Dear Doctors,
I’m trying to figure out with my doctors a series of relatively complicated problems, and I’m simply looking to you all to see what questions and lines of inquiry that you would suggest I pursue with my doctors based on your expertise. It all peripherally but substantively pertains to lifting.
I’ve been diagnosed by my Gen Care physician with low T. On two separate occasions, I have come under the threshold of 300ng/dl. The first test came at 215ng/dl and the second at 145ng/dl. We also tested my Luteinizing hormone levels and they were low at 1.05 mIU/ml. Obviously these numbers are concerning. There are, however, what I assume are some important caveats to these results:
- I’m 39 and between 255-260lbs.
- At the time these tests were taken, I had spent between 5 and 7 weeks dropping weight with the use of phentermine. I have dropped from around 274 to between 255-260 depending on the day.
- Toward the end of this dieting phase and while being tested, my wife and I had our third child, and so we had this extra stress combined with poorer than average sleep and a caloric deficit.
- Each night prior to taking the T test, I didn’t get particularly good sleep.
- I was likely training too hard during this time, trying to retain muscle mass while dropping weight. While I’d be loath to say I was overtrained, I was likely putting a bit too much stress on myself physiologically. One thing I would obviously like to figure out is whether this drop in T is chronic or acute. If the first, whether the causes are found in some form of primary hypogonadism or secondary. That said, some reasons why I can see this condition being chronic is that I’ve had plenty of times of low energy over the past couple of years, especially before beginning my lifting in the January 2017. Prior to that, I had also had some periods of ED. Given the fact that I’m carrying still between 20-30lbs too much weight and have done so for too much of my adult life, these things don’t seem out of the question. On the other hand, I’m also having a difficult time imagining that this condition is chronic. For one, the above conditions at least point me toward thinking that an acute drop is a real potentiality. Combine these conditions with the fact that I’m virile enough to have helped to produce three children, and that I’ve developed a very good chunk of muscle in the past two years and am gaining on a 600lb squat and deadlift, meaning I put on muscle pretty easily. I think that’s at least correlated with regular T levels. that said, I can see a situation where (and now I’m speculating, to be sure) where T level certainly could have risen since starting lifting (I only have subjective ways of assessing this idea) and then, with life-stress, they dropped lower again given the above circumstances…if that’s how this stuff actually works. I suppose I’m having a difficult time separating the real from the bro science on these issues.
Of course, these things are important because I may be put into a spot where I need to make a decision with my doctors about using TRT. I’m a bit loathe to go that route as I’d much rather treat any underlying causes and rely on my own body than extraneous technologies both for personal and for lifting reasons, one being that the USAPL is the only Federation that ever comes into Montana. I’ve enjoyed this sport and, even though I’d certainly keep lifting whether I could compete or not, the competitions (1x a year for me) are fun, and I’ve enjoyed getting to know the community where I’m at.
So, again, I’m certainly not looking for any diagnosis, nor am I looking for any medical advice. I’m hoping that you can direct me toward some good lines of inquiry that you think could be fruitful in figuring out this situation with my doctors.
Many thanks for your thoughts.
