Low T, Low FSH

[Lucas07]

Hello all, I am a 24 year old male and my endo has diagnosed me with hypogonadism. He wants to start me on TRT, however, I would not like to be on this for my whole life, and I want to have kids. He prescribed me Testim to start off, but I have yet to start it.

I had taken steroids about 2 years ago, got off them, never did a post cycle but everything seemed to be fine. Up until 6 months ago when I started noticing I would get very tired, have erection problems, lack of sexual desire. All of these things led me to get my testosterone levels checked.

My first lab work said my testosterone level was 28.. Range is 264-916 so i was way below.
Any ways, my Endo got me to do more blood work, Test Serum was then at 234, still very low.

LH was 3.0 (range was 1.7-8.6)
FSH was 1.3 (range was 1.5-12.4)
Prolactin was 9.9 (range was 4.0-15.2)

So my question is, what could be the issue? I don't want to start TRT right away without trying something else first. What would you guys suggest? Im really looking for some help here as I do not want to try the TRT


Sorry for posting this again, I think the first post was in the wrong section. I posted it in the Ask experts part, can someone delete that one?

 

[Kirk001]

Your LH is pretty low so it's no wonder your T is low, which indicates secondary hypogonadism. That with your age means most docs would want you to try clomiphene first before TRT. It's worth a try and it doesn't have the same kind of long-term implications that TRT does. I hated it, but it does work for some guys and it's relatively low-risk.

 

[CoastWatcher]

Your LH is pretty low so it's no wonder your T is low, which indicates secondary hypogonadism. That with your age means most docs would want you to try clomiphene first before TRT. It's worth a try and it doesn't have the same kind of long-term implications that TRT does. I hated it, but it does work for some guys and it's relatively low-risk.

A very reasonable response. Older than you, I never would have considered Clomid, but give your age it makes sense to try it. If it doesn't work, all you've lost is some time.

 

[Lucas07]

A very reasonable response. Older than you, I never would have considered Clomid, but give your age it makes sense to try it. If it doesn't work, all you've lost is some time.

Thank you guys for the response. Would this have happened to me because of the steroids? The weird part was, this didn't start til a year and a half after I had stopped using them.

Also, how would i go about taking the Clomid? My Endo doesn't seem to think it was a reasonable approach but I can certaintly try again. But i have read that dosage is everything, so I wouldn't want to do this wrong.

Also, would this help with the low libido and sex drive? I also read that clomid doesn't really help with that.

 

[Lucas07]

I got bloodwork done on Saturday. Waiting for my results to post tomorrow. Haven't been on anything aside from a few vitamins and eating better.

I was wondering, does Doctor Saya do phone consultations? I see his offices are in Tampa but that is quite a drive away from me.

Really looking to get in touch with a doctor who knows more about this issue and can provide me with answers other than starting the TRT.

 

[Systemlord]

I got bloodwork done on Saturday. Waiting for my results to post tomorrow. Haven't been on anything aside from a few vitamins and eating better.

I was wondering, does Doctor Saya do phone consultations? I see his offices are in Tampa but that is quite a drive away from me.

Really looking to get in touch with a doctor who knows more about this issue and can provide me with answers other than starting the TRT.

Defy does telemedicine and I'm a patient myself, Dr. Saya knows what he's doing. Clomid is more about restarting the HPTA and most men don't feel great on it even with excellent numbers.

 

[Gene Devine]

Your HPT axis is now compromised due to your past AAS abuse. You were far to young to have been using steroids for bodybuilding purposes.

The best course is to try to restart HPTA using Clomid followed by HCG. Your Doctor would have prescribed a restart protocol if he/she had knowledge.

You need to find a Physician who specializes in TRT in men, tell him/her your history with steroids and get on a PCT - HPTA restart protocol. Dr. Saya can help you with this.

If that doesn't work then TRT may be for the rest of your life unfortunately.

 

[Lucas07]

Defy does telemedicine and I'm a patient myself, Dr. Saya knows what he's doing. Clomid is more about restarting the HPTA and most men don't feel great on it even with excellent numbers.

Thank you for the input. Do you know if they take insurance at all or none? Also, what has your experience been with them?

 

[Lucas07]

Your HPT axis is now compromised due to your past AAS abuse. You were far to young to have been using steroids for bodybuilding purposes.

The best course is to try to restart HPTA using Clomid followed by HCG. Your Doctor would have prescribed a restart protocol if he/she had knowledge.

You need to find a Physician who specializes in TRT in men, tell him/her your history with steroids and get on a PCT - HPTA restart protocol. Dr. Saya can help you with this.

If that doesn't work then TRT may be for the rest of your life unfortunately.

Appreciate the response Gene. Yeah I shouldn't of gotten into it, i've learned my lesson sadly it is now too late.

Is it weird that the effects only hit me a year and a half after the steroids though? Why would it take so long to happen like that?

I will contact Defy Medical and see what they can do. If successful, would a HPTA restart help with the symptoms i've been feeling? Most importantly the low libido, sex drive and weak erections?

Also, my vitamin d was pretty low when I had gotten it tested. About 29.8 when the range was
Reference Range: 30.0-100.0 ng/mL
Could this play a role at all?

What I am worried about most is fertility. Would you know if secondary Hypogonadism affects that?

 

[Kirk001]

Defy and most of the doctors who are really knowledgeable in this field do not take insurance. You really can't tell what your fertility situation is without getting a semen analysis done. But Clomid will increase your sperm count, unlike TRT which will reduce it.

 

[Lucas07]

Defy and most of the doctors who are really knowledgeable in this field do not take insurance. You really can't tell what your fertility situation is without getting a semen analysis done. But Clomid will increase your sperm count, unlike TRT which will reduce it.

Thanks for the response. Yes, I was thinking about a semen analysis. My endo said it was not needed as everything felt fine but I would like to just be reassured.

The big reason I dont want TRT is because of the fertility. I would be inclined to at least try out the clomid if it could help with the symptoms i've been having.

And yes, it sucks about the no insurance. That would really take a toll as it is expensive for a consult and all of the labs and meds.

 

[Lucas07]

Update: Got my latest bloodwork back.
LH : 4.0 Reference Range: 1.7-8.6 mIU/mL
FSH : 1.0 Reference Range: 1.5-12.4 mIU/mL
Vitamin D: 65.9 Reference Range: 30.0-100.0 ng/mL

Testosterone, Serum : 252 Reference Range: 264-916 ng/dL
Free Testosterone(Direct) : 7.2 Reference Range: 9.3-26.5 pg/mL

So my LH went up, but FSH went up. Testosterone rose a bit but nothing major. This is all without any medication as I have yet to take anything. Was trying to see natural ways to raise it.

A couple other things that stood out in my kidney blood work were very high AST and ALT levels. Could this be alarming ?
I believe this is because i had been on Pantoprazole to help with acid problems. Two months ago the AST and ALT were way closer to the normal ranges.