Lab Results: 27 y/o, "Normal" T

Pharma / TRT Testosterone Replacement
1

Hey everyone,

Thought I would post up my lab results and get some feedback. I am 27 ( 5’ 9" 195lbs w/ high BF) and for a little while have been gaining weight (especially abdominal fat ) despite a much improved diet, difficulty gaining muscle, always tired, low libido, and overall lack of interest / depression. Originally thought it was due to a stressful job and crazy work schedule but the problems have persisted. I work in the medical field so I have a pretty good knowledge base but admittedly do not understand this area too well.

I am considering making an appointment with a local Urologist who advertises for Men’s Health and Low T but thought I would get some baseline labs first to see if it is worth it. Anyway here they are. Any input would be appreciated

TSH 2.970 uIU/ml
T4 9.2 ug/dl
T3 uptake 28%
Free Thyro index 2.6

Testosterone, Serum 447 ng/dl
Free Testosterone 12.1 pg/ml

Hemoglobin 15.5 g/dl
Hematocrit 45.3%

2

When you go to the urologist, I’d have them rerun some of the above tests along with a couple of others:

  1. TSH looks high. Recheck this one again.
  2. Free T3.
  3. Free T4.
  4. Both thyroid antibodies.
  5. Total Testosterone - 447 isn’t horrible but should be in the 600 range for 27 years old. What time of the day did you have this measured?
  6. Free Testosterone - Same comment as #5 above.
  7. Estradiol Sensitive or ultrasensitive.
3

Thanks for the feedback. Labs were drawn at 10am.

4

Always need lab ranges.
Skip T3 uptake and free thyro indexes, those are obsolete.

TSH should be near 1.0
T3, T4, fT3, fT4 should be near mid-range or a bit higher.

Thyroid is not right. Labs ranges are useless because you are “normal” when you are suffering.

Problem may be iodine deficiency.
What is your history of [not] using iodized salt?
Post oral body temps - see below.
Are you getting 150-200mcg selenium in your vitamins? Selenium deficiency probably cause for thyroid autoimmune diseases.

Stress can lead to adrenal fatigue that increases rT3 that interferes with the active hormone fT3. See the thyroid basics sticky for: stress, adrenal, rT3, Wilson’s Book.

TT and FT levels are low, need these labs:
TT
FT
E2
LH
FSH
prolactin
DHEA-S
fT3
fT4
CBC
fasting glucose or A1C
fasting cholesterol - can be too low
AM cortisol at 8AM or 1 hour after waking up.

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.

KSman is simply a regular member on this site. Nothing more other than highly active.

I can be a bit abrupt in my replies and recommendations. I have a lot of ground to cover as this forum has become much more active in the last two years. I can’t follow threads that go deep over time. You need to respond to all of my points and requests as soon as possible before you fall off of my radar. The worse problems are guys who ignore issues re thyroid, body temperatures, history of iodized salt. Please do not piss people off saying that lab results are normal, we need lab number and ranges.

The value that you get out of this process and forum depends on your effort and performance. The bulk of your learning is reading/studying the suggested stickies.

5

Update: Symptoms progressively got worse over the past few months so I decided to go a Low T Urologist.

New Labs:
DHEA-S 423.4 (85-690)
Cortisol 14.28 (6.7-22.6)
hGH 0.074 (0.01-0.97)
IGF-1 157 (88-537)
IGFBP-3 6.83 (3.5-7.6)
SHBG 30.6 (10-50)
Estradiol 22 (10-40)
FSH 5.12 (1-18)
LH 5.66 (1-18)
Progesterone 0.93 (0.14-2.06)
Test T 287 (240-950)
Test Free 5.4 (5.5-19.8)

So appears I likely have Primary Hypogonadism with my T levels less than the 5th percentile for my age.

I was offered a trial of HCG+Clomid or Test C, HCG, Arimadex.

I am going to go the Test route and see what happens.

6

You definitely seem like you could use the Test treatment, but do not ignore the advise KSman gave about your thyroid. The Test treatment isn’t going to get you feeling right if there is a thyroid issue as well, and the thyroid numbers you posted earlier suggest that there is.

7

Thank you. I will get a decent thermometer and check to my temps. As far as Iodized Salt I am sure I have used it in the past but recently I have used pink salt for most of my cooking.

Repeat Thyroid Labs
TSH 2.401 (0.3-4.2)
T4 Free 1.06 (0.6-1.3)
T3 Free 2.92 (2.8-4.4)