Blood Work natty 19yo Male

[Monkipalo]

Results of blood work. (19M) I slept 9h before drawing blood, I was eating 6 eggs a day for 3 weeks to increase LDL levels, which worked but did not help me at all, I've also been taking 5000IU of vitamin D3 for months and the last 3 weeks I added magnesium. I reduced the workouts to 3 days a week for the analytics (and for 3 days prior to drawing blood I did not train). Body Fat (12-15%) Total T and E2 levels are the same to another blood work I did a year ago. Free testosterone low for my age, SHBG low compared to the reference range (50-92). Low iron and thyroid seems normal. . Symptoms: lack of motivation to do anything, and it gets worse when I sleep 7 hours or less (I feel like absolute shit), lack of strengh progressions with 2 years of consistent lifting. I don't have depression.

Im thinking of TRT (I have test E on hand) but idk if it would fix this, also because i dont fully understand SHBG.

The screenshots are from the recent bloodwork and the picture is from last year bloodwork. ("Hierro" means iron, "libre" means free) Any other value that anyone wants to see i can upload it.

 

[Monkipalo]

Idk if this might help but i´ve been extremely skinny my whole life, and i was always ill when i was younger

 

[malfeasance]

Other than 6 eggs a day for 3 weeks, what is the rest of your diet? Walk us through a day of eating by Monkipalo.

 

[malfeasance]

Also, your testosterone level appears to be right in the middle of normal. Where do you expect it to be?

"Normal" is not "low."

 

[Eman]

There's nothing in your blood work to indicate that TRT is a remedy for any of your symptoms.

Low testosterone symptoms are so broad that even a person over the top of the reference range could easily identify with several of the known symptoms. Everyone thinks more testosterone will solve so many problems, that is very rarely the case.

One suggestion is to try a sleep study to see if anything is going on there from a physical perspective.

Another suggestion is to see a therapist to see if there are lifestyle factors at play. You don't have to be depressed to have issues with motivation, you may just need to learn goal setting skills to give you new drive. If you have nothing new to look forward to, it's difficult to stay motivated and easy to find yourself feeling like you're in a slump.

No progress in strength is also not indicative of low testosterone. You just described what every lifter ever has experienced, a stall. It's a time to analyze training and diet first, hormones are lower on the list of focuses but you've already done that and nothing is abnormal.

Hope you get it figured out, I think hormonal factors can be crossed off your list though - that may be a hard pill to swallow given that we often want to think we've found the end all be all answer in just taking a pill/shot... It's almost never that simple. Best of luck!

 

[Monkipalo]

@malfeasance I didnt say my testosterone is low, I said that my free test is low, but yes i consider that my total test (450-470ng/dL) is suboptimal for my age and I would like to be on 800. But i dont really care about this rn, im more concerned about my free levels, they are 10pg/ml = 1ng/dL, ive looking the past hours and this puts me on new born free test levels (correct me if im wrong), and lets not talk about the 1-3% respect to the 460ng/dl total levels, Im wayyy off. I really think i might be looking something wrong, because i cant understand that. My diet is normal i eat plenty of carbs, ealthy fats and protein, i will specify more after this is clarified. @Eman thanks for your advice i would apreciate if you take a look into this.

 

[Eman]

I said that my free test is low, but yes i consider that my total test (450-470ng/dL) is suboptimal for my age and I would like to be on 800.

You're focusing too much on numbers that don't mean a ton there. You're pulling the 800 number out of thin air, why would that be so much better? Just because it's higher than what you're at now? The difference between the two is nil, really. No reasonable person at that testosterone level would jump on TRT for life at your age. There's just no justification for it that I see here.

But i dont really care about this rn, im more concerned about my free levels, they are 10pg/ml = 1ng/dL, ive looking the past hours and this puts me on new born free test levels (correct me if im wrong)

Not really sure where you're pulling this information but it's inaccurate, none of your hormone levels are reminiscent of a newborn... They're not even outside of the reference range.


I'm not sure what else in particular you want me to take a look at, I don't think there's much more for me to say... I think wanting to jump on TRT turns into a self fulfilling prophecy. You'll probably do it, think you feel all better because you convinced yourself as such and then start living with the regrets of your choices in 6-12 months. If you want to try test, go for it.. but the justification for "needing it" is kind of lame. Like I said, best of luck.

 

[malfeasance]

I missed that free test was 10.5 pg/ml.

That is low.

 

[malfeasance]

Bioavailability and "free" hormone are not the same thing when it comes to testosterone.

I am wading out into water that is over my head to say any more, though.

 

[Monkipalo]

Not really sure where you're pulling this information but it's inaccurate, none of your hormone levels are reminiscent of a newborn... They're not even outside of the reference range.

Testosterone, Free and Total, Adult (uiowa.edu)

I really dont want to regret it, I wont be able to sleep today thinking about if i´m going to hop on or not. I truly thank you for your elaborate answers.

 

[malfeasance]

At 19, I would do everything possible to avoid trt.

Body Fat (12-15%) <----- Work on that first. I bet it would help.

 

[Eman]

Testosterone, Free and Total, Adult (uiowa.edu)

I really dont want to regret it, I wont be able to sleep today thinking about if i´m going to hop on or not. I truly thank you for your elaborate answers.

Your newborn reference still doesn't align with the link you posted but it does show you being much lower than the reference range for your age. I believe the reason for the contrast is because you're comparing serum vs plasma reference ranges.

 

[Monkipalo]

It could be that. It's weird because thats the only value they needed to test in another lab. I'm going to call the lab as soon as they are open to know if its plasma or serum, because it does not metion it at any part of the bloodwork.

Also tommorrow I'l weight and track everything i eat like it was a normal day.

 

[kosp]

total test is more important than free, in fact, free test isn´t even worthy to check in my opinion.

I am a high range total test and low range free test, and feel great.

Note that in men many hormones are made out of the total testosterone produced, and how your body transforms this total test into other hormones is not much concern. Free test while being in range it´s okay, but what matters is total test.

Secondly, the average level of young men is about 679 ng/dL, but I would be concerned if I get less than 500.

 

[CompoundLifts31]

total test is more important than free, in fact, free test isn´t even worthy to check in my opinion.

I am a high range total test and low range free test, and feel great.

Note that in men many hormones are made out of the total testosterone produced, and how your body transforms this total test into other hormones is not much concern. Free test while being in range it´s okay, but what matters is total test.

Secondly, the average level of young men is about 679 ng/dL, but I would be concerned if I get less than 500.

Free test is actual usable test.
You couldn't be more incorrect with your statement, even if you tried.

 

[malfeasance]

Free test is actual usable test.
You couldn't be more incorrect with your statement, even if you tried.

You are not really incorrect, but you are not really correct. For example, testosterone already bound to receptors is not free (or measured by a blood test). In addition, testosterone bound to proteins is not necessarily inactive. For example, testosterone bound to albumin is bioactive, and more is bound to albumin than to SHBG. Also, SHBG does not "deactivate" testosterone or the other hormones to which it binds. It carries them around in the blood stream. You can think of SHBG as more of a "transport" mechanism than a deactivator. It's metabolic life is pretty short (days).

Body fat levels, hormones - insulin, thyroid, IGF-, testosterone, estrogen, prolactin, and even diet all cause it to change.

Injecting testosterone does cause the level of SHBG to go lower.

My point is that there are all kinds of interactions with SHBG which play an important role in regulating its levels, and it is regulating levels of testosterone and other hormones. Ironically, testosterone bound to SHBG is not available for metabolism by aromatase!

I do not understand all of the complex interactions fully (or really even partially), but "free test" and "bioavailable test" are not the same thing, and testosterone bound by SHBG is not lost forever. It is just waiting a few days. Some of it may be bound up by new SHBG being made by the body, and levels of SHBG can vary quite a lot over time depending upon what you are doing (and, no, I do not understand well enough the interactions to give any advice on raising or lowering it).

Also, without SHBG, testosterone could not reach places capillaries do not reach. SHBG carries testosterone to extra-vascular locations.

 

[malfeasance]

Diverse roles for sex hormone-binding globulin in reproduction - PubMed

Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) transports androgens and estrogens in blood and regulates their access to target tissues. Hepatic production of SHBG fluctuates throughout the life cycle and is influenced primarily by metabolic and hormonal factors. Genetic differences also contribute to...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Written by persons who know a lot more about SHBG than I do . . .

 

[malfeasance]

Remember, one of the reasons we inject testosterone with esters is to bind the testosterone to the ester and not release it all at once. Testosterone propionate is bound and not bioavailable until it is cleaved from the ester by an enzyme.

 

[shackleford]

Remember, one of the reasons we inject testosterone with esters is to bind the testosterone to the ester and not release it all at once. Testosterone propionate is bound and not bioavailable until it is cleaved from the ester by an enzyme.

Maybe a dumb question but....
If I understand correctly, ezymes are unique to their substrates. Does this mean Enzyme A acts only on the proprionate ester, but Enzyme B acts on the cypionate ester?

 

[kosp]

You are not really incorrect, but you are not really correct. For example, testosterone already bound to receptors is not free (or measured by a blood test). In addition, testosterone bound to proteins is not necessarily inactive. For example, testosterone bound to albumin is bioactive, and more is bound to albumin than to SHBG. Also, SHBG does not "deactivate" testosterone or the other hormones to which it binds. It carries them around in the blood stream. You can think of SHBG as more of a "transport" mechanism than a deactivator. It's metabolic life is pretty short (days).

Body fat levels, hormones - insulin, thyroid, IGF-, testosterone, estrogen, prolactin, and even diet all cause it to change.

Injecting testosterone does cause the level of SHBG to go lower.

My point is that there are all kinds of interactions with SHBG which play an important role in regulating its levels, and it is regulating levels of testosterone and other hormones. Ironically, testosterone bound to SHBG is not available for metabolism by aromatase!

I do not understand all of the complex interactions fully (or really even partially), but "free test" and "bioavailable test" are not the same thing, and testosterone bound by SHBG is not lost forever. It is just waiting a few days. Some of it may be bound up by new SHBG being made by the body, and levels of SHBG can vary quite a lot over time depending upon what you are doing (and, no, I do not understand well enough the interactions to give any advice on raising or lowering it).

Also, without SHBG, testosterone could not reach places capillaries do not reach. SHBG carries testosterone to extra-vascular locations.

great info, this reassures me that free testosterone is influenced by other highly changing factors, so really important is total test, total test is the foundation in which the body is gonna work.