New here in UK

[Mav]

Hello my name is Patrick,
I'm from the UK and just had a testosterone blood test and it came back in UK range 10.68 nmol, UK range 8.9 to 29.1. I believe that equates to 308 Ng/dl. I would like some advice as to whether this is a normal level for a 49year old. My symptoms are complete lack of motivation, muscle twitching in the morning. Sweating excessively during the day, some sexual problems anxiety and depression.
Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Systemlord]

No it is not normal, any doctor who says so is uninformed, most doctors in UK are useless for diagnosing an androgen deficiency. They couldn't diagnose a flat tire! Your levels are compared with 90 year old man, most doctors don't adjust levels based on age.

 

[Mav]

Thank you for your reply. They won't check my free t. I forgot to mention one over symptom I have is I am eating, but no real appetite.

 

[Systemlord]

You must do more lab testing in order to diagnose a testosterone deficiency, a list below is what's needed. You must test SHBG to determine how you are holding onto your testosterone, if SHBG is high and Total T is low then you have a problem as most of your bioavailable testosterone is bound and unavailable. Luteinizing Hormone if low will indicate a pituitary failure and if high indicates damaged testicles, so you see it's far more involved and your doctors have done very little to determine much of anything.

Sounds like you have muscle wasting, which may indicate a nerve disease rather than a muscle disease, which can result from damage to the muscle or its nerves or from lack of use, as sometimes occurs with prolonged bed rest. In your case low testosterone is likely the cause. You have all the symptoms I had when I was scoring 225 ng/dL, poor appetite as well. When you start TRT your appetite is likely to increase significantly as your body with start rebuilding muscle and will require nutrients.

The NHS makes it difficult to get TRT do to unfounded fear of the unknown, it was thought that TRT causes or exacerbates prostate cancer and was taught in medical school for many years and surprisingly studies are showing the opposite to be true. TRT has only shown overwhelmingly positive results when done right. You need to move onto another doctor until you find one who knows what their doing, my advice go private and stay away from the NHS.

When you finly got there you need to request test enanthate with 2 or more injection a week.


Total T
Free T
SHBG
Estradiol (E2)
LH-Luteinizing Hormone
FSH-Folicle stimulating hormone
Prolactin
Cortisol
Thyroid Panel
CBC-complete blood count
Comprehensive Metabolic Panel
Lipid profile/panel

 

[Mav]

Thank you for your reply. All my drs say is it's depression. Could an emotional shock have caused this as it all happened after that. Also my sleep is not what it used to be, but even when I get a good night's sleep I still don't want to do anything and have to drag myself to work. I did have tingling sensatios in my legs, but that has now gone. I can't sleep during the day to catch up on my sleep no matter how much I try.

 

[Systemlord]

Thank you for your reply. All my drs say is it's depression. Could an emotional shock have caused this as it all happened after that. Also my sleep is not what it used to be, but even when I get a good night's sleep I still don't want to do anything and have to drag myself to work. I did have tingling sensatios in my legs, but that has now gone. I can't sleep during the day to catch up on my sleep no matter how much I try.

It's quite common for UK doctors to blame everything on depression, then all they do is script you SSRIs which really don't do jack squat for your hormones, if anything it makes things worse. Depression is common among low testosterone and low thyroid function, doctors never consider the cause of the depression might be a low hormone state. Poor sleep is common among low testosterone.

The emotional shock is low testosterone, it's making you emotionally compromised. Take away what makes a man a man, and your left with an emotional wreck. A man is powerful, strong, assertive and dominate. You aren't king of your jungle. Women are the one's who are supposed to be emotional, not men.

 

[Mav]

Thank you, the reason I asked about an emotional shock as all this started after a breakup. I've been through worse than this in my life, but never felt like this. I seem to have no enjoyment in life now. I've said the my GP it's an hormonal imbalance causing this and all they did was refer me to a shrink. I've had counselling, but that didn't work, which it wouldn't if it's low t. I'm going to pay for the blood tests you suggested. My job is suffering as well, as it's a very physical job and I don't have as much energy as I had before.

 

[FOX1]

@ Mav
go back to your doctor, request a 2nd opinion from a Urological Surgeon, a private consultation will cost you around £100 - £150
research the best Urologist you can find, you will find a list of them on your local spire hospital list

 

[Mav]

Thank you.
I paid to see a private GP and he just said it was anxiety. I've paid for 2 MRI scans because I thought something else was wrong. I've seen several different GPS and they all fobbed me off. I've said to them I know my body and I know something is not right. I will look at the spire website, can I just book an appointment or do I have to be referred?

 

[FOX1]

Thank you.
I paid to see a private GP and he just said it was anxiety. I've paid for 2 MRI scans because I thought something else was wrong. I've seen several different GPS and they all fobbed me off. I've said to them I know my body and I know something is not right. I will look at the spire website, can I just book an appointment or do I have to be referred?

No, You must be referred.
my total testosterone was 14nmol/L prior to starting TRT, but my free & bio testosterone was extremely low which was causing osteopenia

 

[Mav]

@fox1
Did you have sleep problems?

 

[1Draw]

See if your GP will run a thyroid test. Your symptoms appear to be thyroid related as well as low t. At a minimum
FT4
FT3
T3
Reverse T3. Will tell you a lot.

 

[FOX1]

@fox1
Did you have sleep problems?

LOL; "Sleep Problems"
Yes I had sleep problems, prior to TRT I worked 2 weeks of nights on oilrigs, I was also part of Emergency response, so once shift finished and off to bed, you would be awakened by GPA (general platform alarm), have to get up, muster, put on fire team clothing and go check out alarm, this was a frequent occurrence, then once home you had to change back over from 2 weeks nights, back onto days, sleep was a nightmare.
.
Then I had an accident at work, broke my neck (C6) - 2 years of recovery, MST Pain Medication, OXY pain medication, severe discomfort laying flat in bed, nerve pain
.
so yes, I had a lot of sleep problems for many years, now my employer has given me early retirement and as well as being on TRT my sleep pattern is much better.

 

[Mav]

@1draw
They only checked my TSH levels and it was 0.75

 

[Mav]

https://www.medichecks.com/hormone-tests/sports-hormone-check-ultravit

Does this test cover all the tests I need?

 

[30005Gator]

https://www.medichecks.com/hormone-tests/sports-hormone-check-ultravit

Does this test cover all the tests I need?

Yes, but this one is £119 vs £199 for the sports check and it covers everything you'd need:

https://www.medichecks.com/testosterone-blood-tests/trt-check-plus-testosterone-replacement-therapy

This test is just £79 and has the necessary tests to identify type of Hypogonadism:

https://www.medichecks.com/hormone-tests/hormone-check-male

 

[30005Gator]

Hello my name is Patrick,
I'm from the UK and just had a testosterone blood test and it came back in UK range 10.68 nmol, UK range 8.9 to 29.1. I believe that equates to 308 Ng/dl. I would like some advice as to whether this is a normal level for a 49year old. My symptoms are complete lack of motivation, muscle twitching in the morning. Sweating excessively during the day, some sexual problems anxiety and depression.
Any help would be appreciated.

What is your height/weight/bmi?

Just curious because many of your symptoms indicate high E2 (Estradiol)...especially the sweating.

 

[FOX1]

Yes, but this one is £119 vs £199 for the sports check and it covers everything you'd need:

https://www.medichecks.com/testosterone-blood-tests/trt-check-plus-testosterone-replacement-therapy

This test is just £79 and has the necessary tests to identify type of Hypogonadism:

https://www.medichecks.com/hormone-tests/hormone-check-male

£119 is definitely value for money, I paid £295 for bloods via spire Murrayfield hospital and less than half the tests of which are presented here,
might use this in future for checks outwith NHS

 

[Mav]

@30005gator
My height is 5ft 9 and I'm 75kg, I don't know my BMI

 

[Mav]

I've ordered the £119 kit, I've got to go to a hospital to have the blood taken