23 years old with secondary hypogonadism

[nysportsman89]

To keep a long story short, I've had low t for over 5 years and I need to get my hormones corrected. I had a penile fracture in 2007 when I was 18 and was embarrassed by what had happened and never went to the hospital for help. The trauma and stress must have caused my body to lower production of hormones. My blood tests show low LH and FSH and low total and free T. I'm seeing a urologist who I think will try Clomid but idk if it will work. I want to get my life back.

[Mrmanguy84]

I feel for you brother. I am a bit older than you dealing with similar problems.

I'm no expert but I don't see how a penile fracture could cause issues with testosterone production. ED maybe. But testosterone is made in the testicles, not the penis. If your testis were not hurt in the incident, the low T is probably unrelated. In fact, if your testis were damaged, you should be showing HIGH FSH and LH not low (primary hypogonadism). So at least don't blame yourself.

I don't know if emotional trauma can cause low T. I guess it's possible. If you're having emotional issues, you could try a therapist.

From what I have read, clomid can be quite effective for secondary hypogonadism. If it doesn't work, there's other options. Whatever you try, make sure your doctor follows up with blood tests and go from there.

Determining the cause of your low T may help. Here are some possible cuplrits for secondary low T:

1) Pituitary problems (such as pituitary tumor)
2) Varicocele (your urologist can see if you have one. These don't always cause low T or any problems, but in every study I've read correcting them usually causes it to go up if it is low)
3) Thyroid problems
4) Sleep apnea
5) Estrogen dominance (body converting too much testosterone to estrogen)
6) Steroid abuse, drugs, or other poor lifestyle choices (NOT accusing you here. But it's something one should address if it is relevant).

The good news is that all these conditions can all be identified with testing and treated if they exist.

Even if you can't find the cause of your low T, I hope clomid or another treatment helps you feel better!

Please be sure to update this thread with your progress (good or bad) as time goes on. It is helpful to others like me. Too often there are threads like this but we don't get the benefit of seeing what did or didn't work down the line. You can be a comfort and a help to others by updating.

Pulling for you.

[The Matrix]

To keep a long story short, I've had low t for over 5 years and I need to get my hormones corrected. I had a penile fracture in 2007 when I was 18 and was embarrassed by what had happened and never went to the hospital for help. The trauma and stress must have caused my body to lower production of hormones. My blood tests show low LH and FSH and low total and free T. I'm seeing a urologist who I think will try Clomid but idk if it will work. I want to get my life back.

This may have only been part of the problem there may have been other issues involved. People tend to focus on one area, when the truth being it multiple factors involved not just hormones related. The next step is to isolate all the variables looking at the total picture other wise the person may get better rarely well. Bottom line there is always more to the story then meets the eye.

[nysportsman89]

This may have only been part of the problem there may have been other issues involved. People tend to focus on one area, when the truth being it multiple factors involved not just hormones related. The next step is to isolate all the variables looking at the total picture other wise the person may get better rarely well. Bottom line there is always more to the story then meets the eye.

Thanks for the reply. My problems first started when that happened but yea I think there's more factors. My energy isn't that well, I think my thyroid is giving me problems too since my hands are always cold and my body overall feels colder than normal all the time. My hands hurt when I hold something cold like when I grab something out of the fridge and also my hands can't tolerate very warm water. I suspect my adrenals are fatigued. I did the pupil dilation exam with a flashlight in the mirror and my pupils were fluttering.

I have some recent blood work

3/29/12 time collected 3:08 pm at LabCorp

Total T 377 ng/dL range 348 - 1197

Free T 14.89 ng/dL range 5.00 - 21.00

Free T % 3.95 % range 1.50 - 4.20

LH 1.9 mIU/mL range 1.7 - 8.6

FSH 0.4 mIU/mL range 1.5 - 12.4

Free T4 1.23 ng/dL range 0.82 - 1.77

Free T3 3.6 pg/mL range 2.0 - 4.4

Estradiol 22.7 pg/mL range 7.6 - 42.6

SHBG 29.8 nmol/L range 16.5 - 55.9



02/24/2012 time collected 11:13 am at Labcorp

Creatinine 0.91 mg/dL range 0.76 - 1.27

Total Cholesterol 135 mg/dL range 100 - 199

Trigs 109 mg/dL range 0 - 149

HDL Cholesterol 39 mg/dL range >39 but it said >59 is ideal

LDL Cholesterol 74 mg/dL range 0 - 99

DHEA 194 ng/dL range 31 - 701

Total T 289 ng/dL range 348 - 1197

TSH 3.89 uIU/mL range 0.450 - 4.500

Vitamin D 25-hydroxy 35.2 ng/mL range 30.0 - 100.0

T4 5.6 ug/dL range 4.5 - 12.0

T3 132 ng/dL range 71 - 180

Progesterone 0.6 ng/mL range 0.2 - 1.4

Estrogens, total 64 pg/mL range 40 - 115


11/03/2011 time collected 8:28 am at Labcorp

Total T 480 ng/dL range 348 - 1197

Prolactin 8.2 ng/mL range 4.0 - 15.2


I appreciate any input you guys have.

[The Matrix]

Thanks for the reply. My problems first started when that happened but yea I think there's more factors. My energy isn't that well, I think my thyroid is giving me problems too since my hands are always cold and my body overall feels colder than normal all the time. My hands hurt when I hold something cold like when I grab something out of the fridge and also my hands can't tolerate very warm water. I suspect my adrenals are fatigued. I did the pupil dilation exam with a flashlight in the mirror and my pupils were fluttering.

I have some recent blood work

3/29/12 time collected 3:08 pm at LabCorp

Total T 377 ng/dL range 348 - 1197

Free T 14.89 ng/dL range 5.00 - 21.00

Free T % 3.95 % range 1.50 - 4.20

LH 1.9 mIU/mL range 1.7 - 8.6

FSH 0.4 mIU/mL range 1.5 - 12.4

Free T4 1.23 ng/dL range 0.82 - 1.77

Free T3 3.6 pg/mL range 2.0 - 4.4

Estradiol 22.7 pg/mL range 7.6 - 42.6

SHBG 29.8 nmol/L range 16.5 - 55.9

02/24/2012 time collected 11:13 am at Labcorp

Creatinine 0.91 mg/dL range 0.76 - 1.27

Total Cholesterol 135 mg/dL range 100 - 199

Trigs 109 mg/dL range 0 - 149

HDL Cholesterol 39 mg/dL range >39 but it said >59 is ideal

LDL Cholesterol 74 mg/dL range 0 - 99

DHEA 194 ng/dL range 31 - 701

Total T 289 ng/dL range 348 - 1197

TSH 3.89 uIU/mL range 0.450 - 4.500

Vitamin D 25-hydroxy 35.2 ng/mL range 30.0 - 100.0

T4 5.6 ug/dL range 4.5 - 12.0

T3 132 ng/dL range 71 - 180

Progesterone 0.6 ng/mL range 0.2 - 1.4

Estrogens, total 64 pg/mL range 40 - 115

11/03/2011 time collected 8:28 am at Labcorp

Total T 480 ng/dL range 348 - 1197

Prolactin 8.2 ng/mL range 4.0 - 15.2

I appreciate any input you guys have.

Like i.said.more.to.the.picture
Low.vitamin d.will.lower.testosterone and thyroid
Thyroid.is.out.of balance. Need.further testing.on thyroid.and adrenals. Total cholesterol of 135 is huge red flag for multiple factors which effect the whole body. Like i said if a Dr.treats your case.with testosterone he's going.to.do.more damage in.more ways then one because they are not trained in integration medicine properly. Your gi tract is a mess and have other.issues needing attending to before hormones even being touched

[nysportsman89]

Like i.said.more.to.the.picture
Low.vitamin d.will.lower.testosterone and thyroid
Thyroid.is.out.of balance. Need.further testing.on thyroid.and adrenals. Total cholesterol of 135 is huge red flag for multiple factors which effect the whole body. Like i said if a Dr.treats your case.with testosterone he's going.to.do.more damage in.more ways then one because they are not trained in integration medicine properly. Your gi tract is a mess and have other.issues needing attending to before hormones even being touched

What tests should I get for my thyroid/adrenals? I'm trying to get my vitamin d level higher. I noticed since my problems started and especially the last 3 years a total lack of anger at times when I normally would be mad about something. I used to get upset when my favorite sports teams would lose but now it doesn't bother me.

Should I avoid Clomid? I don't know what other type of doctor to see. Most of them are very narrow minded. One endocrinologist I went to, I asked about a saliva test to check my adrenals and he said it's quackery.

I heard of something called a "pregnenolone steal" where stress hormones are produced at a higher amount when you're under chronic stress and it takes away from other hormones. I wonder if maybe that's what happened to me. I felt a lot of stress when I had the injury and it lasted a few weeks. Also I felt a sharp burning pain in my back, I think in the kidneys/adrenals area when this happened. Also a year later I dealt with chronic stress again unrelated to the injury. It lasted for many months. So I was thinking all that cortisol affected my endocrine function.

I forgot to mention that before the injury happened I had depression and anxiety that continues to this day although a lot better now. I was taking cymbalta and xanax for a long time but I gradually stopped them last year, switching from cymbalta to prozac to avoid the bad withdrawal effects before stopping.

I had a brain MRI in September and the neurologist said I have a chiari malformation which I first learned about in 2010. He said that develops at birth but I think mine developed from things related to all this. But the main thing I wanted to mention was that he said he didn't see any tumors or anything wrong with the hypothalamus or pituitary.

[The Matrix]

What tests should I get for my thyroid/adrenals? I'm trying to get my vitamin d level higher. I noticed since my problems started and especially the last 3 years a total lack of anger at times when I normally would be mad about something. I used to get upset when my favorite sports teams would lose but now it doesn't bother me.

Should I avoid Clomid? I don't know what other type of doctor to see. Most of them are very narrow minded. One endocrinologist I went to, I asked about a saliva test to check my adrenals and he said it's quackery.

I heard of something called a "pregnenolone steal" where stress hormones are produced at a higher amount when you're under chronic stress and it takes away from other hormones. I wonder if maybe that's what happened to me. I felt a lot of stress when I had the injury and it lasted a few weeks. Also I felt a sharp burning pain in my back, I think in the kidneys/adrenals area when this happened. Also a year later I dealt with chronic stress again unrelated to the injury. It lasted for many months. So I was thinking all that cortisol affected my endocrine function.

I forgot to mention that before the injury happened I had depression and anxiety that continues to this day although a lot better now. I was taking cymbalta and xanax for a long time but I gradually stopped them last year, switching from cymbalta to prozac to avoid the bad withdrawal effects before stopping.

I had a brain MRI in September and the neurologist said I have a chiari malformation which I first learned about in 2010. He said that develops at birth but I think mine developed from things related to all this. But the main thing I wanted to mention was that he said he didn't see any tumors or anything wrong with the hypothalamus or pituitary.

I know good medical professionals who be glad to assist you with this issue. Pm me for contact information.

[nysportsman89]

I feel for you brother. I am a bit older than you dealing with similar problems.

I'm no expert but I don't see how a penile fracture could cause issues with testosterone production. ED maybe. But testosterone is made in the testicles, not the penis. If your testis were not hurt in the incident, the low T is probably unrelated. In fact, if your testis were damaged, you should be showing HIGH FSH and LH not low (primary hypogonadism). So at least don't blame yourself.

I don't know if emotional trauma can cause low T. I guess it's possible. If you're having emotional issues, you could try a therapist.

From what I have read, clomid can be quite effective for secondary hypogonadism. If it doesn't work, there's other options. Whatever you try, make sure your doctor follows up with blood tests and go from there.

Determining the cause of your low T may help. Here are some possible cuplrits for secondary low T:

1) Pituitary problems (such as pituitary tumor)
2) Varicocele (your urologist can see if you have one. These don't always cause low T or any problems, but in every study I've read correcting them usually causes it to go up if it is low)
3) Thyroid problems
4) Sleep apnea
5) Estrogen dominance (body converting too much testosterone to estrogen)
6) Steroid abuse, drugs, or other poor lifestyle choices (NOT accusing you here. But it's something one should address if it is relevant).

The good news is that all these conditions can all be identified with testing and treated if they exist.

Even if you can't find the cause of your low T, I hope clomid or another treatment helps you feel better!

Please be sure to update this thread with your progress (good or bad) as time goes on. It is helpful to others like me. Too often there are threads like this but we don't get the benefit of seeing what did or didn't work down the line. You can be a comfort and a help to others by updating.

Pulling for you.

Thanks. I will keep my thread updated. I'm supposed to get my latest bloodwork back Friday when I see the urologist again. I did have at least one varicocele they found in 2010 but the doctor said it wasn't too bad and to check it again in a year or so but I never did.

[nysportsman89]

I know good medical professionals who be glad to assist you with this issue. Pm me for contact information.

ok I will

[Mrmanguy84]

Thanks. I will keep my thread updated. I'm supposed to get my latest bloodwork back Friday when I see the urologist again. I did have at least one varicocele they found in 2010 but the doctor said it wasn't too bad and to check it again in a year or so but I never did.

How did your bloodwork go?

You may want to check out the varicocele again. It's generally believed by doctors that they don't usually cause problems, but if they do, it's just with specific sperm problems. But in the studies I've read, T usually goes up significantly on average when they're corrected. You may also be interested to know that the severity of the varicocele (they're categorized in "grades") didn't correlate to the level of improvement when they were corrected. I can dig up the studies if you want.

I'm not sure why this is not generally accepted or known among urologists, but in my experience it is not.

One method to confirm if this is causing your problem would be to get your fertility tested. From what I understand it's not a sure thing that a problematic varicocele would cause both problems (fertility and testosterone) but if you find that it is affecting your sperm, that would make the decision to look into surgery simpler.

When I saw a urologist about it he suggested we try me on supplemental T and that if I feel better, he'd do the surgery. Sadly all he did was give me one shot with no follow-up (who knows if I even absorbed it or whatever). Only now 4 years later am I realizing that was insufficient (levels even lower now... I was your age when I saw that doctor) and starting over with this. But anyhow, you've basically already satisfied this test with your experience with clomid.

Not to scare you, but the studies suggest that they can get worse with time as well. I'm not saying this to be alarmist - it's possible that the varicocele is not the source of your problems. I'm just saying that if you decide to look into it, it's probably best to do it sooner rather than later.

Thanks for the updates.

[nysportsman89]

How did your bloodwork go?

You may want to check out the varicocele again. It's generally believed by doctors that they don't usually cause problems, but if they do, it's just with specific sperm problems. But in the studies I've read, T usually goes up significantly on average when they're corrected. You may also be interested to know that the severity of the varicocele (they're categorized in "grades") didn't correlate to the level of improvement when they were corrected. I can dig up the studies if you want.

Yea, if you can find the studies. I'm curious to see. So even if I have a severe grade and they correct it, it doesn't mean there will be a big improvement?


I got my latest bloodwork:

5/17/2012 collected 10:55 am at LabCorp

Total T 504 ng/dl range 348 - 1197

Free T (Direct) 4.6 pg/ml range 9.3 - 26.5

Cortisol 13.4 ug/dl range AM 6.2 - 19.4
PM 2.3 - 11.9

TSH 3.18 uiu/ml range .45 - 4.5

LH 3.4 miu/ml range 1.7 - 8.6

FSH 0.5 miu/ml range 1.5 - 12.4

Prolactin 6.5 ng/ml range 4.0 - 15.2

Estradiol 18.2 pg/ml range 7.6 - 42.6
Roche ECLIA methodology

PSA 0.3 ng/ml range 0.0 - 4.0
Roche ECLIA methodology

Vitamin D 25-hydroxy 44.3 ng/ml range 30.0 - 100.0


It might be important to note that I took Vitamin D 1,000 IU before I went to sleep, around 12:30 am. So it was around 10 and a half hours before the blood was drawn. Sounds like I need more Vitamin D to improve some of my numbers. My total T was higher than it's been, although it was in the morning still when T is higher anyway. My free T is still low. My LH was higher than it was but FSH didn't change. My TSH lowered a bit from the last time it was tested. What's ideal for TSH? Below 2.0?

[shbg82]

SHBG? DHEAS?

[One_2_3_Four]

Youre hypothyroid and are possibley suffering with Adrenal Fatigue as they call it...

Get a Reverse T3 checked and Thyroid antibodies and do a 4x cortisol saliva test.

Join the NTH-ADRENALS yahoo group and read up wwwstopthethyroidmadnesscom

[One_2_3_Four]

Youre hypothyroid and are possibley suffering with Adrenal Fatigue as they call it...

Get a Reverse T3 checked and Thyroid antibodies and do a 4x cortisol saliva test.

Join the NTH-ADRENALS yahoo group and read up wwwstopthethyroidmadnesscom

[The Matrix]

Youre hypothyroid and are possibley suffering with Adrenal Fatigue as they call it...

Get a Reverse T3 checked and Thyroid antibodies and do a 4x cortisol saliva test.

Join the NTH-ADRENALS yahoo group and read up wwwstopthethyroidmadnesscom

Need proper.thyroid and adrenal parameters. Vitamin d is too.low. Optimal is 70-90. Need more information over all.

You.mean spread the thyroid madness ..lol

[nysportsman89]

Need proper.thyroid and adrenal parameters. Vitamin d is too.low. Optimal is 70-90. Need more information over all.

You.mean spread the thyroid madness ..lol

did you get my last pm?

[sidoious]

So nobody wants to ask how he fractured his penis? I read a post earlier in another forum about a guy who banged a vampire for god's sakes.

[The Matrix]

did you get my last pm?

no resend it.

[nysportsman89]

no resend it.

ok, sent