Testosterone Results - Low?

Pharma / TRT Testosterone Replacement
1

Hi, I am 27 years old. I had some blood work done and one thing they did was testosterone. I did it first thing in the morning. It came back at 11.8 nmol/l.

The test result indicated this is the normal range but after reading online it seems like it could be low to me. I looked up online and 11.8 seems to be equivalent to about 330ng/dl. Based on this result, is this something I should be looking into more? Doing additional tests, etc? Dr. just said it was in normal range and didn’t discuss any further. Based off the symptoms of low T I saw online seems like some apply to me.

EDIT, added info:

Age: 27
Height: 6’1
Waist: 32"
Weight: 180lbs

Body and hair: average build, decent amount of facial hair an body hair

Fat: Abdomen and Chest (tend to have thick trunk and legs and thinner arms and shoulders)

Health Conditions: The only think I know of is elevated protein in kidney, Dr said it is not normal but the levels haven’t worsened, so for now we will monitor and make sure it doesn’t worsen. Seem to get strep throat a lot and get sick a lot. Energy levels have been quite low, feeling very unmotivated.

No long term medications

Lab results: I only had total T done, was a part of a wider screening. Result was 11.8 nmol/l (the range given was 6-38 so this was in the “normal” range)

Diet: Around 3500 calories a day, aim for 1g of protein per pound, mix the rest in with healthy fats and carbs.

Training: 4x per week. Legs, back, chest, shoulders

Testes: seem normal to me

Erections: I don’t get spontaneous erections, almost never have had “morning wood” or erections at night or other times. Pretty much never get erections without physical touch.

2

Please read the advice for new guys sticky. This will enable you to understand the basics.

  • we need to know more about you
  • consider causes that might apply to you
  • what are your symptoms and other health related issues
  • stressful events?
  • illnesses
  • when did issues start and any events that might have started the problems

Please post lab results with the lab ranges.

What country are you in? This effects what your treatment and diagnostic options are.

At your age, low T needs to be considered a symptom and then you need to find the cause

Do this lab work:

  • TT
  • FT
  • E2
  • prolactin
  • LH/FSH ← very important
  • TSH
  • CBC
  • cholesterol [might be too low]

Lab normal ranges are simply statistical brackets that capture 95 or 97.5% of values in a sample set if lab ranges. Docs confuse statistical lab “normal” ranges with a state of “normal” health. And your doc is missing the need for diagnostic efforts to find the cause of your low T. The situation is even worse with thyroid hormones.

3

Hi sorry, new to this and didn’t notice there was a sticky. My bad! I tried to add all the information that was mentioned in the sticky there. Mostly right now, I am just trying to figure out if this is worth looking into further, getting full blood work done, etc., or if I am over-analyzing and this result is ok for someone my age. If I should look into this further, I am a bit at a loss of what do to because the Dr just said it fell within the normal range and that was all the discussion on it.

4

I went to the Doctor, who had absolutely no clue about any of this. Luckily I brought some research and was able to explain why I thought my levels were low despite being in the lab’s normal range (showing her studies of what normal was for my age and some other research) and also some justification for the tests I wanted (the ones you advise).

The hardest was E2 since the Doctor said she had never ordered it for a man before and refused. After my appointment she called back and said she did a bit of reading and wrote a new requisition with adding in E2. While the Doctor didn’t seem to know a lot I appreciated her being open to my concerns and looking into things where she didn’t know.

She said this is out of her specialty and if anything is out of the reference ranges in these tests she will refer me to a specialist. I am just happy to have gotten requisitions for these tests so I can get them done (live in Canada). Bloodwork tomorrow, will post when I get the results.

5

Considering thyroid [as always] a factor. Do you get much sun exposure for vit-D? Do you take vit-D3 supplements? Vid-D does play a role in your immune system. Had your tonsils removed?

Please also read the thyroid basis sticky. Check your body temperatures. Evaluate your long term use of iodized salt or vitamins that list iodine. If you use sea salt, you are probably iodine deficient.

6

I got the results back for my bloodwork today. Total testosterone levels were higher than the previous test, but seems like free testosterone may be low (I haven’t done any research yet, just see I’m in the bottom of the lab’s range). Still have to read about all this.

RESULTS:

TT: 19.3 nmol/l (8.4 - 28.8)
FT: 35.5 pmol/l (31.0 - 94.0)
Thyrotropin (sensitive TSH): 2.05 mIU/l (0.3 - 4.0)
FSH: 2 IU/l (2 - 8)
LH 3 IU/l (2 - 6)
Estradiol-17 Beta: 79 pmol/l (<150)
Total Prolactin: 8 ug/l (2 - 18)

Triglycerides: 0.99 nmol/l
Cholesterol: 3.76 nmol/l
HDL Cholesterol: 1.13 nmol/l
Cholesterol/HDL ratio: 3.3

LDL Cholesterol: 2.18
Non HDL Cholesterol: 2.63

I looked at iodine intake and it is possible that I am low. Have added some iodized salt to my diet for now but didn’t want to do too much until I get my results back.

If relevant, my last test also tested cortisol and DHEA Sulphate.

Cortisol AM- Serum: 354 nmol/l (185 - 624)
Cortisol PM- Serum: 92 nmol/l (<280)
DHEA Sulphate: 8.1

Wondering if anyone has any advice for me and if there are certain things I should be looking at further based on these results. Will do some reading this evening myself.

7

*bump

Been reading and it looks like my LH and FSH levels are a bit low and this may be of concern. Anyone have any thoughts on that or any other aspect of the results above?

8

Yes, LH/FSH are low. Not a result of elevated E2 or prolactin.

This is a degree of secondary hypogonadism. But docs will say that you are in range.

FT levels change a lot by the hour. A single lab result is not very useful other than to say that you are low, Meanwhile your TT does not look horrible.

Check your body temperatures!!!

Read the stickies and look at my post again after that.

TSH=2.0 looks like the only trouble spot. So you should focus on thyroid and iodine issues.