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Testosterone Replacement, Low T, HCG, & Beyond
Testosterone Basics & Questions
48 years old with 'low normal' levels. TRT?
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<blockquote data-quote="madman" data-source="post: 77443" data-attributes="member: 13851"><p>Welcome I am also from Canada! Judging by your lab range values I am thinking you had your lab work done at Lifelabs as the other main lab is Dynacare which has slightly different reference ranges. Looking over your labs your Total Testosterone is not really bad but you are 14.7ng/dl under the 50% range of 8.4-28.8 nmol/L as 50% would be 18.4 nmol/L so one could start to feel the effects of low t as you are in the low normal range but not borderline low as in 8-12 nmol/L which is basically called the grey zone and most doctors in the know regarding trt would put you on a 6 month trial of testosterone if your numbers fell between 8-12 nmol/L and most importantly you were experiencing low t symptoms. Your Free T of 279 pmol/L is slightly over the 50% range of 115-577 pmol/L as 50% would be 231 pmol/L and your Bioavailable (which is the combination of free t + albumin bound t which is the active t your body can use as oppose to the t bound to shbg) is 6.5 nmol/L is under the 50% range of 2.7-13.5 nmol/L as 50% would be 8.1 nmol/L and your shbg of 37.5 in a good range as it is just under the 50% range of 10-70 nmol/L as 50% would be 40 nmol/L and shbg is something you do not want too high or too low.</p><p>Overall your numbers are average but what really stands out to me is your am cortisol of 261 which is under the 50% range of 125-536 nmol/L as 50% would be 330.5 nmol/L and ones cortisol levels should be closer to the high end of the range in the morning/throughout the day and than drop down lower in the evening and night. You may have adrenal issues going on which can mimic a lot of the symptoms of low t especially seeing that your total t has fluctuated from 571 ng/dl (good levels) to 473 ng/dl (average) to 424 ng/dl (creeping towards low/normal). Before you try jumping on trt as your levels/symptoms could merit treatment if you find the right doctor whom specializes in trt I would strongly suggest you get a 4 point saliva cortisol test to see how your levels fluctuate from the am to pm. Also regarding total t labs always make sure you test in the am after a good nights rest and hopefully stress free week as high cortisol is notorious for blunting a males testosterone levels. Many males that live high stress lifestyles/lack proper amounts of sleep can feel as if they are suffering from low t symptoms when in fact it is their extremely high cortisol that is the roots cause of their average testosterone levels. Keep in touch to let us know how thins pan out as we are all here to help! Before I started trt 7 months ago my total t which I had tested twice was 11.3 and 11.7 nmol/L reference range 8.4-28.8 nmol/L so basically in the grey zone and my free t was 225 pmol/L reference range 196-625 pmol/L so borderline low and my Bioavailable T and shbg were similar to yours. My main symptoms were low energy/loss of libido and irritability/depression, poor concentration along with poor recovery from physical work. Overall I just felt terrible and had gut feeling my testosterone levels were poor. I am 42 years old and had a hard time finding a doctor to treat me as my gp said I was still in range (seriously!) so I demanded a referral to a urologist whom was highly respected and specialized in treating low t so it worked out eventually and I feel amazing now but like I stated you need to look into your adrenals before you pursue trt!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="madman, post: 77443, member: 13851"] Welcome I am also from Canada! Judging by your lab range values I am thinking you had your lab work done at Lifelabs as the other main lab is Dynacare which has slightly different reference ranges. Looking over your labs your Total Testosterone is not really bad but you are 14.7ng/dl under the 50% range of 8.4-28.8 nmol/L as 50% would be 18.4 nmol/L so one could start to feel the effects of low t as you are in the low normal range but not borderline low as in 8-12 nmol/L which is basically called the grey zone and most doctors in the know regarding trt would put you on a 6 month trial of testosterone if your numbers fell between 8-12 nmol/L and most importantly you were experiencing low t symptoms. Your Free T of 279 pmol/L is slightly over the 50% range of 115-577 pmol/L as 50% would be 231 pmol/L and your Bioavailable (which is the combination of free t + albumin bound t which is the active t your body can use as oppose to the t bound to shbg) is 6.5 nmol/L is under the 50% range of 2.7-13.5 nmol/L as 50% would be 8.1 nmol/L and your shbg of 37.5 in a good range as it is just under the 50% range of 10-70 nmol/L as 50% would be 40 nmol/L and shbg is something you do not want too high or too low. Overall your numbers are average but what really stands out to me is your am cortisol of 261 which is under the 50% range of 125-536 nmol/L as 50% would be 330.5 nmol/L and ones cortisol levels should be closer to the high end of the range in the morning/throughout the day and than drop down lower in the evening and night. You may have adrenal issues going on which can mimic a lot of the symptoms of low t especially seeing that your total t has fluctuated from 571 ng/dl (good levels) to 473 ng/dl (average) to 424 ng/dl (creeping towards low/normal). Before you try jumping on trt as your levels/symptoms could merit treatment if you find the right doctor whom specializes in trt I would strongly suggest you get a 4 point saliva cortisol test to see how your levels fluctuate from the am to pm. Also regarding total t labs always make sure you test in the am after a good nights rest and hopefully stress free week as high cortisol is notorious for blunting a males testosterone levels. Many males that live high stress lifestyles/lack proper amounts of sleep can feel as if they are suffering from low t symptoms when in fact it is their extremely high cortisol that is the roots cause of their average testosterone levels. Keep in touch to let us know how thins pan out as we are all here to help! Before I started trt 7 months ago my total t which I had tested twice was 11.3 and 11.7 nmol/L reference range 8.4-28.8 nmol/L so basically in the grey zone and my free t was 225 pmol/L reference range 196-625 pmol/L so borderline low and my Bioavailable T and shbg were similar to yours. My main symptoms were low energy/loss of libido and irritability/depression, poor concentration along with poor recovery from physical work. Overall I just felt terrible and had gut feeling my testosterone levels were poor. I am 42 years old and had a hard time finding a doctor to treat me as my gp said I was still in range (seriously!) so I demanded a referral to a urologist whom was highly respected and specialized in treating low t so it worked out eventually and I feel amazing now but like I stated you need to look into your adrenals before you pursue trt! [/QUOTE]
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Testosterone Replacement, Low T, HCG, & Beyond
Testosterone Basics & Questions
48 years old with 'low normal' levels. TRT?
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