I'm 31 and my Testosterone is EXTREMELY LOW! TRT? I don't want to shut down natural T

[garymaurizi]

Hello Forum,

I'm 31 years old and my testosterone is EXTREMELY low. I recently found out 3 weeks ago after a bunch of bloodwork and testing that I have thyroid problems (subclinical hypothyroid/hashimoto's thyroiditis) and extremely low testosterone .

I have been training hard 2 hours a day 5 days a week for the last 9+ months trying to put on some muscle, and have been completely 100% failing, I have a pristine/clean diet & really good supplementation plan, is this why?

My Dr. wants to put me on exogenous testosterone/cypionate , but I don't know if I want to do this? I do not want to completely destroy my body's natural ability to produce testosterone, nor do I want to be permanently infertile? Are the side effects of TRT the same for men with secondary hypogonadism? I'm already producing way less Testosterone than I should, so wouldn't TRT completely destroy my body's natural ability to produce permanently?

He did not mention PCT or cycling, he did not mention any aromatase inhibitors or anything, just 250mg testosterone cypionate indefinitely? Doesn't this mean my balls will shrink, I will become infertile, and eventually my body's natural ability to produce testosterone will shut down entirely and permanently? if I don't cycle off of it from time to time?

Is there some better alternative like clomid or anavar that would allow me to build muscle without shutting down my natural testosterone production?

I upped my supplement game recently, and completely changed up my diet to only eat foods that boost testosterone, and started taking a few highly rated natural testosterone boosters, for someone with levels as low as mine, is it even possible to get to mid- or high-normal levels through diet and natural supplementation? or is TRT my only hope?

I'm really sick of putting this effort into my work outs and getting almost no results.

My levels from bloodwork follow:


03/20/2012:
TSH: 1.61 mUI/L

03/09/2013:
TSH: 1.29 mIU/L

11/04/2016:
TSH: 2.20 mIU/L
FT4: 1.34 ng/dL
Testosterone, Serum: 376 ng/dL
Free Testosterone: 5.3 pg/mL (REF: 8.7 - 25.1)

08/24/2017:
TSH: 4.54 mIU/L
FT4: 1.51 ng/dL

08/31/2017:
Testosterone, Serum: 324 ng/dL
Free Testosterone: 2.6 pg/mL (REF: 8.7 - 25.1)

09/05/2017:
Testosterone, Serum: 610 ng/dL
Free Testosterone: 7.7 (REF: 8.7 - 25.1)

09/08/2017:
TSH: 2.25 mUI/L
FT4: 1.10 ng/dL


Also, if TRT is the only practical solution for someone with levels as low as mine, how does steroid use fit in with someone like me who is very young to be on TRT (31 y.o)? What if I eventually wanted to cycle something like anavar or winstrol ? would I still have to take an AI, do PCT and cycle the anavar? would I cycle the testosterone too? (I have limited, almost no experience with steroids , but I've been trying to learn before starting TRT).

Thank You so much for your help, I'm really confused on the best course of action here.

My Dr. hasn't run any tests on LH, FSH, DHT, SHBG, I don't think he has a clue what is the cause of my hypogonadism? regarding if its primary or secondary? etc...

[assguy22]

Also, if TRT is the only practical solution for someone with levels as low as mine, how does steroid use fit in with someone like me who is very young to be on TRT (31 y.o)? What if I eventually wanted to cycle something like anavar or winstrol ? would I still have to take an AI, do PCT and cycle the anavar? would I cycle the testosterone too? (I have limited, almost no experience with steroids , but I've been trying to learn before starting TRT).

Thank You so much for your help, I'm really confused on the best course of action here.

My Dr. hasn't run any tests on LH, FSH, DHT, SHBG, I don't think he has a clue what is the cause of my hypogonadism? regarding if its primary or secondary? etc...

Testosterone is testosterone, every other steroid will shutdown (in a higher o lower degree) your own natural testosterone levels . EXTREMLY LOW T is <200, you have a healthy testosterone for your age and could be modulated with diet/supps/exercise/rest/no stress/etc.

Go natural if you wanna up those numbers. I don't think you need TRT or steroids.

[kelkel]

Is your doctor treating your hypothyroidism? Know that hypothyroidism causes low testosterone . Fix one, normally you fix the other. Many docs just don't know this. The majority simply don't know hormones, which seems to describe yours.

If your current serum T level is 610 that's just fine. Your free T is what you need to worry about and your's stinks at the moment. Free T is what works for us. All the total T in the world won't help if it's bound by shbg. Logic would tell us that your shbg level is elevated thus binding your FT. You need blood work to evaluate this.

If in the states take a look at discounted labs dot come or private md labs dot come and you can pull your own BW quite cheaply. Not all states allow it though. Fill in the blanks on your BW so you have a clear picture of what's going on. Include LH FSH as you noted along with shbg and D3. Optimizing D3 levels will suppress shbg which allows FT to rise.

I would not recommend TRT until you investigate this further.

[MuscleScience]

Is your doctor treating your hypothyroidism? Know that hypothyroidism causes low testosterone . Fix one, normally you fix the other. Many docs just don't know this. The majority simply don't know hormones, which seems to describe yours.

If your current serum T level is 610 that's just fine. Your free T is what you need to worry about and your's stinks at the moment. Free T is what works for us. All the total T in the world won't help if it's bound by shbg. Logic would tell us that your shbg level is elevated thus binding your FT. You need blood work to evaluate this.

If in the states take a look at discounted labs dot come or private md labs dot come and you can pull your own BW quite cheaply. Not all states allow it though. Fill in the blanks on your BW so you have a clear picture of what's going on. Include LH FSH as you noted along with shbg and D3. Optimizing D3 levels will suppress shbg which allows FT to rise.

I would not recommend TRT until you investigate this further.

100% agree with this. Your body is producing enough T, it’s just not being delivered.

[balin]

2 hours a day 5 days in a row may be part of your problem. You may want to 3 days a week with a day off in between. Many people can't train hard every day and make gains.