28 Yr. Old Male - Test Results In - Where do I stand?

**eightythree** · 07-26-2012, 10:55 AM

I'm 5'7" 165lbs @ 15% body fat or so. Never have cycled, only used Propecia for a few years when I was younger. My blood draw was at 11:00 AM

Testosterone Total : 421 ng/dL (348-1197)
Testosterone Free : 15.4 pg/mL (9.3-26.5)
SHBG 17.5 nmol/L (16.5-55.9)
Estradiol, Sensitive 17 pg/mL (3-70)
Vitamin D Hydroxy 39.7 ng/mL (30.0-100)
TSH 2.33 uIU/mL (.45-4.5)
Thyroxine Direct 1.66 ng/dL (.82-1.77)
DHEA Sulfate 388.4 ug/dL (160.0-449.0)
LH 2.1 mIU/mL (1.7-8.6)
FSH 2.4 mIU/mL (1.5-12.4)

I'm not sure what this one is but it said I was HIGH :

IGF -1 334 (117-329)

How should I interpret these results? Are these in good shape for someone of my age and fitness? I have a bunch of other tests I could list but those seemed to be the one everyone talks about.

**eightythree** · 07-26-2012, 11:40 AM

Also how do I calculate free T %?

**xcraider37** · 07-26-2012, 02:46 PM

Needed your Albumin to calculate your Free T but with an Avg. Albumin of 4.3 your Free T would be 11.8 ng/dl = 2.80% and your Bioavailable test is 276 ng/dl and 65.6 %

Your numbers aren't bad, I would get another early morning BW done to confirm your numbers. My opinion depending on how you feel I would not jump on TRT.

Since your LH and FSH are low a possible clomid or HCG mono may work to get your Test up, also check prolactin if high get an MRI.

**eightythree** · 07-26-2012, 02:58 PM

My albumin was 4.7 on this test. How does that effect your calculation?

Does my IGF-1 look high to you guys? It says HIGH on the labwork, but its barely out of the range.

**xcraider37** · 07-26-2012, 03:01 PM

Not sure about your IGF (Growth factor) I am sure some experts will chime in soon.

Forum Experts give this guy some advice!!

**xcraider37** · 07-26-2012, 03:03 PM

Originally Posted by eightythree

My albumin was 4.7 on this test. How does that effect your calculation?

Does my IGF-1 look high to you guys? It says HIGH on the labwork, but its barely out of the range.

Go to issam.ch/freetesto.htm you can calculate these yourself, pretty good tool.

**bass** · 07-26-2012, 03:19 PM

Originally Posted by xcraider37

Needed your Albumin to calculate your Free T but with an Avg. Albumin of 4.3 your Free T would be 11.8 ng/dl = 2.80% and your Bioavailable test is 276 ng/dl and 65.6 %

Your numbers aren't bad, I would get another early morning BW done to confirm your numbers. My opinion depending on how you feel I would not jump on TRT.

Since your LH and FSH are low a possible clomid or HCG mono may work to get your Test up, also check prolactin if high get an MRI.

i second this! igf 1 is a good level in my opinion and no need to worry about it. get on vitamin D 5000iu ed. if you have more blood work post it all. it seem like you are secondary, so hCG /Clomid may be a good start.

**HRTstudent** · 07-26-2012, 04:33 PM

Your results are far from bad.

I would definitely not be looking at going on TRT if I was in your shoes. More trouble than its worth considering your age. That's just my personal opinion, but I am similar in age to you so I can relate.

What are your symptoms that lead you to believe you may have low T?

**kelkel** · 07-26-2012, 05:12 PM

Originally Posted by xcraider37

Needed your Albumin to calculate your Free T but with an Avg. Albumin of 4.3 your Free T would be 11.8 ng/dl = 2.80% and your Bioavailable test is 276 ng/dl and 65.6 %

Your numbers aren't bad, I would get another early morning BW done to confirm your numbers. My opinion depending on how you feel I would not jump on TRT.

Since your LH and FSH are low a possible clomid or HCG mono may work to get your Test up, also check prolactin if high get an MRI.

Very good advice here. Maybe add nolva into the mix. Definitely add in the vit D as you want to double your level which will allow your free T to rise more. Looking at your low LH/FSH you need an MRI to evaluate and rule in/out any pituitary issues. Need to find out why they are low.

**eightythree** · 07-26-2012, 05:46 PM

Allright Bass you asked for it! I ordered almost every test on the planet here are the screenshots :

**eightythree** · 07-26-2012, 05:48 PM

I'm a little confused. A few are saying I'm normal, but that I should take Clomid, HCG or Nolvodex or rule out my pituitary. Also what does "secondary" mean?

I am currently in a calorie deficit, not large, maybe 500 or so. I also am doing intermittant fasting, eat from 12pm - 8pm. Not sure if it's relevant but figured I would mention it. Energy levels are pretty good, mood is pretty good. I surf typically 3-4 times a week for 1-2 hours.

**kelkel** · 07-26-2012, 09:16 PM

Your numbers (Test) are low normal if your judging yourself off a BW chart. Your Lh/FSH are near the bottom of the scale. Why? This is the reason for the MRI, to rule in or out any pituitary abnormalities (tumors.) A pituitary issue causing hypogonadism would make you secondary hypogonadal. Low LH/FSH + low T = secondary. High LH/FSH and low T = primary hypogonadal or testicular issue.

The mention of ancillary therapy with HCG , Clomid & Nolva are ways to jump "possibly" jump start your system into better production. Usually not that successful if there is an underlying issue. Dieting/fasting such as your doing can have an effect on your hormone levels. You may consider a future re-test when your not putting your system through that. And yes, I'm aware BW such as this is after a fast, but it's a normal fast, not extended in any form.

Get your MRI.

**eightythree** · 07-26-2012, 09:28 PM

Completly understood. How do I go about asking my doctor to request a pituitary MRI? I researched a little and it seems a non insured MRI between 1500-4000 depending on slices and contrast.

**kelkel** · 07-27-2012, 03:13 PM

Advise your doctor that you've been self-educating regarding your condition and that LH/FSH levels in a man of your age are not normal, even though they are still within the so called "range." Your 28, not 68. LH is what signals the testies to produce T. FSH is basically spermatogenesis. You want to rule pituitary issues in or out for peace of mind. If he is insensitive to your request then find another doctor, IMHO.

**HRTstudent** · 07-28-2012, 01:06 AM

Do you take a multivitamin with iron?

I would eliminate that now if I were you. Your ferritin is indicative of too much iron. Dr Mariano likes that to be closer to 150 I believe. More is not better with iron.

Although I would bump up the D.

Again, what are your symptoms?

**eightythree** · 07-28-2012, 12:58 PM

I take Optimen daily, but what may be increasing my Iron is I use a good amount of frozen spinach everyday in my protein shake. I break my fast at 12pm every day with a shake of a lot of frozen spinach, oats, whey and take my vitamins.

Symptoms? Well to be honest, it's tough to figure out if my symptoms are of normal aging, hormonal issues or both. Last year I came off several months of drinking heavily, smoking cigarettes, marijuana and traveling all over the world. Went cold turkey on all of it, and promptly had really broken sleep, night sweats, no morning wood and few ED issues here and there, nothing REALLY consistent. This was in mid-November and I took a basic test of my total testosterone in January which came in at 384.

I do take Melanotan 2, so it's tough to tell now because my erections are pretty good. When I'm on MT2, I almost always have ridiculous morning erections. A few months ago, when I was not on MT2, I noticed I didn't get a lot of morning erections. Libido wise, it seems to fluctuate here and there. I've had some soft erections with my girlfriend but I can't remember ever not being able to get it completely up. My ejaculate volume seemed a little low at times, which again, I wasn't sure what's normal. My biggest problem is I've had some penis sensitivity issues with condoms, like I will be able to bang for a long time and not blow, but that could be just using condoms (I do use the thinnest I can find though.)

Emotionally, I definitely feel a little more apathy then I seem to have before. I don't really have a big drive to go out and party like I used too, I would rather just chill at home. I do seem to be a little more anxiety about things. My sleep hasn't been all that great for the past few months, I typically never sleep through the night in one straight shot. I usually wake up at least once. Sometimes I wake up with headaches. During the day I will take naps sometimes when I watch TV.

Looking at my testosterone levels , they don't seem to be so clinically low to trash me, so I'm leaning more towards it's all in my head and normal aging. What do you guys think?

**HRTstudent** · 07-29-2012, 04:34 PM

I agree with you that your testosterone does not look THAT bad. Could it be higher? Sure, but it could also be a lot lower. Your symptoms could really be so many things. I would frankly avoid going on TRT if I was in your shoes. I was faced with a similar situation as you (similar age) but my T was about half of yours. I would much rather have been in your shoes and tried to bring that number up by other means than TRT.