Hi,
I am 33 years old married and have 3 kids, I have just recently discovered that I have very low Testosterone level.
My sympotms:
- Lower libido (I still have moderate libido but less than I used to have)
- Periodic ED (an ED that lasts for 1-2 weeks, every 3 months period!)
I do not have any other symptoms like low energy or bad sleep. I have morning wood almost daily.
Here are my lab results:
Total Testosterone: 175 ng/dl
Free Testosterone: 17.7 pg/ml (lab range: 8-52 )
E2: 13.4 pg/ml
FSH: 1.9 mIU/ml ( lab range: 1.3-11.8 )
LH: 0.7 mIU/ml ( lab range: 2.8-6.8 )
Prolactin: 9.0 ng/ml ( lab range: 4.1-18.4 )
Cortisol: 34.8 ug/dl (range: 5 - 25)
TSH: 1.58 nIU/ml (range: 0.4 - 4 )
Free T4: 1.9 ng/dl (range: 0.7 - 1.9 )
TT4: 9.7 ug/dl (range: 4.5 - 12.5 )
Free T3: 3.1 pg.ml (range: 1.5 - 4.1 )
I am shocked with this very low testosterone level! I am surprised that I do not have sever symptoms, how can this happen? I should be in a very bad condition.
I am trying to find the cause of my low-T, my LH is very low which may suggests I am secondary, I have seen an endo who said that if you are fertile and do not have clear symptoms then it does not matter if testosterone is low. Also he want to restest FSH/LH again.
Any ideas?
Your free T is not bottomed out and that maybe why your not having many symptoms since that’s what your body is going to use but your cortisol is elevated, you may want to check into that a little more. Your low E2 is probably your libido problems. There’s not any history there, have you read the stickies? What time were the tests taken?
[quote]ironman4850 wrote:
Your free T is not bottomed out and that maybe why your not having many symptoms since that’s what your body is going to use but your cortisol is elevated, you may want to check into that a little more. Your low E2 is probably your libido problems. There’s not any history there, have you read the stickies? What time were the tests taken?[/quote]
I took these tests at 9 AM.
Regarding Cortisol, I told my endo that I was deeply depressed and very nervous when I made the tests, and he said that may have caused elevated Cortisol level, now he gave me a pill and asked me to take 2 pills for one night only and then retest Cortisol in the next morning.
But isn’t lower E2 good? What is the optimal range?
There is no history in my case, excpet that 1 year a ago I tested LH,FSH and Free-T, FSH and LH were in normal range (but I do not remember the results unfortunetly) but I remeber that my Free-T was low (14 pg/ml) at that time.
Your E2 is not low when compared to your T values. Wouldn’t hurt to test for DHEA-s now and address if low. I would also do a 4x saliva cortisol test from canary club. Lots of stuff you can do to get it down if it’s not falling in the afternoon and evening. http://www.T-Nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance_nutrition/the_truth_about_adrenal_fatigue
You could try a low dose SERM to see if LH and FSH come up. 25mg clomid every other day was more than enough for me. I’ve moved to twice a week now, but have not retested yet. If you do this, make sure to test for free T, E2, LH and FSH.
thanks for feedback,
I am trying to find a reason for low LH, my endo said that there is no need for MRI to check pituitary, he said that MRI is needed mostly if pituitary hormones are elevated.
do I need to check also ferritin, vitamin D and zink?
Do you supplement Vit D and zinc? You test I suppose, but probably best to take them both. I have zinc in my multi and take around 6k IU Vit D per day.
No I don’t take any supplements I will test Vitamin D and Zing before stating taking supplements to know what my levels are.
Prob no point in testing. Unless you work outside, you probably need to take Vit D. Just take a good multi and add in a few thousand IUs of Vit D.
One important thing that I forgot to mention: I feel my balls are smaller than what they were used to be by at least 20%, and they feel soft. I do not have varicocele.
Does this imply anything?
Update:
I have made additional tests:
Ferritin: 142 ng/ml (Range: 28-397)
Vitamin D: 10.5 ng/ml (Optimal: 30-50)
DHEA-S: 373 ug/dl (Range 80-560)
So my DHEA is normal, but I have sever deficiency in Vitamin D, can this be the source of my problems?
Vitamin D does have an affect on mood … that is a guarantee…
I’m not sure if that can affect your LH , but there is a link between mood and your HPTA axis
For now as Dhickey recommended… I would try the CLOMID 25MG EOD…
going to increase your LH and hopefully your test in return… With a low LH and soft smaller balls…
You are shut down… Why I cannot help you with
Kyle