First of all a big thanks to KSMan, IW84Aces, PureChance and all the other guys on this site who have selflessly spent so many hours helping people! I have learned so much and finally decided to post. Sorry for the long post but I am trying to follow the posting guidelines specified in this site and provide all the information these guidelines have requested.
I got diagnosed with Hypogonadism by my primary care physician about three months ago. I have had three labs and the composite is below. I have suffered from depression, brain fog, low libido and low energy for literally 20 years. In that time (STUPIDLY) I had never had a good physical (from a good doc) or lab work so I had no idea why. Until being diagnosed with Hypogonadism about three months ago I had never heard of TRT. I am EXTREMELY careful with what I put in my body. I Refused antidepressants for these years because to be honest it still seems like an experimental drug (with patients reporting everything from ‘changed my life for the better’ to ‘made me want to kill myself’). But since testosterone is something my body naturally produces, I am very cautiously considering TRT. But first I wanted the opinions of the expert gurus on this site. Thank you so much for any guidance you may provide.
-age 45
-height 5’10’
-waist 32
-weight 168
-body and facial hair: muscular, athletic, in very good shape. facial hair maybe a little more than average
-describe where you carry fat and how changed: midsection…but not much fat at all
-health conditions, symptoms [history]: depression and anxiety for at least 20 years significant stress at job. increasingly reclusive. premature ejaculation since 20’s. low energy/motivation. overall physical health very good. probably lower than average sex drive. achieve very hard erections which last very hard all the way through ejaculation using porn. also suffer from premature ejaculation
-Rx and OTC drugs, any hair loss drugs or prostate drugs ever: use over the counter shampoo that says its supposed to reduce hair loss (never used any prescription hair loss drugs)
-describe diet: Very low fat. Very lean meats. many vegetables and fruits. whole food vegetable pills and antioxidant fruit juice supplement. basically eat obsessively healthy
-describe training: run twenty minutes at moderate pace about twice a week. Weight training about 40 minutes 3 times a week (high intensity) varying from lower weight and high reps to high weight low reps
-testes ache, ever, with a fever? no
-how have morning wood and nocturnal erections changed: still have fairly regularly. have probably decreased a little in the past year
Here are the results from my recent blood tests…Both were fasting for 12 hours…(I have not yet started TRT). Blood given at noon on 6/26/2013 and then again on 6/27/21013…some numbers may be from one day and others from the following day…(hard to tell from report)
shbh:24 nmol/L (11 to 80)
TT: 239 (300 to 890) tested at 204 the following day
Testosterone Bioavailable: 138.9 ng/dl (130 to 680)
Testosterone Free: 48.7 pg/ml (47.0 to 244)
Prolactine, Serum: 4.1 ng/mL (2.1 - 17.7)
FSH: 6.2 mIU/mL (1.4 - 18.1)
LH Level: 6.2 mIU/mL (males 20-70 yrs 1.5 - 9.3 mIU/mL)
PSA 1.52 ng/mL (0.00 - 2.50)
Thyroxine Free: 0.86 ng/dL (0.76 - 1.46)
Cortisol Random: 11.5 mcg/dL (before 10 am 3.7 - 19.4 after 5 pm 2.9 to 17.3)
About two weeks ago I had some additional lab work done (Thyroid, DHEA-S, Estradiol, etc). Please see attached for the results. Everything came back as normal with the exception of DHEA-S. According to the research I have done, high DHEA-S is common among people suffering from depression (so no surprise there). Also irregular heartbeats are also a common symptom of high DHEA-S. In recent weeks, about once every two hours I feel a ‘funny’ heartbeat (like a double heartbeat)
Lastly, I do not have kids yet and I want to maintain that option.
So (finally) here are my questions:
- Should I embark on this TRT journey AT ALL?
- If so what protocol (Test-C? AI? HCG? and what dosages/intervals)?
- What can I do about the High DHEA-S
Thank you SO MUCH for ANY help you can provide!!!