How dependent is free testosterone on season, time, and other variable circumstances?

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OrangeWhiteBlue
OrangeWhiteBlue Posts: 9 Member
edited November 2017 in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
I have tested for total and free testosterone in a lab. My total is 750 (reference levels are 250 to 1000, average for 30 years is 620). Thus, it is slightly above average, but well within the norm. However, my free testosterone is 53, where the reference level is 5-30 and the average is 12. I doubt I am misreading anything because the norm is written right next to my results, and there is an arrow indicating that mine are higher than the norm.

My question is, can it be that it is so high because of the particular month, time of the day, and abstention? I took it in November at 9 AM, which would seem to suggest a ~95% increase compared to the lowest level, and it may have been my ~6th day of abstention, which also may lead to a big spike. Cumulatively, it would be an almost 200% spike due to variable factors, so at the lowest level it would be more like 13.5. However, I may be misinterpreting it all.

Alternatively, if the lab screwed something up and it is 5.3 pg/mL instead of 53 , can it be this low, given all these external factors and my normal total testosterone? If it helps: I don't have hair loss, chronic fatigue, difficulty concentrating, manboobs, love handles, difficulty burning fat, and other objective things I would associate with low testosterone levels, so I doubt it was a typo.

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  • jseams1234
    jseams1234 Posts: 1,216 Member
    edited November 2017
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    It's very hard to get a handle on your T levels with just a single test. Your endocrinologist should have you do another test (if not 3) to get your baseline. The most common test is done by either by LabCorp or Specialty Labs and they list (with ref ranges).

    ALBUMIN (QD) g/dL 3.6-5.1
    BIOAVAILABLE TESTOSTERONE ng/dL 110.0-575.0
    SEX HORMONE BG nmol/L 10-50
    TESTOSTERONE FREE pg/mL 46.0-224.0
    TESTOSTERONE TOTAL ng/dL 250-1100

    What were your other results? Bio, SHBG...

    Another common in house test done by hospitals uses a ref range of 175-780 and only shows total T...add about a 100 points to this and it usually translates to the more detailed tests done by outside labs.

    Your endogenous levels are affected by literally everything - the amount of sleep you are getting, how much and how intensely you workout (intense regimented lifting can lower T while short random activity, chopping wood (lol) can temp increase it). Actual sex, can increase it while *kitten* can lower it... vitamin D levels, bf%, time of day, etc.

    Now, concerning your "free" levels and the reference ranges you supplied. They make no sense. With a spread of 250-1000 for total T your free range should be somewhere between 40-220 pg/mL not 5-30 pg/mL, so I suspect you are correct and they made a simple error in reporting.

    Why did you get a T test done if you aren't suffering from any of the symptoms of hypogondism? I test every two months (sometime more often) to check mid cycle levels, check my E2 for AI adjustments and my HCT levels. Were you just curious or did your doctor just decide to run a test on you at 30 years of age?

  • OrangeWhiteBlue
    OrangeWhiteBlue Posts: 9 Member
    edited November 2017
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    Thank you for the detailed reply! I was testing for a possible vitamin D overdose and its consequences (calcium and 25-OH vitamin D), and decided to also test testosterone out of curiosity, since it is relevant for working out.

    I meant to say 53 ng/dL rather than 53 pg/mL (I thought ng/dL = pg/mL, but it isn't). That is, I have 530 pg/mL, and the reference range is 50-300 pg/mL. I'm translating all those measurements and sometimes the data online are labelled incorrectly, like here, which led to confusion.

    I figured that anything below 250 total T is too low, anything above 1000 is too high; I have 750. Anything below 5 free T is too low, anything above 30 is too high; I have 53.
  • jseams1234
    jseams1234 Posts: 1,216 Member
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    OrangeWhiteBlue wrote: »
    Thank you for the detailed reply! I was testing for a possible vitamin D overdose and its consequences (calcium and 25-OH vitamin D), and decided to also test testosterone out of curiosity, since it is relevant for working out.

    I meant to say 53 ng/dL rather than 53 pg/mL (I thought ng/dL = pg/mL, but it isn't). That is, I have 530 pg/mL, and the reference range is 50-300 pg/mL. I'm translating all those measurements and sometimes the data online are labelled incorrectly, like here, which led to confusion.

    I figured that anything below 250 total T is too low, anything above 1000 is too high; I have 750. Anything below 5 free T is too low, anything above 30 is too high; I have 53.

    I wouldn't worry about it too much. I do wonder, since you didn't mention BAT levels if they are simply counting free as BAT and combining the total from Albumin bound T - which is generally what the BAT numbers are. Free T plus Albumin bound T (the binding is easily reversed, unlike SHBG).

    There are a lot of guys out there that would love to have the "problem" of too much free T. ;)

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