Testosterone Deficiency

[Bryan.b]

Hello, I have a few things that would be nice to get opinions from others with reffering to testosterone levels. About four months ago I decided to hit up a Urologist to get some concerns checked out; "ie - ED, lack of feeling in penis and such." I've had these symptoms since about the age of 13 - 15 and one would think things would improve as you go through puberty but have been progressively worsening.

The first visit the Urologist took blood to do some T sampling to find my levels. The returned test results were as follow:
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TESTOSTERONE: 258 ng/dL
Reference Ranges
Male - 20 - 49 years of age: 262 - 1593 ng/dL
Male - Greater/Equal to 50 years of age: 181 - 758 ng/dL

TESTOSTERONE FREE - MALE FREE: 51
Reference Range: 47 to 244
Unit: pg/mL
REFERENCE INTERVAL: Testosterone, Free
Tanner Stage IV: 35 - 169 pg/mL
Tanner Stage V: 41 - 239 pg/mL
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Second visit he suggest Testim Gel T-Replacement, but the price on that is just beyond my pockets capabilities to handle right now as well as the shots so I put that on hold.

Now my question is, how low do you all think this is for a 23 year old who seems to progressively worsen in his ED issues as the years go by? I've read someone my age should at least be up in the 400's minimal and I've even heard up to the 700's for my age.
Sadly I can't return to a doctor, as I've just recently finished college and family coverage to me has canceled and I'm between jobs so currently without health insurance.

Any comments, advice, suggestions or course of actions to take now or when I do have health insurance available once again would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

[RANDO88]

Hello, A good place to start is [moderator note: website address has been removed] by Dr. E. Barry Gordon. He has some really helpful advice, and he is not selling anything or pushing some book. This site should answer all your questions and you can watch videos of everyday people discussing the benefits of testosterone replacement therapy. Give it a Look!

[Texas29]

I can't respond to any ED problems because I don't have that problem but I do have Low testosterone. My levels were almost exactly where yours were in 2007 when I was 27 years old. I didn't start taking injections until I was 28 and that brought my level up to the high 600's. My only worry is that over time as young as we are for this condition that we are going to have problems realated to years of replacement hormones. Go see an endo doc. Seth

[forrest_and_trees]

Texas2: From what I've found risks at the levels of treatment we are taking are next to nil. The reports I've read indicate that most complications are due to excessive use in the cases of body builders and athletes who abuse testosterone; taking is much as 10 to 30 times or more the amount as prescribed by most doctors. Even so, if there is a small percentage of a chance it could lead to complications later in life, consider the alternative. Now I can't say for certain that without treatment your situation would turn out just like mine did however, it's not implausible. I too began suffering from LowT in my mid twenties with ED, loss of libido and sensation. By my late twenties, other LowT conditions began to take their toll to the point of altering my life significantly. Now at 41 I have lost just about everything in life that matters to me as a direct or indirect result of LowT. I'm just grateful I finally identified the problem and may still have time left to regain something resembling a normal life. However, for the record, If I could go back and do it all over again, this time with the treatment and the chance to lead a "normal" life, even at the risk of suffering complications later in life, I would certainly take that chance. Trust me when I say you don't want to turn out like I did. Besides none of us can say for certain how long we have.

[Abbey]

I feel your pain with the insurance issue too. We opted to go natural and it's not as costly as the synthetic either. We use vienue testosterone and love it, they have man's and woman's formula.
Check out vienue.com they have a success stories page and offer several package options.
Hope this helps, take care