48, got blood work what would you do?

[stormtrooper]

Saw a doc last week, I brought up symptoms and possible low testosterone and he sent me for blood work, came back

Testosterone 296.4 ng/dL
Free Testosterone 9.1 pg/mL

48, 6'1", 180, ectomorph used to play a lot of basketball with some lifting which kept body fat around 6% and I felt great.

No major injuries, but some wear and tear, a minor shoulder impingement, inguinal hernia and plantar fasciitis. My weight has stayed about the same over the years, maybe up about 5 lbs, but it's easy to see I've traded about 10-15 lbs of muscle for fat. A healthy diet and light lifting (training around the problems when I have the energy) is no longer working very well.

I guess my T levels could be worse and I can get by like this, but I really hate the fatigue, worsening concentration/memory and sex life could be better. Confidence has also taken a hit. I've been helping with my dad's cancer treatment since Feb. and stress is pretty high.

What I'm thinking is try testosterone injections, maybe cypionate, for a limited time and stop before I go too long and risk my own production not restarting. Maybe inject every 5th or 6th day for 30 days and evaluate how I feel, then see how the next month goes with no injections, but improved fitness.

What would you guys do?

If you would try T what type would you ask your Dr. for?

With my current testosterone levels how much would you take and how long would you take it for on the safe conservative side?

[Keep_It_Moving]

Call IMT!!!

[Proximal]

Welcome to the forum!

Sorry to hear about your father.

Have you considered life-long TRT?

I don't think 1 month is going to really give you any idea as to testosterone's effectiveness.

[IncreaseMyT]

Do a trial run of TRT. Anything under 300 ng/dl is a no brainer IMHO. Here is a great video. Notice how the doc says proper T levels, whether endogenous (natural) or through supplementation, decreases your risk of all-cause mortality.

In other words, TRT for a guy with levels like yours LITERALLY decreases your chances of dying.

Hope this helps.



Below is a link to a page on our website that has most of the new medical literature on how positive TRT is for your health profile, if your low to begin with.

Is Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) Right for Me? | Increase My T

[NEMESIS RR]

Just start slow but start.

[stormtrooper]

Thanks guys! I have considered life-long TRT, here are the reasons I was hoping a month or so might be enough to help some things heal, improve fitness and get me back on track.

1. I think my doctor might say levels are fine. My labs were done by Boyce & Bynum, 296.4 is inside their normal range they list as 193-740 and Free T of 9.1 is within normal they list as 7.2-24.

2. I'd be surprised if my insurance (Anthem Blue Cross/Shield) will pay for it. I'm already paying them close to $400 a month, they like to raise it every year I go to the doctor more than a few times.

3. I already have lost about 10% of my hair and sometimes still get some acne, guess both could become worse.

4. I took propecia up until about 5 years ago, it grew hair but I had some sexual side effects, some still present today. Some guys improve their sex life with testosterone but some have had the opposite effect, wouldn't want to make things worse. I'm a little worried I might screw up life-long TRT.

5, My goals are pretty modest. If I could regain the energy needed to gain 5-10 lbs of muscle and take off the fat I'm hoping that might go a long way in improving some of the fatigue.