Has anyone had their testosterone measured?

[Gammmmo]

Fully understand if people don't want to disclose (personally I have no qualms talking about this stuff but respect others wishes) but at 46 I did wonder whether this would be an interesting test to take. I don't have any obvious issues and am well aware of all the things that influence the number up or down. If you have do have any numbers be interested to hear about any corrective action you took and revised numbers. Reference "free" testosterone and units obviously too as gives a full and accurate picture.

[edinborogh]

Gammano, im probably making an idiot of myself here, but "T" stands for what? Testosterone?

[Gammmmo]

yup.

[Citroen]

yup.

You should change the topic title to make it more obvious. If you hide the subject you'll have a thread that dies on the vine.

[Gammmmo]

yup.

You should change the topic title to make it more obvious. If you hide the subject you'll have a thread that dies on the vine.

OK. Have lost the "edit" option as topic has been active a while. Please advise...

[Citroen]

Fixed it for you with my moderator super powers.

[Dangerscouse]

I can't say I have ever even considered it. I'll be interested to see what people say if they have done, but I doubt it will make it on my to do list

[mdpfirrman]

When I was at my largest (around 250), I had the man boobs going on, so I'm sure that I had low T at the time. Heavy lifting, losing weight and cleaning up the diet helped with that tremendously (and I have no more man boobs or much of a gut for that matter).

I'm in the camp of avoiding any drugs/testing if there are more natural ways of addressing it. Heavy lifting and exercise/diet seem to address most ailments (at least ones that are caused by lifestyle like mine was).

I think avoiding fast food/overly processed foods has helped me a lot.

[lindsayh]

My understanding is that there is no good evidence for what is "normal" testosterone levels particularly as we age. I was part of a study some years ago where there were a lot of bloods done in combination with other tests trying to define the normals for testosterone as well as other stuff - it was called The Healthy Man Study and set out to investigate what characterised healthy over 50's including hormones, grip strength, muscle mass, bone density and the like. There is a really interesting study done over many years in Hawaii that shows a strong link between grip strength and longevity.
(sorry to go off topic a bit)

[Cyclist2]

My brother had low T, and took medication for it for awhile. As mdpfirrman said, he also modified his lifestyle and eventually got off the meds. He was in his 50s when all that was going on, now we're in our mid 60s, still no problem.

Lindsay, do you have a link for that grip strength/longevity study?

[mdpfirrman]

My brother had low T, and took medication for it for awhile. As mdpfirrman said, he also modified his lifestyle and eventually got off the meds. He was in his 50s when all that was going on, now we're in our mid 60s, still no problem.

Lindsay, do you have a link for that grip strength/longevity study?

Perhaps this is it Lindsay?

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5750866/

Just two more thoughts on this subject - Paul (Gammo), I've heard you reference, I think, in the past that you're Celiac and because of that eat at home a lot. I'm dairy/gluten free (because my wife's health requirements and we eat the same to make it simple). I think that helps tremendously with environmental factors from food/plastic/processing.

I've also heard of more and more men taking a supplement called DIM. Decent (though nutraceutical) article about DIM. Basically, supposed to reduce xenoestrogens from chemicals in the food chain/environment, which affect Testosterone and prostate health in men. Very popular supplement for bodybuilders looking to reduce the influence of the environment on their T.

https://wholeworldbotanicals.com/facts- ... ns-health/

[lindsayh]

Lindsay, do you have a link for that grip strength/longevity study?

not at my fingertips but it is a long term longitudinal study that started with I think 3000 men over 50 in Hawaii about 30 years ago. They chose men of Japanese/Hawaiian background to reduce some variables. I think there is good evidence for using grip strength as a simple proxy measurement of muscle mass and strength (such as the paper that Mike links to above) and that one common link with the "survivors" is grip strength. I understand that a similar measurement is being able to stand on one leg (and for how long) although I don't think that was looked at in this particular study.

[Gammmmo]

@Mike - no not heard of that supplement...surprisingly (being an ex cyclist )!! Yes, I am Coeliac (UK) / Celiac (US) but still eat out if I am comfortable with ingredients and cooking method / prep. Good for you for eating the same as your wife - v considerate. Lots of foods you can eat affect T as I'm sure you know and preparing food from scratch (which I do now much more as Coeliac) gives much more control.

[GrizzledBastard]

I'll bite! I'm the nOOb around here, it seems and I don't mind taking about it because for some people it's quite real and debilitating. I've had my T levels measured and do every single year through my endocrinologist and have for about 4 years. About 5 years ago, a very close friend suffered through advanced colon cancer at 40 y/o and by the Grace of God, has survived it and still flourishes. He was at Stanford Hospital in CA where they do amazing things and they were the only team wiling to take on the surgical procedure he needed for a chance at living. The reality of it, he wasn't expected to make it terribly far in life so they freely radiated his groin and testicles eliminating any testosterone production for the remainder of what they thought was his relatively short life expectancy.

I, on the other hand, had just gone through very severe neck problems at the same time where my legs literally quit working waist down due to severe stenosis and cervical spinal chord constriction and damage but the Neurosurgeon I had fixed me by a 2 level discectomy, fusion, titanium, stenosis removal, and my boney stick legs needed help because all the muscle mass had atrophied over time when the Docs weren't paying attention. The 2 of us started riding mountain bikes together as our means back to life. I was having real fatigue issues after a while even though I was gaining fitness. Moodiness and even depression-like issues started to arise and my friend had been there done that but had gone on mandatory replacement therapy due to them frying his twigs and berries. He suggested I get checked out and I did. Low and behold, I was in bad shape T-wise. Really, really low numbers. My GP put me on Androgel and it brought my level up a little but after a couple months of little change, I was sent to a phenomenal Endocrinologist who was quite PO'd that I hadn't had a brain MRI looking at my pituitary. That was the first order of business with him and it came out negative. We started on replacement therapy by injection right away. We have determined that weekly injection of only 100mg (.5ml) a week keeps my number safely in the recognized zones.

I have no super powers, I'm a cyclist and struggle just like the next guy. Difference is, at 56 and kinda-sorta retired, I ride aggressively 3-4 days a week on our trails and that keeps me right up front with lots of the better youngsters. Bottomline, what I'm taking in just keeps me at right about the same levels as the next guy that isn't suffering from Low T. The greatest part is that the depressive characteristics I was seeming to suffer as well my energy, and simple willingness to go outdoors and do something had returned. I'm in very close contact and monitored by my Endocrinologist and Urologist and all my extensive lab work that he orders is looking just right. PSA's are great, prostate fine, no issues. I have had an occasional higher Free T count but that is attributed to the timing I did my bloodwork as it takes 4-5 days, IIRC, for an injection to actually become fully absorbed and usable. I did my blood work right at that time when I really should do it right before I do an injection. So, one sort of benefit is my T levels tend to stay somewhat consistent where a "normal" guy might have peaks and valleys.

If your feeling symptoms like I was, it might be worth talking to your Doc about it. Could be something totally different but in my case I was lucky and we hit the nail on the head.

[Gammmmo]

Being, ahem, not in the first flush of youth, this is a topic I am interested in. One of things cited as suppressing T levels (and admittedly it's not at the top of the list) is chronic cardio. As such I am currently shying away from lots of longer efforts on the erg...maybe there is some value to splitting up longer sessions? My gut reaction is 30mins or 10K is plenty long enough in one session...just depends what your priorities are.