Testosterone test results

kaji

I had my testosterone tested by a urologist and the results came back, my level is 9.1nmol/l (262 ng/ml) and that the recommended levels for someone "like me" are supposed to be 8-30nmol/l. So I barely make the grade, i.e low testosterone. I present with all the symptoms also. When I expressed shock at my extremely low score, he said I was grand as I was still in the normal range. However, on looking it up, it's more comparable to being normal for an old aged pensioner's testosterone level, and this is from proper sources like the NHS. I actually feel like something has been stolen from me after finding out officially, it's hard to explain. Feels very unfair.

I'm just wondering if anyone knows has had their testosterone checked and what results they got? Not looking for medical advice, simply a compare and contrast.

kaji

P.S., I'm 29, eat a very healthy diet and work out. My low testosterone may be solely or jointly caused by a varicocele which I have just had operated on by the urologist.

Mellor

Low testtosterone doesn't mean low end of the range, it means outside of the range.
You'll prob find it difficult to get help from a GP without being outside of the range.

siochain

You would need full blood panel tests done over a period of time, estradiol, free test, FSH etc. to get a better picture.

Post up a typical days diet.
What are your stress levels and sleep like.
what symptoms are you experiencing?

The above might be worth address individually.

kaji

Thanks for the reply. I'm definitely low testosterone, the range they give you is from teenager to elderly men.

kaji

siochain wrote: »

You would need full blood panel tests done over a period of time, estradiol, free test, FSH etc. to get a better picture.

Post up a typical days diet.
What are your stress levels and sleep like.
what symptoms are you experiencing?

The above might be worth address individually.

Thanks. Yep, I'm gonna order these blood tests soon.

Diet: Porridge, blueberries, full fat natural yoghurt, banana, a meal like chicken stif fry with veg and brown rice, then dinner such as red/white meat/fish with veggies and sweet potato or rice, milk, tuna and avocado and salad leaves, cottage cheese. Some dark chocolate as well.


Stress levels- hard to say. Feel anxious and depressed, like I'm running on low batteries all the time. I go to sleep and get my nights sleep but find it hard to get anything done during the day, everything a struggle. Low motivation. Low libido. Low muscle mass and extra fat around middle despite trying weight training over the past couple of years- have seen zero results despite trying everything. Thin bones. The list goes on and on.

Theresalwaysone

Whereas you might actually have low test levels, be careful not to bend the narrative around the evidence rather than let the evidence build a narrative.

Get the blood tests to know for sure.

siochain

Sorry to hear your feeling that way it might be worth trying to remedy the symptoms on there own one at time. I'd start with the motivation and try and find what the root cause could be other than low test. work from there while your measuring your bloods over a period of time.

dor843088

kaji wrote: »

Thanks. Yep, I'm gonna order these blood tests soon.

Diet: Porridge, blueberries, full fat natural yoghurt, banana, a meal like chicken stif fry with veg and brown rice, then dinner such as red/white meat/fish with veggies and sweet potato or rice, milk, tuna and avocado and salad leaves, cottage cheese. Some dark chocolate as well.


Stress levels- hard to say. Feel anxious and depressed, like I'm running on low batteries all the time. I go to sleep and get my nights sleep but find it hard to get anything done during the day, everything a struggle. Low motivation. Low libido. Low muscle mass and extra fat around middle despite trying weight training over the past couple of years- have seen zero results despite trying everything. Thin bones. The list goes on and on.

Diet can affect test levels in a huge way . I dieted down last year to quite a low body fat and towards the end I had no sex drive no morning wood lol had trouble sleeping was irritable and had a deathly fatigue all the time . Im sure my test levels would have been lower than usual. Took about three weeks of increased calories and fat intake to go back to normal. Take a look at your calorie and especially fat intake .

kaji

OP here.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I've decided to wait til August before getting my testosterone tested again. I'll try to chill out more and sleep more also. Hopefully the results of my surgery (varicocele 'partly' removed) will have an impact on my testosterone levels. If not, I will push for some sort of treatment. I don't want to have kids so don't really care about the impact on fertility but hopefully there'll be another way around it.


Would love to hear of others' stories of low testosterone also...

hatrickpatrick

OP, what was your estradiol level, or did you get that tested? And FSH?

Like you, my recently tested level was 13, which again I've been told is low-ish for a guy in his mid twenties and not optimal, although my endocrinologist says it's nothing to worry about. I'm taking a supplement at the moment (mods: OTC and totally legal in Ireland, sold on discountsupplements.ie among other places) called Erase Pro by PES (the original formula, not the new one), which contains a compound alleged to be a pretty powerful aromatase inhibitor - IE, a compound which blocks the conversion of testosterone to estrogen, thereby increasing the former and decreasing the latter simultaneously. I'm going to have a further blood test at the end of my eight week run to see if it has made a difference.

The problem here is that even though both of our levels are within the "normal" range, just like with the RDAs of vitamins etc, "adequate" does not equal "optimal". The last time I ran Erase Pro my mood and confidence level literally shot through the roof, to the point where my usual shyness was completely absent (honestly, I suddenly had absolutely no fear of embarrassment, rejection or anything like that and had far more fun as a result) - this could of course be placebo or it could be a coincidence, I'll only know for sure when I finish the current run if it produces the same result. I only started at the weekend and it takes up to two weeks in before it takes effect, but I'll keep you posted.

Erase has been reformulated recently and in my view the new formula is too new to have any proven effects, so I made sure when ordering to ask for the old version. According to another Boardsie I spoke with recently, the product USM Eradicate contains the same AI. This isn't a long term solution by any means, but if my uplifted mood and confidence are corroborated by this second experiment I'll go back to my endo again and see what he thinks.

The issue of adequate vs optimal is something which IMO should be discussed more often. It came up a couple of years ago in relation to a bunch of supps containing more than the RDA of Vitamin B12 being banned, without reference to the fact that the RDA represents an adequate minimum in most cases and in many cases is also not relevant to people who lift or do other forms of heavy exercising. It's starting to change at the moment, and IMO one of the ways to drive the change is by insisting on research that goes further than an incredible broad "normal / not normal" scale as seen here in this thread.