Low Free T but Mid range LH and FSH

Therapeutic Efforts Pharmaceutical
#1

Hello,

So I am still debating suicide as I do not see a solution outside of TRT, but if anyone could give me some pointers or possibilities I would be grateful.

So I had my Free Testosterone Tested a while back in February (about 2.5 months after coming off fin) and I was low- 29.6 Ref(31-94)

About a month after this test (so 3.5 months after coming off of fin) I went back and had some more tests done and had my Free T checked again…the results were as follows:

Free Testosterone: 27.5 -Ref (31-84) = even lower than in February
LH- 4- Ref(2-6) =Right smack dab in the middle of the range
FSH - 4- (ref 2-8) Pretty close to the middle of the range but slightly on the lower end
Prolactin- 10 - (Ref 2-18)
TSH- 1.07 (Ref 0.3-4.0)

So overall, my Free Testosterone has continued to decline between the 2.5 and 3.5 month mark since coming off of the drug. ALl of my other values look fine. I don’t understand, half the people out there say this means primary hypogonadism and TRT, the other half say normal LH/FSH does not indicate primary hypogonadism as the LH/FSH would be higher.

I am praying to God that it is something like my body is producing the right amount of Free T, but it is converting to estrogen or being bound by SHBG. This would maybe explain why my LH and FSH have not increased and my Free T remains low. Could that be it? I am going to be seeing a specialist at the end of the month and I hope to have SHBG, Estrogen, Total T, Cortisol, DHEA, and Vitamin D tested.

Does anyone else have any advice or any theories? Why would LH and FSH be normal and Free T continuing to decline.

Thanks,

Brad

#2

Suicide is not the answer. If you need someone to talk to, there are many of us here. Please do not take drastic measures. Studies are underway which will hopefully shed light on the problem and potential treatments.

In regards to your low Free T, elevated estrogen or high SHBG could be causing problems there. If you are able to raise your T levels you may hopefully see some improvements.

Again, this forum is here for support so please do not take drastic measures. Considering you only recently stopped the drug, it is early days for you and hopefully you’ll start to feel better with time.

Stay strong.

#3

Problem is many guys look at suicide as a reasonable answer because the propecia is so strongly effecting their mental outlook. Its not so much the sexual sides (though they do not help) still its more so the effects on your mind that cause this line of thinking.

#4

First of all i wish you a speedy recovery.
Your test did not decline man its the same, when measuring hormones you never find them the same. Maybe if you had your blood drown earlier your test would be slight higher. Nevertheless this doesnt mean shit, if you had normal test you would have felt the same and thats the problem with pfs.
If i were you i wouldnt spend any more money on doctors or bloodtests. Your vit d is goinng to be low for sure, and all the other likely within range. We ve seen it again and again.
Search my posts, i have a thread about possible treatments. Good luck

#5

Hey everyone,

Thank you for all of the quick replies. I apologize for being so negative. I know if you read all of my posts I probably seem like a lunatic and at this point maybe I am. I go from feeling extremely positive some days to just depressed and wanting to kill myself others. I feel that even though my free t went down by only a little bit, it should have went up as the first test was done around 2pm and the second test was done around noon so a bit earlier.

I haven’t been able to have them check SHBG, Estriadol, DHEA, or Vitamin D yet so I am going to work on that I next. Luckily I am from Canada so as long as the doctor/specialist recommends these tests they are all free, I have work insurance as well which may help cover any extra stuff. I think I get something like $15,000 lifetime for fertility treatments so I am HOPING that will cover any additional weird stuff that is not covered by our government plan.

In the end I had a bit of a breakdown today. I called in expecting my numbers to have gone up and instead they were lower. I panicked and since I’ve been having a rough few days I pretty much contemplated nothing but suicide. I am deeply sorry for the depressing attitude that I have brought to the forum as it is not my intentions to make anyone else’s day worse.

I guess the only good thing that I took out of today is that my FSH was slightly low and my LH was only right in the middle, if these were high it would point towards primary hypogonadism which I understand is impossible to treat without TRT. The fact that they are not high shows that my pituitary does not sense low t. Maybe it is because conversion into estrogen, maybe its because it is bound by SHBG. I can only hope.

On the plus side I took vitamin D last night (2000 iu) and I woke up this morning with an erection (nothing huge to brag about but its a start). This is the first morning erection I have had since starting the drug last October. I think for now I will give vitamin D a shot, however I won’t be taking a lot until I know that my levels are low. I don’t want to do any more damage. Also, Fish oil helped me get back to 100% for a week back in January. I have read Fish oil blocks SHBG so maybe that is my issue. I really am just lost in all of this so I apologize for the long post.

I really appreciate all of your help. You are a great group of guys (for the most part although I’m not a fan of some of the other negative people on here) and I guess quitting isn’t the answer.

I am lucky enough to have a girlfriend who knows my issue and helps me a lot with talking stuff out. My parents now know and they have been supportive, and my doctor is definitely no genious with hormonal issues but he was at least willing to admit that propecia caused my low testosterone. I guess I am lucky for all of that.

For those of you out there who don’t have this support and are going through even worse side effects than me, know this…I respect the shit out of you. Honestly I don’t care what the doctors say, you guys have balls, despite what Merck has done to you. It takes balls to wake up every day and face this, and if you are doing it alone you are one of the toughest people I know. I wouldn’t last 2 seconds in some of the situations I have heard about from others, so I know it is not much, but from a fellow pfs sufferer I look up to you guys.

Thank you for responding when I am at my worst and talking like an idiot.

#6

Hello guys,

Quick update:

So this seems extremely random, but with my crazy emotions over the past few days since hearing that my Free T has actually decreased since February I have been researching a little bit. Since I was never tested for SHBG or estriadol I am hoping that these are the causes of my low Free T since my LH and FSH came back within normal ranges and the doctor didn’t check my total testosterone.

Now to the random question…do fish oils stop SHBG or conversion of Testosterone into Estriadol. The reason I ask is that a few months back, I took some high potency fish oil and I immediately experienced better erections and a dramatic increase in semen volume. I continued to take this supplement for about a week but the effects tapered off and I was back to square 1 so I stopped taking them.

Now, about 2 months later I decided to take some that I still had down in my fridge. I totally didn’t think about it and then today I masturbated and oddly enough, once again I had better erection and much more semen than I have since last taking it. Could Fish oil possibly affect my Free T? Either way I am taking it as a good sign that my nuts are still capable of producing an increased amount of semen…so I am really hoping it isn’t primary hypogonadism at age 25. I never had problems like this before Finasteride so I am hoping it didn’t cause primary hypogonadism. It would be kind of sad to be on TRT the rest of my life because I took 0.25mg of propecia for a month an a half.

Thank you,

Brad

#7

TRT is not the solution to PFS. I have high testosterone and have PFS, no libido. stay calm that over time many symptoms will improve.

try to follow the protocol of CDnuts, you are very young and I think has a great chance to recover 100%.

#8

As an update:

I just got back some more test results and my Free T has continued to decline once again: 25.6 Ref (31-94) - This means it has gone down 4 points from where it was at 2.5 months off of the drug which was already out of range low.

Additionally, my total testosterone came back within range but at the low end of the range 13.2 Ref (7-31). The specialist seemed to think that while I do need an appointment, it is no rush because my total T is still within range. As such I do not have a follow-up appointment until September 19. When I heard this I wanted to cry. It seems like my entire summer is going to be terrible.

I am extremely scared that my Free Testosterone will continue its steady downward decline. I have recently started taking some DIM because with recent weight gain and putting on weight in the chest I am guessing that estrogen has something to do with all of this so I am assuming my high estrogen may be bringing down my total t and additionally increasinhg SHBG (as I have read that high estrogen also increases SHBG).

Additionally, I am finishing up a cycle of L-arganine and acetyl L carnitine…I have been on these supplements for the past month as I heard they can improve erections (mine still seem to be getting worse on the whole but I still am able to have sex without viagara or cialis) and increase testosterone. The only improvement that I have noticed while on these supplements is an increase in beard growth. I have not had anything checked while on these supplements so I can not objectively determine if they have affected my testosterone or not.

Once this cycle is done I plan to start taking vitamin D 2000-4000 ius daily (not sure which yet) as I am assuming I am low. Additionally, I will be going back on fish oils which are the only supplement to date that have had any real noticeable impact on me and provided improvements (although these improvements quickly tapered off after 1 week)

If ANYONE has ANY advice to help me keep my testosterone levels from continuing to fall PLEASE let me know.

I am trying to get more sleep and exercise as well…I feel better in some ways than before despite my continuously declining free testosterone levels, but in other areas I seem to be on the decline. I don’t know how long I can do this for.

Thank you,

Brad