Interpret testosterone (and other) results

Hi, I got tested due to lack of energy and all.. And got the results by mail.

Now, I got some results with units and some without…

Total T: 13
Free T: 50

Total T is on low end, the units I assume are nmol/L, so logically units for free T would be pmol/L according to this site: http://www.kera … /ab/ab018.shtml . But the range for free t is 520 - 1387 pmol/L??? Is that possible? Or is it 15.0 - 40.0 pg/ml - in that case my free T is pretty high.. Im so confused. I will go to my doctor and ask them, of course, it just seems weird either way.. Thoughts?

T3 is 6.3, a bit high they say. Cortisol around 550 and then it "grows" up to 700. They wrote that "nothing seems to be wrong" and that I "might be depressed". I will investigate further, just wanted to hear some opinions.. Thanks.

Every lab has their references levels…didn’t yours have reference levels ? Total T ,yes is on the lower side…you should try to do things to improve it naturally, as this will change the quality of your life

Are you an active one? Do you smoke ,etc ?

I didn’t have the reference levels for testosterone, not even units. Active what? I don’t smoke (smoked marijuana years ago), almost don’t drink and try to live healthy.. I think that zinc helps me. And lots of sun…

Active, meaning you’re not sedentary …Sun helps, possibly by raising dopamine(which raises your mood level) which can have a positive impact on testosterone levels. Do you carry extra fat ?

Nope, I can’t get fat, I have between ectomorph and mesomorph body type. Sun helps also with vitamin D, which I’m told I have some deficiency. Can’t wait for the summer to come :) .

Oh.. I’m not very active, sure, I’m mostly sedentary.. staring in the screen ;) ..

My issue isn’t so much bad libido, because I love my girl and so does my penis. But throughout the day I’m tired and even sex is not the greatest. I feel the most normal in the evening hours.. and sex is the best in the evening/night. And I take afternoon naps.

Koapu, I am in a very similar boat and will be watching this thread. I am quite a night owl and have been extremely tired with little drive during the day, especially low motivation to work. Causing me some problems with work and home life. Been getting progressively worse and putting my job in jeopardy.

Without a reference range, it’s impossible for someone to help you determine whether you’re hypogonadic or not. Hypogonadic is a medical term that means low testosterone.

I suggest heading to the yahoo hypogonadism2 group, where there are lots of guys who will be glad to help you out - but only AFTER you determine the reference range. Like Alin said, every lab has its own range. Don’t trust anyone who tries to give you advice based on your numbers without a range. Otherwise, that can be like saying, I have $5.00, can I get a decent meal for that much? Without knowing whether you’re in a swanky restaurant or McDonalds (in this analogy, $5.00 is like your lab results, and the restaurant is your reference range).

You also didn’t list your age - if you’re over 40, chances are your testosterone is starting to slip - but that’s just a general rule, lots of exceptions.

What made you get a testosterone check? I am sooooo lazy and never have energy in the day, definitely a night person. Maybe it’s a testosterone thing but I never considered this before.

I researched what might cause my tiredness and I learned one of the possible causes could be low testosterone. But, I think it’s more complex - doctors will say you have low testosterone (not mine) but they should look if there is something else, some deeper problem that causes this. I also have high cortisol and I read that can make your testosterone go down. Or/and bad liver function where it should clean out poisons and estrogen but it can’t sufficiently hence….. I sleep around 8 hours a day.

I’m 26.

Reverse triiodothyronine - Wikipedia

Good Luck on finding anyone who will right you for a reverse T3 test. The majority of "Joe Blow" doctors believe it is too faddy and trendy as of late.
You said the magic words of a high cortisol level and then a HIGH t3 # (technically it would appear to be a high reverse t3 level).

Reverse T3 (also called Reverse Triiodothyronine) - Stop The Thyroid Madness

There are many camps on this reverse t3 notion. They all differentiate somewhere too. Good Luck.

People jerk off to Testosterone all the time believing it is a magic bullet. Endocrine systems are COMPLEX and the thyroid parts are just utterly ignored. You shou;ld at leat take the time to examine if one is superseding the other like an ECM parameter on a car.

I can sleep like 12 hours some days, Usually 9-10 though. I think I feel tired because I’m not doing much, no job and have depression sometimes, makes me feel like doing nothing, not even my beloved PE some days although I still do. EHHH I really hope I don’t have low testosterone. Still started doing more exercise, listening to rock and watching porn should boost it if it was low, it shouldn’t be for much longer.

I tested "auto-antibodies to thyreoglobulin" (19 U/ml - reference range: <115) and "anti-TPO" (6 U/ml - reference range: <34), so kinda thought the thyroid isn’t a problem afterall. I guess I will have to find another lab that do test rT3. Thanks. I agree completely on the car analogy… :up:

Well even I can say to you, be more active, get a job, or do something that forces you to be active and also try to have fun along.. Don’t watch porn too much though.

I have all of these, except I’m skinny. Everytime I read something about cortisol, it says you gain weight and that confuses me further..