Hey everyone, new here and looking for any of your thoughts/remarks or personal experience with what I am about to discuss below.
I want to keep my background information brief for now as I have not received my E2 or SHBG lab results yet so the full picture for my lab work is still not there yet:
Age 28 (turned 28 a few weeks ago)
Symptom onset at around 21 or 22 with extreme worsening up to this point
Symptoms: Nonexistent libido, weak erections when aroused and great difficulty to become aroused, 0 morning wood year round (upon waking, though I am aware that it is possible it only occurs when I am sleeping), lethargy and very low energy from the moment I wake up until I go to bed (caffeine helps very briefly), memory problems at times, definite brain fog, an overall lessening of my confidence as time goes on, and man the list goes on honestly.
Lifestyle habits and current state: No drugs and no alcohol. Really I don’t like drinking. I’m in the best shape of my life physique wise. 186lbs during my current bulk at 5’9" and 16% body fat. I’m more muscular than ever. Was 155lbs (in a depleted state) at 9% body fat in January of 2021. I feel I have a great genetic response to weight training, which I do 5 times a week at about 90 minutes per session with heavy compound lifts at 6-12 rep range, and lighter isolation work, plus stairmaster for cardio (all that being said I struggle to get it done with my current energy levels but it is the only thing keeping me sane and keeping my confidence above zero). My macros and micro nutrients are good, plenty of fiber, fruit, and vegetables with a good concept of my calories in vs out. Doctor told me my physical was “perfect” and muscle mass was great (whatever that means). Sleep hygiene has remarkably increased since leaving the Military in 2019 (surprise surprise) and I now sleep 7.5-9 hours per night. Tested for sleep apnea while in the military due to restless sleep and snoring and I tested negative. I left active duty Army at age 25 and have spent the last 3 years going down hill symptom wise despite the outcome of more free time and better sleep and diet being my so called best physique yet. Sex life is non-existent, which should be obvious from my symptoms and it has had a significant impact on several relationships I have had with women since the age of 22. Sometimes I can get it up during sex with lots of poking and prodding but it rarely if ever stays up for more than a few moments. My most recent STD panel came back negative for pretty much everything you can think of. During my time in the military my symptoms were written off as minor depression and Army Docs were dismissive of the idea of it being my hormones.
That brings us to current day pretty much, if anyone has any other questions about lifestyle or etc etc up to this point just let me know. I recently enrolled at the VA for healthcare. Finally 3 years after leaving the military I have had enough of assuming I am experiencing “mild depression” despite my healthy habits and effort towards being the best me possible. I asked for a full STD Panel, Hormone panel, and Lipids after discussing symptoms with PCP at the VA. He was very receptive and ordered all that and few additional bits of labwork. As said above I am still waiting on a few of my hormones to come back but I have this much so far:
PROLACTIN 6.8 ng/mL 2.6-13 reference range
(total) TESTOSTERONE 3.17 ng/mL 2-7.5 reference range
TESTOSTERONE, FREE 12.9 pg/mL 9.3-26.5 reference range
ESTROGEN 68 pg/mL 56-213
SEX HORM.BIND.GLOB. 27.4 nmol/L 6.5-55.9
Let me clarify one more thing. The morning I had my blood drawn I was a few days back from a sunny vacation where I got plenty of sunshine, plenty of sleep, was in a caloric surplus, and exercised lightly at the hotel gym while doing plenty of walking around during the day. The night before my labs I slept well. So I would say I was literally in the best place physically and mentally for labs compared to when I am working and things get much crazier and stressful.
From first glance with what I know so far it seems like my total T is low and my free T is very low, but according to the VA reference range I am normal. My main questions are why is the VA reference range so much lower than 99% of what I see online? Does anyone have experience with VA care / hormone optimization?
I am not opposed to further labs and possibly TRT using self pay if it is going to finally give me my drive/confidence, sexual well being, and just life/identity in general back. Back when I thought this was all just in my head because of “minor depression” I remember telling my roommate that it feels like I am constantly in a half awake half asleep state of living and very few times from 21yrs-27yrs old did it feel like I was “fully awake” and “alive”. I didn’t start considering my hormones until channels like moreplatesmoredates on youtube starting gaining alot of popularity in 2021.
I know this post turned out to be mostly a rant, but I am open to anyone that wants to discuss anything I talked about or asked about above. Thanks in advance.
edit 1: I forgot to add in a question about the conversion of pg/mL to ng/dL. When you convert my Free test doesn’t it come out to 1.29ng/dL? That seems off to me.
edit 2: Just wanted to point out that I have been lifting for a combined total of 6ish or 7ish years. It would be more like 10 had I not stopped and started so many times. The last year and a half has been the most serious and dedicated stint of lifting for me. So going from 155 to 186 was not just from bulking, it was more like bulking from 170-186 as I had already often hit 175 at a lean body fat, just never over that prior to 2021. 155lbs was a low point when I was cutting and working lots of overtime.
