re: Bloodwork results: advice on my next steps?

they can if you request it. shitty pcp will tell you....you dont need all that. they are wrong. good pcp will say, sure and get you the information. information is power.

other option is the marek complete. If you have not done a panel and a while and want a complete picture or if you or older, i suggest this one. its more complete than any other lab panel out there.



which includes the following

LINK


Lab markers included in this MALE panel:

Sex Hormones:
Total Testosterone (LC/MS) [uncapped]
Free Testosterone (Equilibrium Ultrafiltration) [uncapped]
Estradiol, Sensitive / Ultrasensitive (LC/MS)
Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG)
Progesterone
Prolactin
Cortisol

Gonadotropins:
Luteinizing Hormone (LH)
Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH)

Neurosteroids:
Pregnenolone
Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate (DHEA-S)

Thyroid:
TSH
Free T3
Free T4
Thyroglobulin Antibody (tgAb)
Thyroid Peroxidase Antibody (TPOab)
Reverse T3

Growth Hormone/IGF-1:
Insulin-Like Growth Factor I (IGF-1)

Lipids:
ApoA1
ApoB
ApoA1:ApoB Ratio
Total Cholesterol
HDL Cholesterol
LDL Cholesterol
LDL:HDL Ratio
VLDL Cholesterol
Triglycerides
Lipoprotein(a)

Blood:
Complete Blood Count w/ Differential (Hematocrit; hemoglobin; mean corpuscular volume (MCV); mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH); mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC); red cell distribution width (RDW); percentage and absolute differential counts; platelet count (RBC); red cell count; white blood cell count (WBC))
Reticulocyte Count

Metabolic:
Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (albumin:globulin (A:G) ratio; albumin, serum; alkaline phosphatase, serum; bilirubin, total; BUN:creatinine ratio; calcium, serum; carbon dioxide, total; chloride, serum; globulin, total; potassium, serum; protein, total, serum; sodium, serum)

Insulin Sensitivity:
Blood glucose
Fasting Insulin
HbA1c
Uric Acid

Liver Function:
AST
ALT
BUN
Bilirubin, Total
?-Glutamyl Transferase (GGT)

Kidney Function:
Creatinine w/ eGFR
SDMA (Symmetric Dimethylarginine)

Vitamins:
Vitamin D, 25-OHD (25-Hydroxy)
Vitamin B12
VItamin B9 (Folate) / Folic Acid
Magnesium, RBC

Iron Panel:
Iron
Transferrin Saturation / Iron Saturation
TIBC
UIBC
Ferritin

Inflammatory Markers:
C-Reactive Protein, High Sensitivity (hsCRP)

Heart Health:
ADMA (Asymmetric Dimethylarginine)
Homocyst(e)ine
Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO)
Fibrinogen (Factor I) Activity

Tumor Markers:
Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA)

Urinalysis:
Complete Urinalysis (color; appearance; specific gravity; pH; protein; glucose; occult blood; ketones; leukocyte esterase; nitrite; bilirubin; urobilinogen; microscopic examination of urine sediment)

You cant just take a snapshot of your T levels and make a judgement.

All that said, I think you are doing too much. Your body is probably in too much of a stressed state with not enough rest. Id try cutting out the running and replace it with weighed walks or incline walking.

The workouts, id go down to 3x/week and go full body. Id remove exercises and sets until you start feeling better during workouts. Find your sweet spot of work. You should shoot for the satisfied feeling, not the broken down feeling after lifts. Leave a little in the tank...you can always add more later if your body can handle it.

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I get really tired the afternoons after exercising and I’m zonked the next day. After squats or deadlifts, I’ll be irritable, kind of depressed. Just want to lay around not because of soreness but because of being drained of life.

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This is because high intensity complex lifts like squats/deads heavily tax your nervous system. Id try sticking to one day of high intensity legs.

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I binge sugar almost every day. It’s a problem that probably needs a therapist to address.

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Some of us have the same struggle. I have to occasionally do a long fast to reset. The more sugar I eat, the hungrier I am and the more I want. What works for me is a simple treat. Either 1 banana or one soft serve ice cream from Mcdonalds or DQ. If you can build up the discipline, add in one cheat day. For me its Cracker Barrel Pancakes on Saturday. The rest of the week for me is usually bacon, eggs, steak and a banana or soft serve.

In all honesty, you are already doing better than most of the population

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I have to admit I’m terrified of going on TRT.

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dont be, will be life changing for you. suggestion is multiple small shots subq per week. very small amounts each shot.

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I have pretty good hair that I don’t want to lose.

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would suggest ordering Finasteride to start with the trt to prevent

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I have a decent set of balls that I don’t want to shrink

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my question is why? they are useless and it makes your dick look and feel bigger to the wife

but if you are scared of that, get HCG. prolly best place to do that is QSC as its expensive AF even with insurance

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I don’t want to set myself up for future issues. I’ve always been intentional with my own health. I workout. I eat nutritious food. I don’t drink or smoke and never really have.

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rememeber, you are not going on a steroid cycle, you are using a bio-identical hormone to bring your levels up to where they should be for your age

quote:

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I asked the nurse if I could take a few months to try to raise it naturally and she supported it. She said taking TRT is definitely not something to take lightly, which only intensified my fears.

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you can try this but prolly wont help too much at your levels. if you were like 400 i would say go for it.

but you can try boron at 15mg every morning, and either dhea or sustain alpha. dunno how much it will help though.

she said its not something to take lightly as its likely a life long decision. that is all. side effects are very very unlikely.

quote:

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But I know I’ll frick it all up. Keep bingeing sweets because I have undiagnosed adhd. Not sleep well from the bingeing. Struggle to complete workouts because I’m tired, bloated, have heartburn, in pain because I can’t recover due to low T.

Sucks, men.

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not nearly as big of a deal as you are making it out to be promise.

can it suck after years...yep. but the first year is like .......wtf have i been missing. its a god send from an energy standpoint alone.


one of the biggest things is you need to add muscle. you are undermuscled at current weight and BF%. need to really focus on lots of whole food protein sources, add some potatoes and rice as carb source and stay within the calorie limit. if that means eating leaner cuts to allow for some sweats like you prefer, so be it. but you have to get stronger and add some muscle.

That's great. I am considering purposely tanking my T to below the levels just to get help. I hate lying, but I've been to 2 docs that didn't even consider low 300s to be low. It's been extremely frustrating.