- This topic has 7 voices and 16 replies.
-
Posts
-
Hey guys,I had some of my hormone levels tested two weeks ago, and here are the numbers: T3 Total: 112Reference Range: 76-181 ng/dLTSH W/Reflex to FT4: 1.93Reference Range: .4-4.5 mIU/LEstradiol: 41 pg/mLReference Range < Or - 39 pg/mLTestosterone Total: 396 ng/dLReference Range: 250-1100 ng/dLFree Testosterone: 63.8 pg/mLReference Range: 35.0-155.0 pg/mLI'm 32, 6'2, 275, bodyfat in the mid 20's. I'm getting more comprehensive lab work done, but I feel like these numbers are very low. I'm also getting a sleep study done this week to see if I have sleep apnea, which I know can also throw hormone levels off. I'm considering the HRT/TRT route, but I wanted some input from you guys based on the levels that I posted. Thanks for your help.
By no means am I experienced with this, but those numbers are in what is considered “normal” range. Unless you go to an “anti-aging clinic” where they pass it out openly I think it is less likely you get prescribed HRT/TRT. That is of course unless of course you stack the deck.
By no means am I experienced with this, but those numbers are in what is considered "normal" range. Unless you go to an "anti-aging clinic" where they pass it out openly I think it is less likely you get prescribed HRT/TRT. That is of course unless of course you stack the deck.
Hey Tomahawk,That's what I'm considering, I have an appointment with an MD who specializes in HRT/TRT.
I did not see you mention any ill symptoms in your original message, so I will give you the following cautionary statement/story:I am currently on 'medically necessary,' i.e. insurance approved, mainstream urologist diagnosed TRT due to clinically low levels - Total test was ~149 before treatment. Let me tell you, this route is no picnic. The numbers alone mean nothing if you are not experiences symptoms. Are you feeling depressed even after visiting a therapist? Do you have zero libido with a side of ED? Feel reclusive and get no joy whatsoever out of life? Feeling 'beta-male' after a lifetime (thus far) of 'alpha male' behavior? Absolutely unable to lose fat no matter what well-thought-out or sensible plan you follow?Depending on how your doctor (and even what kind of doctor) prescribes it, there will definitely be expense - to what degree depends on several factors (read on) and also some degree of inconvenience. Gels may or may not work. They did not for me, so after 6 months of that, step 2 was injections which WILL work, but are 1) far more inconvenient - not sure how practiced you are at giving yourself injections with LARGE needles - they have to be a large guage to accommodate the thickness of the oil carrier for the Test and 2) potentially have more side effects including the ups and downs if you are prescribed biweekly shots (every 3rd day is best, but I have yet to hear of a mainstream doctor prescribing this frequency - more of an 'enhancement' regimen; as well as potential to raise Hematocrit and Hemoglobin which if so, will need to be managed by regularly removing some blood volume, e.g. standard donations or by medical phlebotomy, or periodic cycling off til levels come down significantly. On the flipside, everything could run smooth as glass, but one needs all the info one can get and after all, you did ask... ;DAt your levels, if you have not investigated and attempted natural methods to raise your levels of T and lower that E2, I would do so. Additionally, if you are somewhere near the middle of the reference ranges, e.g. 500 for total T, what is your goal in getting treatment? For instance, if your total cholesterol is 120, why would you want to take a Statin drug? (Assuming of course you think high cholesterol is a bad thing and statins are the way to go, but you get the idea.) Again, no or very mild symptoms do not warrant going to this extreme. Further, if your goal is physique enhancement - I'M NOT MAKING ASSUMPTIONS JUST THROWING THIS OUT THERE SO PLEASE DO NOT TAKE OFFENSE - no mainstream doctor is going to get you at or in excess of ~1400 total T to get that job done. Optimizing Magnesium, Zinc, Vitamin C, diet, sleep, etc. will all enhance your hormonal levels. If you have not done this already, give it a try and you will likely be surprised. In doing so myself, I was able to raise my total to 251, still too low, but for someone like you, it would go a MUCH longer way. In seeing some of the protocols of these 'Hormone replacement Clinics', it is really little more than thinly disguised "gear"-ing up. Not to mention they are very expensive as they usually do not accept insurance and the drugs prescribed will likely not be covered because there is no 'official' necessitating diagnosis/they have not been prescribed by a doctor in their system. And if they are, then they will only be so after you have filed for reimbursement outside the 'normal' system.If one truly needs this type of therapy, it will be dictated by the symptoms you are experiencing and not by the pure blood counts. If your life is a living hell, as mine was, then by all means do it. However, if you are doing it to hit some theoretically optimal number, then you should rethink a bit before proceeding with extreme caution.
I've been on therapy for about 2 years. Prior to starting my total T was 214ng/dl and felt terrible. I will say that it's a tough and important decision because you will be on for life. Go with how you feel over the numbers and get as much information on hrt as well as your own body before starting anything.
Hey guys,Thanks for your responses. I have been suffering from a lot of depression and anxiety over the past 3 years, dating back to when my Dad passed away. As I mentioned, my sleep specialist thinks I have fairly bad sleep apnea, and I'm going to get a sleep study done this week. I have cut out all caffeine and stimulants, which I used to rely heavily on. I have tried to optimize my vitamin intake, especially vitamins C and all B vitamins. I had a rough time training wise the past few months, but I'm in the gym lifting 3-4 days per week, and conditioning 1-2 days per week. I will let you guys know all the blood work results I'm going to get done before I make any kind of decision. Diet wise, I need to lose bodyfat, that's my first priority. I'm going to be starting Carb Nite this week, as I honestly would like to drop 35-40 pounds by my 33 birthday at the end of January. Do you think that's a realistic goal?
#1 optimize diet and supps: Start CNS ASAP and lose bodyfat; Omega-3 fish oil, optimize vitamin d level, supp with Zinc, Mag and Selenium#2 Consider ASI testing with male (i assume) hormone panel. If you are short on DHEA or over aromatizing, these can sometimes be easily corrected with herbal/nutritional supplements#3 Treat your symptoms and not your numbers. Let CNS do it's thing and recheck your levels after 6-12 months.
Hey guys,I had some of my hormone levels tested two weeks ago, and here are the numbers: T3 Total: 112Reference Range: 76-181 ng/dLTSH W/Reflex to FT4: 1.93Reference Range: .4-4.5 mIU/LEstradiol: 41 pg/mLReference Range < Or - 39 pg/mLTestosterone Total: 396 ng/dLReference Range: 250-1100 ng/dLFree Testosterone: 63.8 pg/mLReference Range: 35.0-155.0 pg/mLI'm 32, 6'2, 275, bodyfat in the mid 20's. I'm getting more comprehensive lab work done, but I feel like these numbers are very low. I'm also getting a sleep study done this week to see if I have sleep apnea, which I know can also throw hormone levels off. I'm considering the HRT/TRT route, but I wanted some input from you guys based on the levels that I posted. Thanks for your help.
I would do it if you can. you won't regret it...
#1 optimize diet and supps: Start CNS ASAP and lose bodyfat; Omega-3 fish oil, optimize vitamin d level, supp with Zinc, Mag and Selenium#2 Consider ASI testing with male (i assume) hormone panel. If you are short on DHEA or over aromatizing, these can sometimes be easily corrected with herbal/nutritional supplements#3 Treat your symptoms and not your numbers. Let CNS do it's thing and recheck your levels after 6-12 months.
Thanks for the advice Doc, and yes, I'm a 32 year old male. I will post all the results of the bloodwork once I get them.
Hey guys,I had some of my hormone levels tested two weeks ago, and here are the numbers: T3 Total: 112Reference Range: 76-181 ng/dLTSH W/Reflex to FT4: 1.93Reference Range: .4-4.5 mIU/LEstradiol: 41 pg/mLReference Range < Or - 39 pg/mLTestosterone Total: 396 ng/dLReference Range: 250-1100 ng/dLFree Testosterone: 63.8 pg/mLReference Range: 35.0-155.0 pg/mLI'm 32, 6'2, 275, bodyfat in the mid 20's. I'm getting more comprehensive lab work done, but I feel like these numbers are very low. I'm also getting a sleep study done this week to see if I have sleep apnea, which I know can also throw hormone levels off. I'm considering the HRT/TRT route, but I wanted some input from you guys based on the levels that I posted. Thanks for your help.
I would do it if you can. you won't regret it...
Hey BigR, what exactly are you referring to, the HRT/TRT?
Dr Patel speaks the truth! Have you tried talk therapy for the depression and/or anxiety? It would be hard to tell otherwise how much to attribute to mental vs. hormonal/physiological health. If not, then definitely give it a try. It was after going this route and getting a 'clean bill of health' so to speak after ironing out a few issues that I was guided into the hormonal testing. Give all the suggestions a try (as you seem willing to do) and then reassess your symptoms and/or retest levels. Just dropping the weight will give everything a boost. Since the excess fat is known to be biologically active and potentially producing estrogenic activity, that alone (losing it that is to say) will do wonders.Finally, I did not see you mention vitamin D3 in your post. This 'vitamin' is actually a hormone, and is known to help with issues such as depression and anxiety as well as MANY other things among which, boosting T to some degree. Have your levels checked on this as well if at all possible. ~50 (not sure the unit of measure) is what you normally shoot for.Good luck!
Hey guys,I had some of my hormone levels tested two weeks ago, and here are the numbers: T3 Total: 112Reference Range: 76-181 ng/dLTSH W/Reflex to FT4: 1.93Reference Range: .4-4.5 mIU/LEstradiol: 41 pg/mLReference Range < Or - 39 pg/mLTestosterone Total: 396 ng/dLReference Range: 250-1100 ng/dLFree Testosterone: 63.8 pg/mLReference Range: 35.0-155.0 pg/mLI'm 32, 6'2, 275, bodyfat in the mid 20's. I'm getting more comprehensive lab work done, but I feel like these numbers are very low. I'm also getting a sleep study done this week to see if I have sleep apnea, which I know can also throw hormone levels off. I'm considering the HRT/TRT route, but I wanted some input from you guys based on the levels that I posted. Thanks for your help.
I would do it if you can. you won't regret it...
Hey BigR, what exactly are you referring to, the HRT/TRT?
Trt IF Thats For Test Replacement Therapy. Bring You To Optimal Level. all U Need Is A 125-150 Shot Of Cyp, Hcg, And Anastrozol. That's A Common One Prescribed In My Area. I Know A Few Guys That Do It. They Love It.
Hey guys,I had some of my hormone levels tested two weeks ago, and here are the numbers: T3 Total: 112Reference Range: 76-181 ng/dLTSH W/Reflex to FT4: 1.93Reference Range: .4-4.5 mIU/LEstradiol: 41 pg/mLReference Range < Or - 39 pg/mLTestosterone Total: 396 ng/dLReference Range: 250-1100 ng/dLFree Testosterone: 63.8 pg/mLReference Range: 35.0-155.0 pg/mLI'm 32, 6'2, 275, bodyfat in the mid 20's. I'm getting more comprehensive lab work done, but I feel like these numbers are very low. I'm also getting a sleep study done this week to see if I have sleep apnea, which I know can also throw hormone levels off. I'm considering the HRT/TRT route, but I wanted some input from you guys based on the levels that I posted. Thanks for your help.
You're only 32 and you're WAY to heavy. Get the weight in check first, then get checked again and then think about injecting hormones into your body.
Looks like the preponderance of replies lead to the same conclusion. As you have acknowledged, you have some work ahead of you to fix your physiology first and foremost. This should be Priority 1 before you start thinking of having to pin yourself for the rest of your life. You are only 32 and have a long way to go down the road, God willing. Try to envision yourself injecting Test at least weekly and (if you go the 'boutique'/non-mainstream route) HCG every third day and possibly an oral E-blocker (Arimidex) for the next FIFTY years. While very doable if absolutely necessary, I wouldn't guess you would want to do so otherwise. I don't know where you are in life right now, but if children may be in your future, any HRT will pose challenges in that regard as your 'boys' will be shut down and therefore need to be kickstarted with additional drug therapy after coming off the HRT for some period of time. And, depending on how long you were on, there may be no guarantees there. Go get your house in order and then see where you stand.
Hey guys,Thank you all for your input. I am with you that I want to try to fix this without having to do HRT/TRT. Even if it's something I can put off for a bit, I'd prefer to do that. I'm hoping that in the next 4 months, I can drop 50 pounds, which would put me in the 220-230 range. Since you guys did ask, I am going to a psychologist for the past 6 weeks, and it's helping me out tremendously. Any other supplement recommendations you guys have, please let me know. I am taking 10,000 IU's of Vitamin D3, 400-600 MG of Chelated Magnesium, 100 MG of Chelated Zinc (just started this one), and just started taking in 5 grams of EPA and 5 grams of DHA with Carlsons Finest Fish Oil.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.