To be clear, my doctor's never diagnosed me as hypgonadal because my Total Testosterone has never been below 300. However, I'm 42 years old and for at least of a handful of times over the years in my 30's I have never tested over a 396 in my Total T. I've consistently been in the 323-396 range which is great if I'm in my 80's. I went to my PCP a few years ago and he prescribed me testosterone cypionate, but I had to stop three injections into the treatment as I was trying to have another child. Through the years I've had little to no libido, gained tons of fat, and basically felt like all of my work in the gym did nothing to help me lose weight. My stats are 5'7, 264 lbs. I found an endo at the end of last year who checked my thyroid function because I was complaining about working out 6 days a week while tracking my diet without losing any body fat. She checked everything and told me that I definitely show antibodies going after my thyroid, but that my thyroid right now was in the normal range. She said that she will prescribe a medication for hypothyroidism if it dips lower. These are the labs below:
She then suggested the reason I had not lost any weight could be due to low testosterone. I told her I had never tested higher than 323 for total T, so she had me tested and we came back with these numbers which confirmed that I was much lower than I was supposed to be for my age:
She then put me on Clomid 50mg to see if it could spur my testes to produce more testosterone. I had to stop taking it three weeks into the treatment because I was having like 5-7 hot flashes per day which I'm assuming was because it was spiking my estrogen levels. Since I had told her that my wife and I are trying to have another baby, she suggested HCG Monotherapy. She prescribed 1000iu's 3x per week. I felt some improved energy, no change in my low to non existent libido and my estrogen stayed in check (I started taking DIM to avoid hot flashes again). After 4 months on the stuff we checked my testosterone levels in May and saw no improvement in my T levels (see below). I was happy that my estrogen levels came down a bit, but nothing else to be pleased about.
After I told her I did not feel any better and that all my symptoms were still present, she agreed to bump up to 2000iu's per week which I did for two weeks. I started to feel a little bit better, but no significant change in libido. My insurance then refused to cover any more HCG prescriptions which is where I am today. I then asked the doctor that since the insurance wouldn't cover my HCG anymore that I'd like to take testosterone even it meant it would kill my chances to have another child. She then gave in and also referred me to a urologist who could help me more, but I left a message and have never been emailed or called back. That's where I am today. My endo never told me if I was primary or secondary, but I'm assuming that she thought I was secondary since she wanted to increase my T through HCG and clomid. She prescribed 175mg of test cyp. every 2 weeks. I'm on my 3rd injection, but I have taken it every week rather than bi-weekly. I don't feel any better in the sex dept., but I see significant improvement in energy, endurance, and strength in the gym. Nothing with libido. My question is, and I know you're not doctors, but based on my lab #'s do you think my libido and T issues are caused by primary or secondary hypogonadism or my thyroid?
I'm hoping there is someone out there who has been through what I'm going through or who had similar numbers that could help me. Whatever this condition I have sucks. I've never had a ravenous libido, but at least in college it was workable. Now I'm pretty much laying in bed hoping my wife won't touch me because I'm afraid of my occasional ED and I'm not even close to being in the mood. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
She then suggested the reason I had not lost any weight could be due to low testosterone. I told her I had never tested higher than 323 for total T, so she had me tested and we came back with these numbers which confirmed that I was much lower than I was supposed to be for my age:
She then put me on Clomid 50mg to see if it could spur my testes to produce more testosterone. I had to stop taking it three weeks into the treatment because I was having like 5-7 hot flashes per day which I'm assuming was because it was spiking my estrogen levels. Since I had told her that my wife and I are trying to have another baby, she suggested HCG Monotherapy. She prescribed 1000iu's 3x per week. I felt some improved energy, no change in my low to non existent libido and my estrogen stayed in check (I started taking DIM to avoid hot flashes again). After 4 months on the stuff we checked my testosterone levels in May and saw no improvement in my T levels (see below). I was happy that my estrogen levels came down a bit, but nothing else to be pleased about.
After I told her I did not feel any better and that all my symptoms were still present, she agreed to bump up to 2000iu's per week which I did for two weeks. I started to feel a little bit better, but no significant change in libido. My insurance then refused to cover any more HCG prescriptions which is where I am today. I then asked the doctor that since the insurance wouldn't cover my HCG anymore that I'd like to take testosterone even it meant it would kill my chances to have another child. She then gave in and also referred me to a urologist who could help me more, but I left a message and have never been emailed or called back. That's where I am today. My endo never told me if I was primary or secondary, but I'm assuming that she thought I was secondary since she wanted to increase my T through HCG and clomid. She prescribed 175mg of test cyp. every 2 weeks. I'm on my 3rd injection, but I have taken it every week rather than bi-weekly. I don't feel any better in the sex dept., but I see significant improvement in energy, endurance, and strength in the gym. Nothing with libido. My question is, and I know you're not doctors, but based on my lab #'s do you think my libido and T issues are caused by primary or secondary hypogonadism or my thyroid?
I'm hoping there is someone out there who has been through what I'm going through or who had similar numbers that could help me. Whatever this condition I have sucks. I've never had a ravenous libido, but at least in college it was workable. Now I'm pretty much laying in bed hoping my wife won't touch me because I'm afraid of my occasional ED and I'm not even close to being in the mood. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
