Seized by Fatigue

Training Over 35 Lifter
1

(While I am not over 35, I decided this is the most appropriate section, due to the issues discussed here).

I have been suffering from fatigue and lack of drive. It has gradually got worse over the last few years (I am currently 20). Several days ago, I felt exhausted and physically HAD to lie down and rest, at midday. This was not the usual ‘mentally tired’ feeling from lack of sleep, it was an overpowering sensation of fatigue and lethargy. There was no apparent reason for this episode, which disturbed me greatly.

I think this is very unusual for someone of my age. I exercise regularly (not to the point of overtraining), eat a reasonable diet, and get 7+ hours of sleep each night.

  • I rarely drink, and take no drugs, medication or supplements, except EPA/DHA extract.

  • I am 5’9’', 150lbs. I have an ‘estrogenic’ build:

My measurements are (chest 38’’ waist 31’’ hips 38’‘), and I can pinch about 0.5’’ on my abdomen, but almost 2’’ on my butt. I am weak; two months into a fullbody compound routine, I deadlift 100kg (225lb), squat 80kgx5 (180lb) and dip (BW + 10kg)x10.

Note that this is after an extended layoff, previous to which I trained for 1.5yrs, so these numbers are not due lack of familiarity with the movements.

  • My libido is weak. I do not get spontaneous or morning erections. It’s very rare for me to get strong sexual urges out of nowhere. I feel that I could give up sex/masturbation with relative ease. My testes are small, each about the size of a walnut. However, (and thank f***) I have no problems with sexual function, with stimulation I can maintain an erection indefinitely.

  • I lack drive. I get things done, but only by calculated decisions and willpower. I am naturally lazy and stress-free. I would not say I am depressed. However, I am lucky enough to live a ridiculously easy life, as a rich student.

My general sense of wellbeing tends to fluctuate. At the highs I feel confident, invincible and a kind of ‘sexual power’. At the lows I don’t really feel unhappy or depressed, but I am very tired, lazy and unmotivated.

I live in the UK, but have health insurance. I am going to see my GP about these issues soon. My only guess is that I have weird T/E levels, so I will have these checked, but I’m unsure how to persuade him - I’m afraid he will not take this request seriously (of course, every 20yr old man has average or higher T).

I would like to hear from anyone who has had similar experiences, especially wrt to getting the blood tests in the UK.

2

I would recommend you first, get your blood tested. Then watch the documentary “The Vanishing Male” it may help you understand the situation you are in. Good luck!

3

I would like to see what your diet looks like. If your at 150 lbs your probably not going to be able to lift much. I think you need to go on a eating binge. You should get your blood checked- when I was 20 women were on my mind about 90% of the time.

4

[quote]daudowen wrote:
I think you need to go on a eating binge.[/quote]

Good point. If I were you I’d first try this for a while. But don’t eat junk. Eat micro-nutrients dense foods: whole eggs, fresh meat, fish, butter, double/wipping cream, cheese, tons of veggies and fruits, legumes, raw nuts.
Avoid empty calories, those are garbage. Your body needs calories AND lots of micronutrients (vits, minerals and a zillion of other phyto-compounds) to process the macronutrients you ingest and function properly.
And go check whether there is or whether there isn’t a possible major xeno oestrogens source in your environment…

5

[quote]Berserkergang wrote:
daudowen wrote:
I think you need to go on a eating binge.

Good point. If I were you I’d first try this for a while. But don’t eat junk. Eat micro-nutrients dense foods: whole eggs, fresh meat, fish, butter, double/wipping cream, cheese, tons of veggies and fruits, legumes, raw nuts.
Avoid empty calories, those are garbage. Your body needs calories AND lots of micronutrients (vits, minerals and a zillion of other phyto-compounds) to process the macronutrients you ingest and function properly.
And go check whether there is or whether there isn’t a possible major xeno oestrogens source in your environment…

[/quote]

My diet consists of the sort of foods you listed, and I tend to eat 3000+ cals/day. I am in caloric excess (have gained about 8lb since resuming training, and noticed stretchmarks on legs/hips again). My body doesn’t really seem that responsive to changes in diet, but I still try to eat well. When I trained before, after 1.5yr I was 160lb - I have a small frame so this was very noticeable, I got a lot of comments. However there was some fat gain too.

Searching for ‘vanishing male’ mainly gave pages about changing vote demographics in the US, do you have a link?

I intend to get my blood tested, if anyone has advice on how to persuade them to test T/E, or experience with this on the NHS, that would be very helpful. I do not want the Dr to just assume depression.

6

But depression might be a factor, so don’t rule it out. Don’t let your regular doctor make that diagnosis, see a shrink.(I did, and I was depressed, and it helped, but that is a different story).

Tell the doc you are exhausted all the time. Have them test your thyroid (hypothyroidism causes many of the symptoms you have) and your testosterone. I agree with daudowen, at 20 years old, your mind should be on little else than tang-tag.

As for your diet, if you are going to lift, and if you want to gain muscle, you need to really look at your protein intake. Dont cheat and do the math. if you are active, simply not getting enough protein could cause alot of the trouble you are having. Try to get 150-200 grams of protein daily. If you are like most people that dont concentrate on it, you probably get less than 100 grams. try to get the protein in whole foods like beef, chicken and fish (pork too, if you don’t have any religious-dietary restrictions) 6 ounces of the above is generally around 50g protein. If you cant get the protein through eating, get a decent protein supplement.

Sorry about the protein crusade, but its important if you are lifting. good luck

Old Lardass

7

Wow am I bad.

http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/doczone/2008/disappearingmale/

Your generation is not doing to good. The next will be worse.

8

Apparently you cant get the vid unless your in Canada.

9

[quote]63Galaxie wrote:
Apparently you cant get the vid unless your in Canada. [/quote]

Sorry to hear that, kind of sucks! Here’s the scoop on the doc. Basically every male has to get their blood tested. The T-levels in the male body have been dropping at an alarming rate. Depending on various factors, so it is not effecting all males. However if you have problems that could be caused by low T-levels, get your blood checked.

10

I found a link to the documentary

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7530701744597358451

(does anyone else find the increasing prevalence of ‘not available in X country’ restrictions concerning?)

I had my blood tested yesterday. They’re at least testing for T and estrogen, though it’s not clear which estrogen test they use - how crucial is this? I suspect I may have high E due to things like female fat distribution, so I’d like to be sure.

I’ll post back with results when I get them

11

Hi, I got the results. T/E levels were:

Serum oestradiol level (pg/mL): 28.6 ( < 49 )
Serum testosterone level (ng/dL): 688 ( 230 - 835 )

There were a lot of other general tests, for blood count, liver, etc. The only notable results were

Liver:
ALT/SGPT serum level (u/L): 78 (0 - 50) HIGH
[ for what its worth, ALP (u/L) was 112 (30 - 135) ]

Blood:
Neutrophil was slightly below normal range, probably because total white blood cell count was at the bottom of normal range (4.2 of 4.0-11.0).
Platelet count was slightly below normal range