Im only 23, got some test done at the beginning of the year cause I was feeling the symptoms of low T. Test came back and confirmed that I had low T and levels were extremely low. Cant remember or find the paper with the exact numbers. Doc wanted me to consider trt at the time, but I started dieting and exercising regularly and lost 60lbs and started to feel better. Went from 290ish to now 234ish. I started to feel better and energy was starting to improve. Now I feel like I’ve hit a plateau and im starting to feel those symptoms again so I recently went to get test done again and these were the results
Testosterone, total 4.27 ng/ml
Testosterone, free 0.11ng/ml
Bioavailable 2.55 ng/ml
Shbg 21.90nmol/L
Can someone explain these numbers to me and if I should seriously consider TRT?
We require reference ranges for all labs. It looks like T is below the threshold for cardiovascular disease, which is 440-480 ng/dL, yours is 427 ng/dL which is the same as 4.27 ng/ml. I hope you weren’t cutting back food intake too much while attempting to lose weight, we see men who have low T do to starvation diets.
How was you food intake and sleep quality, did you overwork yourself to lose the weight?
Testosterone Threshold for Increased Cardiovascular Risk in Middle-Aged and Elderly Men:
The locally weighted regression showed that total testosterone levels of 440 and 480 ng/dL were associated with increased Framingham CVD risk and an increased probability of increased hsCRP, respectively. Men with sexual dysfunction (poor sexual performance, decreased morning erection, and loss of libido) had significantly greater CVD risk.
If you did make your best effort to regain optimal T levels, then it sounds like you made the effort and it didn’t work, which is more than I can so for the guy looking for a quick fix. You gave it your best and it may be time for TRT.
We need to see thyroid labs as well, CBC, iron panel and ferritin wouldn’t hurt either.
My apologies for not including the reference ranges. When I was first diagnosed with low T my diet was absolutely terrible. When I started dieting, I did intermittent fasting and counted calories and tried my best to always hit my required calories for the day. My job is very unorthodox so my sleep patterns are sporadic and all over the place. As far as training I did a standard 5 days on 2 days of split. Weight loss has stopped for about 2 months now and my depression and anxiety have been worse as ever. If TRT can make me feel better and happier than im all for it, Im just not sure if I want to make the decision to have to take test for the rest of my life at 23.
This low T phenomenon is happening more in the last 10 years and doctors do not know why, but it’s expected to become a bigger problem the more time passes. We are seeing a big decline in testosterone over the last 70 years and it’s only going to get worse.
Consider your environment, choking pollution, pesticides, chemical everywhere and processed foods. I do not know how it’s possible to live healthy in an environment such as this, soon we will be infertile.