Got the results back. Low testo levels. What to do?

Hey guys,

I`ve been meaning to do a blood test of my hormonal levels just for curiosity for years now, but since it never had any urgency to it, it always got postponed.

After 6 weeks or so of healthy dieting just recently, I decided to get a test done because I had the time to do so, but also because I was feeling very taxed and had low libido.

The results came back and I could conclude that my metabolism was actually good, but testosterone levels were low all over. Some of the values, FSH, LH, were so low, that one number lower they would have been out of the range the doctors considered “normal”.

Actually, it was a friend of mine who helped me read the levels. I contacted the doctor and expressed my concerns, but he just told me that it was nothing to worry about, even though I did press the fact that several of the values actually were at the low end of the range.

My friend could tell me that my levels would qualify for HRT-treatment in the USA, but the doctors in Norway are very conservative and not very educated on that kind of treatment.

So now I`m on my own, and I`m not sure what to do next.

How fast can such levels change? I know that I have never been a testo-bomb, but I did not suspect I was a candidate for HRT-treatment. I have a beard and all the characteristics of a healthy male, except for the lacking libido, which could have other reasons.

Is there a chance that dieting could drive my levels that radically down in the short-term? I kind of doubt it myself, especially since I ate solid healthy foods, slept well and did not train that heavy.

I have another option, and that is to contact a known private doctor here in Norway who offers HRT-treatment if it is necessary. I`m broke and live far from him, so it will have to wait for now.

The thing is, I know very little about HRT treatment, so I plan to take the weekend to study up on it. I`m not very keen on having to take a supplement for the rest of my life, but perhaps there are alternative treatments that could help me get the engine started?

I have not had sex in ages and have not indulged in porn in a long time.

I will try to do something with both of those ASAP and see if it could help.

Also, I`m doing all of the things that should promote higher testo levels already. Weights 3 times a week, running once in a while, healthy fats, red meat, good sleep, little stress, etc.

The only thing I`m not doing is taking supplements, but that is mainly because I`m broke. I do however take ZMA.

Btw, I`m 24 years old.

I would appreciate it very much if anyone has some input on my situation.

Thanks!!!

Renholder

Not really my area of semi-knowing at all. But, I would look for a website of people in your country or area who do and know this sort of thing. That way you can find doctors who are more “open” or willing to do this kind of stuff. Actually more accurately, to spend the time to listen to your concerns before rolling their eyes.

I would assume barring a full true endocrinologist, a doctor who specializes in sports med or elderly may be one of your better bets. I assume you have some sort of nationalized health care up there that you have to work around with, so that adds to the complexity.

If you cut out fats and cholesterol for a period I know your testosterone will become non-existent. “Healthy dieting” means different things to different people. As a bodybuilder I know 20% of my daily calories should be from fat, what kind of “dieting” was you following?

I did try to get my doctor to send me to an endocrinologist, but he would not hear about it since everything was “normal”.

I talked to a guy who had worse problem than me, and he told me that he had to wait three months just to see the endocrinologist, and in the end, he did not receive any help from the public health care, so he had to seek out a private doctor.

My best option, if I decide to seek out a doctor is to find one in the private sector. Incidentally, there is a very famous doctor who specializes on problems like this and also things like ED, fertility problems, etc.

His name is Ken Purvis and he is also the author over several books I think.

I think I`m gonna call him over the weekend and discuss it with him.

I was lower on fats than I`m used to. Perhaps between 30-60 grams daily. I also got my omega 3s daily.

The last three weeks I`ve upped my fat intake so that I get at least 20 grams of fat in each meal.

This is a pretty good book on the issue you are facing if you can get it there.

The Testosterone Syndrome by Dr. Eugene Shippen. Maybe you could even get your doctor to read it. Even though it is aimed at older men it is the most complete thing I have read on the health issues of low testosterone.

(looks like this ebayer will ship to norway for $6.00 - )

Testosterone affects a lot of things, not just hair and libido. Mental focus, attitude, energy levels are all affected by it.

Here is the standard prescreening test docs use. I am including it to give you some more ideas of the symptoms - I am not advocating this website, it is just the first one that comes up with the ADAM test.

http://adamtest.com/test5.asp

1. Have you experienced a decrease in your sex drive (libido)?

2. Do you lack energy?

3. Have you lost height?

4. Has your strength and/or endurance decreased?

5. Have you noticed yourself enjoying life less?

6. Are you frequently sad or irritable?

7. Are your erections less strong?

8. Have you noticed a recent deterioration in your athletic ability?

9. Do you find yourself falling asleep after dinner?

10. Has there been a recent deterioration in your work performance?

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On thing that may be possible — were you hungover when you had the test? Because if you drank a lot the night before that will lower your testosterone levels dramatically.

If you have testicular failure, you need to take medicine. Pretty simple. It is nothing to feel bad or guilty about.

It is like a diabetic — if your pancreas doesn’t work, you need to take medicine.

I guess the problem is convincing your doc.

If you take any drugs or medications it could effect testosterone levels. You didn’t mention anything about meds, but I just wanted to bring up this point just in case you did.

If you try to raise your testosterone directly, your LH level will likely drop further. What are your cortisol and DHEA levels like?

Thanks man.

I`ll check out that book.

I could answer yes to some of the questions, but generally I`m enjoying life.

My life has been very monotone lately, with very much time spent reading and studying and very little social life, so that could be the reason I`m answering yes to some of the questions and not the fact that I have low testosterone levels.

I was not hung over:)

Good point.

Nope, I`m not on any meds.

I did not check DHEA. Cortisol is listed at 264 on my test, but I really don`t know what that means:)

I have taken this week off for complete rest and I`m restarting my weight regime tomorrow.

Actually, I`ve been feeling a little better lately.

I have not had much libido lately at all, but forcing masturbations for a few days and watching some nice naked girls on the computer seems to have increased my libido significantly. I`m not feeling like an animal, but I`m definitely feeling more like it than I`ve been doing lately.

I would want to get to the root of the problem before I jumped into to HRT as a solution. Exogenous Testosterone (injected) will further lower your natural LH,FSH, etc… and will leave you relying on HRT for the rest of your life.

I know some steroid users that have to do that very thing.

Hey Renholder,

I am on HRT, but I am 50 years old. I would go very slowly before looking into injectibles (which I use under Rx). Post all of your results eg Total, and Free Testosterone scores if you have them. Also, how long before the test was your last ejaculation. That can skew the results. Alot of guys on here have been through this. give us something else to work with.

Some things to think about now:

If you are wearing tight underwear, get some boxers. Depending on how tight your nut sac is, you might want to do a search here on ball sac stretching, and testicular massage. Also, Testosterone scores vary from day to day dependent on many things including how long it has been since your last ejaculation. (7 days after your last ejaculation can cause a doubling of testosterone in the blood) All of this is easily found with google.

Follow up tests are certainly in order after adjusting your diet.

Good luck.

Renholder - I see a US ebayer has that book and will ship to norway for $6.00 US.

Your plan sounds good. Also take a look at

13 Ways to Naturally Boost Your Testosterone Levels
http://www.timi nvermont.com/fi … ss/boosttes.htm

10 Simple Steps To Boost Your Natural Testosterone Production
10 Simple Steps To Boost Your Natural Testosterone Production

So take a few months, and then like manage123452000 get a follow up test.

—

I too would be interested in seeing your numbers.

Your cortisol level maybe too low. Maybe some vigorous cardio and/or weight training will raise it.

Or it could be that your adrenal glands are fatigued, leading to low production of cortisol. This maybe more likely if you were feeling taxed with low libido.

Yeah, absolutely.

The idea of being dependent on injections the rest of my life being this young repels me. I have however heard that there exist treatments that over time can raise the body`s own production. So I guess injection is not the only alternative.

Really good pointers mister.

As far as I can recall, I had not ejaculated in a long while.

I know it is different from most guys, but I usually find that if I don`t masturbate/ejaculate in a long while, I usually go into monk-mode, feeling very asexual.

The last days I`ve been doing my best to engage in sexual activites, and I`m actually experiencing slightly increased libido and positive PI`s (plump flaccid, etc).

Testicular stretching and massage sounds very interesting. Never heard of or thought about that. I`ll look into it.

Regarding underwear, I`ve been wearing boxers for as long as I can remember.

I`ll post the results at the end of this post.

Thanks.

I`ll reread those tonight. Skimmed them quickly and it looks promising, even though I do quite a few of those already.

I have been doing vigorous cardio/weights, so I don`t think that is the missing ingredient.

Is there anything I could do if my adrenal glands actually are fatigued?

Here are the test results if anyone of you understands them.

I`m not sure if this is how they are displayed in the U.S. The test did not reveal what each value represents, but the range considered normal is shown on the far right side of the numbers.

EDIT: I did not manage to create space between the numbers, so I had to separate my actual values and the normal range with a *.

PS-T3-FREE: 3.8 * 2.6 - 5.7
PS-T4-FREE 12 * 9 - 24
PS-TSH 1.22 * 0.35 - 4.70
PS-ANTI-TPO <3 * 0 - 15

PS-CORTISOL 264
PS-OSTRADIOL <0,07* 0.04 - 0.18
PS-FSH 2 * 1 - 12
PS-LH 2 * 2 - 12
PS-SHBG 36 * 13 - 60
PS-TESTOSTERON 14.9 * 10.0 - 40.0

Numbers are displayed differently in the US.

Here is a good website that explains the different lab tests and how to interpret them.

Patient Education on Blood, Urine, and Other Lab Tests - Testing.com

I am not a doctor, but it does look like maybe something is going on with you with those low LH and FSH levels. And yes your testosterone is low. (Don’t panic though) Can you push to see an endocrinologist?