56 year old male living in UK. Went to see my GP due to concerns about low libido and generally feeling fatigued, restless with poor sleep. Initial blood test revealed that my Testosterone was at the very lowest of ‘normal’ range. Additionally, my cortisol levels are also very low. As a result I’ve been referred to the local hospital for further investigation.
I’m wondering what the likely causes might be and how I can help myself (The NHS is overwhelmed and Im not expecting to be seen anytime soon). Also, what about training; Ive been extremely frustrated in the last 6-9 months at my lack of progress- I can rarely string together 2-3 productive sessions before feeling drained and struggling to hit target weights. Any thoughts?
Maybe more thoughts than can feasibly be discussed in a forum post, as this is the kind of thing that typically requires a more detailed consultation. Before assuming that these hormone findings are solely/directly causing your symptoms, I would be looking at your sleep in more detail (habits, quantity, quality, sleep apnea risk), waist circumference measurement, other basic lab work, reviewing medications/supplements, alcohol use, and mental health evaluation.
Thanks, Austin. I’ll wait for next set of blood results to come through. Since you mention mental health……I have had depressive episodes in the past but thankfully I’ve felt fine for the last 2-3 years and had no meds in that time. However, I have been feeling down about my training because of poor progress and fatigue.
I should also add that I have meds for asthma, Fostair 200 and Spiriva which I believe are linked to adrenal issues?
Spiriva does not have adrenal effects.
Fostair appears to contain beclomethasone, a corticosteroid. While corticosteroids can have adrenal effects (particularly when taken orally, as in prednisone tablets), it is much less common with inhaled versions.
Initial results are:
cortisol 198
non fasted cholesterol 7.4
Triglyceride 2.5
HDL 1.69
Non HDL 5.7
Testosterone 7.6
Consultant has proposed Short Synacthen test and anterior pituitary hormone profile with sex hormone binding globulin
Im concerned by the cholesterol and triglyceride results and out of my depth generally with causes and possible links between the data.
I don’t mean to sound snarky here, but this is the purpose of consulting with a physician. I’m not able to provide individualized interpretations/opinions via this forum, unfortunately.
We have free content available regarding cholesterol in our 3-part series on the website, starting here: https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/a-basic-guide-to-cholesterol-part-i/