I do not think this is healthy. Maybe when your wife is mad? Not unless she’s gained 100 pounds since your marriage or there are other personal issues with your relationship, but you do not mention any of that.
I’d like to know more, have the benefit of an examination and more comprehensive labs. However, I put guys on TRT all the time with levels that are mid range or above mid range. If I am you, based on your symptoms, I’m not messing around and I would try TRT. There is nothing wrong with a therapeutic trial, say two to three months, see how you do. I would not waste time with lower dosing either. Good luck.
“Should I be concerned with my Albumin showing slightly below range?”
Forgot this, probably not. I would check it again, with the follow up labs after putting you on testosterone.
So when I started TRT, my levels were in the low 200’s. My healthcare practitioner tested a few regiments, and even though my test results at the start of the treatment put me at 700, I still felt like crap.I was still depressed as hell - couldn’t get out of bed, anxiety for no reason. Then he upped my doses and added some stuff and I feel my best at around 1,100.
Depression has gone away. Libido is there, not perfect, and I just am excited to wake up in the morning to tackle the day. It was night and day. I did some researching on this forum and it’ll be different for everyone.
It does sound pretty bad the way I described it…it more like I don’t even think about sex or have the desire to pursue it, until she mentions something and I’m like “oh shit it’s been a long time”. My wife is the same size as when we got married, even after 4 kids! No issues there.
To your point I’d like to rule out some other concerns or potential causes, but pending on how the consultation goes, if the doc offers TRT I may hop on just to see if it offers any help at all. If not, then I’ll carry on down the road and continue the root cause analysis.
However if it DOES help and I feel better, then great. Check bloods and make sure everything else “looks good”
A cheap option, might be to start scheduling a “sex” night, I’ve heard it works for some people, looking forward to it all week can help drive desire.
I’ve found that if it’s been a while that even bringing it up can seem awkward. Make it a regular thing. Though I’m sure with kids it complicates things a bit. Figure out a way to give yourself at least a couple nights a month or once a week to just you and your wife.
We’ve tried the schedule before actually, always end up falling away from it tho for various life reasons. I think that’s what started my concern about low T tho, because it used to be 3-4 times a week, libido has always been excessively high, but then it just started disappearing, rarely have morning wood anymore. I just attributed it to getting older, being in my 30’s, family, kids, etc. After doing a bit of reading tho i started to realize that it was not normal at all.
Well, I finally got one of their doctors to talk with me, he told I’m “in range and everything looks good, so no issues with test”. I halfway expected that answer as well given all the mixed experiences I’ve read about on the forum.
He did tell me to get my thyroid checked out tho, which is something I was looking at anyway. Any recommendations as to what labs to order if I do my own? (Like private md or something similar).
@dbossa. Dan you mention on numerous threads there is no set number for Total Test for someone to feel good but I’m confused because isn’t free test what really matters?
I ask because I’ve been testing on the lower end of total T for quite some time but still within range(never higher than 500-600) but my free T is always clinically low. My SHGB is always mid range and estrogen is also fairly low. Any way of increasing free T? I’m trying to avoid taking T for life and even though I get by and don’t feel too bad I have noticed I’m not the “man” I used to be lol. Harder to gain muscle, lower libido , mood etc. Typical low test symptoms. Btw my TSH always top end of normal so that might also be an issue. Old age is rough.
Also do you believe there’s optimal or normal ratios of estrogen, DHT and free T in relation to the amount of Total T that someone should have.
One last question if you don’t mind. I believe you mentioned on another thread that gynocomastia isn’t always caused by high estrogen. I got it in puberty and it has flared up occasionally last few years accompanied by more fat accumulation. Prolactin was also within low end of normal. Thoughts? Thanks
Your symptoms could be caused by many other diseases.
Even depression. Adrenal issues, heart issues. You should do a cardio check up too. Do at least an ekg and echo.
Blood pressure?
Labs
Free t3
Free t4
Tsh
Thyroid antibodies
Prolactin
Total t
Free t
Estradiol
Dht
Dhea-s
am cortisol taken very soon after you wake
Igf1
Iron panel
A1c
Metabolic panel
Cbc
Lipid panel
Vit b12 and folate
Yes, free test is what matters. So many guys here bring up total so I sometimes wind up mentioning it but free is where it is at. The only way you can raise free is raising testosterone or lowering SHBG (the latter not being recommended). However, you mentioned TSH at the high end of normal when you actually want that at the low end of normal to be optimized. I bet if you had thyroid addressed you’d feel quite a bit better.
I haven’t found an optimal ratio for E2 or DHT. We tend to optimize the testosterone protocol and let the body regulate the others based on those levels. This typically works 99.9% of the time.
I also had gyno during puberty and flared up often as I got older. When I finally had hormones checked, my total was around 220 and E2 was 12. Once I got my hormones optimized, the fat on my chest started melting off and the lumps themselves got significantly smaller and much less painful and sensitive to the touch than before. Here’s a vid I did that explains it further.
