mccollums
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I've done a little research and had bloodwork done. I'm recovering from an illness that caused me to lose 25lbs and cause systemic inflammation. This has been really tough to deal with considering I was almost fully recovered from a broken neck and back that cause my 6'2 frame to hit 150lbs in Jan 2012. This round of back luck has seen me bottom out at 148lbs on Sept 24th, 2014.
I naturally run pretty lean and according to my Withings wifi scale by body fat is ~4% and I currently weigh 166lbs butt naked in the morning. I've been lifting lightly and making modest gains considering my T levels. I'm also receiving therapeutic phlebotomy to lower my ferritin levels. The reason I mention this is because my testosterone/free T/SHBG were not normal. I figured I would wait till the ferritin and inflammation were under control before I started trying supplements to boost my T or unbind the T from SHBG.
Oh, and I forgot to mention my goal. I've had 4 left shoulder surgeries and my spine is really straight in the lower back and neck areas (i'm working on the spine issue) . Heavy lifting is probably not the smartest thing for me. I really want to get back to looking and feeling athletic. My frame needs 175lbs minimum or I have people ask me "Do you run?" We'll see what my goals are once I hit 175 and start feeling better. but 10lbs of muscle plus the added bonus of better T levels ( energy, memory, libido, etc) are what I'm looking for right now.
I've been reading about T, Free T, SHBG and the pathways chol->pregnenolone->DHEA->androsteien-dione->T
Hoping to make an informed decision on supplements. I eat a whole foods diet ( no gluten) with broad range of veggies plus ample meat/fish. It's not Paleo but that's probably the foundation, with white potatoes, white rice added. I haven't started counting macro ratios yet, but I will make sure to get enough calories/protein....
Age 41
Total T: 623
Free T: 7.3
SHBG: 62
I didn't get Estrogen tested. I didn't feel it was necessary since my body fat was so low. At the time of blood work ( few months ago) my body fat on the semi-accurate Withings was saying 3.4%. My Ferritin was also 500 at the time. ( I do understand that ferritin can be an acute phase reactant but i have had it tested multiple times even after the illness improved and it was consistently over 500). All other blood markers were normal, liver, pancreas, thyroid (full naturopathic panel on this).
So, from what I've read I need a slight bump in my total T, plus I need to figure out how to free the free T from SHBG. Step 1 is diet, Up my carbs and plan on consuming pumpkin seeds, oysters, and a little bit of organ meat each week once my ferritin/iron overload is under control.
Step 2: take Black Lion Viron - seems like Boron has been proven to unbind T from SHBG. I'm guessing the Eurycoma longifolia Jack in the mix might be beneficial as well.
Would that be a good start? I was thinking of taking DHEA 5mg every other day, or maybe just taking a light dose of pregnenolone and let my body decide if it's going to convert into T.
I naturally run pretty lean and according to my Withings wifi scale by body fat is ~4% and I currently weigh 166lbs butt naked in the morning. I've been lifting lightly and making modest gains considering my T levels. I'm also receiving therapeutic phlebotomy to lower my ferritin levels. The reason I mention this is because my testosterone/free T/SHBG were not normal. I figured I would wait till the ferritin and inflammation were under control before I started trying supplements to boost my T or unbind the T from SHBG.
Oh, and I forgot to mention my goal. I've had 4 left shoulder surgeries and my spine is really straight in the lower back and neck areas (i'm working on the spine issue) . Heavy lifting is probably not the smartest thing for me. I really want to get back to looking and feeling athletic. My frame needs 175lbs minimum or I have people ask me "Do you run?" We'll see what my goals are once I hit 175 and start feeling better. but 10lbs of muscle plus the added bonus of better T levels ( energy, memory, libido, etc) are what I'm looking for right now.
I've been reading about T, Free T, SHBG and the pathways chol->pregnenolone->DHEA->androsteien-dione->T
Hoping to make an informed decision on supplements. I eat a whole foods diet ( no gluten) with broad range of veggies plus ample meat/fish. It's not Paleo but that's probably the foundation, with white potatoes, white rice added. I haven't started counting macro ratios yet, but I will make sure to get enough calories/protein....
Age 41
Total T: 623
Free T: 7.3
SHBG: 62
I didn't get Estrogen tested. I didn't feel it was necessary since my body fat was so low. At the time of blood work ( few months ago) my body fat on the semi-accurate Withings was saying 3.4%. My Ferritin was also 500 at the time. ( I do understand that ferritin can be an acute phase reactant but i have had it tested multiple times even after the illness improved and it was consistently over 500). All other blood markers were normal, liver, pancreas, thyroid (full naturopathic panel on this).
So, from what I've read I need a slight bump in my total T, plus I need to figure out how to free the free T from SHBG. Step 1 is diet, Up my carbs and plan on consuming pumpkin seeds, oysters, and a little bit of organ meat each week once my ferritin/iron overload is under control.
Step 2: take Black Lion Viron - seems like Boron has been proven to unbind T from SHBG. I'm guessing the Eurycoma longifolia Jack in the mix might be beneficial as well.
Would that be a good start? I was thinking of taking DHEA 5mg every other day, or maybe just taking a light dose of pregnenolone and let my body decide if it's going to convert into T.
