Low Testosterone, but Dr. says im in a normal range?

Gr33dyOctopus

Gr33dyOctopus

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There's already a Testosterone discussion elsewhere, but mine is a personal situation, and on top of that probation limits me to roughly 1 post each hour, so this one has to really matter! 😃

Dammit!!! The brain fog, constant tiredness, dragging myself through days with no energy and no libido. I figured it was simply because I was fat. As of today I'm officially down 101.5 pounds and I still feel every bit of that.

My diet is whole foods and proteins, I mostly avoid unnatural sugars, and I do stretching plus weights for an hour or 2, 5 days a week. Also 7 to 12k steps every weekday by 330pm.

My muscles feel hard as blocks of wood, yet they aren't growing, I'm yawning while trying to lead these exercise classes, and by noon I want a nap. I'm only 51yo? I had started to believe this was just normal?

After bloodwork came back spectacular, going from prediabetic to no longer prediabetic, and triglycerides that had been off the charts dropping to normal levels, I got worried that my energy and libido were still in the dirt, so I specifically requested a testosterone test. It came back really really low, which explains SO MUCH. Then I get a note from my dr saying I am in normal ranges?

Excuse me? Ive been hanging out on r/testosterone lately and no, im not in normal ranges and yes, over 50 with that low of test affects most dudes lives.

Im at a loss. Need to source a clinic or another source for test c. Ill continue getting bloodwork done, but at this point it looks like my dr. is not going to help me.

Its not like im sourcing gear to join bodybuilding competitions, im just trying to live a full life!!!

And, from everything ive read, test in my situation can be life changing, as long as I monitor it carefully.

* oh and mods, if you take me off of probation i swear on my last chances here i wont talk any further smack about any vendors no matter how i feel about them. Have learned my lesson. Also i just spent another big wad of cash at ERP even though all of thier coa's seem to be sourced from the times of ancient history... Can i say that?!?!?

Anyway, im a contributing member and i can be mostly good, ty dear for your kind consideration.
 
Like you, I'm 55 and carrying extra weight. My total came back at 197, and after doing some reading I wasn't sure about starting TRT. That's how I ended up finding a compounding option: enclomiphene citrate, which acts through your own feedback loop and doesn't cause testicular shrinkage. I've taken 12.5 mg of enclomiphene citrate daily for 2.5 months, and my T rose 120% to 440. The jump was big enough in that short window that they refused to raise me to the 20mg per day I asked for.

My preference is for my body to produce its own hormones as much as it can, and even if my T isn't as high as guys on TRT, I know my balls are bigger.
 
Why not send your doctor a reply, referencing solid sources about what you believe the normal testosterone range is, and explain that raising your levels could be beneficial? If a doctor isn't willing to discuss that, I'd look for a different doctor.
 
A lot of physicians simply steer clear of the whole subject. They're aware that guys in the bodybuilding world have been "abusing" it for years. Their attitude tends to be that they'd rather not touch the topic under any circumstances. My first result came back at 246, and the second was 326. I'm a 47yr old male. 5'11", 255#. According to my doctor, I shouldn't read too much into those figures, since those levels are always fluctuating. So I found an online provider with plenty of solid reviews and a history of not simply handing it out. Per her, for someone my age they prefer to see above 600. Even that is nearly twice where I sit on my own.

Not once in my entire life have I worried about how big my nuts are. lol Is that actually something people do? The shaft? Absolutely, a few times I've figured an extra inch would be welcome. Wondered whether mine really falls within average....But the size of my testicles being large, average, or small has never crossed my mind! 😂😂😂😂
 
Since you're eating fewer calories than you burn, your testosterone is going to drop. Wanting to build muscle while cutting calories isn't realistic.

That said, your free testosterone numbers are impressive, which is definitely a positive. For a second take from other doctors, Defy Medical could be worth checking out.
 
Bastogne22 said:

A lot of physicians simply steer clear of the whole subject. They're aware that guys in the bodybuilding world have been "abusing" it for years. Their attitude tends to be that they'd rather not touch the topic under any circumstances. My first result came back at 246, and the second was 326. I'm a 47yr old male. 5'11", 255#. According to my doctor, I shouldn't read too much into those figures, since those levels are always fluctuating. So I found an online provider with plenty of solid reviews and a history of not simply handing it out. Per her, for someone my age they prefer to see above 600. Even that is nearly twice where I sit on my own.

Not once in my entire life have I worried about how big my nuts are. lol Is that actually something people do? The shaft? Absolutely, a few times I've figured an extra inch would be welcome. Wondered whether mine really falls within average....But the size of my testicles being large, average, or small has never crossed my mind! 😂😂😂😂
Click to expand...
The concern isn't really the huevos' size. It's just that TRT causes them to shrivel and stops them from working properly. Several of my friends use TRT and like to run around 1200, which is crazy in my opinion. They have to give blood monthly to keep up.
 
Checking your numbers, I see that while your Total is quite low, your Free does fall within normal limits - however, it sits at the very bottom of that normal range. That is likely the point he was making.
 
Your conversion looks really efficient; maybe work out a way to raise your total by about 50% (100 pts.) and then you could be okay.
 
Because this is a GLP1Chat, I want to mention that how much testosterone you make is tied straight to insulin resistance. So when you drop weight and bring your A1c down, there is a chance your testosterone goes up. Insulin is the hormone that blocks your body's own testosterone output, and it pushes your system out of whack.

What follows comes from AI

1. The Blow Landed Right on the Testes

Studies indicate that insulin resistance harms the Leydig cells inside the testes in a direct way. Those cells are the ones that produce testosterone. When insulin resistance is present:

• The Leydig cells stop responding as well to Luteinizing Hormone (LH)—the "start engine" signal coming from your brain.

• Your brain can be shouting for more testosterone, yet the testes no longer "hear" that signal clearly, so output falls.

2. The Belly Fat Piece (Aromatization)

Almost every time, insulin resistance comes with more visceral (belly) fat. That fat is not merely a storage depot; it is metabolically active and holds an enzyme known as aromatase.

• Aromatase grabs whatever testosterone you still have and turns it into estrogen.
• Once estrogen rises, your brain gets the message, "We have plenty of hormones," so the brain dials back the signal that would make more testosterone.

3. SHBG Gets Suppressed

Insulin levels have a big say over Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG), the protein that transports testosterone in your blood.

• When insulin is high, the liver is told to make less SHBG.
• That may sound like it would leave more "free" testosterone, but low SHBG frequently signals metabolic dysfunction and is repeatedly tied to lower total testosterone levels as time goes on.

4. Inflammation and the Brain

Long-running insulin resistance puts the body into a low-grade inflammatory state. That inflammation can throw off the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Gonadal (HPG) axis. In plain terms, the "command center" in your brain gets worse at tracking and managing your hormone levels, so production drops.

The Silver Lining: Reversibility

The encouraging part is that since this relationship runs both ways, repairing one usually assists the other. Boosting insulin sensitivity—is among the strongest "natural" routes to raising testosterone.
 
There are lots of TRT clinics out there that would be willing to help you. If Florida happens to be where you live, I can send you the name of mine through a private message. His approach is to consider the whole picture and aim at easing your symptoms.

As for your Luteinizing hormone, did he run a test on that?
 
As Turbo-Farmer mentioned, Enclomiphene citrate. My longevity Dr orders it via Pure Pharmacy. It does the job pretty well, $300 for 90 - 25mg pills. That supply lasts me more than a year, taking 25mg daily moved me from 690 to 1500++ within 3 months and multiplied my Estradiol by 4, just so you know. I only began again following a 6 month pause from it, now doing 2X per week for 90 days after my surgery. I'll get checked at that point and tweak it, not something I require but good to have.
 
RubbaDubba1 said:

As Turbo-Farmer mentioned, Enclomiphene citrate. My longevity Dr orders it via Pure Pharmacy. It does the job pretty well, $300 for 90 - 25mg pills. That supply lasts me more than a year, taking 25mg daily moved me from 690 to 1500++ within 3 months and multiplied my Estradiol by 4, just so you know. I only began again following a 6 month pause from it, now doing 2X per week for 90 days after my surgery. I'll get checked at that point and tweak it, not something I require but good to have.
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1500, wow, that's wild. With that level of testosterone in your system, what was your blood pressure like?
 
Actually pretty standard — over the past year while off it, I sit around 110/70 on average. Back when I was doing 25mg once weekly and had things tuned in, my TT came in at 986 with Estradiol at 48. Since I used to weigh close to 600lbs, I check my BP every day. I never noticed a real baseline bump even when TT ran that high. Currently I'm not taking any BP medz meow, though the 10mg daily Tadalafil (just began) has dropped me into the low 100+/60+ area these last few days, HR 60. So it's worth keeping an eye on.
 
Gr33dyOctopus said:

There's already a Testosterone discussion elsewhere, but mine is a personal situation, and on top of that probation limits me to roughly 1 post each hour, so this one has to really matter! 😃

Dammit!!! The brain fog, constant tiredness, dragging myself through days with no energy and no libido. I figured it was simply because I was fat. As of today I'm officially down 101.5 pounds and I still feel every bit of that.

My diet is whole foods and proteins, I mostly avoid unnatural sugars, and I do stretching plus weights for an hour or 2, 5 days a week. Also 7 to 12k steps every weekday by 330pm.

My muscles feel hard as blocks of wood, yet they aren't growing, I'm yawning while trying to lead these exercise classes, and by noon I want a nap. I'm only 51yo? I had started to believe this was just normal?

After bloodwork came back spectacular, going from prediabetic to no longer prediabetic, and triglycerides that had been off the charts dropping to normal levels, I got worried that my energy and libido were still in the dirt, so I specifically requested a testosterone test. It came back really really low, which explains SO MUCH. Then I get a note from my dr saying I am in normal ranges?

Excuse me? Ive been hanging out on r/testosterone lately and no, im not in normal ranges and yes, over 50 with that low of test affects most dudes lives.

Im at a loss. Need to source a clinic or another source for test c. Ill continue getting bloodwork done, but at this point it looks like my dr. is not going to help me.

Its not like im sourcing gear to join bodybuilding competitions, im just trying to live a full life!!!

And, from everything ive read, test in my situation can be life changing, as long as I monitor it carefully.

* oh and mods, if you take me off of probation i swear on my last chances here i wont talk any further smack about any vendors no matter how i feel about them. Have learned my lesson. Also i just spent another big wad of cash at ERP even though all of thier coa's seem to be sourced from the times of ancient history... Can i say that?!?!?

Anyway, im a contributing member and i can be mostly good, ty dear for your kind consideration.
Click to expand...
Could you share your total and free testosterone numbers? And what about your SHBG and estradiol levels?
 
Gr33dyOctopus said:

There's already a Testosterone discussion elsewhere, but mine is a personal situation, and on top of that probation limits me to roughly 1 post each hour, so this one has to really matter! 😃

Dammit!!! The brain fog, constant tiredness, dragging myself through days with no energy and no libido. I figured it was simply because I was fat. As of today I'm officially down 101.5 pounds and I still feel every bit of that.

My diet is whole foods and proteins, I mostly avoid unnatural sugars, and I do stretching plus weights for an hour or 2, 5 days a week. Also 7 to 12k steps every weekday by 330pm.

My muscles feel hard as blocks of wood, yet they aren't growing, I'm yawning while trying to lead these exercise classes, and by noon I want a nap. I'm only 51yo? I had started to believe this was just normal?

After bloodwork came back spectacular, going from prediabetic to no longer prediabetic, and triglycerides that had been off the charts dropping to normal levels, I got worried that my energy and libido were still in the dirt, so I specifically requested a testosterone test. It came back really really low, which explains SO MUCH. Then I get a note from my dr saying I am in normal ranges?

Excuse me? Ive been hanging out on r/testosterone lately and no, im not in normal ranges and yes, over 50 with that low of test affects most dudes lives.

Im at a loss. Need to source a clinic or another source for test c. Ill continue getting bloodwork done, but at this point it looks like my dr. is not going to help me.

Its not like im sourcing gear to join bodybuilding competitions, im just trying to live a full life!!!

And, from everything ive read, test in my situation can be life changing, as long as I monitor it carefully.

* oh and mods, if you take me off of probation i swear on my last chances here i wont talk any further smack about any vendors no matter how i feel about them. Have learned my lesson. Also i just spent another big wad of cash at ERP even though all of thier coa's seem to be sourced from the times of ancient history... Can i say that?!?!?

Anyway, im a contributing member and i can be mostly good, ty dear for your kind consideration.
Click to expand...
Getting testosterone from the grey market is quite straightforward—forget about the doctor.
 
I’m running TRT+Ultra on my own. It’s a bit trickier to source than Peps, though China has you covered.
 
Gr33dyOctopus said:

There's already a Testosterone discussion elsewhere, but mine is a personal situation, and on top of that probation limits me to roughly 1 post each hour, so this one has to really matter! 😃

Dammit!!! The brain fog, constant tiredness, dragging myself through days with no energy and no libido. I figured it was simply because I was fat. As of today I'm officially down 101.5 pounds and I still feel every bit of that.

My diet is whole foods and proteins, I mostly avoid unnatural sugars, and I do stretching plus weights for an hour or 2, 5 days a week. Also 7 to 12k steps every weekday by 330pm.

My muscles feel hard as blocks of wood, yet they aren't growing, I'm yawning while trying to lead these exercise classes, and by noon I want a nap. I'm only 51yo? I had started to believe this was just normal?

After bloodwork came back spectacular, going from prediabetic to no longer prediabetic, and triglycerides that had been off the charts dropping to normal levels, I got worried that my energy and libido were still in the dirt, so I specifically requested a testosterone test. It came back really really low, which explains SO MUCH. Then I get a note from my dr saying I am in normal ranges?

Excuse me? Ive been hanging out on r/testosterone lately and no, im not in normal ranges and yes, over 50 with that low of test affects most dudes lives.

Im at a loss. Need to source a clinic or another source for test c. Ill continue getting bloodwork done, but at this point it looks like my dr. is not going to help me.

Its not like im sourcing gear to join bodybuilding competitions, im just trying to live a full life!!!

And, from everything ive read, test in my situation can be life changing, as long as I monitor it carefully.

* oh and mods, if you take me off of probation i swear on my last chances here i wont talk any further smack about any vendors no matter how i feel about them. Have learned my lesson. Also i just spent another big wad of cash at ERP even though all of thier coa's seem to be sourced from the times of ancient history... Can i say that?!?!?

Anyway, im a contributing member and i can be mostly good, ty dear for your kind consideration.
Click to expand...
Because you're crazy and we're friends, I'll tell you who I get my domestic oils from.... Primalpharma.org ..... he's on tiktok so I don't think it's a security breach....
 
Airborne Daddy said:

Gr33dyOctopus said:

There's already a Testosterone discussion elsewhere, but mine is a personal situation, and on top of that probation limits me to roughly 1 post each hour, so this one has to really matter! 😃

Dammit!!! The brain fog, constant tiredness, dragging myself through days with no energy and no libido. I figured it was simply because I was fat. As of today I'm officially down 101.5 pounds and I still feel every bit of that.

My diet is whole foods and proteins, I mostly avoid unnatural sugars, and I do stretching plus weights for an hour or 2, 5 days a week. Also 7 to 12k steps every weekday by 330pm.

My muscles feel hard as blocks of wood, yet they aren't growing, I'm yawning while trying to lead these exercise classes, and by noon I want a nap. I'm only 51yo? I had started to believe this was just normal?

After bloodwork came back spectacular, going from prediabetic to no longer prediabetic, and triglycerides that had been off the charts dropping to normal levels, I got worried that my energy and libido were still in the dirt, so I specifically requested a testosterone test. It came back really really low, which explains SO MUCH. Then I get a note from my dr saying I am in normal ranges?

Excuse me? Ive been hanging out on r/testosterone lately and no, im not in normal ranges and yes, over 50 with that low of test affects most dudes lives.

Im at a loss. Need to source a clinic or another source for test c. Ill continue getting bloodwork done, but at this point it looks like my dr. is not going to help me.

Its not like im sourcing gear to join bodybuilding competitions, im just trying to live a full life!!!

And, from everything ive read, test in my situation can be life changing, as long as I monitor it carefully.

* oh and mods, if you take me off of probation i swear on my last chances here i wont talk any further smack about any vendors no matter how i feel about them. Have learned my lesson. Also i just spent another big wad of cash at ERP even though all of thier coa's seem to be sourced from the times of ancient history... Can i say that?!?!?

Anyway, im a contributing member and i can be mostly good, ty dear for your kind consideration.
Click to expand...
Because you're crazy and we're friends, I'll tell you who I get my domestic oils from.... Primalpharma.org ..... he's on tiktok so I don't think it's a security breach....
Click to expand...
Much appreciated!!! That website and the cost are great, thanks for the assist Airborne!!!

Yay!
 
Bastogne22 said:

A lot of physicians simply steer clear of the whole subject. They're aware that guys in the bodybuilding world have been "abusing" it for years. Their attitude tends to be that they'd rather not touch the topic under any circumstances. My first result came back at 246, and the second was 326. I'm a 47yr old male. 5'11", 255#. According to my doctor, I shouldn't read too much into those figures, since those levels are always fluctuating. So I found an online provider with plenty of solid reviews and a history of not simply handing it out. Per her, for someone my age they prefer to see above 600. Even that is nearly twice where I sit on my own.

Not once in my entire life have I worried about how big my nuts are. lol Is that actually something people do? The shaft? Absolutely, a few times I've figured an extra inch would be welcome. Wondered whether mine really falls within average....But the size of my testicles being large, average, or small has never crossed my mind! 😂😂😂😂
Click to expand...

I never got why shrinking testicles is the thing everyone fixates on. Once I began TRT, I kept hearing warnings that my balls would get smaller, and my honest reaction was that this sounded like a win. If they got a little smaller, perhaps they'd quit clinging to my thigh once it gets hot out! lol
 
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