Feeling awful. Free Testosterone?

[RTR13]

For the last 6 months, I have felt awful. My concentration has been horrible, my mind feels "foggy", my libido is shot, and a whole lot of other things.

Every doctor I've seen has tested my thyroid and said the numbers were "fine" except for once, when it showed up around 4.3. The dr said he wanted to retake it the next week, and it came back at 2.6 so he said it was perfectly normal and didn't say anything else about it.

Recently, my new doctor said he wanted to check my testosterone just to make sure. Here are the results I got back:

Total Testosterone: 498 ng/dL
Free Testosterone: 11.0 pg/mL

I'm 29, and the total testosterone looks pretty good from what I've been told, but I don't know about the free.

So my question is, do you guys think that my free testosterone might be causing all this?

Thanks for any help guys.

[Vettester]

Sorry, but your free test is pretty close to being in the middle of the range.

Beyond being 29, is there anything else you can share with us? Other stats like height, weight, BF%, etc.? Also anything about your lifestyle would be a plus too, such as your exercise regiment (if any) and how you perceive your diet to be, plus life in general ... Happy, stressful, job issues, etc. Did they run a full comprehensive panel? Anything out of range with lipids or CBC?

Just trying to narrow down other possibilities.

[RTR13]

Hey, thanks for the reply.

As far as exercise, I used to skateboard religiously. After that, I was active almost all the time, even if I wasn't exercising. I would go out all the time with friends and such, take pretty frequent trips to Europe and walk for hours outside all the time and so on. Since all this started, I've been WAY too exhausted to do anything. Even now, I just got in from walking with a friend of mine for about 45 minutes, and I'm so physically exhausted that I want to pass out.

I'm 6'3", and my weight is pretty low. Always has been, really. My weight usually ranges between 140 and 160, but I haven't been able to get above about 145 lately. As far as my diet, I've lost my appetite lately. Before I started feeling awful, I was eating a lot of greens, staying away from a lot of unnecessary fats and such, quit smoking, and eating 3 full meals a day.

Sorry for the lengthy post, btw.

[ReBilly]

No apologies needed for a lengthy post, they're probably preferred here so we can better help.

Have you had any problems with anxiety, depression, or anything in your lifetime? Anything stressing you out right now?

[PPC]

For the last 6 months, I have felt awful. My concentration has been horrible, my mind feels "foggy", my libido is shot, and a whole lot of other things.

Every doctor I've seen has tested my thyroid and said the numbers were "fine" except for once, when it showed up around 4.3. The dr said he wanted to retake it the next week, and it came back at 2.6 so he said it was perfectly normal and didn't say anything else about it.

Recently, my new doctor said he wanted to check my testosterone just to make sure. Here are the results I got back:

Total Testosterone: 498 ng/dL
Free Testosterone: 11.0 pg/mL

I'm 29, and the total testosterone looks pretty good from what I've been told, but I don't know about the free.

So my question is, do you guys think that my free testosterone might be causing all this?

Thanks for any help guys.

Your thyroid is in a grey are right now between 2-4. Many AA docs think anything over 2 is worth looking further at. I would check free T3, free T4, reverse T3 and a morning cortisol if that is possible.

I have read that T levels below 500 may get you through the day but are not sufficient to stretch into the repair mode, the body needs. If all you had to do was lay on a hammock on an Island, your T current T levels would be okay. But life demands more than that from you and since T is one of your major repair hormones, it is usually important to have T above the 500 TT mark to optimize cell and tissue repair.

[Vettester]

My real concern here is that you are 6'-3" & 145lbs. I'd be doing more than 3 meals a day. Your "T" score could always be a little higher, but that's not the root of the problem here. If you said your score was 150 then it might be the starting point.

Have you determined how many calories you're eating per day? Also, anything off on your CBC/w diff lab work? Agree with running both T3 & T4. I would also have your doc test your B12 score. Any issues with sleep? A lot of variables and speculation ... I hope your doctor is giving this a thorough review.

[zaggahamma]

awfully young to be feeling like shit bro...feel for you...agree....extensive bloodwork....have you taken any meds in the last year/6 months/recent?

[RTR13]

Thanks everyone, and sorry for the late reply.

I've always been really thin my whole life, even though I eat a whole lot. My father was the same way, and my sister also. Seems to run in the family. Sucks though, because I'd like to at least be around 160-170.

As far as meds go, nothing. I was taking a multivitamin every day for a while, and taken probiotics for around 3 months (due to being pretty consistently constipated).

Had a CBC done several times, and everything is near perfect. Couldn't ask for better results there.

Never had any problems at all with depression (unless you count break-ups in high school lol, but that never lasted long), no anxiety ever until this all started, and I seem to panic once in a while at random for no reason.

Had an MRI done on my head, EKG to check my heart (having horrible palpitations that seem to completely wear me out; makes it hard to breathe sometimes), and just about everything else you can imagine. The only thing that ever showed up elevated was my TSH, but doctors told me it was "within normal ranges", and sent me on my way. Free T3, Free T4, T4, and T3 always seem to fluctuate quite a bit, but doctors told me that was normal also.

I've spoken with COUNTLESS nurses (I'm friends with two of them, and somehow end up meeting more all the time... dunno how), and all of them except one has said, "You sound hypothyroid. Not everyone fits in those ranges and feels good." Matter of fact, one of those nurses told me that her doctor finally gave her Synthroid and she feels wonderful now, even though her TSH didn't get much higher than 2.5 or so.

As far as B12 goes, I haven't had it tested yet, but that was one of the next tests I was going to have done.

I came here and posted because, a friend of mine has low T and just got diagnosed and started TRT, and he has had almost all of the same symptoms I do, down to the "going cross-eyed" thing where you just kind of stare off like you're about to fall asleep and can't get your eyes to focus on anything at all.

It's just frustrating because I've seen several doctors during the last 6 months, and I'm still in the same spot.

[zaggahamma]

you didnt mention what became of the ekg(palpatations)...that doesnt sound healthy/normal at alll

[SlimmerMe]

like I said before---FIND A BETTER DOC!
if you are not feeling right and this is a problem (you mentioned this in the very beginning on another post and now again in this last post )LOOK and LOOK and LOOK again.....
Health is a premium and lots of docs do not have a clue--then again some are fantastic--so LOOK to help yourself----I would--GOOD LUCK!

[Priapism]

To the site owner and all moderators: I am not a rep for the company im about to mention. You can check my posting history here which delves deeply into my personal experiences with being underweight, etc. Im legit.

RTR -

You're looking at the poster child for tall and skinny. Man I was 140lbs and 6ft for 90% of my life and I was just like you. A miserably weak, exhausted, disaster. I would get infections all the time. I was frequently sick. The simple fact is you dont absorb calories like other people. Or at least thats the conclusion that I came to. I could eat like crazy and it didnt make any difference. I remained weak, and my gym workouts were a living nightmare. Walking 45 minutes? Forget it. Try 15 minutes of vigorous walking, and I would spend the next 3 days so exhausted that it almost hurt to fall asleep. A friend of mine suggested trying cytogainer and - check my previous posts on here - the stuff literally transformed my life. I have had 50 people tell me I should email them my before and after photos but I dont feel like being "Jared" from subway for the next 5 years on television ... plus sometimes I shirk on my workout and dont look so great .... but let me tell you dude - not even within 3 months of starting that stuff, I had put on 30lbs size. It wasnt fat either. It was like I was a dried prune, devoid of all substance, and this stuff just enabled me to finally "fill out". It was absolutely incredible. Working out helps a lot while you drink it, but I cant even begin to tell you how much it changed my physical appearance - when nothing else would. I had tried MetRx and Myoplex and tons of other supplements. Nothing worked. The first thing that I noticed was that my health improved. I literally used to go to the doctor once every 3 months with something new. Some new pain, or some new skin infection, or some new eczema or some sort of mysterious undefined flu. All of that literally stopped. Its no mystery. I think its just liquid calories - and i was finally able to absorb them. My body wasn't being taxed. My immune system wasn't running on fumes anymore. I finally filled out like a normal person and felt amazing for the first time. Shoot - even girls were flirting with me for the first time.

I know this sounds like an infommercial but we've all got one thing in our lives (maybe) that just made all the difference in the world. This stuff changed me from a sickly toothpick into a normal, healthy, vibrant person. I wouldnt be afraid of getting "fat" from it. Just keep some light working out. Drink the stuff 3x a day four scoops and give it a solid 2 months ... You will be blown away. I promise you this.

Moderators - I run a social networking site like this so I appreciate the "eagle eye" for spam posts - i hope my post history proves im legitimate here!

-P-

[RTR13]

you didnt mention what became of the ekg(palpatations)...that doesnt sound healthy/normal at alll

They ran an EKG twice actually, and both times they told me that my heart was in great shape. They couldn't explain the palpitations, so they said that they were normal and not to stress about it. The problem was, it's hard not to think about it when they happen, say, 3-4 times a week, and when they do happen, they go on for quite a while, and they actually physically drain me.

like I said before---FIND A BETTER DOC!
if you are not feeling right and this is a problem (you mentioned this in the very beginning on another post and now again in this last post )LOOK and LOOK and LOOK again.....
Health is a premium and lots of docs do not have a clue--then again some are fantastic--so LOOK to help yourself----I would--GOOD LUCK!

You're exactly right. I actually looked into two different doctors recently; one that I know is good from the experiences of my friends and family, and another that was recommended as a good "hormone doctor". I'm calling tomorrow morning about an appointment with the family/friend one. It just gets a little expensive after a while (which sucks...). But to feel good again is well worth the money.

[zaggahamma]

They ran an EKG twice actually, and both times they told me that my heart was in great shape. They couldn't explain the palpitations, so they said that they were normal and not to stress about it. The problem was, it's hard not to think about it when they happen, say, 3-4 times a week, and when they do happen, they go on for quite a while, and they actually physically drain me.



You're exactly right. I actually looked into two different doctors recently; one that I know is good from the experiences of my friends and family, and another that was recommended as a good "hormone doctor". I'm calling tomorrow morning about an appointment with the family/friend one. It just gets a little expensive after a while (which sucks...). But to feel good again is well worth the money.

Good bro..keep us posted with full details if possible