I've had most of the symtoms of low T for 5+ years(I'm 50yo). A few weeks ago I went to an endo who ordered the first TT test. He said my tt 267 was normal. I went to a new doc on 5/19 who specializes on T issues. He ordered the labs that were done on 5/19. I have an appointment with him on 6/9 but I would like your opinions on the results.

Also.... Why would the SHBG be low?? I thought it would be at lest normal..

Lab on 4/28:

TT 267 ng/dl (241-827)

Lab on 5/19:

tt 304 ng/dl (250-1100)
ft 71.4 pg/ml (46-224)
Bio T 143.7 ng/dl (110-575)
SHBG 14 nmol/l (18-47)
Albumin 4.4 g/dl (3.6-5.1)
LH 3.7 pg/ml (1.5-9.3)
FSH 4.3 pg/ml (1.6-8.0)
Estradiol 31 pg/ml (13-54)
psa 1.1
Ferritin 57 ng/dl (18-464)

Thanks

your T levels are very low and you s hould be on treatment. the first doctor is a quack.

Yes, i agree with Bengie, first doc is worthless.If it were me id file a complaint with american medical board if a doctor told me those levels were fine, but thats just me. Personaly i wouldnt worry too much about low SHBG. This is actutaly a bit towards your advantage, since SHBG binds to free T and renders it useless. Id bet once you got T levels in optimal range SHBG would level out. It would be good to see the LH and FSH numbers.

Looks like you have secondary hypogonadism, meaning something with the hypothalmus and/or pituitary is not working. LH should be high with TT that low. Don't worry about the SHBG as the previous poster said. You want to get your free T up to the 150 area and lower SHBG makes that easier.

Your estradiol is fairly high considering how low your TT is. You might want to try the clomid test, where you take 25-50mg of clomid per day for a week or two. Then test LH and TT again and see if there is a rise. It could be that high estrogen is the reason your LH is low. The clomid will block the estradiol from binding to the hypothalmus receptors.

I would also check TSH, and all the iron numbers, iron, ferritin, TIBC, saturation %.

Thanks for the input guys.....
I see the dr on 6/9. He said during my first visit on 5/19 that we might try a 3 month trial. I sure hope he does it...... I'm tired of feeling like garbage........

I forgot about the TSH.....

4/28
TSH 1.26
I take 50mg Synthroid/day

TSH looks good.

4/28
TSH 1.26
I take 50mg Synthroid/day

I assume you meant 0.050 mg synthroid (or 50 mcg) which is pretty low. I would think 0.1 is average for replacement. Considering you are having symptoms a TSH target closer to the new standard 0.3 should be tried. It sounds like your endo doesn't really know what ranges really mean.

A PSA of 1.1 with low testosterone isn't great either. Low testosterone is associated with prostate cancer so you need to keep an eye on your PSA, following it every 6 months once you start testosterone replacement.

You have low testosterone but your LH is pretty low, it should be high; that may indicate pituitary trouble. What reason was discovered for low thyroid? Is it also a pituitary problem? Have you been tested for prolactin and have you had a MRI to rule out a pituitary tumor?

267 is normal for testosterone ONLY if you don't have symptoms. The standards are based on asymptomatic people. If you have symptoms then 267 is not normal for you and I would take that approach with your next doctor. Of course low thyroid can compound the problem and make it hard to distinquish low testosterone from low thyroid.

Is the psa 1.1 high????
No reason for the thyroid. The PCP just thought it might help the way I was feeling. They haven't checked the prolactin and I haven't had an MRI (for pituitary).

mh01, are you seeing a dr. in St. Louis? I have seen a few Urologists and Endos, they all think gell or shots is the answer. Any recomendataions on a St. Louis dr. specializing in low T would be great.

mh01, my urologist said that anything over 2.0 PSA is cause for concern.
Others have different views. Big clinics allow for the age increase in
prostate size which causes a rise in PSA and have a higher number value.
For age 65 it was about 6.0 as not indicating cancer. Also conditions
like prostatitis and BPH cause an elevated PSA number. If I had a PSA
of 1.1 I'd be tickled pink.