Testosterone Levels

Went to the doctor today and he went over my testosterone levels. Normal range is like 230- 840. My level is 247 which he said is very low for my age (25). He tried to prescribe a patch for me that would help but my ins did not cover it. Anyone ever encounter this problem? He said it was problem and said it is probably a main contributer to me being tired often moody. Then he goes and prescribes me antidepressants. I don’t get it. If you have found a problem why not give me something for it instead of masking it with anti depressant pills. I will shell out the 80 dollars if I am going to feel better. Has anyone tried testosterol?

I’ve never had that problem.

Not surprising. I’d try another doctor, preferably an endocrinologist.

You’ll need more tests if they haven’t been done already. Free T, LH, FSH, estradiol, maybe prolactin, and possibly a few others. In order to decide the best way to treat this you need to determine which part of the system is malfunctioning.

Here’s a Yahoo group you might want to check out:

Results of a single testosterone measurement is not enough to go on when diagnosing the etiology of hypogonadism. Many other things need to be considered, several other tests should be ordered, and properly reviewed in context of the clinical setting. A 20 - 40 year old male who complains of feeling tired and moody is rarely suffering from primary hypogonadism vs. pituitary/hypothalamus dysfunction. More typically the cause is depression / anxiety / stress. The second most common reason is substance abuse. After that comes a list of possible medical disorders.

Your low test levels could come from a lot of different things. When was your test taken? Test levels are highest first thing in the morning. Also, as aforementioned, have you ever used/abused any drugs either recreational or performance enhancing? This could also skew your test levels. Whatever you do get a number of tests done before you let a doctor put you on HRT. You’re 25 and if you start it now you’ll be on it for the rest of your life.

What about rec. Drugs 10 years ago? Will this have an impact on today’s test levels?

Great advice.

As is Kawaihae’s. One hormone panel doesn’t necessarily reveal the picture. If, for example, your blood draw was made later in the day, you will probably get very different results from a draw made at 8 AM.

Before you consider patches, get the whole picture learning the likely results of TRT.

What is wrong with anti-depressants when you need them? Feeling better in general, you will make much better decisions about your long-term care than when you feel lousy.

Well I don’t do drugs and hardly drink. My blood draws was later in the day but out of the 3 times I was tested they we’re on the lower side. Those number are low for my age and I have a feeling it is the reason why I am feeling like this. The doctor was telling me to exercise and he said this can naturally raise your levels up. What is TRT? What is HRT? I am going to to do that but I am kind of anxious on what my next move should be. I am going to make another appointment with the Doctor and sit down and talk with him about my options because he seems to feel this was a concern and I am starting to think it is too. I have been feeling like this for years now. He said he is going to alot of tests whatever that means I don’t know but he took about 3 viles of blood. Should I ask him about an endocrinologist? Thanks.

A few years back I read an article on T-mag.com that was called something like “My Doctor, My Dealer” where it listed a “sure fire” way of getting your testosterone levels low enough to get your doctor to prescribe testosterone for you, which you could then save up and do a roid cycle. I forget what it advised, but it was some obvious stuff like drink lots of alcohol, skip sleep, get worn down etc plus a few other pills to pop that would also mess up your levels.

My point here is that there are lots of things that affect your levels. It’s even been shown that when tests are done on fans at a football match, the winning team have higher levels than the losing team, so feeling crappy about the situation may actually contribute to the condition.

Multiple draws over a couple of weeks and different times of the day might give you a better indication of the real picture, but I’m surprised that he was so eager to prescribe testosterone without looking at a wider spectrum of hormone levels to get a feel for what is really going on.

I’d kill to get the HRT percription.

BTW, my last T blood level was 972 (that’s really high), and I’m tired and often very, very moody.

TRT= Testosterone Replacement Therapy
HRT= (usually) Hormone Replacement Therapy

Your next move should be to educate yourself about relative hormonal values such that you can read your own results, and understand them.

You do not jump into this. You think first, understanding before you decide, the logical outcome of these potentially complicated therapies.

Thanks avocet I will read up on it as I already have done a little. I understand what you saying but should I take into consideration that the Doctor has told me it is a problem and that the levels are low for my age. He al;so had prescribed a patch for me that supposedly was a TRT almost a year ago. I never got it because shitty ass HIP ins would not cover it and I did not feel like spending 180 dollars on it. I don’t want to jump into anything like you said but if this could help me I would be willing to try it.

Reminds me of the case of a young man who had a tumour in his nose diagnosed and removed, suddenly he had a massive character change from a boring yuppie executive who never went out to a testosterone driven women mad spendthrift. The tumour had suppressed his pituitary gland for years and he had suffered extremely low testosterone levels. I read this all in the newspaper after he was in court, bankrupt and up on fraud charges. He couldn’t cope with all the new feelings he had never experienced before and went into extreme playboy mode and blew his successful self made business. Was quite a story.

I couldn’t find the link to the story but maybe some useful reading (just slightly related)

If you start on testosterone replacement at age 25, you are doomed to have your balls shrink up and never be able to produce a sufficient amount of hormone naturally for the rest of your life.

The doctor that tried to prescribe the patch to you was a complete idiot. Do not go back to him.

Free testosterone is a better indicator of your available T in your blood, and the test should be done first thing in the morning. You have a lot to learn and many options to try before you even think about TRT.