Help Me Understand My Bloodwork

Basicly I’m new to this.
I’m from Canada so it’s in SI units.
I wanna be at an optimal hormone level.

Your hormones levels are good. Are you under testosterone therapy ?

I’m not on trt. I’ve been reading on trt and I seem to have alot of symptomes of low T. So I did some bloodwork. 40 y/0, low energy, low libido, no morning erections…

What’s your height, weight, general fat level, diet and exercise routine?

Like nabil said, nothing in your bloodwork is popping out as unusual or worrisome so I’d examine other aspects of your life and lifestyle for the actual cause of your issues. With any health concern, the worst thing you can do is WebMD yourself into a predetermined conclusion that gets you headed down the wrong rabbit hole.

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I’m 5’8", 165-170 pounds, around 10% bf. I’ve been lifting for 11 years. I train in what you could call periodisation, going from endurance to hypertrophy and force.

I wish I could of done some bloodwork in my late 20’s and early to mid 30’s. Because 40y/o hit me like a truck. I basicly dont have a baseline to compare anything.

How long have you had the symptoms you’re talking about?

No mention of your diet, but energy/libido/wood could be as “simple” as a nutrition issue, being under-calorie for an extended period of time. You’re relatively lean, so if you’re training most days of the week, you might feel better bumping up calories for a while and making sure you’re not neglecting any single macro (protein, carbs, or fats).

It could also be as “simple” as a mental issue: general stress, some degree of depression, etc., but that’s going pretty far beyond an Internet forum diagnosis and obviously has a lot more variables involved that we aren’t aware of here. So maybe take inventory of overall life stuff that’s been going on in the time the symptoms have been around and see if there are any dots to connect.

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Your total testosterone while low, your free testosterone is not low because SHBG is on the lower end. The problem is these free testosterone values are calculated, free testosterone testing has problems and I would evaluate you based off your total testosterone which is at the levels of elderly men.

Thyroid problems could create symptoms very similar to low testosterone.

Below is a sample of the “healthy population”.

25-34 years of age 45 subjects 617 ng/dL
35-44 years 22 subjects of age 669 ng/dL
45-54 years of age 23 subjects 606 ng/dL
55-64 years of age 43 subjects 562 ng/dL
65- 74 years of age 47 subjects 524 ng/dL
75-84 years of age 48 subjects 471 ng/dL
85-100 years of age 21 subjects 376 ng/dL

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@Chris_Colucci, the doc is leaning towards what your saying. She wants to put me on meds for depression. But I dont feel depressed. I eat clean 95% of the time, I sleep fine. I didnt get on the meds cause I dont feel I’m depressed. I woulda thought she could’ve put me on trt, but with bioavailable being in range of what she considers normal, she saw anti-depression has the only other possibility.

@systemlord, so if I put in 669 ng/dl in a unit conversion tool I get 23.21 nmol / L. I’m far from that.

I would stay away from SSRI’s unless you’re literally suicidal level. Try some of the other things that have been mentioned. Nutrition, etc. Too many long term issues w/SSRI’s

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These antidepressants will drop your testosterone even more, cause ED and lower libido and may very well make you depressed. Your doctor is sticking with what she knows best, TRT is a field of medicine most doctors are unfamiliar with and doctors tend to have anxieties about prescribing TRT.

The treatment for hormonal problems pretty much everywhere is deplorable, it seems all doctors want to do is prescribe mind numbing drugs which screw with brain hormones causing hormonal problems, ED and low libido.

Antidepressants are for those with neurological problems which cause depression, not depression caused by hormonal problems. Your doctor is just poorly trained and educated, extremely common.

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I don’t believe that anti-depressants are the solution for you either, because you may not actually be depressed. I listed, like, three or four other things to consider as alternatives.

It’s entirely possible to eat clean and eat too few calories and/or have extreme macro discrepancies. Pre-contest bodybuilders do it all the time and leading up to a show they can suffer libido problems, a lack of energy, the whole nine.

Based on your bloodwork, it would be irresponsible for her to prescribe TRT because, again, nothing is significantly out of range. You could consider natural options like a quality Test booster like Alpha Male and/or a basic mineral formula (ZMA is inexpensive and has magnesium that lifters are often deficient in), and/or something as basic as Vitamin D.

I’d also take a month or so to increase daily calories and back off the training volume and/or intensity. Basically, deload and eat a bit more, then re-evaluate how you feel.

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Please do not take SSRI unless you have tried everything to fix it or are seriously suicidal.

And I can see right away you have subclinical hypothyroidism, which can be the main cause behind your low testosterone values.

But I need you to take a full thyroid panel which includes TSH (least important thyroid value), FT3, FT4, RT3 and antibodies.

I would also recommend you to take a full iron panel.

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