Low T, my bloodwork

Hello,

I am struggling with low T, symptoms: fatique, ed, anxiety, low libido etc... . For a year now i don't have morning and nocturnal erections. I am 33 years old male, good shape...workingout last 3 months 5 days a week, 3 days lifting weights, 2 days cardio. I stoped smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol.

My bloodwork:
23.9.2011 9:49
Total T= 360 ng/dl (175 - 780)
TSH = 1,11 mIU/L (0,27 - 4,2)
Free T = 1,93% (1,68 - 2,97)
DHEA-S = 8,60 µmol/L (2,88 - 12,59)
Cortizol = 367,6 nmol/L (185 - 624)
Prolactin = 97,0 mIU/L (56 - 278)
SHBG = 35,3 nmol/L (13,3 - 89.5)

My endo said that my bloodwork is perfect ) but i did my own resarch and found that i have T levels like 85 years old man.

My Bloodwork:
4.4.2012 7:27

Total T= 360 ng/dl (175 - 780)
TSH = 3,01 mIU/L (0,27 - 4,2)
Free T = 2,18% (1,68 - 2,97)
DHEA-S = 10,70 µmol/L (2,88 - 12,59)
Cortizol = 523,2 nmol/L (185 - 624)
Prolactin = 134,0 mIU/L (56 - 278)
SHBG = 28,7 nmol/L (13,3 - 89.5)
Vitamin D = 55,9 nmol/L (>50)
LH = 1,7 IU/L (1,2 - 8,6)
FSH = 3,9 IU/L (1,3 - 19,3)
E2 = 30 pg/ml (<47)

What can i do now? can i restore my T levels naturaly or i need to run restart protocol with nolva, clomid, hcg??

Sorry about my english

jdp-This has worked for me. I got it from Tim Ferris' book The Four Hour Body. He claims following this should triple your T levels. I know it works. Combine this with IH's Ecklonia Cava Extract, Krill Oil, Decalcify and Boost and you will see a major change. Also watch your carb intake (not veggie carbs, like sugar/processed stuff)

Protocol #1: Long-Term and Sustained
Blue Ice Royal Butter Oil / Fermented Cod Liver Oil Blend – Capsules: 2 capsules upon waking and 2 capsules before bed
Vitamin D3: 3000 – 5000 IU upon waking and before bed (6,000 – 10,000 IU per day) until you reach blood levels of 55ng/ml. Can test this at home if you like, or just ask your doctor for this easy test.
Short ice baths and/or cold showers: 10 minutes each, upon waking and right before bed
Brazil nuts: 3 nuts upon waking and 3 nuts before bed

How is your thyroid getting along?

Some things that jump out:

- Your LH and FSH seem low. There are certain herbs that are proclaimed to raise these, like avena sativa for instance. I would make sure this isn't an issue with the pituitary gland, and perhaps additionally with the hypothalamus. How was your cortisol measured, four times a day with saliva?

- TSH has increased, this test sucks, may or may not be a sign of something, but if you're having hairloss, CS says you can probably assume some type of thyroid problem.

- Vitamin D levels are low, are you taking 5000IU daily?

- SHBG has decreased between both tests. T needs to be bound in order to prevent excretion or conversion to DHT or E. It impossible to know without knowing your DHT levels, which you should should get measured next time. Avoid high levels of refined carbs and cooked oils, opt for a high protein and high plant food diet.

I completely second what was said above ^ regarding the Tim Ferris supplements. Also do you notice that your testicles appear smaller, or small relative to normal size (about the size of a wallnut, at least two inches long by about one inch wide?) It could be that you are experiencing hypogonadism with atrophy if they are smaller than usual...do you happen to have a varicocele?

hadrion wrote:jdp-This has worked for me. I got it from Tim Ferris' book The Four Hour Body. He claims following this should triple your T levels. I know it works. Combine this with IH's Ecklonia Cava Extract, Krill Oil, Decalcify and Boost and you will see a major change. Also watch your carb intake (not veggie carbs, like sugar/processed stuff)

Protocol #1: Long-Term and Sustained
Blue Ice Royal Butter Oil / Fermented Cod Liver Oil Blend – Capsules: 2 capsules upon waking and 2 capsules before bed
Vitamin D3: 3000 – 5000 IU upon waking and before bed (6,000 – 10,000 IU per day) until you reach blood levels of 55ng/ml. Can test this at home if you like, or just ask your doctor for this easy test.
Short ice baths and/or cold showers: 10 minutes each, upon waking and right before bed
Brazil nuts: 3 nuts upon waking and 3 nuts before bed

Replace brazil nuts with jarrow's selenext and cod oil with pumpkin seed/evening primrose oil for convenience and cost reduction. Also hit the gym.

tnx for advice guys...

hardion
I was reading that a cold shower can raise the T levels, but it is hard to implement cold shower every day...how to begin with cold shower? i love warm water. I ordered D3 + Vitamin K2, brazil nuts for selenium?

anthony
I will research avena sativa, tnx. My cortisol was measured from blood, once in the morning.
Yes i have diffuse hair loss, but when you don't have libido, a hair loss is not so important any more
I am taking about 700UI a day, but i ordered D3 + K2 and my plan is to take at least 5000UI, how to determine optimal levels of vitamin D and SHBG?

It seems that my endocrine system is really messed up?

It's funny about my testicles, one minute they are small the next minute they are normal size...really strange, but as i can remember they were always like that.

More of my symptoms, i have a dark circles around my eyes for a couple of years now, for 2 years now i am having sleep problems but it' s getting better. I can easily fall a sleep now, but i wake up a couple of times in the night. I tried ZMA but it gives me anxiety...

JDP,

I would have cortisol measured four times a day with saliva. Its typically high upon waking.

Also, do you have a varicocele? Its easiest to tell right after a shower. Pull the skin tight and see if you see a large mass of veins wrapped around one testicle.

Also, I suffer from sleep apnea and have the same problems with dark circles and waking at night...you ought to look into it. Its a big reason for increased cortisol which is an antagonist to testosterone

i don't have varicocele, but i have red/purple little veins on my testicles...
sleep apnea how can i chech this, do i need to go to sleep clinic?

Ok...i did another bloodwork today:
27.4.2012 10:58
T3 = 1,8 nmol/L (1,3 - 3,
T4 = 106 nmol/L (66 - 181)
FT3 = 4,3 pmol/L (3,1 - 6,
FT4 = 18 pmol/L (12 - 22)
ATG-At (ATA) = 22,1 kIU/L ( < 115)
Anti-TPO = 22,5 kIU/L ( < 34)

Is my thyroid working ok?

jdpskdin wrote:i don't have varicocele, but i have red/purple little veins on my testicles...
sleep apnea how can i chech this, do i need to go to sleep clinic?

Ok...i did another bloodwork today:
27.4.2012 10:58
T3 = 1,8 nmol/L (1,3 - 3,
T4 = 106 nmol/L (66 - 181)
FT3 = 4,3 pmol/L (3,1 - 6,
FT4 = 18 pmol/L (12 - 22)
ATG-At (ATA) = 22,1 kIU/L ( < 115)
Anti-TPO = 22,5 kIU/L ( < 34)

Is my thyroid working ok?

Much to learn about, tests not always accurate thyroid http://healthyfixx.com/plan/6/fixxing-your-thyroid
Iodine can also help raise testosterone levels while lowering estrogen.

j87x wrote:

hadrion wrote:jdp-This has worked for me. I got it from Tim Ferris' book The Four Hour Body. He claims following this should triple your T levels. I know it works. Combine this with IH's Ecklonia Cava Extract, Krill Oil, Decalcify and Boost and you will see a major change. Also watch your carb intake (not veggie carbs, like sugar/processed stuff)

Protocol #1: Long-Term and Sustained
Blue Ice Royal Butter Oil / Fermented Cod Liver Oil Blend – Capsules: 2 capsules upon waking and 2 capsules before bed
Vitamin D3: 3000 – 5000 IU upon waking and before bed (6,000 – 10,000 IU per day) until you reach blood levels of 55ng/ml. Can test this at home if you like, or just ask your doctor for this easy test.
Short ice baths and/or cold showers: 10 minutes each, upon waking and right before bed
Brazil nuts: 3 nuts upon waking and 3 nuts before bed

Replace brazil nuts with jarrow's selenext and cod oil with pumpkin seed/evening primrose oil for convenience and cost reduction. Also hit the gym.

I know the fermented cod liver oil is expensive but what about Vit A and Vit K2? Those are the two good buddies of Vit D found in the fermented cod liver oil / butter oil blend.

http://www.westonaprice.org/cod-liver-oil/cod-liver-oil-basics

Dr. Price always gave cod liver oil along with high-vitamin butter oil, extracted by centrifuge from good quality spring or fall butter. He found that cod liver oil on its own was relatively ineffective but combined with high vitamin butter oil produced excellent results. The butter oil contains what he called Activator X, now considered to be vitamin K2, which works synergistically with vitamins A and D (see Chris Masterjohn's article "On the Trail of the Elusive X Factor: A Sixty-Year Old Mystery Finally Solved"). Your diet should include sources of vitamin K, such as good quality butter from grass-fed cows and/or high-vitamin butter oil, fat from grass-fed animals, cheeses from grass-fed animals and duck or goose liver, along with cod liver oil.

jdpskdin wrote:tnx for advice guys...

hardion
I was reading that a cold shower can raise the T levels, but it is hard to implement cold shower every day...how to begin with cold shower? i love warm water. I ordered D3 + Vitamin K2, brazil nuts for selenium?

JDP - I don't do the cold therapy stuff with any regularity. I have a really hard time taking a cold shower at home. At the gym after a workout I start warm and then slowly decrease temps and find I can get into the cold zone that way and last a few minutes. That said, just following those supplement guidelines I have upped my T levels. I had to cut the dose fo the Cod Liver/Butter pills to half because I started breaking out on my forehead which was a sure sign my T levels were going up. What I've noticed following IH's regimen and adding in the supplements and nuts Ferris advocates is I'm getting leaner, I get an erection quicker, wake up with morning wood and just feel overall better than I usually do.

Scotty C is right - diet plays into this big time, but there are supplements that will help you restore your levels somewhere higher. Also if Cortisol is an issue, Sensoril is great in that regard.

Don't mess around with hormones if you don't have to. Iodine, as suggested above (lots of great suggestions in this thread) and the supplements can get you back to where you want in a natural way.

Good luck!

scottyc33 wrote:
I know the fermented cod liver oil is expensive but what about Vit A and Vit K2? Those are the two good buddies of Vit D found in the fermented cod liver oil / butter oil blend.

Personally I take them separately, but yeah fermented cod is good stuff.

I would stress that cortisol problems can be due to many factors but you say you experience dark
under eye circles, a sign of adrenal problems. Cortisol is testosterone's enemy. Adaptogens,
avoiding food allergies, balancing immune system (probiotics, transfer factor, colostrum, S boulardi for
SigA), and phosphatidylserine can help with cortisol. I agree with the above that sensoril is awesome
at this.

One important ratio to consider with cortisol is the DHEA/Cortisol ratio. Low DHEA, often seen in adrenal
problems, can emphasize the effects of high cortisol. According to your test, your DHEA levels seem okay.
But I would get a better cortisol test done, a saliva test that you do four times daily.

And one last note on testosterone, don't underestimate the power of physical activity. Using
large compound movements that stress major muscle groups simultaneously (squat, deadlift,
cleans) will raise T. But they must be close to your capacity, weight you can do for only 3-6 reps. If the intensity isn't there, the T effect isn't either.

1.Direct sunlight(testosterone increased by 69% after the men exposed to sunlight for one hour).
2.Check for zinc deficiency by using liquid zinc test.