My story with Low T

[FightLowT]

Greetings members!

It's been close to a year now since I discovered I suffer from low testosterone. I am currently 32 years of age and for most of my life have been an avid athelite. In fact I would say I come from an elite athletic background. I stand 5'9 and weigh 235 pounds of which is very solid as far as a BMI ( body mass index) is concerned. If I had to guess I would say I am about 14% bodyfat. I can bench press 405 pounds x2 reps. I can leg press over 1000 pounds for reps and shoulder press 100 pound dumbells for multiple sets with reps ranging from 8-12 reps.

I was the child star athelite and also a track star in high school. When I was 12 years old I ran a 4.8 second 40 yard dash. When I was in highschool as a freshman ( 14 YO) I ran the 100 yard dash in 10.7 seconds. Varsity guys were usually running it not much faster. I could stand flat footed and jump into the back of a full sized pickup truck and max out on the bench press 315 pounds at a weight of 160. I had all the little alpha male traits. I was aggressive, confident, carefree, and had the most insane libido that even my friends couldnt relate to who were the same age.

After high school I dedicated all my energy into bodybuilding. When I graduated at 17 I weighed 175 pounds and within 5 years of training exploded up to 210 pounds of solid muscle. I attached a picture to confirm this. I have never used steroids and have always been accused of using due to the dramatic results I acheived in the weightroom. All through my 20's I felt great until around the age of 29 where I started to see my ability to recover from the workouts had been slightly reduced. I chocked it up to age and figured since most nfl running backs retire around 33-35 that it was just the begginning of age settling in a little bit.

At the age of 29 that is really the last time I can say I really felt good like the kind of good that just comes out of you naturally without any reason at all. When 30 set-in I started to notice I was getting depressed. I tried reading philosophy like Nietzsche to gain a different perspective on things and although it helped it was not the help I trully needed. Fast forward to a year later at 31 and things are escalating. I began to experience crying fits with severe sobbing  that would come on very suddenly if I saw something on a movie or song that was reflective or melancholy. I began to feel distant, isoltaed, grumpy; my coworkers noticed I wasnt goofing around and cracking jokes like I used to. I should add that at the time (and I still am) I was living in an apartment all by myself. I began to lose interests in my hobbies and I started to notice my libido going down and erectile strength reductions. I also started having night time anxiety attacks.

In march of last year I woke up one morning and felt absolutely horrible. I had not thought about sex for almost two weeks and I had no energy at all. Surprisingly a woman had come into my life at the time and  since it had been years since I had a relationship I figured I would have been feeling like a dog in heat like I normally would have, but I didn't and this was awful because the woman is very attractive. I was dizzy, depressed, and worried I had a terminal illness. Thats how bad I felt. I said to myself "something is wrong with me".

Now I'm the kind of guy who hardly ever goes to the doctor so when I wake up one morning and call into work and decide to have bloodwork taken out of the blue, I am hardly imagining things. I went to a walk in doctor and described my symptoms. I had no significant knowledge about hormone levels previous to this experience but knew that testosterone was crucial for male libido. I asked the doctor to have it checked. I had not had my testosterone checked since I was a boy ( 13) when I developed gynecomastea. I had no idea what a surprise I was in for when the results came back.

My total testosterone was 294 ng/dl and it was taken at 10 am. I asked the lab tech if this was normal even though the ranges were 240-880 ng/dl since mine was very close to the bottom. He said it was. lol.. Notice the doctor didn't also see any sign to provide any followup or consultations. I went online and was shocked to see just how low my numbers were and found that many men with levels higher than mine were receiving hormone replacement therapy. I went to a urologist who agreed that my levels were a "bit low" for a man my age and my sister who was a nurse went with me for support. He asked me if I had ever used steroids. Little did I know this was going to be a battle ahead of me with doctors asking this question. I told him the truth and said no and my sister also chimed in and verfied what an amazing athelite I was in high school and how I was naturally more muscular than most the other boys. etc.. At any length he requested a total T lab, Free T, FSH, and LH. My sister asked the urologist if he thought it was primary or secondary. He said I don't know yet which intimated he also agreed that hypogonadism is clearly showing itself to be an issue here. This time the labs were taken at 8am. The Total T came to a whopping 305 ng/dl, the free T came to an 11.2 on a scale from 10-24 and the FSH and LH were not very much over the entry levels of those labs as well. What was the doctors diagnosis? Well he said everything looks normal in my book. I would be hesitant to put you on testosterone he said.

The next visist was to an endocrinologist and with labs not musch better taken from him which also included SHBG, estradiol, cortisol, and a few others he informed me I was normal also. This time my parents went with me and he asked them to leave the room. When they left the room he asked me if I had ever used steroids before. I'm starting to sound like a broken record here I know but again I told him with the utmost sincerity "no". He asked me to drop my pants so he could feel my testicles so he could confirm no atrophy had occurred. I did so reluctantly because I wanted to tell him how his disbelief in my answers and also my parents attending the appointment to provide genuine support in favor of truth was very unprofessional and unempathetic. First of all most doctors have no idea what that word means or have any knowledge of the emotions necessary to convey it.

I finally found a doctor who believed me and agreed yes I am suffering from testosterone deficiency. This doctor wanted to verify if it was primary or secondary. He put me on a quick protocol of HCG stimulation which would provide a higher LH signal to my testicles other than what my pituitary was secreting. My testosterone levels rose to about close to over 150% of what they were baseline and I noticed some improvemets in the erectile department. We still need to do a few more tests and then determine what the best choice of treatment will be. By the way my estradiol was a bit on the low side 17 pg/ml which further suggests that there wasnt enough free T to aromatize to more healthy level.

I will be here more often to provide updates on my treatment...Thanks for reading even though it is rather long winded.

[PeakT]

Wow - you could have done well at the combine in your teens!  I seriously admire how well you are doing considering what a drastic change you went through.

And that leads to my next questions:  Did you have a lot of whey over all the years?  And did he check all the standard stuff out?  prolactin?  varicocele (just in case)?  etc.

Sometimes they just don't know why.  We're still in the infancy on a lot of these things.

Gotta run...

[spiderman]

What is it with these docs!...how is it possible to be in a top profession, work in a specialised area like urology and not have even have close to the kind of knowledge that even us mortals know now with a small bit research on the web?..Unbelievable!..I totallly sympathise with you buddy as I had the same unprofessional, non sympathetic and vague treatment...check my posts
The problem with these guys is they look at you as being the picture of health from the outside and automatically think you have been abusing yourself..but there is just no excuse for that...

How is it possible that your T levels have dropped so dramatically...I don't know...but as peak T and everyone else on here knows now it can be ONE thing that starts a cascade of events that all act in a really negative way on your libido, T levels and your general well being.

For the fitness guys on here it is confusing cause really when you are carrying good muscle mass etc and dont have much problem maintaining that you would assume reasonable T levels..well now that doesnt seem to be the case..
I have been into weightlifting and training in general for years and am still in great shape.. I had a definitive trigger that set the negative wheels in motion but you have not had anything like that.
The depression, night time anxiety attacks etc are all familiar to me also and of course as you know that just causes your T levels to drop like a rock even more..there is simply no worse feeling. Take some solice though that most of us have been there and have made big improvements. Family and the positive attitude I had in life that comes from training etc kinda saved me also as I just thought it was all over...If i was you I would be tempted to try some diet and supps in the meantime to get some of that good feeling back ..good luck with whatever you do though..cheers

[MrChickenkiev]

Your physique is testament to the fact that you had more than ample testosterone at one point in your life- otherwise you could not have built up your muscles. So the question then is why did it decline? There does not seem to be a mainstream medical answer to that question, which does not btw mean that there is not an answer! I suspect the solution for most of us, is quite mundane, though doctors will put some complex anatomical spin on it. And I am glad you did not use steroids that would have muddied the waters somewhat, as that can clearly interfere with your natural production of testosterone- and would have no doubt been the only thing that the doctors focused on. I bet your story is much more commonplace than you think. I am certainly slimmer, but I actually thought I was at the peak of my muscle building capacity at 37 y/o when things went wrong for me. I say peak because I was building up quite a bit of muscle, doing the best compound exercises and taking whey products for the first time- though biologically I am sure I was at my peak in my 20's.

There are some everyday reasons before we get on to the complex stuff that might have compromised your testosterone:

1. Being overweight and snoring. Not an issue for you, I think!

2. Alcohol and snoring. Supposedly deprives your body of oxygen whilst you are asleep used to manufacture testosterone.

3. Did you use Whey for training which had supplemental nutrients- such as Zinc, vitamin A, nitric oxide etc, which it needs for testosterone. manufacture. Heavy training draws down more elements which might not otherwise be available if your diet is poor.

I am sure there are many more mundane reasons, but these are ones that I have found some evidence for so far. Any of these seem to resonate?
 

[FightLowT]

I just wanted to followup with a bit more information regarding my experience and also I want to relate to anyone here who has been severely depressed over finding support through their hardships that I understand what they are going through. I never had anyone tell me " It's going to be ok and that you are going to feel like you are alive again, it's just going to take some time". So many of us here have been ignored by doctors and just until recently have we had some very good, reputible physicians like Dr. John Chrisler defend the patients who are in the 300 ng/dl range with many symptoms of low T. Doctors like him are basically saying what many of us here have known for a long time and that the outdated 240 ng/dl- 880 ng/dl range is useless unless you think it's normal for a 30 year old man to have t lower than a 100 year old man.

I should mention to you guys that before I actually got a physician to help me I had lost my job, the woman I was seeing dumped me (although we got back together, though it seems to be going south again-sigh), and my depression still can get the better of me unless I stop and remind myself why I am feeling depressed. At least now I know why.

Many people here have recommended seeing endo's and urologists. It's been my experience that they don't know their asses from breakfast regarding low testosterone treatment.I'm sure some do, but the ones I dealt with and the ones I hear about from other mens' complaints online who have similar experiences to mine with them would suggest otherwise. The best advice I can give to many of you is find a very good GP with an open mind and or find an anti- aging clinic.

[PeakT]

I could not agree more that having the bottom range for hypogonadism in the 200's is very outdated.  However, on a practical level, the perception of that number by the medical community is rapidly changing.  I know that you're very frustrated with docs, but what's going on is actually a quantum shift for them. 

I don't know why but doctors only tend to trust studies from the drug companies.  I think that's a HUGE mistake and has really destroyed the reputation of Western medicine and is something I cover on my site.  But, like it or not, that's the situation.

However, now the drug companies have jumped on board and you have a whole suite of bioidentical compounds being put out by the pharmaceutical companies:  Androgel, Testim, Axiron, Forestra and Testopel.  Furthermore, HRT has now been extensively studied and things are looking very good from what we can tell at this point.

I know you had a miserable experience with endos and urologists, but many of them are now jumping on board.  The reason?  They can now prescribe mainstream pharmaceutically-backed testosterones and they are finding that their patients are healthier and happier.  And this is becoming profitable for them as well.  You'll now get urologists asking their patients if they want Testopel.  Let's face it - it's a money maker for them.  And even the topicals get a male patient back in the office every three to six months for testing.

So imo over the next five to ten years you are going to see a huge number of urologists and other doctors move towards testosterone therapy at least.  We're already seeing that. 

In the meantime, though, you get a lot of docs still saying, "Your testosterone of 305 - that's not so bad big fella" and put many men at risk of metabolic syndrome, diabetes, arteriosclerosis and on and on...

So can I ask what direction your physician is taking you?  Since you are young, is he going to try to treat you with testosterone or go after the secondary hypogonadism?

[LowTMale]

I had not had my testosterone checked since I was a boy ( 13) when I developed gynecomastea.

I know I'm reviving a dormant thread but wondering why noone commented about the above sentence posted by OP. It doesn't fit well with his high T in his teens.

[FightLowT]

I had not had my testosterone checked since I was a boy ( 13) when I developed gynecomastea.

I know I'm reviving a dormant thread but wondering why noone commented about the above sentence posted by OP. It doesn't fit well with his high T in his teens.

Good call...It's funny you mention that..I have heard that boys going through puberty actually do not have sky high levels of T in most cases like they do throughout  later teen-hood and early 20's. However, when I did develop this as a boy I heard from medical professionals that this was quite common for boys my age. None the less we had it checked and it was quite low..240 ng/dl..The physician was surprised because of how well I was developed physically. He said "judging by how muscular he is I would have thought it to be higher". This may have been a good reason for the doctor to investigate further but back then they knew far less than they know know which as we all know isn't very much still. He did not even test prolactin or estradiol which when I look back I did have a mild amount of fluid that would secrete from my nipples if they were squeezed. Something may have been going on very early that may have been a red flag and could have been corrected. Either way I know that my T levels did rise through my later teens and into my early 20's. The blood work suggests this even now which I'm convinced is lower than what it was in the past. I developed facial hair, body hair, had a more than healthy libido, built a physique that resembles herculeas, and generally felt very good most the time. That smile in the picture is not phoney by any means. Even now in my early 30's I have had my testosterone checked in the morning which came to 400ng/dl and my symptoms are very apparent at that number which is still regarded as rather low. By  afternoon  4pm they drop to an abyssmal 261 ng/dl and free testosterone reflects this as well at 6.7 pg/ml (Range 8.1-25.7).,,,Thoughts are welcome with the new addition of information to the post..