[mercury]

After few years of decreased stamina, energy levels and sex drive, I was recently had my Testosterone levels checked. Results were 225 ng/dL of total testosterone and 49.2 of free testosterone (I'm in my low 40's). My PCP said that though mt total T levels are low, the free T level is the more important measurement and since it is in the normal range, no treatment is recommended. I'm still concerned with that. I'm trying to find out which of the overall symptoms of Low T are associated with Total T levels vs the ones associated with Free T (if there is any difference). Also, are there any members with similar results? if so, did you start testosterone replacement treatment? What were the results?

[panamint]

I am 46 and my Test levels started at 98 in June 2009 and last week it was up to 934. My free T went from 8.9 in Sept to 23.5 now. I was doing 2cc of Testosterone Cypionate injections every two weeks, but since my levels are up they have stretched it to every three week now. My Dr has been treating me by the way I feel along with what the labs are doing. If your doctor is not wanting to try replacement therapy you might want to get another option. It has made a big change in the way I feel. Now I have the problem of having my Estrogen levels to high and I am taking meds to lower it.
Scott

[kjwolf]

Hi - my name is KJ from Switzerland/Europe.
About a year ago I decided to have my Testosterone levels checked just as a curiosity. I am 45 and have been doing bodybuilding for 27 years now.
My sex drive has decreased a bit but I still think it is above average. My stamina and power during training has decreased also a bit. I used to bench 150 - 160 kgs and nowadays I only bench like 145 to
150 at max. Still way above average. So I should not complain on both criteria mentioned before.
When I made the test I expected that I am blessed with a high testosterone levels.
But it was the oposite. I had 320 ng/dl (considering 300 ng as the lower limit and 1200 ng as the max limit what school medizine considers as normal). Then I did a test again just 3 weeks ago and I was at
180 ng - even lower.
As a bodybuilder I used steroids as well but never pure testosterone and never growth hormones. If I used steroids than I always used them in low - not to say very low dosages - so I never grew a lot - maybe I added a 2 - 3 kgs at most and I kept them. I could not feel anything different when I stopped using steroids after a 4 - 6 weeks cycle.
I am stating this because I am convinced that neither one of my cycles had a strong influence on my natural testosterone levels.
When I made the first test and I was at the lower limit at 320 ng - I decided to try out some testogel (50mg each day on the skin) to see whatwould be the effect. I also used creatine for gaining weight and strenght. I made a 4 weeks cycle and gained 3 kgs and also some increase in power ( 5 % ) in this very short time. 3 weeks after this cycle I made another testo-testing and landed at 180 ng.

Honestly I cannot feel the difference - neither in my sex drive nor in my weight training. No other symptoms can be recognized. I sleep well, I study besides my job, I am like always a very active person.

Somehow I have the feeling (and the proof !!) that Testosterone is not all what it takes to be a man, to lift high weights and to be active in general.

I wish that a serious and in this subject interested Endocrinologist could comment on this.

I will continue to keep an eye on that, because it is like when old church priests asserted that the earth is just a disk and Galileo said "no the earth is round like a ball". The world for long believed its just a disk - as it believes now that Testosteron is the most important hormon driving a man to be a man, to have strong muscles and to be "wild". I say (for now) - NO IT IS NOT !

But I would not comment medically on that, because for this we would need to make serious tests and watch how the bone consistency is and how it changes over the coming year with low testosterone levels, in what condition my arteries are and how they might change.

So far I only can report that I have ungood ratio between HDL and LDL (low density colesterol) - it should be at 3 and I am at 4. So I have too less HDL Colesterol levesl and too much of low c. levels.
But that has been always the case - since when I was 20. All other blood indicators are perfect. Total colesterol is below 200, triglycerides are very low, blood pressure below 120/80 - so there is no pathology found in other levels.

Interesting in your comment is that you guys (probably in the US) also test for free testosterone (which was fine in your tests) - in Austria (where I did the test) they did not do that and I will
do that next time I am going for testing.

Did I always have low testosterone levels ? I do not know - but I wish that I would know.

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