Blood work - Low T and high Estrogen - TRT or AI ?

**mikusk** · 02-02-2018, 11:41 AM

Hello,

Here are the test Results : (its not eng. but i think you will be able to read it)

So, the estrogen is higher than it is supposed to be + SHGB seems to be on the very low end, also, my TST seems to be very low for my age (24).
Free tst seems to be higher than it is supposed to be tho.

I have been thinking about TRT for a long time. But the issue is that where I live, I wont be able to get on it ''legally'' because doctors here know almost nothing about it.

The only option would be self treatment. (as much as i don't wanna do it I have no other choice apart from traveling to other country)

I have few symptoms of low T such as : low libido, weak erections, no morning wood - if TRT is going to increase my quality of life, I am willing to sacrifice injecting every week for the rest of my life.
2 years back i was tested with similiar T levels, i had high prolactin levels tho which i do not have anymore with the latest tests.

About the higher estrogen : I eat a lot of chicken and as we all know, chicken is pumped with a lot of hormones, could that possibly be the case ? I was thinking about replacing the chicken with beef.

My backround : 6'5'' about 250 pounds lifting almost every day, generaly very healthy individual, I used to take hair loss pills but it started giving me gyno so i immediately stoped and used nolvadex and letrozole . This was 3-4 years back tho, could this have something with my current estrogen levels or lower T ?

Someone recommended me exemestane 12.5mg e3d for 2 weeks and see what that does first, when i reseacherd that AI it makes sense, what are your thoughts on that ? Would i have to stay on it my whole life or a ''cycle'' like that would get my Estrogen levels where it is supposed to be ? Maybe the higher Estrogen limits my TST ?

Anyways, I will be very thankful for any advice or inside

**Ephemeral** · 02-03-2018, 02:30 PM

Was the estradiol test the sensitive type? If it wasn't, it's practically useless, I wouldn't take an AI based on just that.

Your LH is not bad, so that points to primary hypogonadism, so problems in your testes. I'd do an ultrasound. Have u had any injuries down there?

What's your bodyfat %? Are u overtrained? These can cause low T as well.

**mikusk** · 02-04-2018, 04:53 AM

Originally Posted by Ephemeral

Was the estradiol test the sensitive type? If it wasn't, it's practically useless, I wouldn't take an AI based on just that.

Your LH is not bad, so that points to primary hypogonadism, so problems in your testes. I'd do an ultrasound. Have u had any injuries down there?

What's your bodyfat %? Are u overtrained? These can cause low T as well.

No clue if it was sensitive type or not, if LH and FSH are OK doesn't that indicate that my testes are doing a good job ? Besides, no injuries.

I am around 14-16 % BF, I do train pretty hard daily (2h a day) but i do not feel overtrained. I do have to put in a lot of work otherwise i don't grow.

**Gallowmere** · 02-04-2018, 05:42 AM

Originally Posted by mikusk

No clue if it was sensitive type or not, if LH and FSH are OK doesn't that indicate that my testes are doing a good job ? Besides, no injuries.

I am around 14-16 % BF, I do train pretty hard daily (2h a day) but i do not feel overtrained. I do have to put in a lot of work otherwise i don't grow.

No, good LH and FSH indicate that your pituitary gland is doing it’s job. That doesn’t mean that anyone’s home at the nuthouse when the mailman comes knocking.

My very first set of bloods indicated the same, though my test levels on the first were 50 (not a typo) and 171 on the second. My LH and FSH were both well within range, though a hair on the low-ish side.

**Youthful55guy** · 02-04-2018, 10:41 AM

Look at the range for the E test. This looks the standard test designed for women. I would not trust it, nor would I start an AI based on the results of the test. If you are on the low end of Total T, more than likely you are also on the low end of E, but the range of sensitivity for that test will not pick that up because it is designed to be more sensitive at the upper end of the range. More than likely if you were to start an AI, you would crush your E to very low levels and make the ED much worse. Guys need E too for normal erections. We also need E for normal GH production, so crushing E will probably drive your IGF-1 levels down too and that will have an impact at lots of levels in the body. More than likely, your Total T is low because your SHBG is low. SHBG protects T from liver metabolism, so low SHBG means a shorter half life of T in the body. Your Free T is normal in spite of lower Total T because, less of it is being sucked up by SHBG.

I don't have any recommendations for you other than not to start an AI without the correct (sensitive) E test using the LC/MS/MS methodology.

**Ephemeral** · 02-04-2018, 10:57 AM

Originally Posted by mikusk

No clue if it was sensitive type or not, if LH and FSH are OK doesn't that indicate that my testes are doing a good job ? Besides, no injuries.

I am around 14-16 % BF, I do train pretty hard daily (2h a day) but i do not feel overtrained. I do have to put in a lot of work otherwise i don't grow.

If u don't know whether it was the sensitive type, then it wasn't, they don't give u that by default. Unfortunately I don't think u'll find a lab in your country with the LC-MS method (this is the sensitive one that's useful for men), just the usual immunoassay, but u can ask around.

Good LH and FSH levels indicate that your pituitary/hypothalamus work fine, but your testes don't respond well enough for some reason.

Working out daily for 2 hours hard sounds like overtraining to me, and I've heard that big guys can overtrain much easier, I'm not sure about the science on that and I'm no expert, hopefully others will chime in.

**mikusk** · 02-04-2018, 04:08 PM

Ok I will ask the lab about the LC-MS method, I will take the advice and not use the AI for now, is there a way to up the SHGB or am i stuck with that and have to work with what I have ?

About the testes,is there a way to figure out for sure that they are/aren't working properly (ultrasound) ? Or is it just a guess game based on my low T ? Lets say that they aren't working properly, how do i fix them ?

Thank you guys for your input so far!

**Youthful55guy** · 02-04-2018, 06:55 PM

Originally Posted by mikusk

Ok I will ask the lab about the LC-MS method, I will take the advice and not use the AI for now, is there a way to up the SHGB or am i stuck with that and have to work with what I have ?

About the testes,is there a way to figure out for sure that they are/aren't working properly (ultrasound) ? Or is it just a guess game based on my low T ? Lets say that they aren't working properly, how do i fix them ?

Thank you guys for your input so far!

Ironically, increasing E will increase SHBG. So will thyroid hormones. I have the opposite problem of excessively high SHBG, so I've not done any research on ways to increase it. proper labs are the only way to determine whther or not your testicles are responding to the LH/FSH.

**mikusk** · 02-05-2018, 07:35 AM

Someone recommended me to get thyorid checked so I am working on that too(free t3+t4+TSH+tracking body temperatures), what is the list of labs for the testes check ? I asked about the LC-MS method and they are not doing it unfortunately.

**Ephemeral** · 02-05-2018, 11:19 AM

Originally Posted by mikusk

Someone recommended me to get thyorid checked so I am working on that too(free t3+t4+TSH+tracking body temperatures), what is the list of labs for the testes check ? I asked about the LC-MS method and they are not doing it unfortunately.

To check the testes u need to do an ultrasound, I don't think more blood work will help u in that regard. Checking thyroid hormones however is a good idea, Hypothyroidism can cause low SHBG. Also if u happen to have sleep apnea, that can lower SHBG and T as well.