Hey all, first post here. Been lurking for a bit and figured i'd contribute something.
I'm 45 years old, married for about 20 years and have a 9 year old.
I work a sedentary job
been working out since the early 2000s
Last year around this time, March 2025, I had a physical exam. Weight had crept up to about 190 so i decided i needed to make some changes.
Prior to this time i had been drinking 3-4 beers (high alcohol content IPAs) at least every other night, just sitting around at home. I'd take a couple days off here and there but always went back to it. It was bored drinking in a lot of ways, as i was not going out partying. My wife doesn't drink either so it was just me, getting a buzz every other or sometimes every single night... This had been going on for the majority of my adult life in some way shape or form.
But, after that physical, i decided to make some more permanent changes:
Starting Pic, July 2025:
I started a full keto diet around april 2025
I finally quit drinking on the 4th of july 2025
August 2025
Between April 2025 and about October 2025 I brought my weight from that 190 high to about 145 steady.
October 2025
I was working out (lifting 3x a week, cardio on alternate days) and getting decent sleep 6-8 hours nightly.
January 2026
April 2026
But we had an issue...
I was getting weaker. Lifts were stagnant or slightly decreasing. I was starting to feel a bit of depression here and there. My motivation to do projects around the house was nearly diminished.
The usual, right? Libido had hit a low i hadn't even noticed. I actually forgot about that stuff entirely. Textbook low test symptoms.
Workouts were a shadow of what they had been in the past.
Went for my annual physical in March 2026. I mentioned the new symptoms and asked if they could add test to my labs. met no resistance there but pretty certain had i not asked this would not have been recommended.
Labs came back, test was 250 (the baseline of "normal" numbers of 250-1100) and free test was 27.3 which is lower than the range of 35-155.
That was March 30. PCP was going to "call to discuss labs" when they came back. May 9th, still no call...
I did ask during that physical what we'd do if test was low and she said "i'd refer you to endocrinology".
So i started my research, put an electronic inquiry in with the "mens health" division at my health plan, the "contact me i'd like more information". Still nothing back as of now.
Kept reading and researching and found a local TRT clinic that had good reviews. I made an appt.
had extensive labs done through the clinic and found out that FSH was decent (8.1 on a scale of 1.4-12.8) but LH was low at 0.9 with a range of 1.5-9.3)
test came back 216 this time and free was 22.6
SHBG at 40
I did get a second test done and FSH was now 10.1 and LH came up to 1.6l, still low but now in the normal range)
met with the practitioner at the TRT clinic and we went over everything from my vitamins and minerals, diet, exercise, everything, for nearly an hour.
He gave me two options. First, try enclomaphine to bring LH up and in turn bring up natural test production. Or, go directly to TRT.
It was my choice, as he presented it. Go less invasive initially and see if it helps, or go all in and get on test for life.
I chose the test option. All the studies i was able to find showed some improvement of test but most were marginal, like +200 over baseline. Not really getting to excited with 400-450 test.
I also discussed with the practitioner and he said he'd aim for 1000 or so total test and 200+. Depending on how i was feeling he was happy to go a bit higher as needed.
So here i am. First run is 120mg a week with labs in 3-4 months to check progress.
i'm pinning monday, wednesday, and friday 40mg SQ.
I do and have always had a fear of needles but got over that one with my first shot. I have gotten slightly lightheaded following each injection, but i am pushing through it.
I'm 45 years old, married for about 20 years and have a 9 year old.
I work a sedentary job
been working out since the early 2000s
Last year around this time, March 2025, I had a physical exam. Weight had crept up to about 190 so i decided i needed to make some changes.
Prior to this time i had been drinking 3-4 beers (high alcohol content IPAs) at least every other night, just sitting around at home. I'd take a couple days off here and there but always went back to it. It was bored drinking in a lot of ways, as i was not going out partying. My wife doesn't drink either so it was just me, getting a buzz every other or sometimes every single night... This had been going on for the majority of my adult life in some way shape or form.
But, after that physical, i decided to make some more permanent changes:
Starting Pic, July 2025:
I started a full keto diet around april 2025
I finally quit drinking on the 4th of july 2025
August 2025
Between April 2025 and about October 2025 I brought my weight from that 190 high to about 145 steady.
October 2025
I was working out (lifting 3x a week, cardio on alternate days) and getting decent sleep 6-8 hours nightly.
January 2026
April 2026
But we had an issue...
I was getting weaker. Lifts were stagnant or slightly decreasing. I was starting to feel a bit of depression here and there. My motivation to do projects around the house was nearly diminished.
The usual, right? Libido had hit a low i hadn't even noticed. I actually forgot about that stuff entirely. Textbook low test symptoms.
Workouts were a shadow of what they had been in the past.
Went for my annual physical in March 2026. I mentioned the new symptoms and asked if they could add test to my labs. met no resistance there but pretty certain had i not asked this would not have been recommended.
Labs came back, test was 250 (the baseline of "normal" numbers of 250-1100) and free test was 27.3 which is lower than the range of 35-155.
That was March 30. PCP was going to "call to discuss labs" when they came back. May 9th, still no call...
I did ask during that physical what we'd do if test was low and she said "i'd refer you to endocrinology".
So i started my research, put an electronic inquiry in with the "mens health" division at my health plan, the "contact me i'd like more information". Still nothing back as of now.
Kept reading and researching and found a local TRT clinic that had good reviews. I made an appt.
had extensive labs done through the clinic and found out that FSH was decent (8.1 on a scale of 1.4-12.8) but LH was low at 0.9 with a range of 1.5-9.3)
test came back 216 this time and free was 22.6
SHBG at 40
I did get a second test done and FSH was now 10.1 and LH came up to 1.6l, still low but now in the normal range)
met with the practitioner at the TRT clinic and we went over everything from my vitamins and minerals, diet, exercise, everything, for nearly an hour.
He gave me two options. First, try enclomaphine to bring LH up and in turn bring up natural test production. Or, go directly to TRT.
It was my choice, as he presented it. Go less invasive initially and see if it helps, or go all in and get on test for life.
I chose the test option. All the studies i was able to find showed some improvement of test but most were marginal, like +200 over baseline. Not really getting to excited with 400-450 test.
I also discussed with the practitioner and he said he'd aim for 1000 or so total test and 200+. Depending on how i was feeling he was happy to go a bit higher as needed.
So here i am. First run is 120mg a week with labs in 3-4 months to check progress.
i'm pinning monday, wednesday, and friday 40mg SQ.
I do and have always had a fear of needles but got over that one with my first shot. I have gotten slightly lightheaded following each injection, but i am pushing through it.
