HankTankerous
New Member
Hello,
33 year old male who, frankly, should have taken a closer look at this a long time ago. I've always had low ambition, energy and libido. Socially awkward, anxious and feelings of inadequacy. Puberty for me was uneventful. I certainly went through a growth spurt but any other masculinization effects were, IMO, minimal. Probably didn't help that I was an overweight, soda drinking, lethargic teenager... it wouldn't shock me if I was at least pre-diabetic. I was a fat 240lbs through high school, then went up to a high of 270lbs at 20yo before losing 100lbs through diet, cardio and the occasional now-since-banned fatburner. Currently sitting at 6'3" 205lbs and contemplating a DEXA scan to get a better idea about body composition
The decision to finally get tested came back in May. I had been going through a longer-than-usual lull in weight training (stopped mid-October and picked it back up on July 10) I have a basement gym and it's not uncommon for me to drop lifting through the winter but this time I was really having a hard time convincing myself to make the journey downstairs. Eventually I had this thought of "you've been lifting for 12 years and have made piss-poor progress in terms of strength and muscle gains. What's the point?" which finally made me reflect on all the shit in the opening paragraph that has followed me throughout my life. So back in May, I went to a Quest Diagnostic for their basic health profile (CBC, CMP, cholesterol Panel and urinalysis) and a testosterone test, which is attached. They only checked total test which came in at 648ng/dL and nothing else in the health profile seemed out of the ordinary to me. I looked online if there was anything about low T symptoms with normal total T levels, which is how I ultimately found excelmale and discountedlabs.com.
Last week I went back to Quest with a discountedlabs male elite panel (full results attached). Total test was up to 883 ng/dL*. LH and FIH were two hormones that weren't measured that seem to be recommended as part of a panel. Other numbers of interest:
I threw the * in there because I have read that biotin can have an effect on testosterone measurement. I started taking a multi-vitamin again earlier that week (Irwin Naturals Men's Living Green Liquid-Gel Multi) which has 15mcg of biotin per serving size. I don't know how much and for how long it needs to be supplemented to make a difference.
So that's where I'm at... Turns out I have my yearly physical exam tomorrow with my PCP so I'm going to bring these reports down with me. Is there anything else I could ask to check, whether it be from her or a specialist? Or should my focus be more on the mental side of things?
33 year old male who, frankly, should have taken a closer look at this a long time ago. I've always had low ambition, energy and libido. Socially awkward, anxious and feelings of inadequacy. Puberty for me was uneventful. I certainly went through a growth spurt but any other masculinization effects were, IMO, minimal. Probably didn't help that I was an overweight, soda drinking, lethargic teenager... it wouldn't shock me if I was at least pre-diabetic. I was a fat 240lbs through high school, then went up to a high of 270lbs at 20yo before losing 100lbs through diet, cardio and the occasional now-since-banned fatburner. Currently sitting at 6'3" 205lbs and contemplating a DEXA scan to get a better idea about body composition
The decision to finally get tested came back in May. I had been going through a longer-than-usual lull in weight training (stopped mid-October and picked it back up on July 10) I have a basement gym and it's not uncommon for me to drop lifting through the winter but this time I was really having a hard time convincing myself to make the journey downstairs. Eventually I had this thought of "you've been lifting for 12 years and have made piss-poor progress in terms of strength and muscle gains. What's the point?" which finally made me reflect on all the shit in the opening paragraph that has followed me throughout my life. So back in May, I went to a Quest Diagnostic for their basic health profile (CBC, CMP, cholesterol Panel and urinalysis) and a testosterone test, which is attached. They only checked total test which came in at 648ng/dL and nothing else in the health profile seemed out of the ordinary to me. I looked online if there was anything about low T symptoms with normal total T levels, which is how I ultimately found excelmale and discountedlabs.com.
Last week I went back to Quest with a discountedlabs male elite panel (full results attached). Total test was up to 883 ng/dL*. LH and FIH were two hormones that weren't measured that seem to be recommended as part of a panel. Other numbers of interest:
DHEA SULFATE | 280 | 93-415 mcg/dL NL1 |
PROLACTIN | 7.1 | 2.0-18.0 ng/mL NL1 |
SHBG | 58 H | 10-50 nmol/L |
ESTRADIOL,ULTRASENSITIVE, LC/MS | 33 H | < OR = 29 pg/mL |
TESTOSTERONE, FREE: | 112.1 | 35.0-155.0 pg/mL |
DHT,LC/MS/MS: | 76 H | 12-65 ng/dL |
IGF 1, LC/MS | 132 | 53-331 ng/mL |
I threw the * in there because I have read that biotin can have an effect on testosterone measurement. I started taking a multi-vitamin again earlier that week (Irwin Naturals Men's Living Green Liquid-Gel Multi) which has 15mcg of biotin per serving size. I don't know how much and for how long it needs to be supplemented to make a difference.
So that's where I'm at... Turns out I have my yearly physical exam tomorrow with my PCP so I'm going to bring these reports down with me. Is there anything else I could ask to check, whether it be from her or a specialist? Or should my focus be more on the mental side of things?
