[MonikaT]

Without knowing your sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), it is hard to explain your low free T unless it is laboratory error, which it could be.

Low T can result in a myriad of health problems in males, including diabetes, osteoporosis, heart disease, depression, muscle wasting and weakness, and I forget the rest of the list. You might check out http://www.lef.org (The Life Extension Foundation) for information on low T and other things. I will admit, I've read articles in their monthly magazine, but can never find them on the website when I want to print them and show them to my doctor so it might be hard to find anything. By rights, with a free T reading as low as yours, you should have ED and no libido (other symptoms of low T), but you say everything works so maybe the lab screwed up and slipped a decimal place. Nine makes more sense than 0.9, but I'm not a doctor.

Thanks for the reply, MonikaT. Unfortunately we're sure the test isn't an error -- we suspected as much so we repeated the test, one month apart, by a completely different lab. The results were almost identical.

I also agree that I have (virtually) none of the symptoms of low T. That's probably because my total T is in the normal range. In fact, when I'm not taking PM, my libido is actually out-of-control. I did read an article that discussed the difference between "free-T" and "bioavailable-T" (by the Mayo Clinic, I believe) that could explain my lack of symptoms. The thing that is most odd is the discordance between the numbers -- the normal total-T with the extremely low free-T.

Misty

Misty, you're welcome. It just occurred to me the other issue could be aromatization, but without knowing estradiol levels, it is hard to tell. If I understand LH levels, and again, not a doctor, elevated LH can point toward testicular failure, as in they are working harder than they should have to and might wear themselves out over time.

Good luck however you decide. It may not hurt to go to an endocrinologist. While they may treat a lot of diabetics, I think that's largely a function of the crappy Western diet creating an overwhelming number of them. For example, Doritos are engineered so people eat an endless supply while never getting satiated. They've figured out how to engineer good-tasting foods that hit all the right notes on our taste buds, taste better than healthy foods, have little or no nutritional value, are high in calories, cause a huge glycemic load (most grains do), and never satisfy our hunger. This is more or less true of anything that doesn't come from the produce or meat departments, but the unhealthy stuff is cheaper on the front end. It gets us on the back end in the form of medical expenses.

Certainly, endocrinologists also treat hypogonadism, thyroid disorders, and various other issues of the endocrine system so don't give up on the idea of seeing an endocrinologist if you think you might need one. Ask for a different referral if you don't like what you hear about the one your doctor chose. On the other hand, if the complaints are about things like bedside manner, I can handle a lousy bedside manner as long as the doctor is competent. If the doctor doesn't seem competent, based on ratings, I'd definitely want a different referral.