Hi, I recently had some blood tests done and am hoping for some feedback. I’ve been lifting seriously for about 5 years now. I enjoy powerlifting but bodybuilding is my main interest. I’ve benched 325 for a single and dl 475 for a single. Nothing exceptional, but not too bad. I’m 6’1", currently 195 pounds at about 10-12% bodyfat. I’ll post specifics of my training and nutrition if that would help, but basically I follow the key training principles on t-mag, and workout 4 times a week with varying routines. I follow a diet of about 1/3 each of carbs/protein/fat, and use p+f and p+c meal combinations consistently. Calories vary depending on goals for a particular time.
I bust my ass when it comes to training and diet, but often I've felt there is something holding me back. So recently I had some blood work done. My testosterone came back at 262 ng/dl. The doctor said this was fine, but from what I've read this is very low. Especially considering I'm 24 years old. Do you think other doctors would consider putting me on something, or is this really an average testosterone level?
Thanks, any feedback would be appreciated, and I can post more info from the test or answer more questions if you can give me some advice.
Hi JD do a seach on the this site for test levels for your age group, I know mine were in the same range but I am in my 50’s, after a little help I went to about 480 but down again post HRT.
Test levels for athletes generally come out lower than average - particularly when they are training hard.
If you want to boost your Test levels I’m sure you could find a willing Doctor (see article: Your Doctor, Your Dealer) or you could just jump on the steroid bandwagon.
Another thing that I would do is to take a zinc magnesium combo every night before bed. Some athletes are very zinc and magnesium deficient and this can effect their levels and adrogen receptor upregulation bigtime. If you want… try some clomid. Also, get back to us with your LH levels… as this could provide a little more insight into the problem
I agree with these guys, overtraining can really lower T if you don’t recover fully and 7 or 8 hours of good dark quiet sleep. Lack of minerals is also very critical.
Actually, try acourse of RedKat and Tribex 500 along with coconut oil and fish oil supplement.
Here is a big one, try not to dust one off… that results in big increases in T levels, just none of us can go more than a day! lol.
Thanks for all of the responses. I’m currently a student and had the test done at the student health center. I had to twist the doctors arm to get her to do the test, and then she didn’t want to do anything about it when it came back. At least the test was free. I was hoping she would prescribe something since I can get a big discount on presciptions through the student health center, but I guess I’ll have to wait a little longer. Unfortunately I couldn’t get her to test my LH. She did a common serum/plasma and a cbc/differential test, and then the testosterone check.
When the test was done, I had a recovery week the previous week and hadn't trained for more than 24 hrs. Also, the test was done in the morning when my T should have been highest, so I think it might be usually be even lower than the 262 ng/dl.
I currently take a zinc and magnesium supplement, and also use about 16 grams of fish oil a day. The other supplements I take besides whey, casein, and a post workout drink are a multi-vitamin and vitamin c, e and selenium.
I think I might try to get a hold of some Tribex or Red Kat for now. I currently do not have health insurance but will be getting it in May when I graduate and am working full time. Any more suggestions? Thanks - j
I am the same age as you and actually posted the same thing about 9 months ago. I tested about the same as you. I tested three times the first one being in the afternoon and came back at 171 ng/dl. Doc was very worried so I took another in the morning about a week later. About 220 ng/dl. Doc sent me to a specialist, forgot what they are called. Specialist did complete blood work, T levels still low, prolactin came back high, suggesting I could have a prolactinoma (tumor of the pituitary gland). Tested again 6 weeks later and came back within normal range. Anyway, I just wanted to say I’m still in the same boat as you and it sucks. If your sex drive isn’t low also, you should be thankful. What I have found to be very beneficial is clomid. That shot my sex drive through the roof. Unfortunately I can’t take it anymore because I get visuals from it. Good luck my friend.
My sex drive is low, but at this point I’m just happy it isn’t non-existent. I’m very lucky to have a patient girlfriend. I’ve never tried clomid, but that’s something else I’ve been considering. I think I might see if I can get ahold of some… Thanks
First off this is the steroids board dick! Post this on T/N. Just kidding.
I’m assuming that niether of you 2 have done any AAS in the past. Especailly since you didn’t mention it. That out of the way, I think you’d be prime candidates for Red-kat and/or tribex. I take the kat when I’m off for about a bottle’s worth. Then switch over to tribex (to save some $). I would personally avoid the clomid. It makes me a whiny little bitch who wants to cry at the drop of a hat. Plus it makes me tend to break out. In other words, I don’t look forward to using it.
Your doctor is pathetic!!! This is the type of shit that pisses me off! How can you ever trust your doctor? Your levels are low and there’s no reason what so ever you should go on everyday feeling shitty. My levels a while back were quite low like yours and my doctor finally put me on 200mgs of Depo-testosteron eow. My levels went right up and I started to enjoy life again. Don’t settle for anything less than what you are capable of and it seems to me that you need another doctor or start your own testosterone protocol. Best of luck and if you need extra help I’ll help you out with some ideas on what you should perhaps do.
Ok E-Machine. My GP ended up refering me to an endo to figure out why my levels were low. After more tests with the endo, she told me my levels had reached a “normal” level of 319 and that she wouldn’t even consider TRT. Whenever I start training heavily again my levels go back down. Should I go back to my GP and ask him to prescribe or should I ask him for a referrel to another endo? Thanks
I started on Red Kat yesterday. The main reason I haven’t gone to another doctor yet is I don’t have health insurance right now. I’m a full time student and work part time. When I get health insurance in about 5 months I’m going to try every doctor I can until I get one that will help me more. Until then I’m going to work on this without doctors. I’m also working on trying to get some clomid to try SPE’s suggestion. I know Wideguy said he doen’t like it, but it sounds like SPE and I are in the same situation so I think I’ll try it out. Any more suggestions? Thanks
SPE you seem to be the perfect candidate for HRT. Anyways, I feel that perhaps you are wasting your time with your doctor. If you were to send those same results to an anti-aging clinic they would be on the phone with you right away to get you to start testosterone therapy. Here’s a suggestion, contact one of many anti-aging clinics online and share your experience with them. They will be able to guide you and at the very least give you some more scientific data perhaps needed in the future if you were to “educate your doctor” on what’s going on with you. I contacted long time ago “modern therapy” and frankly one of the representatives was quite knowledgable. Hrt is not cheap as you probably already know, however if you get a script you can always order it from other places as long as you only get a 90 day supply.
Diet might help you out. My T levels were high before I started training and lowered after a few months of hard training. I wanted to build more and I am not to my genetic limit so I did not want steroids, so I looked through the back issues and found a diet that mimics steroidal effects. Look in the FAQ on this site for “The Anabolic diet”