FitFossil said:
Nope, I'm not pulling anyone's leg here (well not exactly)...
I had my hormones tested, and my testosterone is very low. I'm looking for ANY advice I can get on this, since I have no experience. For Testosterone, they only tested "Total Testosterone". Since it was well into the "low" range, is there any need to get a test for "Free Testosterone"?
What sort of alternatives will the doctor offer for treatment, and which ones would you recommend (as far as what I can get legally through the doc? - not looking into the "other side" yet) Anything I should definitely avoid?
Here is the thread where I posted my lab results, but I didn't get many replies. I'd greatly appreciate any advice as to what these numbers mean and how I should proceed. My regular doc is referring me to an endrocrinologist, but I know I'd get better info from this board. Thanks!
http://boards.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=158937
Buy the book "Natural Hormone Replacement for Women" by U. Reis This is an excellent book!
The natural testosterone gel recommended in the book are your best choice for long term therapy.
There is a patch for women being developed as we speak.
Tiny sub Q test implants have been used in Austrailia for many years and they are very excellent and maybe the very best choice but you can't get them in the USA.
The doc is not in favor of test shots since they are in ester form and as such are not completely natural or identicle to our natural testosterone. Also generally speaking shots are given in pretty large doses like 50 mg every 2 weeks. This causes a high spike far above the normal range in the first few days and then the levels crash after the first week. If you are going to do injections it is far better to do very frequent small doses with a tiny insulin syringe for measuring accuracy. I would try 25 mg per week at most and inject every 3-4 days if you are using the common Test cyp, enanthate or sust.
The gel is rubbed to ther lower inner arm daily. You can adjust the dose daily to suit your needs for the day. For example if you anticipate a very stressful day either mentally or physically then you can up the dose for the day.
My wife is currently on the gel as her total level came back at 28. We haven't noticed a difference yet because she is currently on a nandrolone cycle and as such her energy level and sex drive is good.
Free Test is a better test as it measures the amount of unbound testosterone which is the testosterone that we end up using in daily bodily functions.
The gel is made up only at "compounding" pharmacies. Strength is usually 3-5mg per dose(.2ml)
The gel will keep your test levels in the normal range or high normal ,unless you use quite a bit, and this is a good thing for health reasons . You really don't want to be walking around with very high test levels for months or years on end as you are certain to develope a crappy lipid profile and androgenic sides.
Your test level is in the low normal range but if you have symptoms of low test then by all means get some gel. The most common symptoms of low test are low to no sex drive, inability or great difficulty reaching orgasm even with direct clitoral stimulation, general fatigue, lack of self confidence, low endurance, and poor balance/ coordination. Also muscle tone is often poor and fat is easily put on. Note: many of these symptoms are the same as hypothyroidism but your TSH is normal so don't worry about that.
Some ladies that are generally hairless and not heavily muscled have a normal test level in your range and do just fine so you should be very aware of the symptoms of low testosterone.
Some ladies choose to suplement their test levels to the high normal range for various reasons even though they have a perfectly normal test level.
Hope this helps
RG
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