low testosterone levels

mcgucc22

Hi all,
I am 28 years old.I dont drink or smoke , i eat healthy food and exercise 5 times a week . All my life I have suffered with a low libdio and weak erections. I recently went to my GP and a a blood test to check my test levels.the result was 13 nmol/L.

I feel that for someone my age who looks after myself very well it should be alot higher.
My Gp wasnt much help, even though I am way out of the normal range for someone in their 20's.
Anyone else in the same boat as me?
any advice?
Are there any treatments out there that could help?.
If it is like this now , what will it be like it 5 to 10 years time.
cheers
pete

Otis Driftwood

Okay folks,Im going to leave this open so that anyone that has been in the same boat as the OP can share their experiences however,the usual rules apply,any medical advice,recommendations for drugs to take etc will mean thread closure.

Cheers,
OD.

TouchingVirus

It is quite obvious this is a problem that is affecting you or else you wouldn't have posted but as Otis said the clubbers here can't give you advice on treatments or recommend them.

What I can do is suggest the simplest thing - see another doctor. Now whether you want to trust a GP with this, or want to go a little higher up the scale to say a fertility specialist if up to you. There must be something out there you can try, it's just a matter of finding somebody who's more helpful than your current GP.

Best of luck OP

Logical Fallacy

There is all manner of stuff that would be touted to help...but to be honest it all depends on the actual root cause of your low test count.

Probably best to seek consultation with a specialist.

mcgucc22

thanks for the replies,
yes i'll have to make an appointment with my gp to ret a referral to a urologist. hopefully he will be able to help

Wibbs

I think it's an endocrinologist you want, but defo get another opinion and keep looking for one if you don't get satisfaction.

TouchingVirus

Wibbs wrote: »

I think it's an endocrinologist you want, but defo get another opinion and keep looking for one if you don't get satisfaction.

You're right, it's an endocrinologist that the OP is looking with the low testosterone but a Urologist might address the weak erection problem.

mcgucc22

TouchingVirus wrote: »

You're right, it's an endocrinologist that the OP is looking with the low testosterone but a Urologist might address the weak erection problem.

thanks for that lads,
didnt know that
i'll prob try to make an appointment for both so
cheers

mcgucc22

just wondering
if i wanted to make an appointment to see an endo,
would I have to be referred by by gp or could i make a direct appointment?

TouchingVirus

You will need referral letters from your GP for an appointment with a consultant/specialist. This doesn't have to be your own GP but might as well be since he did the test for you

mcgucc22

TouchingVirus wrote: »

You will need referral letters from your GP for an appointment with a consultant/specialist. This doesn't have to be your own GP but might as well be since he did the test for you

sound
ill get back onto my gp so

Bottle_of_Smoke

Is that figure within normal range? Everyone's personal level varies.

Did the doc suggest any treatments? There definitely are some, pretty sure I even heard a radio ad suggesting people should see their doctor about them.

Scanlas The 2nd

Timothy Ferris discussed his problem of low testosterone in his book the four hour body. He found a product called blue ice which works wonders. It's basically a mixture of cod liver oil and some type of butter oil.

He also increase his testosterone with brazil nuts and almonds but that was specific to him being low in selenium. Get your blood tested for everything and see what it is low on. Also he found that eating high cholesterol foods such as eggs and beef increased testosterone, especially eating it before bed as testosterone is produced during sleep. You say you eat healthily. Maybe that's your problem, you might not be getting enough cholesterol.

mcgucc22

Bottle_of_Smoke wrote: »

Is that figure within normal range? Everyone's personal level varies.

Did the doc suggest any treatments? There definitely are some, pretty sure I even heard a radio ad suggesting people should see their doctor about them.

yes its in normal range,just about
but the normal range is for males between 18-80 years old
when you look at it more closely by age men in their 20's average around 20 nmol'L
and men in their 60s would average around 12-13 or so
so while im in range for an adult male im well out of range for a male in his 20's
the doc didnt suggest anything just looked at the scale and said 'u are grand'
i got no real help for my problems
not too helpful

mcgucc22

Scanlas The 2nd wrote: »

Timothy Ferris discussed his problem of low testosterone in his book the four hour body. He found a product called blue ice which works wonders. It's basically a mixture of cod liver oil and some type of butter oil.

He also increase his testosterone with brazil nuts and almonds but that was specific to him being low in selenium. Get your blood tested for everything and see what it is low on. Also he found that eating high cholesterol foods such as eggs and beef increased testosterone, especially eating it before bed as testosterone is produced during sleep. You say you eat healthily. Maybe that's your problem, you might not be getting enough cholesterol.

thanks for that
i already eat alot of nuts, seeds and things like that as well as beef
the blue ice thing could be worthwhile, i must read up on that guy ferriss
cheers
pete

Bottle_of_Smoke

get a second opinion and tell the doc you want to increase the level if its making you unhappy. There are treatments but you'd have to talk to a doctor about them

I'd imagine supplements and diet will be for the most part wasting your time. If there was a natural way every guy who goes to the gym would be taking them.

What I meant asking about the range was to see if you are within the normal range as there may be nothing wrong with you and you just happen to have low levels naturally. Therefore a trip to an endocronologist would be a waste of time. Again that would be up to a doctor no one here could say for sure.

mcgucc22

Bottle_of_Smoke wrote: »

get a second opinion and tell the doc you want to increase the level if its making you unhappy. There are treatments but you'd have to talk to a doctor about them

I'd imagine supplements and diet will be for the most part wasting your time. If there was a natural way every guy who goes to the gym would be taking them.

What I meant asking about the range was to see if you are within the normal range as there may be nothing wrong with you and you just happen to have low levels naturally. Therefore a trip to an endocronologist would be a waste of time. Again that would be up to a doctor no one here could say for sure.

cheers fo that mate
yeah it looks like ill have to go back to the doc and have another chat

JWilshere

mcgucc22 wrote: »

Hi all,
I am 28 years old.I dont drink or smoke , i eat healthy food and exercise 5 times a week . All my life I have suffered with a low libdio and weak erections. I recently went to my GP and a a blood test to check my test levels.the result was 13 nmol/L.

I feel that for someone my age who looks after myself very well it should be alot higher.
My Gp wasnt much help, even though I am way out of the normal range for someone in their 20's.
Anyone else in the same boat as me?
any advice?
Are there any treatments out there that could help?.
If it is like this now , what will it be like it 5 to 10 years time.
cheers
pete

Hi Pete, I too suffer from very low testosterone levels. I am 30 years old and wa diagnosed with testicular cancer 10 years ago. In recent years I have had a similiar complaint to you and had no idea what was wrong with me. Eventually I saw a urologist and he informed me of my situation, for the past 6 months I have being using a testosterone gel to boost levels and it seems to be working but am still pretty low on T. I will get my levels checked again soon - but really its been a struggle as my count was so low. It is true that beef, eggs - and expecially fried liver are excellent foods to boost levels, but it may not be sufficient to aid your recovery and a trip to a urologist would certainly benefit. Have you shown other symptoms? Like me, I've had little or noe facial hair, chair hair and greatly reduced pubic hair. Also i run out of breath easily when climbing a stairs. These are classic symptoms. Hope I have aided you, let me know what you think... Kind Regards

Lloyd Xmas

Hi,

I'm 28 also, fit, healthy, trained for years, and eat right etc...
I had the same thing for years but just ignored it really as I suppose I had never really known any different.

Anyway, last November I just collapsed one evening completely out of the blue. Gave the head a good crack of the floor and ended up in hospital because of it.

Whilst there, they did a CT Scan, MRI Scan, ECG etc... and they basically found that I had a large benign tumour growing right next to the hypothalmus. Because of its size, it was basically having a negative affect on the normal levels of hormone secretion.

They tested both my T and HGH levels and the T levels were just above 10 I think. Very low.

Anyway, I was prescribed a three month batch of meds to shrink the tumour which has been very successful and they also gave my synthetic T in gel format just to increase the levels a bit.
It's not practical to take as you've to smear it on your abdomen in the morning, then let it dry for 20 mons - I'm hoping to get the injection once every three months instead.

This mightn't be the same scenario for you, but I'll tell you this.
The first hospital I went to was St James and they were ready to simply bandage it up and let me go home. If that had happened, I would still be walking around with this time-bomb.

I went to Tallaght the following day instead and they did a complete check.
By the way, the guys who have mentioned the Endocrinologists above are spot on. They're the people who look after this kind of thing.

I just spotted your post anyway and thought I'd throw my experience in, as I know for a fact there are doctors out there and aren't going the extra mile in finding out exactly what the issue is.

All the best man,

Pat

Edit: I don't want the above to alarm you at all man, it's just to give you an idea of something that may be there if you're getting a second opinion.
In addition, I was informed by the Prof who was looking after me that these particular adenomas (tumours) are never cancerous.
If you want to send us a PM, you're welcome to do so any time.

JWilshere

Lloyd Xmas wrote: »

Hi,

I'm 28 also, fit, healthy, trained for years, and eat right etc...
I had the same thing for years but just ignored it really as I suppose I had never really known any different.

Anyway, last November I just collapsed one evening completely out of the blue. Gave the head a good crack of the floor and ended up in hospital because of it.

Whilst there, they did a CT Scan, MRI Scan, ECG etc... and they basically found that I had a large benign tumour growing right next to the hypothalmus. Because of its size, it was basically having a negative affect on the normal levels of hormone secretion.

They tested both my T and HGH levels and the T levels were just above 10 I think. Very low.

Anyway, I was prescribed a three month batch of meds to shrink the tumour which has been very successful and they also gave my synthetic T in gel format just to increase the levels a bit.
It's not practical to take as you've to smear it on your abdomen in the morning, then let it dry for 20 mons - I'm hoping to get the injection once every three months instead.

This mightn't be the same scenario for you, but I'll tell you this.
The first hospital I went to was St James and they were ready to simply bandage it up and let me go home. If that had happened, I would still be walking around with this time-bomb.

I went to Tallaght the following day instead and they did a complete check.
By the way, the guys who have mentioned the Endocrinologists above are spot on. They're the people who look after this kind of thing.

I just spotted your post anyway and thought I'd throw my experience in, as I know for a fact there are doctors out there and aren't going the extra mile in finding out exactly what the issue is.

All the best man,

Pat

Edit: I don't want the above to alarm you at all man, it's just to give you an idea of something that may be there if you're getting a second opinion.
In addition, I was informed by the Prof who was looking after me that these particular adenomas (tumours) are never cancerous.
If you want to send us a PM, you're welcome to do so any time.

Hey Pat, Thanks for writing. That's amazing what happened to you. Sadly I too have had a crazy time of it with testicular cancer, getting the all clear for few months then having to go for chemo for seconday lung tumours - and now 10 years on a battle with extremely low levels of T. I too am using the gel sachets, I know u said its not ideal rubbing it in - but i generally dont have a problem with this. I generally rub into shoulders and upper arms. Only takes few mins every morning and u knowwhat ur doinf is helping your health.

As for you not being satisfied with St James experience. I had my chemo there and could not fault anyone or anything there, they were all amazing and its still a pleasure going back for check-ups to see them. But trust me keep chasing them for answers if you are not happy REMEMBER nobody knows your body better than YOU.

As for Tallaght hospital, I had surgery there for my original testicular cancer and again it was as good an experience as I could have wished for. I was only 18/19 at the time but the satff and especially the nurses there were simply amazing.

Anyway keep in touch as regards your T situation and I will also. Mine were really really low too, have being on the sachets the last 5 months and still have a way to go.

All the best buddy.....

wandatowell

OP you should ALWAYS get a second opinion from a medical professional. You could be extremely surprised at the course of treatment/opinion you will receive,

just keep it in mind thats all

mcgucc22

wandatowell wrote: »

OP you should ALWAYS get a second opinion from a medical professional. You could be extremely surprised at the course of treatment/opinion you will receive,

just keep it in mind thats all

thanks for the advice
i have an appointment wed with a new gp
hope he can help
instead of saying 'you are fine its probably all in ur head'
i really need this sorted

Scanlas The 2nd

Bottle_of_Smoke wrote: »

get a second opinion and tell the doc you want to increase the level if its making you unhappy. There are treatments but you'd have to talk to a doctor about them

I'd imagine supplements and diet will be for the most part wasting your time. If there was a natural way every guy who goes to the gym would be taking them.

What I meant asking about the range was to see if you are within the normal range as there may be nothing wrong with you and you just happen to have low levels naturally. Therefore a trip to an endocronologist would be a waste of time. Again that would be up to a doctor no one here could say for sure.

According to the book "the four hour body" you can increase your testosterone with diet changes and and a cod liver oil butter oil combination as well as taking ice baths in the morning and evening. The author Timothy Ferris recorded his testosterone levels and isolated the variables and found huge increases in his testosterone levels.

I've been taking the cod liver oil butter oil combination for a month now and I have just decided to find a new job, join a gym again and have much more motivation. Of course it could be the placebo effect but it seems to be working.

billyhead

Hi Folks,

Can someone offer advice for me please. I am 29 6ft in height and only 9.5 stones in weight when I weigh myself in the morning (I know its underweight). I got addicted to physical training i.e it came part of my daily routine and my diet tbh went to bits in terms of burning more calories then eating which led to the weight loss. My Libido is practically non existant now when before I lost the weight at about 11 to 11.5 stones I had a healthy libido i.e I could get an erection etc. Would the loss of libido for the last say 10 months be due to this loss in weight and once I putthe extra weightback on will it return. Sorry its a bit embarrasing taking about it:o

Bottle_of_Smoke

billyhead wrote: »

Hi Folks,

Can someone offer advice for me please. I am 29 6ft in height and only 9.5 stones in weight when I weigh myself in the morning (I know its underweight). I got addicted to physical training i.e it came part of my daily routine and my diet tbh went to bits in terms of burning more calories then eating which led to the weight loss. My Libido is practically non existant now when before I lost the weight at about 11 to 11.5 stones I had a healthy libido i.e I could get an erection etc. Would the loss of libido for the last say 10 months be due to this loss in weight and once I putthe extra weightback on will it return. Sorry its a bit embarrasing taking about it:o

There could be various reasons someone loses their libido but I'd imagine malnutrition doesn't help.

If you're doing a lot of exercise you have to eat to match it. Doing lots of exercise and not eating enough is the same as a normal person starving themselves

You could be doing your body serious long term damage if you do this. Brittle bones during middle age sound appealing?

You'll find your signature will apply to you just as much to you as those who do no exercise if you're not eating enough.

Otis Driftwood

billyhead wrote: »

Hi Folks,

Can someone offer advice for me please. I am 29 6ft in height and only 9.5 stones in weight when I weigh myself in the morning (I know its underweight). I got addicted to physical training i.e it came part of my daily routine and my diet tbh went to bits in terms of burning more calories then eating which led to the weight loss. My Libido is practically non existant now when before I lost the weight at about 11 to 11.5 stones I had a healthy libido i.e I could get an erection etc. Would the loss of libido for the last say 10 months be due to this loss in weight and once I putthe extra weightback on will it return. Sorry its a bit embarrasing taking about it:o

Im afraid thats veering into you requesting medical advice which unfortunatly we cannot provide here however dramatic weight loss,low calorie diets etc can cause problems for testosterone levels.You should make an appointment with your GP and get a refferal to go see a certified nutritionist/dietician.