Greetings gentlemen,

I have a few posts in this forum about getting back into working out and eating right and feeling better. I gave it a few good tries, but noticed something considerably different as compared to when I used to work out as a younger man.

My background: 38-year-old male 5 foot 10, 230lbs. Despite not working out consistantly have maintained some muscle mass, I have relatively wide shoulders and large bone structure.

I've always been a good eater, and tend to favor protein sources such as fish, red meat, poultry and eggs, as well as fresh vegetables.

Over the past few years, I've come to notice, especially now ,signs of low testosterone. Some depression, low energy levels, reduced libido, and a difficult recovery process after working out.

I took a private lab draw a few months ago and came up with the following information

Serum testosterone 309 ng/dL reference (249-836)
luteinizing hormone, S 3.2 mIU/mL reference (1.7-8.6)
FSH, serum , 2.5 mIU/mL reference(1.5-12.4)
Estradiol 24.7 pg/mL reference (7.6-42.6)

I then took another test about a month ago with the following results:

Total testosterone 100.6 reference range (196-782) ng/dL
free testosterone 2.75 reference range (5.2-18.0) ng/dL
bioavailable testosterone 63 reference range (119-470) ng/dL
SHBG 15 reference range(12-59) nmol/L
TSH 4.40 reference range 0.35 – 4.94 uIU/ml
total PSA 0.49 reference range 0.0 – 4.0 ng/ml

My doctors impressions were abnormal low testosterone, okay SHBG, borderline low thyroid, and okay, prostate.

These were the results after my second visit with the doctor, and after having taken finasteride 5 mg for a month.

He is a general practitioner, but seems to be very enthusiastic about helping me with my issues. He ordered testosterone gel 5% 120 g jar 1/4 teaspoon per dose.

I'm actually a little hesitant to start HRT, primarily after reading some of the posts here regarding complete shutdown, shrinking balls, I am wondering if I need to make sure I have some HCG on hand. I also have some reservations about testosterone gel in terms of safety for my pregnant wife, my dog, and the fact that I am sweaty a lot, and that the cost is prohibitive as I am trying to support my family.

I have seen the various threads recommending consultation from doctors specializing in TRT protocols. I am curious of the impressions that you may have regarding my situation.