Please Help 21 Y/O

Hey everyone,

   Freshly created account but long time troll of this great website and blog. I was hoping to receive some advice on where to go about my current testosterone issue. 

I am 21 years old and have suspected that I have testosterone issues for some time now. My symptoms include but are not limited to, low energy, low libido, mental fog, difficult time building muscle, very rare morning erections, long recovery time between workouts, lack of aggression, etc.

About six months ago, I had a varicocelectomy to fix a stage three varicocele in my left testicle which has unknowingly plagued me since about the age of 16. The surgery has been successful in alleviating the veins, but seperate issues have arised. Since about two years before my surgery I complained of symptoms of low testosterone, but could not pin point the issue, that is, until my varicocele (which I believe to be the culprit) was discovered.

A week before the surgery, I went and got bloodwork done to check for testosterone levels. My results provided 6/21/13 via LABCORP is as follows:

Testosterone, Serum - 515 ng/dL
Free Testosterone (Direct) - 14.2 pg/mL

Now for a 20 year old, I considered those numbers to be low, and my doctors as well as myself believed the varicocele to be the culprit.
However, after the surgery I believe my issues with testosterone began to get worse, so I returned to my urologist who performed the surgery and he had more blood work done. My blood work as of 11/27 via LABCORP is as follows:

Testosterone, Serum - 639 ng/dL
Free Testosterone (Direct) - 8.8 pg/mL (Low)

LabCorps reference intervals are 348-1197 for Testosterone Serum and 9.3-26.5 for Free Testosterone - although you guys are probably well aware already.

Now, after receiving the results, my urologist called me telling me that my free testosterone was low and suggested Androgel cream or the underarm, and he also mentioned pellets which I presume he was referring to Testopel.

Now, I’m not sure where to begin here as far as what information I’m looking for from you guys. I’ve searched the internet far and wide for instances similar to mine and so far have yielded next to no results, hence my reason for this post.

I understand testosterone is an complex topic and I’m very concerned to be faced with problems such as mine at such a young age. I really want to reestablish my testosterone levels and sure as shit do not want to go anywhere near any type of HRT or any of that so early in life. Any suggestions, feedback, warnings or anything are greatly appreciated.

Also, if there is any information you need from me consider me an open book.

honestly, even though your numbers arent great they really aren’t bad enough that I would consider HRT if I was you. even adding a little bit of gel is gonna shut you down so don’t be fooled into thinking you can just add a little to help out. Its all or none.

You also need to read the stickies and get a bunch more bloodwork. Thyroid, adrenals, additional sex hormones, etc before you can say it is testoserone at fault.

Good luck!

[quote]cirerecrem wrote:
honestly, even though your numbers arent great they really aren’t bad enough that I would consider HRT if I was you. even adding a little bit of gel is gonna shut you down so don’t be fooled into thinking you can just add a little to help out. Its all or none.

You also need to read the stickies and get a bunch more bloodwork. Thyroid, adrenals, additional sex hormones, etc before you can say it is testoserone at fault.

Good luck![/quote]

thanks! i’m hesitant to just listen to the urologist alone, i feel like I should take this up with an endocrinologist

Any doctor who would put a 21 year old guy on TRT when he’s at 639 is an absolute asshole. You need to recheck your free T number and it might help to check your E2. Your free T was OK when you were at 515 but it’s much lower at 639. It looks like it could be a lab error. If it’s not an error, your SHBG has spiked up and you should look for a way to lower it. If your E2 is too high it can cause symptoms.

639 isn’t bad at all. 700 is probably average at your age. If you want to raise your own T levels, try making lifestyle changes and taking supplements before trading in a good set of 21 year old nuts for a pair of atrophied jelly beans. If you’re determined to raise your levels higher, try low dose clomid ( like 25 mg every third or 4th day) before going on TRT.

Do an hpta restart with nolvadex 10-20 mg everyday clomid 25 mg ed works too

is it just me or did he admit he used to be a troll

[quote]chobbs wrote:
is it just me or did he admit he used to be a troll[/quote]

lol didnt mean it like that. i’ve always come here for info i’m just not up to date on the blog lingo.

[quote]chubby1 wrote:
Do an hpta restart with nolvadex 10-20 mg everyday clomid 25 mg ed works too[/quote]

is a full hpta restart achievable? would I be able to go on an AI for a short amount of time and then stop?

[quote]con.quigs wrote:

Now, after receiving the results, my urologist called me telling me that my free testosterone was low and suggested Androgel cream or the underarm, and he also mentioned pellets which I presume he was referring to Testopel.

[/quote]

IF you decide to go on some form of TRT, I would suggest you go right to the injection. It seems everyone ends up there sooner or later. The seed or pellet you mentioned can be hard to adjust. What happens if it’s in and you are not getting the right numbers back in your blood work? Injections are much easier to adjust. The cream sucks; sticky, have to do it every day, absorption is different from person to person, cross transfer is a real issue with wives/girlfriends (or wives and girlfriends, lol)

[quote]Freddy77 wrote:
Any doctor who would put a 21 year old guy on TRT when he’s at 639 is an absolute asshole. You need to recheck your free T number and it might help to check your E2. Your free T was OK when you were at 515 but it’s much lower at 639. It looks like it could be a lab error. If it’s not an error, your SHBG has spiked up and you should look for a way to lower it. If your E2 is too high it can cause symptoms.

639 isn’t bad at all. 700 is probably average at your age. If you want to raise your own T levels, try making lifestyle changes and taking supplements before trading in a good set of 21 year old nuts for a pair of atrophied jelly beans. If you’re determined to raise your levels higher, try low dose clomid ( like 25 mg every third or 4th day) before going on TRT.

[/quote]

all very good advice and I thank you. I should have also stated that I have been weightlifting for eight years, I spent three years at DeFranco’s gym just to give you an idea that I’m not idiot when it comes to the weight room. I lift heavy (compound movements never exceed 5 reps) and make sure to do deadlifts and squats weekly for testosterone purposes alone. My diet consists of a lot of health fats, protein and a moderate carb intake, usually for dinner. I go through on average 36 whole eggs a week, whether raw or cooked, for purposes of cholesterol and hormone production. I eat meats, nuts and greens consistently to ensure a testosterone friendly diet. like I said I’ve been experiencing symptoms of low test for a while now and have been doing the necessary lifestyle changes to accamodate. I supplement zinc and magnesium before bed, ample vitamin d and a health dose of fish oil and EFAs.

I just got off the phone with my doctor who seems to think the pellets would be my best option. He says he wants to give me a lighter dose ( 8-10 pellets) to supplement a natural production, but wouldn’t that cause a shut down of my natural production? He seemed very knowledgable on all the questions I had and I truly don’t know where to go.

I’m very lean - 6’3 205lbs with low body fat so I doubt it would be E2, and he also says my SHBG is probably high due to low free.

as stated earlier it is all or nothing. If you just add a little, your own production will shut down and you may very well end up with less T than you started. Think you should really look at lifestyle and other blood work before you jump on the T bandwagon.

Some of the advice people are giving you here is ok others are jumping ahead to much.

Here is what you need to do. Get complete lab work.

TT
FT
LH
FSH
DHEAS
TSH
FT3
FT4
E2
SBGH
Pregnenolone
Prolactin - very important at your age
Vit D
CBC
RBC

After this is done and you consult the doc post your numbers here as most docs tend to be terrible with TRT and hormones.

Your T levels are not bad. The procedure you had can sometimes cause lowered ability to create Testosterone. Total T is average free T is lowish possibly due to high SBGH.

When I was your age, my Total T was around 300, and I still wish I would have tried other options before getting on androgel. Your Urologist is wrong in his thinking. It’s called testosterone REPLACMENT therapy. Not supplementation… Once you introduce that testosterone your balls will be doubtfully ever produce what they produce now on their own. I notice you have been taking some natural approaches to keep your levels up. The effectiveness of those things usually seem questionable, but might be your best bet for now. From my research while on TRT since my SBHG is high, the best things I think, that seemed to have helped my numbers slightly anyway, and should have no negative consequences to lower SBHG and possibly raise your FT is DIM and Nettle Root.

I dropped my E2 from 35 to 26. If your SBHG is high and your FT is low, I believe your E and or DHT will be high. (Your T is going somewhere) Nettle root is supposed to bind to the sites where DHT and E would form, hopefully freeing up your T. These herrefchaveedtments are usually referred to as bringing a knife to a gun fight, but hopefully you don’t have a gun fight on your hands. Wish I could go back and fight my battle differently. Now I have to question if I’ll regain my fertility when I want to. Something you should consider.

^^

Are you using HCG and if so how long?

Also you can occasionally run a SERM to produce both FSH and LH to activate the receptors. Just make sure to never mix HCG and SERM.

KSMan says HCG and SERM can be combined if both are in low doses. You can get by with less SERM if you add HCG to it. It’s an option for someone whose response to the SERM is limited.

Take frequent labs so you know you’re not overloading the nuts.