Would I benefit from TRT?

[mcrow]

37 year old male.

I had a few testosterone levels done in 2012 and
05/12/2012 (3pm)
Testosterone, Serum 389 348-1197 ng/dL
Free Testosterone(Direct) 5.7 8.7-25.1 pg/mL

03/22/2012 (8am)
Testosterone, Serum 295 348-1197 ng/dL
Free Testosterone(Direct) 7.6 8.7-25.1 pg/mL

03/13/2012 (9am)
Testosterone, Serum004227 411 348-1197 ng/dL


Seems like a lot of variation to me but my free test seems to be low for sure.

I have tiredness, headaches, joint pain, brain fog, grumpy.....ect.

Had a TSH done and that was fine.


Is my testosterone low enough to be causing these sorts of things?

[bullshark99]

At first glance yes it's clearly low but you need much more BW before you jump on a program. Use the stickies and you can find what's needed. Find the cause, see if there is a different/easy fix, diet for example or discontinuing a certain medication.
You claim you do have symptoms, I don't question that, but these same symptoms can come from many things, lifestyle, stress ect...

[Beethoven]

At first glance yes it's clearly low but you need much more BW before you jump on a program. Use the stickies and you can find what's needed. Find the cause, see if there is a different/easy fix, diet for example or discontinuing a certain medication.
You claim you do have symptoms, I don't question that, but these same symptoms can come from many things, lifestyle, stress ect...

I agree. You are definitely producing so it may be some other correctable thing. You should check estradiol, SHBG, LH, etc. read the stickies.

[2Sox]

These blood test results are almost three years old. Needless to say, things could have gotten better....or worse, and you need updated blood work with a complete diagnosis as to the cause of your symptoms. I'd suggest you take the time to find out what's going on. IMO, the single most important thing you can do right now is to find a competent doctor who knows TRT.

[kelkel]

You need current, full BW. It's in the stickies.

[mcrow]

Thanks guys.

Yes, I realize I need to have the BW done again. I plan to do that. I just have to convince my Dr. that it's the thing to do. My Dr. seems to dismiss the idea that it could be low testosterone even though he knows I've had low test levels before. I've had a lot of stuff done trying to figure out the problem, not much on the hormone side. Other than a normal TSH (just this week), that's about the only hormone related lab that has been done.

They have ruled out lyme disease and neurological disorders. I have celiac disease, I got checked out to make sure my antibodies were OK and my nutrients are OK and things look great in that area. In fact, my GI specialist says that my labs are so good now that I've been gluten-free for 7 months that I'm essentially where a person without Celiac would be. I'm not anemic either.

So, I just need to get the hormone stuff done to make sure it's not that. I even had an MRI of the brain to make sure it wasn't a pituitary issue or something like that.

[kelkel]

Well, it sounds like you're doing your due-diligence as you should. And so many don't. Check out the list of BW in the Finding A Doc Sticky. Talk to your doc as well about his thoughts if in fact it ends up being low T. How will he treat you? Will he prescribe Test, HCG, an AI if needed? His answers will indicate whether he's the right doc for you in this situation.