Been feeling really tired sluggish and have had no sec drive for a while.
I got my test levels checked and dr said my levels are in normal range… I asked what they were and he told me I was at 260 and normal range was 250-850
Where can I go from this? Should I self medicate? Or will trt not change anything
Thanks guys
Your are very low. You need to get full blood work before you do anything. Here’s the link. About the T Replacement Category - #2 by KSman
If this Dr will not run the labs find someone else. You may end up at a TRT clinic, urologist or Endocrinologist
Also, ask for a copy of your lab results. Those are yours.
If you are that low AND are symptomatic he should really take it seriously. What did he suggest you do about your sex drive and energy?
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Your doctor knowledge in diagnosing low T is seriously lacking, that’s why when he looks at the ranges and see’s your 10 points above it and believe you are normal. It’s easier for your doctor to look at a bunch of numbers rather than use common sense or critical thinking and realise the labs have a margin for errors and that no guy is going to be full of life anywhere near the bottom of these ranges which I might add are purely statistical, in other words made up.
I felt like death at 225 ng/dL!
Wow, your doc is kind of useless. That “normal” range…it’s pretty wide for a reason. The numbers exist to satisfy a broad swath of the population. A good doctor (I mean a non-endo, non-expert) should look first at your symptoms and make a judgement from those along with blood work. I tested around 400 but my endo knew that the number didn’t tell the story. He knew that the symptoms were the thing to follow. You need a better doctor.
I talked to my dr again and he said I am in normal ranges and trt will not change my mood energy or anything at all. What do you guys think? Will it change my life? I have no clue what it’s like to be in normal ranges if anyone could share some experiences it would be great
Thanks and much love
Will it change your life? Who knows. How bad are your symptoms? What are they? Doesn’t seem like the right doc no matter what you explain to him.
Let me guess, did he offer you an antidepressant script?
As said before the range is there to quantify “normal”. Some men ARE normal at 260 and some ARE normal at 850. That being said if you are symptomatic of low testosterone, and other blood work also validates suspicion, then you have low T for one reason or another. Aside from having years of lab work to show your T level dropping all you have to go on are your symptoms. Did your doctor check your thyroid? Did he/she have any suggestion about what else may be causing your symptoms? There is a thread here about stupid things doctors say and it covers everything from “that’s just part of getting old” to “you’re fine, its all in your head” so to hear your doc saying its “Normal” is no big surprise.
Post up your labs for the guys who know how to read them and they may see something else too. Then they can arm you with some ammunition for when you go back to your doc. BUT in the end you may be looking for a new doctor who will treat the patient and NOT just the number…a number which is fine for an 80 year old man. I mean Trump’s T came in at 441 and he is 71.
Also, you’re going to need to post more information. Read up Advice for New Guys
Any doctor who says you are normal at 265 presenting with classic low T symptoms is afraid to treat you do to the complexity of treatment or is simply against TRT. Testosterone gives you energy and vitality, it’s what makes a man a man.
NH_Watts is right some guys are normal high in the ranges, my father had no symptoms in the 250 ranges, I clearly did. There’s too much genetic diversity for everyone to fit into the bottom of the range, some can have no symptoms at 265 and other can have lots of symptoms. You never stated your age, very important.
We see doctors all the time saying that a guy is normal at the bottom of these ranges, it just means these doctors are inexperienced in diagnosing low T. I’ve seen guys get TRT scoring in the middle to high 400’s, symptoms seem to start when a guy drops below 440. Libido and feeling blue in the 400’s, erection difficulties below that point. Again not everyone will have similar symptoms within the same ranges.
Your doctors mind is made up, unless you want to feel like this the reast of your life, get a new doctor!
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I’m only 23 my symptoms are always being tired and having no energy. No motivation to do anything at all. Lots of belly fat compared to anywhere else. I work out 4 times a week and I’m pretty muscular which is prob why they think trt is not for me. Also have lots of hot flashes. Can’t get “IT” 100% up
Your doctor is truly clueless, most guys your age are in the 800’s. Your doctor clearly doesn’t realise after the age of 30 your T levels start dropping as you get older, if that happens which it will you T levels should be zero by the time your reach 50. All the disease happen below 440, so you better find another doctor who will listen. The problem is doctors learn nothing about TRT in medical school and residency, they know very little which is why they focus solely on labs, the labs are used for a lack of knowledge not realising anyone coming in at the bottom of the ranges isn’t going to feel good.
You are not going to be muscular for long at these levels, any doctor who looks at your muscles or body hair to determine low T status is grasping at straws to a lack of knowledge! We all convert some of our T into DHT, DHT is for hair growth and some guys convert more efficiently than others.
You have the hormone levels of a 100 year old man.
As said above “Find another Doctor”
Seriously, you don’t want your health being treated by this ignorant idiot.
I was in pretty much the exact situation your in at the same age, and was fobbed off by my doctor and even told by an endocrinologist “You are talking Bullshit” Fair to say he’s lucky I walked out without belting him.
A lot of these doctors and so called specialists are clueless, and the sad fact is they will judge you based on your size etc, which always went against me.
You say you train 4x a week as do I, and also pretty muscular as am i, and my test level is 6.4 nmol, so don’t let the fact you gain muscle make you think your T is okay…it’s not.
Also when you find a doctor willing to prescribe Test, don’t just accept it and be grateful you finally found someone willing to prescribe. Make sure they are carrying out all the tests they should be.
This is where I went wrong and by the time I got an endocrinologist willing to prescribe me test, I was so relieved I never asked any questions.
A year later with T levels at the top end of the scale I still felt pretty crap and was completely infertile.
Do your research and don’t just accept an okay doctor.
The higher t levels didn’t change anything for you? As you said with higher t levels you still felt crappy. If I do end up on trt that’s what I’m afraid of. Still feeling crappy with high t levels
I just spent 3 months in the 800 range and felt terrible do to high E2, lowered my dose twice and am feeling amazing. I do labs in a couple months to see where I am. Any doctor not willing to prescribe an aromatase inhibitor should be avoided.
How did you feel before and after trt?
I want to self medicate with an ai as well
I noticed slight changes in confidence but nothing worth completely losing my fertility at that age for. I believe this may have been due to my very low levels of SHBG, but of course the endo was once again clueless.
Of course there would have been no reason for this to have happened, if the correct tests had been done and looked at by an endocrinologist that knew what they were doing.
But you get your fertility back with hcg and clomid/nolvadex
So what your saying is trt didn’t do much to change your life? Which makes my dr correct as she said it wouldn’t change anything and no point of me getting on it
Oh no it is life changing if it is what you need. Your levels are very low, anything below the mid 400s is typically where there is a correlation with major medical issue. You talked your doctor into that test because you feel wrong. If you feel off you are off. As to what you can expect from testosterone therapy if it is what you need or if it is all you need.
You will think clearer, sex drive will increase, mood will improve, physical strength will increase. stamina will increase, you will lose weight gain muscle or both. There is more but it depends on what you have lost. And how long you have been low. And the changes take time. Energy and sex drive might come on in the first two months, maybe even sooner. Mostly it all keeps improving for a year or so. And if you are working out the improvements are very noticeable. If you need it once you get it dialed in, it is life changing. But it is not a miracle cure of all things.
You have not given enough information for anyone to tell you much. Your doctor did not test enough to know at all. You are low is all you know. Free testosterone? You have no idea. Estrogen? You do not know. Is it a thyroid problem? You have no idea. You can not possibly treat yourself, nor could any doctor have made a good diagnoses based on what you know.
You need more info.
"Please read the stickies found here:About the T Replacement Category - #2 by KSman
advice for new guys - need more info about you
things that damage your hormones
protocol for injections
finding a TRT doc
Evaluate your overall thyroid function by checking oral body temperatures as per the thyroid basics sticky. Thyroid hormone fT3 is what gets the job done and it regulates mitochondrial activity, the source of ATP which is the universal currency of cellular energy. This is part of the body’s temperature control loop. This can get messed up if you are iodine deficient. In many countries, you need to be using iodized salt. Other countries add iodine to dairy or bread."
Verne has just given you a great answer there, and with alot more knowledge than myself.
But just to answer your question…
No, Test didn’t do much for me but that was purely down to my endocrinologist. If I had been treated by a doctor who deserves the title of a specialist things would have been much different.
For your doctor to say “it wouldn’t change anything, and no point in you being on it” is absurd.
Your T level clearly indicates a problem that needs further investigation.
Next time you visit this so called doctor, ask her if she’s willing to take full responsibility if you have an undiagnosed pituitary tumor that’s causing your low T level.
Also I’m not sure of your location but here in the UK HCG isn’t prescribed to prevent infertility and only prescribed on the NHS when you are trying for a child through a fertility specialist for example if your going through IVF.
So just to sum up, No your doctor isn’t right, she’s a very negligent waste of space.