Got my blood work back today

[renjr70]

So last week I went to the doc and had my blood work done. I originally went to get it done because I had planned on doing my first cycle and wanted to make sure everything was cool first. After researching quite a bit of info on the forum I decided to ask her to run a test panel on me. I figured I was there anyway and I might as well find out what my natural levels are. Before I go any further though let my give you some of my stats. I'm 40 years old, as of today 198lbs, 17.2% BF measured at the gym last week. I work out regularly on a 4 day a week schedule. I eat good and avoid all sugars and bad carbs, In fact for the most part I stick to a keto diet. Basically Atkins with a work out routine, which as soon as I hit my target weight of 185 I'm gonna switch my diet to one of the recomended diets on the site here and add complex carbs to my daily routine. I also have never done a cycle.
Back to the doc, My test came back today with a level of 202. Now that sounds pretty low to me. When I spoke with the doc on the phone they were a little hesitant. They said it's "a little low with 265 being acceptable" I dont think 265 would be an acceptable level either for someone my age. She also spoke about giving me a script for "patches" instead of an injectable. But that conversation didnt get to far. They want me to see a urologist first before anything else. Any advice here guys? What should I be asking for, whats the best treatment? Do they script different types of test for different people or does everybody get test enth? I have alot to learn but I want to be prepared when speaking with the doctors.

[frawnz]

202 is pretty low. I'd either go to the urologist or see if they will refer you to an endocrinologist. You should have better luck there and they will be able to better discover what the reason for your low testosterone is instead of just treating it. Even an endo will probably want to start you on a topical application of testosterone (ie, Testim or Androgel), or some other form like a patch, before they will begin suggesting injections. Injections for TRT are generally either Test Cyp or Test Enanthate, usually at a dosage ranging from 100-300mg/week. Make sure on future blood panels that they do a full range of tests, including free T, SHBG, LH, FSH, and Estradiol (E2) so you have a baseline to work from.

[renjr70]

ok cool, thanks for the info. I didn't realize that patches were part of the regular routine. They did run some other tests on my testosterone levels, all the results are not in yet, they told me to call back on Monday. But they definitely want me to see the urologist before anything else. Is there a preference between Test Cyp and Test Enanthate?

[CMB]

ok cool, thanks for the info. I didn't realize that patches were part of the regular routine. They did run some other tests on my testosterone levels, all the results are not in yet, they told me to call back on Monday. But they definitely want me to see the urologist before anything else. Is there a preference between Test Cyp and Test Enanthate?

Testosterone is testosterone. The difference is the cyp has a longer ester than enth.

[renjr70]

I got the rest of my results today so here are the numbers, test 202, free test .87, and and % free was .4 Not sure what % free means but those are the numbers they gave me. How low are these results in comparison to normal numbers? My doctor now wants me to see a Urologist instead of giving me any type of prescription for this.

[flatscat]

Your Doc is scared. He SHOULD be able to treat you. Educate yourself before the uro appointment. Know what you are talking about and don't let him bs you. See what he says and maybe you will get lucky. You definitely need some help with your levels.

[renjr70]

yeah, that's kinda what I thought. I did'nt see any reason they could'nt treat me. In fact, the doc would'nt even get on the phone and speak with me about it. The nurses called me with a message from the Doc. They basically said "your tests came back low and the Dr. wants you to go see a specialist" haha, what a joke our medical system is. They probably just dont want to deal with justifying to the insurance companies why they wrote me a prescription for a lifetime treatment. Well my numbers are low, too low to ignore so I just have to find a doctor willing to help me. Way to go for my doc passing the buck eh?

[subnet]

sounds like my primary Dr., ren. I asked for bloodwork checking for low testosterone since I had all the symptoms, and when they came back low, he immediately sent me to an endo because he didn't want to have anything to do with TRT. Of course, the endo had to run 2 more sets of bloodwork and then she just prescribed me gel. I had to switch to another Dr. at an aging clinic because he at least knew that estradiol levels were important, etc., which the endo didn't even want to test me for.

So yes your level is low, but how are you feeling? Patches suck (from what I hear - no personal experience) as they often cause itching/redness. Gel's are used by some but they are messy, you have to apply them daily, and you run the small risk of contact with family members. Without insurance gel is BIG bucks - injectibles are cheap. It seems that injectibles offer more guaranteed results and that some people have issues with their levels on gels, many of us are on injectible cyp or enth. I'd say more are on cyp then enth (I'm on enth though) here in the US, but as others have said here there's really no difference. A good plan would be to be able to self-inject at home, rather than having to go into the office but we're getting ahead of ourselves until you go to the specialist. What is really irritating is that they use a 'magic number' to say you're either OK or not, regardless of how you feel. I know my insurance company wouldn't treat over a certain level (around the 265 mark if i recall correctly) so it's not surprising the doctors use that as well. For them to say that 265 is acceptable is bullshit, unless you're 80 years old (or want to have similar test levels)! There are a ton of links at the top of this forum - I suggest you just go through them all and learn as much as you can so you can do in informed. Good luck!

[renjr70]

Great advice subnet thank you I will. and thnx for the info. as for how I'm feeling I do have some symptoms of low T, I just never realized that what it was till I started learning about it here. I sleep very little, I am always tired, thats my #1 complaint, I have increased BF%, and my lobido is not what is was, instead of wanting sex everyday now it's like every 3rd or 4th. I am also not as mentally sharp and I do experience "fogginess" and easily forget things. But like I said I never connected the dots on these issues. I actually came here to learn how to do a cycle and found out i had a problem. I am glad i did though!