Very low T levels at age 21, prescribed gel, should I take it? PLEASE HELP

Questionable? wrote:

It's a slippery slope to try it. 100% guarantee you'll feel better. You'll sleep better. Think better. Enjoy working out hard again. Have a healthy amount of aggression that you can control and funnel towards your projects in life. You'll also have an increased libido.

I hate it when I go down that slippery slope where I feel better, sleep better, think better, enjoy working out, and have increased libido. It's literally the worst. Definitely don't go down that road.

Interesting that your free T is mid-range, but your total T is very low. Regardless, don't pay attention to any trolls talking about cardiac, prostate, or anything other risk(s) related to physical changes in the negative. Without speaking with your Endocrinologist or seeing your Thyroid levels, it is probable that you are just experiencing some type of hormonal burnout (possibly as influenced by high levels of Cortisol~which can indeed lower your T). Many athletically minded people experience this. Unless you are 100% sure that you have a pre-existing condition, it is likely this or a thyroid-related issue as almost all hypothyroid treatments include T-treatment since the 2 are related. As your thyroid levels normalize, your T should normalize.

That said, I wouldn't expect you to be on this for too long until your hormones bounce back. For someone of your age, you are likely not prescribed nearly high enough amounts to incur any cardiac risk and any other changes that are resultant from T-gel are offset by regularly exercise. Any man-boobed,swollen prostate troll here popping the gel is doing so in a sedentary lifestyle and is likely far over your age range. There is just very little evidence to support any negative side effects here since your dosage likely consists of a supplemental program. Take the gel, destress, eat good food, get good sleep and then see how you feel (get your levels checked again). See an endocrinologist if you haven't and get your thyroid checked. Sometimes things just go wonky. If you're not happy, hungry, and horny...something is wrong.

Thanks for the response. This is the most in-line comment to what my endo said. He said after 5 months or whenever my levels get back to normal he wants to wean me off the gel and see if my levels stay normal. He said there would be no risk by doing this and that at worse my levels just go back to how they are now. I reviewed a lot of studies and most seem to point to the gel being safe if used appropriately with a healthy lifestyle. But I don't always trust studies.

So you agree with my doc that this isn't necessarily a life sentence?

Not sure why you wouldn't trust studies. T-supplementation has been well documented and studied for a long time now. Tons of people are on the stuff albeit most of them are older, sedentary men whose T-levels have naturally dropped off as a result of inactivity/old age. There are also those with more serious underlying conditions, but again, without seeing your thyroid levels, I would assume it was either thyroid/cortisol/stress related. Sometimes your hormonal axis gets thrown through a loop and that is what happens. Typically, you start on a somewhat moderate dosage like 100mg a day and get your blood checked again in 6 weeks. Then you adjust from there.

I guarantee that you feel 100% better over the course of this treatment and the additional bloodwork might lend better insight as to why this happened. In the meantime, you can work to improve your lifestyle so that you can supplement the medication so that when you eventually wean off of it, you'll be in a good spot. I had a teammate in college who got sick and had severe hypothyroidism as a result of overtraining/pulling all-nighters for too long. He took the gel for like a year and was off the stuff and back to normal. Go eat a bunch of steak and destress bro, everything's gonna be aight.

What thyroid levels do you want to see? I can see if I can get the other tests. He said my thyroid seemed completely normal. He said the low FSH and LH pointed to pertuitary problems, but the MRI for that didn't reveal anything.

LowTYoungGuy wrote:

What thyroid levels do you want to see? I can see if I can get the other tests. He said my thyroid seemed completely normal. He said the low FSH and LH pointed to pertuitary problems, but the MRI for that didn't reveal anything.

Well, your T3 & T4 levels would be useful to see. If the MRI didn't reveal anything than it's not a pituitary problem.

LowTYoungGuy wrote:

What thyroid levels do you want to see? I can see if I can get the other tests. He said my thyroid seemed completely normal. He said the low FSH and LH pointed to pertuitary problems, but the MRI for that didn't reveal anything.

Also your prolactin levels and TSH would be essential.

See the relationship between thyroid & testosterone here:

"Primary hypothyroidism often causes low luteinizing hormone (LH) to gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). The latter is produced in the part of the brain called hypothalamus, and it signals when to release luteinizing hormone.

When it’s low (like in men with underactive thyroid), LH won’t do its job like it’s supposed to, and the function would be stimulating the production of testosterone in male genitalia. This is the most obvious connection between underactive thyroid and low testosterone. As the male genitalia decrease the testosterone production, the final result would be hypothyroidism."

I posted my prolactin above. Don't have my T3 or T4 now, but from what I know they were in the normal range the first time I got tested, so my subsequent tests did not include it.

After reading this thoroughly:

I seem to have a better understanding of the whole picture.

"Normal LH or FSH levels with low testosterone suggest primary defects in the hypothalamus and/or the pituitary (secondary hypogonadism). "

Just like my doctor said. The MRI was just to rule out a tumor. The above studies also make me less worried, as there doesn't seem to be much risk to supplementing. On top of that, there seems to be plenty of risks for NOT raising it if you have low t. Osteoporosis for one.

you need to fix your natural hormones first with diet before using artificial hormones.

You're not going to have any negative side affects for what I will assume will be short term use...especially at your age. Take the goods and feel better bro.

getting a TUE for testosterone is nearly impossible so you will get a ban the first time you are tested

even armstrong couldn't get a TUE for it after having almost all of his testicles removed for cancer (google it)

don't be a dope-r wrote:

getting a TUE for testosterone is nearly impossible so you will get a ban the first time you are tested

even armstrong couldn't get a TUE for it after having almost all of his testicles removed for cancer (google it)

As I said 4 or 5 times I'm done doing anything competitive, just looking for an increased quality of life. And to the guy above, did the high fat/protein diet for 3 months and saw my T go down a little bit, no positive change. I understand people saying to try the natural route, but I have been trying this to no avail.

It's kind of interesting to see that people are quick to say DONT DO IT, but then have a hard time justifying it, since there doesn't seem to be much science showing negative effects. It seems like the worse case scenario is I go back to how life is currently, which isn't so bad. But if I could get some focus and drive, it seems now is the time to take advantage.

Don't be ridiculous. He said he wasn't going to compete. Poor kid just wants to have a normal life. FFS, when you have so little T competing is completely out of the question. Getting off the couch is a workout in itself.

I'm a woman who dealt with NO T for almost a year. My T level dropped to a 1.

Normal for my age was 25-50. Anyone who has never dealt with little to no T doesn't understand how horrible you feel. I could not run more than 2 or 3 miles without being utterly exhausted, completely shelled, forced to walk home, despite having some fast times at Ironman and half IM's in the previous year(s). I'm lucky they figured out my estrogen levels were too high and interfering with the T production / absorption. His case is not so simple.

To the OP, you have my sympathy. Only you can make the decision. I wish you the best.

The issue I see here is that OP will get on T, but not have gotten to the root of the problem. Supplementing with hormones ALWAYS causes something else to be affected. What happens when OP feels great again and wants to do something competitive?, which is a very real possibility.

I say go on the sauce but not with the intention of it being long term. Only enough for temporary relief and motivation and energy to figure out the real issue.

T around 200 sucks for sure, but not sure this is the only issue. At 200 I felt bad too and had many of the same symptoms but could still race the domestic circuit.

Very reasonable. Also on the same page with what my doc wants. A few months then retest and wean me off of it. Honestly I can't see myself wanting to compete again, and I imagine the positive effects of it would be worth not being able to compete either way. Thanks for the input, you've been really helpful.

stop.

testosterone is not the thing you should be worried about, at least not as an endocrine disorder.

so many things matter in these tests, including time of day, binding proteins, lab that did the test, and you should feel secure in at least two good things in the labs you report.

you do not have primary hypogonadism, which would be a problem requiring immediate and lifelong treatment, and would be the main concern for a young man with this set of complaints.

you do not appear to have a pituitary problem from the available data.

there are a couple of other things out there that could be further evaluated, but I wouldn't push you to be too concerned just yet (e.g. if that ferritin you mentioned was really "very" high, then hemochromatosis can have multiple infiltrative effects in both the pitutiary and testes, but should not be so subtle as to just show up as mild secondary hypogonadism).

you likely have a "laboratory abnormality" that tends to cause your total testosterone levels to measure lower than the normal range, combined with multiple other secondary factors suppressing your binding proteins and hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (the potential list is long and several have already been listed in this string: over-training, malnutrition, depression, prior exogenous androgens, current exogenous androgens, other drugs or medications, sleep disturbances, time of day the test was done, probably some others).

the lab test is abnormal, you do not seem to be (endocrinologically).

I highly recommend you use it. I have my athletes take a non-WADA banned equivalent that doesn't show up on drug tests and they consistently medal at world championships.

OP, I am in the middle of this exact same situation, although I'm 34 years old.

After having tried TRT via weekly injection, I can say that it the experience was really very unpleasant. The increased T levels made me feel extremely irritable, angry, and anxious. It's also difficult to come back off of, as the low-T feelings you have now will come back and even worse.

Has your endo mentioned trying clomiphene or HCG? From what I understand, these are both much preferred treatments over just straight TRT.

Summary: TRT is not worth it. Look into the new, better methods for dealing with your situation. And yes, all of this aside, I would agree with some of the other posters that recommend trying non-pharmacological treatments first, before going on the meds.

Best of luck. Seriously, man, the T doesn't make you feel all THAT much better, especially when you consider the side effects. It's not the miracle drug that endurance sports have made it out to be.

Unfortunately many guys in your situation will have similar results. More than likely the result of going to a Dr. that doesn't fully understand trt. The feeling angry, anxious, and irritable is almost certainly the result of elevated estrogen as testosterone doesn't cause those symptoms. Getting one larger shot of testosterone will raise your testosterone pretty high and your estrogen will follow. Basically like being on your period every week. Then of course by day 5 or so when your testosterone drops too low again you feel even worse.

OP being really young should definitely try everything else before going on trt, but to be fair trt shouldn't result in the experience you had.