Is My Testosterone Test Result Too Low?

[kinggg]

In searching for possible causes of and solutions for my ED, my doc include a Testosterone test in my semi-annual blood chemistry profile. The result was something in the low 300's. His comment was that this was not terribly low for someone my age--then mid sixties.

Two years later, after going to the gym virtually every day, maintaining a high protein, low carb diet, I lost 60 pounds (while adding muscle and muscle tone) to my flabby self. He tested again and the T number was over 700.
.

Hi antelope,

By your account, I fairly assume that you never opted to get TRT through injections or other means; your T level rose purely from exercise. That being the case, did your libido return to normal or at least a desired level of satisfaction?

[dg_moore]

My T was low, and I had all the symptoms - no libido, no energy, difficulty concentrating, brain fog, etc. I went on a course of Androgel and T gradually increased from 135 to 600, but it made no difference in my symptoms. After a few months of this I discontinued treatment because it had no effect and T therapy is not without risks. This was 5 or 6 years ago and there has been no change in symptoms.

Androgel? I've read that T injections give the best results.

Seems to me that anything that brings your numbers up is good. Androgel brought mine up significantly, but it had no effect.

[antelope]

In searching for possible causes of and solutions for my ED, my doc include a Testosterone test in my semi-annual blood chemistry profile. The result was something in the low 300's. His comment was that this was not terribly low for someone my age--then mid sixties.

Two years later, after going to the gym virtually every day, maintaining a high protein, low carb diet, I lost 60 pounds (while adding muscle and muscle tone) to my flabby self. He tested again and the T number was over 700.
.

Hi antelope,

By your account, I fairly assume that you never opted to get TRT through injections or other means; your T level rose purely from exercise. That being the case, did your libido return to normal or at least a desired level of satisfaction?

Hi back, kinggg--

My libido was never really an issue. The fact that I couldn't get it up did shake my confidence considerably, so i think the results are the same. But after getting in shape--or better shape at least--EVERYTHING was better: energy, stamina, confidence, attitude, outlook...and in every aspect of life from board room to bedroom.
All I conclude is that fitness and overall good health can contribute to a higher testosterone level and a better Blood Chemistry Profile overall.

Hope that helps.

[Larry10625]

For 2 years I've shown symptoms of low testosterone.. no libido, ED, no motivation, hard to concentrate on things, not feeling strong like a man, poor sleeping patterns, etc.

I got back my testosterone results this week. I show a score of 281. I read that below 300 is considered low. But the lab where I got this test done states its in normal range. It could be normal for a male in his 20s. But I'm 48 and want to know if this is considered too low for my age. Let me know guys.. thanks.

Even when I was on the low end of normal, I had low libido. When I got to the high end of normal, my sex drive came back.

Larry

Hey Larry,

Appreciate the reply. Whats your T level currently? How long did you wait before your libido returned?

Sorry buddy, I don't know my level but I have a requisition for bloodwork so maybe I can find out. I take my injections every 3 weeks and shortly after my second injection, either my wife or the cat was gettin' it..

Larry

[DaveKell]

I have a very cooperative family doctor of over 30 years now. We're actually more like friends on one level. He started me on T therapy at my request years ago and is very conscientious about keeping track of levels. Over the course of a few years we conclusively determined that I'm at an optimum operating level when my number is in the 800 range. I had a urologist tell me once that that level was inappropriate at my age (I was 63 at that time). I initially began T therapy thinking it would improve my ED but then I learned that an abysmally low percentage of men get ED improvement from T therapy and higher numbers. By then however, I had conclusively observed that every other aspect of my life benefited from the therapy. I had energy, mental focus, and motivation. In short, I never felt my age.

At one time, my level read around 1300, which was above the top end of the range. I was firmly in stroke territory and my dosage was cut in half a number of months. When I finally went back to the doctor I told him I knew my level was currently way too low. I was lethargic and listless and always tired. We checked and sure enough I was down around 300. After going back to the full dosage, with 3 or 4 extra days added in between the injections I gave myself, I improved back to my normal operating range. For the first year of T therapy I experienced something another doctor friend who played in an orchestra with me said was called raging bull syndrome. I had somewhat of a hair trigger temper and a near constant desire to singlehandedly fight a platoon of young Marines. Not a desirable place to be! This eventually passed and I've been cruising along reaping the benefits of having a T level beyond what a guy my age should have.

As long as medical science can hack our biology this way I see nothing but benefits from taking advantage of it. I'd like to take it a step further and participate in something many Hollywood celebrities and other wealthy people have access to, that being human growth hormone therapy. It's the reason Susan Sommers, in her 70's, has the drive of a woman 40 years younger. The therapy costs about $1,300 a week for an injection of a tiny amount of synthesized growth hormone, the natural production of which drops off significantly as we age. I've read the first thing a man my age experiences is the thickening of the skin on top of the hand that has become thin and wrinkly in older age. Everything I've read says that in about 6 months it erases at least 20 years of the cumulative effects of aging from you. Think about a number of older celebrities who always look and act significantly younger than they actually are. HGH therapy is rampant in the entertainment industry. It would be my next step if the universe ever grants me a lottery win!

[kinggg]

I initially began T therapy thinking it would improve my ED but then I learned that an abysmally low percentage of men get ED improvement from T therapy and higher numbers. By then however, I had conclusively observed that every other aspect of my life benefited from the therapy. I had energy, mental focus, and motivation. In short, I never felt my age.
!

Hi DaveKell,

Appreciate the reply. So I'm confused by your comment. You said T therapy improved your life. But you implied based no how I'm reading you, that it didnt do anything for your ED. Did it help with your ED?

[happycamper59]

I have been using the gel for a couple of weeks now, because my lab results came back as under 300. I had been low for several years. Did the injections, until the insurance company stopped covering them. So then I tried some men's vitamin regiment, and the number rose above 300 last year, but it was down this year, so the vitamins must not be doing it for me after all.

The doc got the insurance company to cover the gel this time. I'm hoping it brings the number up.

A side effect of T therapy is that if you have prostate cancer cells, it could strengthen them, or whatever you want to call it. And that's not good.

[DaveKell]

I initially began T therapy thinking it would improve my ED but then I learned that an abysmally low percentage of men get ED improvement from T therapy and higher numbers. By then however, I had conclusively observed that every other aspect of my life benefited from the therapy. I had energy, mental focus, and motivation. In short, I never felt my age.
!

Hi DaveKell,

Appreciate the reply. So I'm confused by your comment. You said T therapy improved your life. But you implied based no how I'm reading you, that it didnt do anything for your ED. Did it help with your ED?

Taking ED as a consideration apart from libido, T therapy did nothing for my ED. My libido was rolled back about 40 years though to as strong as in my 20's. T therapy alone rarely helps ED, although there is a large number of guys who claim it did. Those guys are ones I tend to think didn't have ED all that bad, just a low T caused poor libido. When their libido was boosted with T they got it up again and thought it was the T therapy responsible. I'm not a doctor, I only played one as a child with Mary Lou. What I've been told by a doctor however, and read, is that T therapy in most cases doesn't help with ED.

[once a writer]

As I understand it, when you're doing T injections, the T-level in your system is at max height just after you inject. Then it diminishes steadily until it's time for the next injection.

I was on T injections — at two-week intervals — for nearly 20 years. I give the injections myself. About a year ago I concluded that libido and performance were noticeably lower in the second week of the injection cycle.

At my request, my doc switched me to injecting half as much T twice as often. That is, he cut my two-week dosage in half, so that I was injecting a half-dose every week, rather than a full dose every two weeks.

Yes, it's a bit of a pain in the ass (in the thigh, actually) to be injecting every Monday morning. But libido and performance now seem more consistent.

Both with the previous dosage and the new dosage, I'm hitting my target number of 700.

[dtwarren1942]

I am diabetic and started encountering ED so asked my endocrinologist about my T level. My test results came back at 298 which my endo advised was at the low end of normal but still acceptable for a 70 year oldk. I had no libido problems but my ED worsened so I visited an urologist who prescribed T-gel which increased my T to over 800 and increased my libido even more, but did nothing about my ED. Now I had super libido, but a limp dick. Very frustrating.

After six months When my endo’s blood test showed an incresse in PSA and my testicales showed some shrinkage, he recommended I phase out of TRT.