Misdiagnosed at 21 and Put on TRT

Pharma / TRT Testosterone Replacement
1

I’ll make this short as possible but help me out.

Growing up I was always bigger and stronger until I was 11. At 7 I had pubes and armpit hair at 8. By 16 I was put on Synthroid due to hypothyroid. At 17 still have lab results and my total test was:

411ng/dL

Everything else testosterone wise was also in range but low. Doctor didn’t do anything and I bought into the “Everyone’s different”

I had good reason to believe the doctor since I was still way stronger and more athletic than most, I had a low body fat %, great sex drive.

I was 6’1” 190lbs and lean.

18 y/o I enlisted and tapered off the levothyroxine. Felt fine. Levels came back fine. Doctor said go for it.

3 years in military and low T.

Total test: 278ng/dL. Range (348-1100)
Free test: barely in range
SHBG: 10
LH: 2.8 (3.4-9.7)
FSH: 7.75 (3.1-10.1)

Weird. I know. How can LH and FSH be on different sides of the range scale. Can’t tell if it’s secondary, primary or just thyroid issues that need to be addressed again like how you felt fine back at 17 years old.

TSH: 7.87
T4/T3/Reverse T3 in range

Sex drive was fine, I was just lazy all around. Fat. And I was just about an average looking guy. I could still out strength most, endurance just sucked.

Doctor prescribes me TRT: 8 Weeks in at 200mg/wk at 21 and oh my gosh I felt amazing. I was 10x faster at everything physically and mentally. Started slowly getting my chiseled jaw line back. Facial hair started coming. Strength was out the roof and everybody is suspiciously asking me what I’m on.

I then go back to endocrinologist and that doc puts me on synthroid. The endo also had suggested I come off the T cold turkey (after 6 months. That was 1 year ago)

I didn’t listen and every injection was one more nail in the coffin setting me up for life. I’m now not only big but lean.

Fast forward 1.5 years: I’m 23 now. And as cool it was to be top dog at almost everything, I feel superhuman almost as if I am cheating.

I’ve decided to face the music. I have felt warm 24/7 for the last 18 months. Like a blanket over me. BP is always high but “still okay”

WHAT DO YOU GENTLEMEN THINK?!

Docs have told me:
-Taper down
-stop cold turkey
-HCG route

The one doctor said to do HCG and I asked if we could add clomid and or nolva to it but he said, “one or the other”

1: do you think it’s possible for a 23 year old to go back to natty levels?
2: what type of PCT do you recommend
3: your experience.

Thank you so much

2

When considering your SHBG levels 200mg weekly is insane, your estrogen must be insane and would require a big weekly dose of arimidex. I’m assuming all your labs are dialed in, you’re leaving us guessing. Huge doses of T-Cyp can increase blood pressure if dosage is too high and thicken your blood.

When I was on 200mg E14D my blood pressure was through the roof and couldn’t wait to get off that ride! Men who enter puberty way too early typically have a wacked HPTA system and usually always have thyroid problems, if you were a man with no pre-existing abnormalities in regards to your HPTA, I would say your chances are still slim.

Successful restarts are rare.

Where are your levels now?

I would take KSmans advice on this one.

1 Like
3

My estrogen has always been in range. Estradiol I remember is always around 26.
Would you think it’s possible to get my natural baseline of atleast 400 total test?

4

That’s aiming a little low, president Trump is higher than that at 71. Normally we guys start losing 1% of our testosterone after the age of 30, there’s really no fixing what’s already broke unless there’s something that’s causing disruption of your HPTA that clomid somehow fixes.

A huge shot in the dark, that’s why it’s so rare that anyone fixes a broken HPTA.

5

First off I’d like to thank you for replying to this thread.
I remember when I was 17 I was lean, strong, fast, had a gf (we did what high school sweethearts do… everyday after our practices), and played sports.

After my 3 months of boot camp I had been off of synthroid for a year and was still lean. (Tired but lean)

At year 3 I had hit 230lbs. Got it down to 194 with no thyroid or trt. Then when I got on TRT.

I was a new. 210lbs. 12%. Benching 225 for 20 reps. 25 pull-ups, squatting way too much.

I just want to get back to how I felt at 17. Yes I had “lower than most T” but I 100% understand 1000 ng/dL is not going to happen. I just remember feeling fine taking 137mcg of synthroid

6

There’s a restart protocol in sticky. You can only try. But can take many weeks to get to your natty whatever that number may be. Good luck.

Also could be you crashed your e2 with the symptoms you describe. When I was Under 20 I had hot flashes and hbp

7

If you have low T and on your current dose you feel superhuman what is the problem? Am I missing something? Most guys on here are looking to get that feeling and you have it an are looking to feel like shit again? And what do you mean by “face the music” and “cheating”? It sounds like your levels are doing what they are supposed to do. Is this just a psychological hump you need to get over?

If its a BP and “warmth” thing that is bothering you then try going down to 100mg a week doing two shots of 50mg E3.5Ds. That may put you into a sweet spot.

Again, maybe I am missing something but it seems like you just need to do some adjusting so you feel a bit better.

8

Is a man with a mechanical heart cheating, you bet your ass he is cheating death but he’s alive and healthy. It all depends on how you look at it, you have a clinical need for TRT.

9

It is not clear why you think that you were misdiagnosed?

TRT should include E2 management with anastrozole as needed and hCG to preserver testes/fertility ← vital at your stage of life.

Post all of your lab work in range or not.

Your FSH could be a sign of testicular cancer. And testicular aches? Has doc examined your testes? A sure sign is on TRT, LH–>zero and FSH is elevated.

Complete labs would include:
TT=278
FT
E2
SHBG=10
prolactin ← could be root cause.

TSH should be near 1.0
T3, T4 fT3, fT3 should be mid-range or slightly higher

fT3 is the only active hormone
rT3 opposes fT3 at T3 receptors

Do you have a lab set that reflects what you are on now?
Trying to get a here and now focus.

Going back to natural levels may not be where you want to be.

In military did you get any blows to the head or blast injuries?

Please see below re “oral body temperatures” to evaluate overall thyroid function. Discuss history of using iodized salt.

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 Aand 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.

10

In range is a dirty word. Think optimal, not normal. Normal is from normal statistical distribution, nothing more and no connotation of health should be inferred.

Hi BP can be from too much thyroid medication.

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11

KSman, Thank you so much for your reply.

When I get home I will find all of my lab work and post everything here.

Reason I want to come off TRT is because I felt overall healthier at 17 and taking only Synthroid. I also remember and I would like to add: I had bad Gyno at 14 and 15. When I started Synthroid my gyno had gone away, and puberty resumed making me bigger/wider/leaner/voice got deeper.

-I had been prescribed Anastrozole with TRT but GP Doc didn’t want me to take HCG. I agreed due to my poor research. 1.5 Years later I am desperate. He prescribed me 1mg of anastrozole a day which I knew was way too high due to the little amount of research I did. I have never been faithful to my anastrozole dosages. As crazy as it may seem I sometimes take .5 EOD. and sometimes I’ll go without it for 3 weeks. Never got Gyno.

-Iodized salt, ever since I started bodybuilding I was always getting in huge arguments with my dad about not putting salt in my food because when I would take 1800-2000mg of sodium a day, I got very lean. (I will post pictures here soon).

-My testes have never hurt at times of my life, Doctors have always said I was fine in that department.

-As far as having any head injuries, I never had any.

Also be abrupt as can be. I am here for constructive criticism.

12

Whats wrong with 200mg weekly for someone with a low SHBG? Don’t people with low SHBG tend to convert more to free T and estrogen. If he was on one 200mg shot per week, the fluctuations in hormonal levels would be wild, however he should be within the mid normal range on the day before the next shot?

1 Like
13

Thank you, NH_Watts for the reply!

For starters, I feel there is an underlying issue and it is not hypogonadism. My Vit D has always been low, thyroid should have been addressed first and started taking Synthroid again before TRT, I was drinking maybe 2 times a week, slept a lot and had a bad diet when I was diagnosed with low T.

When I was 17 I felt perfectly fine with my sex drive, overall health, and physical strength. Albeit I had a 411 total test level. I am posting those labs here shortly

I am scared to wake up at 34 and think to myself. “wow. Now I really am stuck on this. This is all thanks to a juice.” I have nothing against TRT/HRT. I just don’t think I necessarily need it because a blood test said I was low in range. I have always felt fine, performed well in sports (Grew up in Texas). Maybe if I already had kids, family, in atleast my late 30s, I wouldn’t care. But I am a 23 year old kid.

I now have an awesome career and early retirement set up and all I can think is how I don’t want to be dependent on these hormones for ever. (pills, pill cutting, injecting, blood tests, doctors visits).

Every doctor I talk to says, “TRT at your age is outrageous”

I am in the reserves still (Year and some change left to go) and if we deploy, I for sure don’t want to be dependent on medicine that I have to inject in some foreign country. What if I start waking up with heart palpitations like I sometimes do in the middle of nowhere? What if the package with my meds gets lost? I’ll be in a world of hurt and the military doesn’t care.

My main goal is to try and get back to how I felt before taking testosterone.

Also another main reason I posted here was to see if what type of PCT you gentlemen recommend and IF there is no turning back at this point. I still want to try and be off as many meds as possible.

1 Like
14

Low Vit D is low T suffers is a common one, I had super low Vit D when low T and had diarrhea the entire time spent in low T land, now that my levels are restored magically Vit D is at a good level. 278 ng/dL is extremely hypogonadal, LH is low so TT is low.

You can try to convince yourself that something else is causing your T to be low and chase your tail for years, but the labs show a problem with your T production. You say you were misdiagnosed and yet TRT worked. That should be confirmation that the cause was indeed low T.

15

Thank you for your post!
I’m going to reply to KSman with my lab results that got me on TRT.

Main reason I posted was seeing if I shut down my natural test production for life. I miss being 190 at a low bf%, and only on synthroid at 16,17,18 years old.

I am going to my doctor I saw in high school to see if I can get ALL of my lab results from before I was on anything, during hypothyroid treatment and after getting off levothyroxine (Synthroid). I just feel way too amped up on TRT. Everything is amplified. Weird I know for someone to complain about everything going good for him. I’m still considering putting my picson here of me back when my total test was 411 ng/dL. I don’t want my story out to the public hence I blocked my face in my profile pic

16

LAB RESULTS THAT PUT ME ON TRT

Amylase: 39 (25-125)
Apolipoprotein A1: 124.00 (95.00-186.00)
Apolipoprotein B1: 106.00 (49.0-173.00)
Vitamin B12: 514.00 (213.00-816.00)

CBC w/ Differential:
WBC: 7.8 (4.1-10.9)
RBC: 6.07 (4.7-6.1)
HGB: 16.9 (14-18.0)
HCT: H 55.1 (42.0-52.0)
MCV: 90.9 (80.0-95.0)
MCH: 27.8 (26.0-32.0)
MCHC: L 30.6 (31.0-36.0)
RDW: 13.2 (11.5-16.0)
PLT: 209 (130-440)
MPV: L 7.1 (7.4-10.4)
NEUT#: 3.6 (2.0-6.9)
LYM#: 3.1 (.6-3.4)
MONO#: .5 (0- 0.9)
EOS#: .1 (0-0.7)
BASO# H .5 (0-0.2)
NEUT%: 46.3 (37-80)
LYM%: 39.7 (10-50.0)
MONO%: 6.9 (.1-12.0)
EOS%: 0.9 (0-7.0)
BASO%: H 6.2 (0.0-2.0)

Comprehensive Metabolic Profile:

GLUCOSE: 78 (70-105) mg/dL
NA: 139.0 (136-145) mmol/L
K: 4.3 (3.5-5.1) mmol/L
CL: 100.0 (98-107) mmol/L
CO2: 29 (22-29) mmol/L
ANGAP 14.3 (No Range Provided)
BUN 18 (6-20.0) mg/dL
CREATININE: 1.19 (.72-1.25) mg/dL
BUN/CREAT RATIO: 15.13 (6.0-25.0)
CALCIUM: 10.2 (8.4-10.2) mg/dL
BILI, TOTAL: .9 (.2-1.2) mg/dL
TOTAL PROTEIN: 7.3 (6.0-8.3) g/dL
ALBUMIN: H 5.3 (3.5-5.0)
ALT: 15 (0-55) U/L
AST: 20 (5-34) U/L
ALK PHOS: 98 (40-150) U/L
AG RATIO: 2.65 (No Range Provided)
GLOB: 2.0 (2.0-3.5) g/dL
ZEGFR: 82.4 (116 ml/min/1.73m2)

Cortisol AM/PM

CORTISOL: 5.3 (Before 10AM 3.7-19.4 ug/dL) (After 10AM 2.9-17.3ug/dL)

CRP (HS)
CRP HS: L 0.06 (0.1-0.5)

DHEA-S: 282.0 (238-539 ug/dl)

ESTRADIOL
ESTRADIOL: 26 (11.0-44.0)

IRON, TIBC & %SAT
IRON: 78 (65-175) ug/dL
TRANSFERRIN: 295 (174-364) mg/dL
ISAT: 18.89 (13.00-45.00) No Range Provided
TIBC: H 413.0 (250.00-400.00)

FERRITIN
FERRITIN: 78.06 (22.0-275.00) ng/mL

FOLATE
FOLATE: 7.7 (3.1-17.5) ng/mL

FSH
FSH: H 8.4 (0.9-10.9) mIU/ML

FREE T3 (L)
FREE T3: 4.1 (2.2-4.2) pg/mL

FREE T4
FREE T4: 1.3 (0.7-1.6) ng/mL

Free and Total Testosterone
Free testosterone: 7.97 (5.0-21.00) ng/dL
SHBG: L 10.8 (11.2-78.1) nmol/L
Total Testosterone: L 254.00 (280-800) ng/dL

Human Grown Hormone
HGH: 0.23 (0.02-1.23) ng/dL

Insulin Growth Factor-1
IGF-1: H370.0 (120-338)ng/ml

Leutinizing Hormone
LH: L 2.33 (2.8-6.8) mIU/mL

Lipid Panel w/CALC LDL
Cholesterol: 195 (120-200) mg/dL
TRIGLYCERIDE: 120 (30-150) mg/dL
HDL: 40 (35-85) mg/dL
LDLCAL: H 131 (0.0-99.0)
VDLCAL: 24 (8-39)
RISK/CHOL/HDL RATIO: 4.88 (1/2 AVG Risk)

MAGNESIUM
MAGNESIUM: 2.5 (1.6-2.6) mg/dL

PROGESTERONE
PROGESTERONE: .1 (0.1-0.2)

INTACT PTH
INTACT PTH: L 8.8 (14.5-87.1) pg/mL

Total PSA
TOTAL PSA: 0.37 (0-4.0) ng/mL

TSH
TSH: H 7.04 (0.35-4.79)

25 Hydroxy-Vitamin D Total
VITD: 30.10 (30-100)

HEMOGLOBIN A1c
HA1c%: 5 (4-6) %

Looking back. Do you think fixing my low thyroid would have put me back to where my max Total Test would be. Hindsight 2020: I believe the Synthroid put my puberty back on track at 15/16. Testosterone has just made me an animal. I just don’t want to have the idea of “You have to inject again or you’ll go through crazy mood swings”

I am going to all of my doctors starting tomorrow and asking for all of my blood results from 2010 and beyond. (1 doctor who’s staff cannot figure out how to set appointments. Long story short: Appt made, miscommunication, They want to charge me $50 before I see ENDO again.) I am going tomorrow and seeing if I can get THOSE (2012/2013) blood tests (What I want to go back to without having to inject every week)

Thank you to all who respond. It means a lot.

PS: I want to post pics of me before Synthroid at 15 (small skinny) during Synthroid at 17/18 (lean and cut @190lbs low bf%/stronger than most), 3 years off (fat/no shape/still very strong), and now (great body/strong). Not sure If i like the idea of having my pics (blanked out face even) on the internet. I just don’t like the idea of injecting and cutting pills and constantly going to docs. I am here strictly to see if you gentleman think I can get off/go back to my 17 year old feeling self. And if so, what protocol do you believe in?

ONCE AGAIN THANK YOU!

17

@OnTRTat21YrsOld Did you ever figure this out? Our labs are very similar and I’m looking into anemia and trying to figure out the high calcium and low PTH like your labs show.

18

No. I don’t have the balls to go through with this… lmao Jk. I’m gonna send you a message

19

@seanmichael1990. Is there a way I can send you a message? Perhaps we can link up over a screen share and talk about it

20

@OnTRTat21YrsOld I don’t think you can message. And idk the best way to screen share or anything like that. Where are you located? It might be easiest to just type it out Here.