# Testosterone? Exercise? Lab results?



## Marathon Man (Aug 31, 2011)

I've had Hashimoto's for 4 years and have really taken a nose dive the last 2 weeks. I am a marathon runner. I've read that a lot of exercise can decrease one's testosterone level. I just got my testosterone bloodwork back and my result was 145 ng/dL the limits are 249-836. The plan is to increase the frequency of my testosterone shot to every 18 days rather than every 30.

My T4 was 10.8 ug/dL and T3 was 103.

I am super tired and have had a headache on and off for two weeks.

Any thoughts?


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## lainey (Aug 26, 2010)

In men low testosterone levels very much mimic hypothyroidism. Consider, low progesterones generally would leave you with elevated estrogens (relatively) and these bind thyroid hormones.

You need to correct this and then retest.

It is most helpful to have FREE T4 and T3 tests--these measure the unbound hormone--and please post lab results with ranges, as these can vary substantially.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

Marathon Man said:


> I've had Hashimoto's for 4 years and have really taken a nose dive the last 2 weeks. I am a marathon runner. I've read that a lot of exercise can decrease one's testosterone level. I just got my testosterone bloodwork back and my result was 145 ng/dL the limits are 249-836. The plan is to increase the frequency of my testosterone shot to every 18 days rather than every 30.
> 
> My T4 was 10.8 ug/dL and T3 was 103.
> 
> ...


I have observed over the years that many men with thyroid disease have low testosterone whether they exercise or not.

Also, just for future reference, different labs use different ranges so posting your ranges with the results would be extra helpful.

Here is some info about the FREES!

Free T3 and Free T4 are the only accurate measurement of the actual active thyroid hormone levels in the body. This is the hormone that is actually free and exerting effect on the cells. These are the thyroid hormones that count.
http://www.drlam.com/articles/hypothyroidism.asp?page=3


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## bigfoot (May 13, 2011)

Low testosterone and Hashi's here as well. Been using Androgel 5 GM daily for a year, then recently doc bumped me up to 7.5 GM daily.

What everyone is saying makes perfect sense. My free estrogen was tested recently by a naturopath and came back elevated. Hence, the extra estrogen is likely interfering with the thyroid hormones (and testosterone, too). The trick is getting a doc who understands all of this stuff. Every one of my docs but the naturopath has blown off estrogen in males. (And he isn't into prescription drugs.) None seem to really understand hormone replacement therapy. I don't, either. Very complicated stuff. Supposedly drugs like a small amount of Arimidex can work to reduce this estrogen level, but you have to be super careful not to overdo it, since the male body does need some estrogen.

Another angle is exercise and a diet with enough fiber to help flush the excess estrogen safely. The Catch-22 is if you eat too much fiber, you diminish the effectiveness of levothyroxine. And if you exercise too hard, you run the risk of flaring up Hashi's. I'm not sure what the happy medium is, I'm still working on that myself.

Your testosterone level of 145 ng/dL is very, very low. I know when they simply gave me levothyroxine last year it only seemed like half of the puzzle. When they discovered the low testosterone and added in the daily treatment it really helped. Energy increased exponentially, while signs & symptoms decreased. My testosterone level was something like 230 ng/dL at starting treatment. (Every lab is different and some show the upper range as in the 800s, some as 1000s, and others as 1200s.)

I think you should be shooting for at least the mid-point of the range, somewhere in the 500s and start there. Docs have mentioned that it takes many months for testosterone to build back up. You might ask about something like Androgel which you apply daily to your shoulders/abdomen. I've heard the gels also reduce some of the peaks and crashing from the shots.

Honestly, I'm surprised that they are only giving you testosterone shots every 30 or 18 days with levels as low as yours. You really must be feeling sluggish and tired, with no libido and no energy. Good luck and I hope your doc has a better handle on this stuff than mine!

:anim_32:


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## peacesells560 (Aug 9, 2011)

I'm interested in this as well, since I am in a similar boat myself. I'm not on anything other than what's in my signature right now. My endo wants to fix the thyroid issues before messing with testosterone. As far as getting the testosterone up goes {if fixing the thyroid doesn't clear it up}, I'm going to try to get on Clomid, since I'm 22 and want to preserve fertility.


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## lainey (Aug 26, 2010)

@peacesells560

Considering that the symptoms of low testosterone are so similar to hypothyroidism I wonder if you are going feel that you are getting the best results from your thyroid treatment--your symptoms will likely linger, even on appropriate replacement--as long as the hormone issue is not addressed.

Fixing the thyroid imbalance won't really impact the hormone imbalance whereas fixing the testosterone may yield surprising symptom relief--and it may influence your thyroid numbers slightly.

Just something to think about.


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