To begin with i’d like to say that i never touched roids or any testo related products.
I visited my doc and complained about my overly large varicocele around my left nut since i was worried that it was shrinking and thus leading to lower testo levels. Ive had this varicocele since i was 16 and it has gotten bigger since(im 21 now) and if i remember correctly thats about the time everything got ‘bleh’ to me like a castrated dog.
The doc explained that test levels were unaffected by testicle size and that i shouldnt worry but aggreed to do the blood test anyway to shut me up.
Anyway just got my blood work and…yeah…
Total Testosterone - 11nmol/l (10-35 - normal)
SHBG - 21nmol/l (13-71)
Luteinizing hormone(LH) - 2.8IE/l (1.5-9.3)
FSH - 0.9IE/L (1.4-18)
The doc keeps telling me this is normal, i just cant figure out how the hell its normal for a 21 year old to have the low end testo levels of a 60 year old
Been working out for 3 years with mediocre results. In general pretty hairy in comparsion to other ppl my age. Have had initiative problems for as long as i can remember and been pretty lazy.
Not sure what to do feel pretty depressed right now, should i aim for letting a surgeon fix my balls and hope for the best?
They tend to only do surgery if the varicocele is causing pain. I have had two attempted varicocele operations (first one inguinal, the second subinguinal) for one stubborn SOB. It’s smaller now and only really shows up if I’m standing for a long period of time while it’s warm out, but it’s not completely gone. It’s fairly uncommon for it to reappear like it did in me, but just keep in mind that surgery may or may not be worth it. If you do decide to have it removed (not a terrible choice even if hormones aren’t the motivating factor) just tell them it’s beginning to ache quite a bit any time you’re standing.
FSH means more than LH as LH levels move during the day and the lab result is really matter of timing. FSH is steadier and is a better measure of what it going on.
I live in Sweden, these doctors are well famous for not reacting to medical conditions unless you are on the edge of death. I remember when i ruptured my L4-S1 discs, they gave me paracetamol and diclofenac to ease the pain, and i was in such a condition that i couldnt even take a piss properly.
Anyways, low FSH levels what does that mean? is it serious?
That level of FSH does indicate secondary hypogonadism, lack of gonadotrophins from the pituitary. Why that would be is unknown. Possibilities are something repressing the HPTA, pituitary damage from a blow to the head or from a growth on the pituitary. The low SHBG number makes it unlikely that repression is from elevated E2.
When young men have this issue, imaging tests of the pituitary are often done to rule out or detect changes to the pituitary. A prolactin test would also indicate a prolactin producing adinoma.
It is odd that you have low gonadotrophins and mechanical problems with your testes at the same time.
“The doc explained that test levels were unaffected by testicle size”
Wrong when varicoceles are involved.
Testes are smaller when gonadotrophins are low.
Wrong with primary and/or secondary hypogonadism.