Testosterone Levels 269 and 6 months of finasteride. Should I be worried?

[JBone88]

So I've been getting some soft erections lately and it had me a bit worried so I went to get my testosterone checked at a local clinic. I got it tested at about 10:30am and they returned at 269. My Doctor said they were a little low but I shouldn't be worried, that I should get it out of my head. He said given the time of day it wouldn't be accurate(Even though I thought the time of day to get it tested was pretty much between those hours). I mentioned in the beginning that I am on finasteride and he didn't seem phased by it. Said plenty of his patients are on finasteride and it hasn't had a notable effect on their testosterone.

I keep myself pretty fit, am pretty athletic and eat ok. Surely it's not normal for me to have T levels of 269?

I really don't want to give up finasteride and give in to Hair Loss. Are there ways to naturally boost you T levels? Or should I juts throw in the towel?

 

[myhairbegone]

"My Doctor said they were a little low but I shouldn't be worried, that I should get it out of my head."

 

[JBone88]

Yeah, I know. I guess I'm just worried because I had all the symptoms of low testosterone, expected to have low testosterone, got tested for it, found out it is low... And then he just said it was fine... I guess my problem is why he doesn't feel like it's a big deal. I'm 27 and have levels just below the average. Can going off finasteride raise them back up? I'm not sure how Testosterone works, if it's a level that can fluctuate.

 

[bonehead45]

I'm going through the same sh*t. I am going to be significantly more aggressive when I have my next doctor's visit. It's criminal to tell a 20 something year old that a score below the 300's-400's is nothing to worry about. It's f*cked up. And every PCP has bought into this way of thinking. But oh, I will be very clear about my concerns next time I see my doctor. Sometimes a little emphasis is all one needs.

 

[whatevr]

So did you have your T tested before you took finasteride? AFAIK, finasteride should give a slight increase to T, not lower it. Also,

It's criminal to tell a 20 something year old that a score below the 300's-400's is nothing to worry about.

It IS nothing to worry about when the idea is to create a nation of cucks.

 

[bonehead45]

It IS nothing to worry about when the idea is to create a nation of cucks.

'Oh I know, I'll help the thread out by posting some bs conspiracy theory, that should be constructive to a serious issue'

 

[nate30]

Your doctor is full of it. It's not "a little low", 269 is below the bottom of the range, and that range includes elderly men. That number might be fine for a man in his 70s, but it's not adequate for someone your age. Low T can cause more problems than just low sex drive, it can also lead to cognitive issues ("brain fog") and osteoporosis. I hate to say it but it might be a good idea to give the finasteride a rest for a year and see if you recover. TRT isn't a great option in my opinion as that's basically a lifelong commitment.

 

[whatevr]

How do you know his testosterone wasn't that low before Finasteride? Do you know that Finasteride is in fact supposed to increase T levels? http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14624915 It only makes sense quitting if you're going to measure your T when you're off as well. But it would have been a lot better if you also measured your estrogen. It's more likely that your erection problems are due to high E than low T.

 

[Afro_Vacancy]

That's a very low level of testosterone.I'd do everything possible to raise testosterone naturally in the next six months. If that doesn't work, go on TRT.

 

[JBone88]

That's a very low level of testosterone.I'd do everything possible to raise testosterone naturally in the next six months. If that doesn't work, go on TRT.

Do you have some examples of ways to do this naturally?

I'm seeing the Doctor again next week so I'll challenge him on this more. Can testosterone levels fluctuate much or am I doomed to a life of pretty low T? I'm only 27 so I don't want to start TRT if it's going to effect my fertility.

 

[jd_uk]

Finasteride apparently lowers free tetosterone as well as the increase in estrogen. That's something which people don't seem to talk about on these forums. They say that it raises testosteronr bit it is the total testostdrone which gets raised.

 

[Afro_Vacancy]

Finasteride apparently lowers free tetosterone as well as the increase in estrogen. That's something which people don't seem to talk about on these forums. They say that it raises testosteronr bit it is the total testostdrone which gets raised.

But isn't this poster discussing the total testosterone?

It may be that long term use of finasteride lowers T due to the increase in body fat.

 

[jd_uk]

But isn't this poster discussing the total testosterone?

It may be that long term use of finasteride lowers T due to the increase in body fat.

Yeah he probably is. My point is more of a generic one that i still don't think taking finasteride is ideal for men. Those hormones are there for a reason and maybe in some men it can actually cause their systems to 'crash'. Who knows...could be natural, could be finasteride effects.

OP..there is now apparently a topical finasteride which barely goes systemic. I say apparenrly because this is just the claim by hasson and wong. I still wonder if others here have tried it. Seems strange that it is such a quiet topic on these forums because if effective, depending on how it is applied/how long it needs to be left on for then it could be the best treatment for hair loss that we have.

 

[Afro_Vacancy]

Do you have some examples of ways to do this naturally?

I'm seeing the Doctor again next week so I'll challenge him on this more. Can testosterone levels fluctuate much or am I doomed to a life of pretty low T? I'm only 27 so I don't want to start TRT if it's going to effect my fertility.

Maybe before spending thousands of dollars on the lifetime committment of TRT, spend ~$100 on "Doctor Testosterone"'s natural testosterone boosting plan. Or watch many of his youtube videos first. He's a PhD in neuroscience who had the T of an 80 year-old man when finishing grad school, then reviewed the literature and implemented improvements and now tripled his T.

For now:

- Start taking vitamin D supplements, Fish oil supplements, and maybe creatine supplements;
- Learn to cook better.
- Eat more vegetables, more meat, more fish, more nuts, more eggs;
- Eat less wheat, less sugar;
- At the gym, do high-intensity interval training;
- At the gym, do weightlifting, sets that go to failure at less than 10 reps, do compound exercises like bench press, squat, and deadlift;
- If you don't know how to workout, hire a trainer;
- Consider intermittent fasting;
- Reduce your use of masturbation and p**rn;
- Get better sleep, use blackout curtains if possible and lower the noise and the temperature;
- Colder showers, colder thermostat, walks in the cold if possible;

Get more blood tests in 3 months to track improvement and motivate yourself.

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Yeah he probably is. My point is more of a generic one that i still don't think taking finasteride is ideal for men. Those hormones are there for a reason and maybe in some men it can actually cause their systems to 'crash'. Who knows...could be natural, could be finasteride effects.

OP..there is now apparently a topical finasteride which barely goes systemic. I say apparenrly because this is just the claim by hasson and wong. I still wonder if others here have tried it. Seems strange that it is such a quiet topic on these forums because if effective, depending on how it is applied/how long it needs to be left on for then it could be the best treatment for hair loss that we have.

It's a quiet topic because nobody or nearly nobody believes them.

 

[jd_uk]

Maybe before spending thousands of dollars on the lifetime committment of TRT, spend ~$100 on "Doctor Testosterone"'s natural testosterone boosting plan. Or watch many of his youtube videos first. He's a PhD in neuroscience who had the T of an 80 year-old man when finishing grad school, then reviewed the literature and implemented improvements and now tripled his T.

For now:

- Start taking vitamin D supplements, Fish oil supplements, and maybe creatine supplements;
- Learn to cook better.
- Eat more vegetables, more meat, more fish, more nuts, more eggs;
- Eat less wheat, less sugar;
- At the gym, do high-intensity interval training;
- At the gym, do weightlifting, sets that go to failure at less than 10 reps, do compound exercises like bench press, squat, and deadlift;
- If you don't know how to workout, hire a trainer;
- Consider intermittent fasting;
- Reduce your use of masturbation and p**rn;
- Get better sleep, use blackout curtains if possible and lower the noise and the temperature;
- Colder showers, colder thermostat, walks in the cold if possible;

Get more blood tests in 3 months to track improvement and motivate yourself.

- - - Updated - - -



It's a quiet topic because nobody or nearly nobody believes them.

Have people tried it? And had their DHT levels taken before/after? Really this is the only way to know if it goes systemic and if it works. Supposedly the order has to be made to the pharmacy in Italy providing the gel so Hasson and Wong don't directly profit from it but the pharmacy would. Regarding efficacy weren't merck's original trials using topical finasteride?

It won't be FDA approved...would take years and years...so people trying it and getting blood tested is all we can do. I still have concerns about the risk to others though (pregnant women)...basically being a walking head of finasteride. But again...depends how long you need to leave it on for.

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He's a PhD in neuroscience who had the T of an 80 year-old man when finishing grad school, then reviewed the literature and implemented improvements and now tripled his T.

So he says... remember that he is selling something. But those points are all sensible ones for any healthy male lifestyle.

Can't imagine he recommends taking finasteride though?

 

[Afro_Vacancy]

Have people tried it? And had their DHT levels taken before/after? Really this is the only way to know if it goes systemic and if it works. Supposedly the order has to be made to the pharmacy in Italy providing the gel so Hasson and Wong don't directly profit from it but the pharmacy would. Regarding efficacy weren't merck's original trials using topical finasteride?

It won't be FDA approved...would take years and years...so people trying it and getting blood tested is all we can do. I still have concerns about the risk to others though (pregnant women)...basically being a walking head of finasteride. But again...depends how long you need to leave it on for.

So he says... remember that he is selling something. But those points are all sensible ones for any healthy male lifestyle.

Can't imagine he recommends taking finasteride though?

There are reports of people having tried it and getting sides, but you know it's all anecdotal. I have a lot more faith in Polichem's topical finasteride solution, as far as I can tell I understand what they're doing ... they're minimizing the dose of finasteride, to such a small dose that DHT is inhibited in the skin but not in the blood. There is a good chance you can get the same effect by taking ~0.03 mg/daily of finasteride, but we don't have the research proving that, we only have results at 0.01 and 0.05 mg/day, which suggest that finasteride first saturates the skin then moves on the blood.

Hasson and Wong can profit because they are hair transplant surgeons, hair transplant is a surgery that often requires maintenance. They can now tell people they have a solution to the post-surgery maintenance problem.

Yes, Doctor T is selling something. I have not bought it, maybe later, but my T is not at 270. He does give away a lot of his advice on youtube. A lot of people give away advice on youtube.

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He doesn't recommend taking finasteride, but to be honest his level of knowledge of baldness is low relative to most of this forum, so when he talks about that subject I tune out.

 

[jd_uk]

There are reports of people having tried it and getting sides, but you know it's all anecdotal. I have a lot more faith in Polichem's topical finasteride solution, as far as I can tell I understand what they're doing ... they're minimizing the dose of finasteride, to such a small dose that DHT is inhibited in the skin but not in the blood. There is a good chance you can get the same effect by taking ~0.03 mg/daily of finasteride, but we don't have the research proving that, we only have results at 0.01 and 0.05 mg/day, which suggest that finasteride first saturates the skin then moves on the blood.

Hasson and Wong can profit because they are hair transplant surgeons, hair transplant is a surgery that often requires maintenance. They can now tell people they have a solution to the post-surgery maintenance problem.

Yes, Doctor T is selling something. I have not bought it, maybe later, but my T is not at 270. He does give away a lot of his advice on youtube. A lot of people give away advice on youtube.

- - - Updated - - -

He doesn't recommend taking finasteride, but to be honest his level of knowledge of baldness is low relative to most of this forum, so when he talks about that subject I tune out.

Hmm..what you mention about polichem doesn't sound too convincing to me, in the sense thst playing around with such small doses is difficult...and the user of the topicsl would have to always use exactly the same amount. Plus, maybe after a few weeks it builds up in the body to lower serum DHT too. It just seems limited to me. But, if H&W state, that they have worked with a university to create a gel which can essentially lock finasteride into the scalp and greatly limit systemic abosrbtion then maybe that is more promising. They seem confident of its efficacy..but like you say, maybe it is just a false claim.

I just can't understand, when hair loss causes so many people on these forums such torment, why a group of people haven't ordered the topical, taken a 'before' DHT test, used it for a few months and then taken an after DHT test so that they can report back. Surely that has to happen??

 

[Afro_Vacancy]

Some people, such as Swoop, also argue that DHT in both the blood and the skin leads to hair loss, and thus finasteride needs to go systemic to work. I don't know if that's true. I wish we knew. As for polichem, yes I'm sure if the dose is raised one will have systemic DHT reduction as well. But I don't see the issue. Follow the suggested dose.

 

[Fullhead1day]

Since your levels are so low, you can raise it. But btw, finasteride should increase your test levels, not lower it. It is definitely a big problem that your testosterone is this low.
I'm guessing you dont wait to inject some test, so some natural ways include some supplementation and a change in diet. Start eating more fats. People nowadays think fat and cholesterol are so bad for you, but they dont know that cholesterol is vital for testosterone production.
Vitamin D levels positively correlate with Test levels. So does Zinc. I would supplement those two. In fact, get ZMA since that includes Zinc, magnesium and vitamin B6, which all helps.
Boron supposedly increases Test by 30%. Maybe supplement on that.

 

[nate30]

How do you know his testosterone wasn\\\'t that low before Finasteride? Do you know that Finasteride is in fact supposed to increase T levels? http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14624915 It only makes sense quitting if you\\\'re going to measure your T when you\\\'re off as well. But it would have been a lot better if you also measured your estrogen. It\\\'s more likely that your erection problems are due to high E than low T.

It\\\'s possible or even likely his T levels were relatively low before starting finasteride, but I doubt it was as low as 269. Yes I\\\'m aware that Finasteride *initially* raises both T and Estrogen levels 10-15% due to less T being converted to DHT via 5ar, thus more circulating T and more being aromatized to Estrogen. However that\\\'s only at the start of treatment, and more than a few men have been left with secondary hypogonadism due to Finasteride usage if you\\\'re willing to take people at their word. In my own case, my total T was around 340 when I first came off the drug. I retested a few years later and it was up to 450. Not much change in musculature or body fat levels between those years. It\\\'s a mistake to think of finasteride as actually being good for T levels. It\\\'s good for maintaining hair, shrinking the prostate, encouraging gynocomastia, and depleting neurosteroid levels.