27 years old - TRT candidate?

[greenwood630]

Hi everyone, I am new here and was hoping I could get some feedback / guidance from the community. I'm 27yrs old and have low testosterone. In my early twenties I experimented with various anabolics to build more muscle. This happened off and on for probably 3 years. I was on steroids for as long as 8 months at a time with no break or PCT. It has now been over 5 years and I still don't feel like I used to. I'm now paying for the poor decisions I made. Symptoms since getting off steroids are low energy, fatigue, no motivation, depression, etc. Libido is not great but it is there. I recently had bloodwork done that revealed the following:

TT - 381 ng/dl
% Free Testosterone - 1.42 (range 1.50 - 4.20)
LH - 2.3 (range 1.7 - 8.6)
FSH - 3.0 (range 1.5 - 12.4)

(see full labs attached)

Do I look like a candidate for TRT or should I approach diet/excercise and lifestyle changes instead? I'm easily 25lbs overweight and my diet isnt great. I eat too much sugar/junk which I know I need to get a handle on. I think the food temporarily lifts my mood when i'm feeling down. I just want so much to feel good again. Any feedback or tips would be much appreciated.

thank you!

 

[Systemlord]

You're missing the most important test, SHBG binds testosterone, estrogen, thyroid hormones and insulin and your doctor thought it was a good idea to skip it. SHBG is likely midrange or higher based off Total T and Free T numbers.

Any TRT protocol should consist of at least two 50-60mg injections twice weekly to keep levels steady and in the therapeutic ranges at all times.

You basically have the testosterone levels of an elderly man and TRT is needed. It's been 5 years and I doubt you could fix things naturally as I think the damage is done.

 

[greenwood630]

You're missing the most important test, SHBG binds testosterone, estrogen, thyroid hormones and insulin and your doctor thought it was a good idea to skip it. SHBG is likely midrange or higher based off Total T and Free T numbers.

Any TRT protocol should consist of at least two 50-60mg injections twice weekly to keep levels steady and in the therapeutic ranges at all times.

You basically have the testosterone levels of an elderly man and TRT is needed. It's been 5 years and I doubt you could fix things naturally as I think the damage is done.

I actually havent seen a doctor yet. I did these blood tests on my own. My primary care doctor is pretty bad and I'm not sure of any good local doctors. I may try one of the virtual clinics like entourage or defy. Thank you for your response.

 

[fifty]

Virtual clinic would be the way to go. It’s worth a shot.

Realize you will need testosterone and hcg if you want to keep your balls from shrinking and maintain fertility. If you’re ok with injecting those a couple times a week you could give it a shot. If you decide trt is not for you then you could just stop and you’ll go back to baseline.

Other option is clomid 12.5mg eod. I did clomid when I was your age and benefitted from it.

 

[Cataceous]

I actually havent seen a doctor yet. I did these blood tests on my own. My primary care doctor is pretty bad and I'm not sure of any good local doctors. I may try one of the virtual clinics like entourage or defy. Thank you for your response.

It appears you used an equilibrium dialysis test for free testosterone, which I'm told is the gold standard. Calculating in reverse puts your SHBG at around 57 nmol/L (+/-). No need to go back for it. It is indeed elevated, and is not what you want with lowish testosterone. What I've seen in years of reading guys' lab numbers is that low-T symptoms can start to appear when free T goes below 10 ng/dL. But you're at half that, about where I was when I started TRT.

If there's not an obvious treatable underlying condition then it's less likely you can fix this naturally. For completeness consider checking thyroid hormones and vitamin D status: Testosterone Tests
As @fifty suggests, at your age you should consider trying Clomid before committing to TRT.