| Low t, low iron, depression, 19 yr old
I'm 19, 20 next month. 5'10", 120 lbs., thin with very little muscle.
Here's my history:
I experienced a very late and slow puberty (I was 16 years old), and to date have never had a full erection or ejaculated at all.
I was told by my endocrinologist that I have hypogonadotropic (secondary) hypogonadism, and I have been on testosterone replacement for over three months. I do not seem to be responding to therapy, and he wants me to switch from gel to injections.
Despite low T, I have had bad acne for the past two years. I've had excessive daytime sleepiness for a while, and horrible depression for the past year as well (some suicidal thoughts).
My nails and lips turn blue when it's even a little cool outside (less than 75 degrees), and also during exercise. My hands and feet are almost always ice cold.
All the symptoms but the depression started around puberty; the depression came on in the past year.
I'm wondering what is causing what. Is the depression lowering my testosterone? Or is it the other way around? What natural treatments would benefit me? Anything I should ask my doctor? Is more bloodwork necessary? More iron tests?
Here's my results to date (some were done multiple times):
Testosterone, Total 226 (241-827) 183 (241-827) 132 (241-827) 82 (241-827)
% Free Testosterone 1.24% (1.5-2.2)
Testosterone, Free 22.7 (35.0-155.0)
FSH <0.7 (1.6-8.0)
LH 0.6 (1.5-9.3)
Prolactin
3.7 (2.1-17.7)
2.7 (2.0-18.0)
TSH 3.378 (.45-4.5)
2.01 (.5-4.3)
1.77 (.5-4.3)
T3, Total 94 (97-219)
T4, Free 0.9 (0.8-1.8)
Ferritin 23 (10-105)
Yes, my T has been decreasing over the past three months. I bolded the things that stood out.
Thank you for helping me sort this out.
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