Can you help make sense of results?

[menoadv]

I recently had a testosterone blood test, as I feel like I've lost my zest for life and wondered if my testosterone was too low.

I'm 50 years old and have been on HRT for two years. Three pumps of estrogen gel, and one progesterone tablet a day.

There are three results from the test on my NHS app. Two seem high and one quite low. Does anyone know what this means. Have obviously googled but I still can't make sense of it and how my serum testosterone can be at the very top of the scale at my age?

The normal ranges are adjusted for pre and post menopausal. You are in the normal range… I’m unsure as to what you are confused about?

Postmenopausal women still have testosterone it just drops gradually. They don’t lose all testosterone. You are at the top of the range for post menopausal but not for pre menopausal.

You’re also only 50… younger slightly than the average age for menopause so why wouldn’t you be close to the top of the range for your age?

Remember that women vary hugely. You may have had very high T levels premenopausal and so it’s gone down but is still high postmeno as that’s your body’s range.

SHBG (Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin), 'sticks' to testosterone in the blood, making it inactive.

So while your T levels look on the high end when all the T in your blood sample was counted, most of it is 'stuck' to SHBG meaning there isn't much active testosterone in your blood.

Your androgen index is a measure of how much useful testosterone you have, which in your case is on the low end of the normal range (as a higher proportion is bound to SHBG)

Some dietary supplements, HRT and some medical conditions can alter your SHBG and so have a knock on effect on how much testosterone (and other hormones) are active in your blood sample.

Thank you for this. So my shbg is too high. I think I'm on too much estrogen, as this can increase shbg levels apparently.

My other hormones have never been tested, they just kept upping my estrogen! I think I'll back down to two pumps.

Thank you!!

Nothing in your results looks 'too' high or low, it's all within the normal range. I would go on how you feel rather than chasing the numbers. It's very individual and the T level that makes one person feel great, could be way to much for another person, there really isn't a magic number!

If you find you get classic menopause symptoms returning (especially if you drop your dose of oesteogen)... you probably need more oestrogen... if you have optimised your oestrogen but still feel like libido and 'oomph' are sub par then T is worth a try.