the most common symptoms for Klinefelter. Awesome.
I really wish you’d spend less time e-diagnosing strangers on the Internet based on partial information and spend a teeny bit more time replying to the thread where you asked for help and then disappeared once helping yourself became too much work.
2 Likes