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Hey bros,
Been a long time since a post. I was a hardcore gym rat from 20 to 30 years of age. Did 3 weak/short cycles during that time and always used pct. Played with pro-hormones a bit as well.
After my last cycle at 30, my libido was down (did a tren/prop cycle) so had my bloodwork tested 2 months after pct. It was fine, all normal. Total test was 701 NG/DL from a scale of 241-827 and TSH was 2.54 MIU/L on a 0.4-5.5 scale. No other detailed stuff, doctor wouldn't authorize it. Libido came back on it's own a month later.
Fast forward to 34 years of age and I've got no energy and falling asleep at work during the day at random times. Snoring to beat the band, wife elbows me constantly.
My body composition took a turn. Went from 5'10" 200lb at 12% bf to 195lb at 23% with a 37 inch waist. Tried to get back into the gym but had zero energy and no results. Diet is still healthy at 1800 calories but nowhere what I used to eat, clean wise.
Got my bloodwork tested by an endo.
Results: All normal except Total test was 335 ng/dl on same scale as above and free test was 12.5 pg/ml (8.7-25.1 scale). My LH level was 3.5 mIU/ml (1.5-9.3 scale). The TSH came back at 2.176.
Other numbers worth mentioning:
Estradiol 39 pg/ml (0-53)
IGF-1 145 ng/ml (115-307)
DHEA 188 ug/dl (120-520)
Insulin, fasting 9.1 uIU/ml (0-29.1)
Rest of panel was good. It's obvious to me my test/LH levels are in the toilet. The endo didn't seem to think they were that bad because they were "in the normal range". What about the other levels? They are all on the "low" end.
I asked for a 3 week session of HCG and Clomid to try and kick start things before we have to resort to HRT. He wasn't familiar with this idea. He said maybe HMG but insurance would baulk. At 34, 4 years removed from any drug, I shouldn't be shut down. He felt sleep apnea could be the cause. So I got tested, diagnosed with a mild case, doctor there recommended a CPAP. Been trying that for a few nights now, it's tough getting used to.
My hope is that the CPAP therapy brings up the test levels. However, documentation I found online seems to question that outcome. 3 months of CPAP treatment increased testosterone in general but not free test nor LH. I need energy to get back into the gym so we have a catch 22 here.
1) Do I request a short cycle to get my test levels artificially up just to get back into the gym giving the CPAP time to do it's work, but risk further suppression?
2) Do nothing, and hope the CPAP does some magic?
3) Get on HRT at 34, never have kids, and make my apnea worse, which the CPAP will continue to band-aid?
Someone on this board has bound to have been in my position at some time or another. Any ideas?
Been a long time since a post. I was a hardcore gym rat from 20 to 30 years of age. Did 3 weak/short cycles during that time and always used pct. Played with pro-hormones a bit as well.
After my last cycle at 30, my libido was down (did a tren/prop cycle) so had my bloodwork tested 2 months after pct. It was fine, all normal. Total test was 701 NG/DL from a scale of 241-827 and TSH was 2.54 MIU/L on a 0.4-5.5 scale. No other detailed stuff, doctor wouldn't authorize it. Libido came back on it's own a month later.
Fast forward to 34 years of age and I've got no energy and falling asleep at work during the day at random times. Snoring to beat the band, wife elbows me constantly.
My body composition took a turn. Went from 5'10" 200lb at 12% bf to 195lb at 23% with a 37 inch waist. Tried to get back into the gym but had zero energy and no results. Diet is still healthy at 1800 calories but nowhere what I used to eat, clean wise.
Got my bloodwork tested by an endo.
Results: All normal except Total test was 335 ng/dl on same scale as above and free test was 12.5 pg/ml (8.7-25.1 scale). My LH level was 3.5 mIU/ml (1.5-9.3 scale). The TSH came back at 2.176.
Other numbers worth mentioning:
Estradiol 39 pg/ml (0-53)
IGF-1 145 ng/ml (115-307)
DHEA 188 ug/dl (120-520)
Insulin, fasting 9.1 uIU/ml (0-29.1)
Rest of panel was good. It's obvious to me my test/LH levels are in the toilet. The endo didn't seem to think they were that bad because they were "in the normal range". What about the other levels? They are all on the "low" end.
I asked for a 3 week session of HCG and Clomid to try and kick start things before we have to resort to HRT. He wasn't familiar with this idea. He said maybe HMG but insurance would baulk. At 34, 4 years removed from any drug, I shouldn't be shut down. He felt sleep apnea could be the cause. So I got tested, diagnosed with a mild case, doctor there recommended a CPAP. Been trying that for a few nights now, it's tough getting used to.
My hope is that the CPAP therapy brings up the test levels. However, documentation I found online seems to question that outcome. 3 months of CPAP treatment increased testosterone in general but not free test nor LH. I need energy to get back into the gym so we have a catch 22 here.
1) Do I request a short cycle to get my test levels artificially up just to get back into the gym giving the CPAP time to do it's work, but risk further suppression?
2) Do nothing, and hope the CPAP does some magic?
3) Get on HRT at 34, never have kids, and make my apnea worse, which the CPAP will continue to band-aid?
Someone on this board has bound to have been in my position at some time or another. Any ideas?
