First lab results - 21yrs and desperate

Hello everyone,

I am writing you from Spain 'cause there aren't many forums like this in spanish, so sorry for the mistakes I'll have. Thanks in advance for your time.

Quickly, I'll tell you about my symptons. I'm 21 years old and have been suffering from anxiety and depression for almost 3 years now. I've used antidepressant Sertraline for a year but it didn't work well enough. Also, I have this "mental fog" and fatigue almost every day, little energy, little motivation.

On the physical side, I don't have erectile dysfunction but I do have trouble getting spontaneous erections, many mornings I wake up without an erection and my libido is on the floor. Sexual performance with my ex-gf started to get desastrous until we finally broke up. I wasn't able to have sex in the mornings, and some days I didn't feel like having it at all. Days we made it, I could only last one time, and after the first ejaculation, it was impossible for me to have a second sexual relationship.

Again, I'm 21. So I found out about Testosterone on the Internet and recognised myself in many of the symptoms.

These are the results of my blood test:

FHS 1.43 mUI/mL (1.32 - 8.20) under the range
LH 3.26 mUI/mL (1.6 - 9.8)
Normal testosterone 4.96 ng/mL (1.32 - 8.20)
Free testosterone 15.50 pgr/mL (8.9 - 42.5)

My testosterone levels are within the range but a bit low for my age, don't you think? Endo won't receive until October 28th and I'm DESPERATE. I want a solution for the above explained. Also I'm afraid he won't put me on treatment because I'm too young and the results are "normal" (or he'll claim that). I just want my life back.

Thank you.

Welcome to Excelmale. At the age of 21 you should certainly be posting higher testosterone levels. But there are so many other questions to ask. Are these the only tests that were run? Was a restart protocol discussed with you? TRT is a life-long commitment, and presents challenges to fertility. What else can you tell us?

CoastWatcher said:

Welcome to Excelmale. At the age of 21 you should certainly be posting higher testosterone levels. But there are so many other questions to ask. Are these the only tests that were run? Was a restart protocol discussed with you? TRT is a life-long commitment, and presents challenges to fertility. What else can you tell us?

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- Yes, these are the only tests run including testosterone. I've also tested my thyroxine a few months ago (I do it every year because in my family there are many cases of hypothyroidism), but it's OK. I decided to test my Testosterone because I was worried it was the cause behind the problems I've explained.

- I am sorry I don't know what a restart protocol is, but it hasn't been discussed with me. I went to the urologist and told him about my sexual problems but he told me it was in my head and refused to make any blood test (probably because he was an old-school doctor and I am young, so he thought it was more psychological than physical).

What I mean is that I haven't seen any doctor yet. I'm seeing an endo in two weeks but it feels like centuries, I'd like to have some opinions in the meantime.

- Apart from my symptons, I can tell you I am a healthy man. I follow a healthy diet, work out (with little benefits 'cause I've been skinny-fat all my life) and sleep well. I drink only when I hang out with friends at night and I smoke like 6-8 cigarettes a day. All in all, I'm a normal guy.

Thank you very much

You are low in testosterone for your age, but you are secondary. I would try and find out why that is first. You said hypothyroidism runs in you family; can you post your test results? Also consider having your prolactin checked.

PAUL-E said:

You are low in testosterone for your age, but you are secondary. I would try and find out why that is first. You said hypothyroidism runs in you family; can you post your test results? Also consider having your prolactin checked.

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I can't post them right now 'cause I don't have them here. I'll get home by Saturday. However the results were within the range, maybe a bit low but nothing to be alarmed in my doctor's words.

Secondary hypogonadism can be related to my lack of energy and anxiety?

Proctor said:

I can't post them right now 'cause I don't have them here. I'll get home by Saturday. However the results were within the range, maybe a bit low but nothing to be alarmed in my doctor's words.

Secondary hypogonadism can be related to my lack of energy and anxiety?

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Hypogonadism simply means your not producing sufficient androgens. The fact that you're likely secondary means the cause is not testicular in nature. Yes, it could well explain a loss of energy and the presence of anxiety. Please take a moment and begin reviewing the material here on the Forum in the various folders (particularly the "sticky" posts). We all have to be out own advocates in this battle. It will work to your advantage to become familiar with the basic concepts you are working with...too many doctors don't know the ins and outs, the ups and downs.

CoastWatcher said:

Hypogonadism simply means your not producing sufficient androgens. The fact that you're likely secondary means the cause is not testicular in nature. Yes, it could well explain a loss of energy and the presence of anxiety. Please take a moment and begin reviewing the material here on the Forum in the various folders (particularly the "sticky" posts). We all have to be out own advocates in this battle. It will work to your advantage to become familiar with the basic concepts you are working with...too many doctors don't know the ins and outs, the ups and downs.

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Thank you, I'll keep reading. It's a shame the lack of info in spanish cause even though I can defend myself in english, reading about medical issues is not easy for me.

Have a nice day!

I just arrived from my family doctor's office (not the endo) and told him about the first blood tests and that I wanted a deeper one before going to the endo. I asked him to authorize a lab test including cortisol, TSH, free T4 and free T3, estradiol, prolactine, DHEA, D vitamin, SHBG and IGF-1. And he agreed! So on Monday I'm doing it and by Wednesday/Thursday I should have my results.

Proctor said:

I just arrived from my family doctor's office (not the endo) and told him about the first blood tests and that I wanted a deeper one before going to the endo. I asked him to authorize a lab test including cortisol, TSH, free T4 and free T3, estradiol, prolactine, DHEA, D vitamin, SHBG and IGF-1. And he agreed! So on Monday I'm doing it and by Wednesday/Thursday I should have my results.

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It's a step, a good one. Please keep us informed.