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8309591 tn?1397596954

Low Testosterone for active 26 year old, how to proceed?

Hi everyone,

I am a 26 year old originally from Italy but live in Denmark (since 2009).

I have been working out for the past 3.5 years or so lifting weights and doing cardio at times, so I am generally active and fit. I have been having some problem with a little stress (I have always had anxiety - and biting my nails) and mostly libido (I don't feel and think about sex! hardly ever anymore), and I decided to do some blood work (See attached) to check my test level.

They came back at 10.6 nmol/L (free test) and the min range is 10.3 and max is 27.4, and the answer I got from the doctor is "Everything is fine". Well, heck no everything is NOT fine. I don't feel well, and I don't understand why some doctors are so reductionist in their thinking. The value is just 0.3 above the minimum. I hope doctors know how reference ranges work... even if it was 11 I still would think is low. After all I am not a 75 years old man with type II diabetes!!

When I look online for my age range I always see that it should always be above 650 and that is even considered on the "lower" end. When I look on site form my home country (Italy) they suggest a normal healthy range for adult males of 5-12 ng/ml and mine is 2.89ng/ml (288ng/dl).

The test was done in the early morning (08:45am or earlier) where test level are highest.

I am going to book an appointment with my doctor to see what he says, but he hasn't answered to a message I wrote him and always seemed skeptical. I want to find out why is this and what causes it and what to do because this is not how an active, healthy 26 years old should feel like.

Hope someone can shed some light on my issue, and what measures I should take.

PS: Is checking thyroid levels relevant? what would it tell me? Should I check TSH, T3 and T4? ( I also thought my thyroid was screwed up, as I have a VERY slow metabolism, but it might be just me)
Best Answer
Avatar universal
Hi,
   Have you also measured your LH level, since a higher level of LH would indicate that your body is actually in need of higher level of T. Again other parameters like Prolactin, SHBG, Estrogen levels,adrenal hormones and thyroid ( T3, T4 and TSH) levels might show if any of those is behind your low T level. Though not expected in your case, postprandial glucose test is also a test that could be done.

As already advised, think twice before a TRT course is attempted.

Solace
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8309591 tn?1397596954
I first want my doctor to help me figure out the causes of this, since all the common causes I read online dont fit my profile (Obesity, castration, traumas etc).

Also I measured SHBG and few others and they are attached in the picture. but I will measure my T4- T3- TSH.
Helpful - 0
8309591 tn?1397596954
Hey there. Thanks for your reply.

My diet is in check already. As I said I do powerlifting/bodybuilding and I am therefore very interested in the nutritional side of the lifestyle too.

I track not only my kcal intake, but my Protein, Carbs, Fat and fiber intake, without forgetting about micronutrients too, and therefore try to eat at least 2 servings of veggies a day and 2 servings of fruit a day.

Right now I am in a "bulk" but I am still around 15-17% body fat, which is still ok lean and it's definitely better than be at very low bf% achieved when dieting, as a "dangerous" side is when dieting for prolonged periods of time with low fat intake, which decrease your testosterone level and libido, quite a bit (so this is not the case atm obviously).

I recently tried to up my fat intake staying within my kcal requirements (therefore just lowering carbs a bit) so that I would be in the ballpark of fat making up 30% of my kcal intake. I do eat berries, nuts, tuna, avocado, and eggs for the most part already.

I was wondering if I should try some DHEA or other "natural" way to increase testosterone, because although it is true that injecting testosterone may decrease your sperm count when coming off it (although if you PCT correctly afterwards it should return back to normal), it does however improve my quality of life which is declining quite a bit :(
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
humm that is right that there would not be a big difference in other lab results but that is a fact that it could change. And the medication about testosterone level i do not really recommend too as your DR. said that it is ok!
Because if you increase your testosterone level through medicine then you might not be able to produce it by your self in normal way it may getting decreased, so for first medication i will recommend to get a better diet that can help you to increase your testosterone level.
you should eat eggs, carrot, orange , black paper, strawberry , raspberry,
Pomegranate, tuna, pine apple, avocado and almonds.
also try to loose some weight .
the food that is mentioned that is rich in zinc and Vitamin "C" and magnesium and potassium which helps to increase testosterone level naturally.
Helpful - 0
8309591 tn?1397596954
Sorry I didn't reply directly to you i made a mistake... Please see below for my answer.
Helpful - 0
8309591 tn?1397596954
Hey there.

I do powerlifting/bodybuilng, so I am fairly active although I had to decrease my workout days to 3 as it fits better with my studies, work, etc.. But although I am a "fairly heavy" for my height at the moment that is because I am at the peak of my bulking season whilst I am fairly "lean" if you look at me, a lot of weight is just more mass that I carry compared to the average person.

Regarding sleep I find that I rarely sleep less than 7-8 hours a day. So this shouldn't be a problem. Also I always sleep well.

The fact that you may get different test level (again they could be slightly different but you won't ever get tested at 288ng/ml in a lab, and 960ng/ml in another lab) doesn't (in my modest opinion) mean that your level aren't still way below normal for a certain individual. Don't you think?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
well don't worry dear .. Neil Goodman professor of medicine says that
"If I take blood on a guy and I send it to three labs, I'm going to get three different levels,"
well there are some reasons that can lower your testosterone level and i will let you know how to avoid them ..
so very first thing is fat , fat can decrease your testosterone level hope you are not a fat guy as you have an active routine .
the second big thing that can cause lower testosterone level is no regular sleep schedule or sleeping less than required so get a healthy sleep and take it as it is required don't sleep too much as well.
don't get depressed or upset if you are depressed it will lower your testosterone level.
go for swimming also cause it is a big asset for this.
Helpful - 0
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