Thoughts on these results (33 Male)

[Arcane]

These were taken in June. I used to be on TRT and my total was in the 400s. Ive been off for about over 4 years now and here are my results.

I feel ok if I get a good night's sleep but mentally I was still better on TRT. Im not in an awful place mentally but definitely takes more management compared to when i was on TRT everything just came easily and naturally.

Muscle building has been fine though

Test	result	Reference range
Total testosterone (MS)	636 ng/dL	250–1100 ng/dL
Free testosterone (dialysis)	75.8 pg/mL	35.0–155.0 pg/mL
LH	3.2 mIU/mL	1.5–9.3 mIU/mL
FSH	4.9 mIU/mL	1.4–12.8 mIU/mL
DHT	37 ng/dL	12–65 ng/dL
Estradiol, LC/MS (ultrasensitive)	14 pg/mL	≤29 pg/mL
TSH	2.04 mIU/L	0.40–4.50 mIU/L
Free T4	1.5 ng/dL	0.8–1.8 ng/dL
Free T3	3.4 pg/mL	2.3–4.2 pg/mL

Here are my labs when I was on TRT 4 years ago:

Total testosterone
Free testosterone
Estradiol

​

 

[madman]

These were taken in June. I used to be on TRT and my total was in the 400s. Ive been off for about over 4 years now and here are my results.

I feel ok if I get a good night's sleep but mentally I was still better on TRT. Im not in an awful place mentally but definitely takes more management compared to when i was on TRT everything just came easily and naturally.

Muscle building has been fine though

Test	result	Reference range
Total testosterone (MS)	636 ng/dL	250–1100 ng/dL
Free testosterone (dialysis)	75.8 pg/mL	35.0–155.0 pg/mL
LH	3.2 mIU/mL	1.5–9.3 mIU/mL
FSH	4.9 mIU/mL	1.4–12.8 mIU/mL
DHT	37 ng/dL	12–65 ng/dL
Estradiol, LC/MS (ultrasensitive)	14 pg/mL	≤29 pg/mL
TSH	2.04 mIU/L	0.40–4.50 mIU/L
Free T4	1.5 ng/dL	0.8–1.8 ng/dL
Free T3	3.4 pg/mL	2.3–4.2 pg/mL

Here are my labs when I was on TRT 4 years ago:

Total testosterone
Free testosterone
Estradiol

​

FT is subpar but not low and although your TT 636 ng/dL is robust you most likely have highish/high SHBG.

Your FT was tested using the most accurate assay the gold standard Equilibrium Dialysis and is sitting well under where a healthy young natty male would sit 10-12 ng/dL.

You posted labs back in 2024 and from what I remember your SHBG was sitting is the high 40s.

 

[Arcane]

FT is subpar but not low and although your TT 636 ng/dL is robust you most likely have highish/high SHBG.

Your FT was tested using the most accurate assay the gold standard Equilibrium Dialysis and is sitting well under where a healthy young natty male would sit 12 ng/dL.

You posted labs back in 2024 and from what I remember your SHBG was sitting is the high 40s.

Im a bit confused, how does the Equilibrium Dialysis test translate over to the direct free test, if its more accurate? Its a bit on the low middle side of the reference range, but Im unsure on how you calculated 12 ng/dl

 

[madman]

Im a bit confused, how does the Equilibrium Dialysis test translate over to the direct free test, if its more accurate? Its a bit on the low middle side of the reference range, but Im unsure on how you calculated 12 ng/dl

The direct immunoassay is a known to be inaccurate assay a should never be used/relied on.

I never calculated FT.

Your FT was tested using the most accurate assay the gold standard Equilibrium Dialysis and you are hitting a. FT 7.6 ng/dL which is well below where healthy young natty male would sit 12 ng/dL tested using a standardized/higher order reference method ED assay.

Even then the Quest ED assay reference range 35-155 pg/mL (3.5-15.5 ng/dL) lower/upper limit is lower then most ED assays as of now which tend to be 5-21 ng/dL or 5-28 ng/dL depending on the lab used.

As I have stated numerous times on the forum over the years:

FT <5 ng/dL would be low.

FT 5-9 ng/dL would be what is called the grey zone where some men may experience symptoms of low-T.

FT 10-15 ng/dL would be healthy,

FT 20-25 ng/dL would be high-end/high.




We present 95% mFT age-stratified reference ranges

Age category (years)	Median mFT (ng/dl)	95% mFT reference range (ng/dl)
18-29 (n=140) 30-39 (n=252)	12.0 9.8	6.7-25.3 4.9-18.5
40-49 (n=207)	8.1	4.3.-14.2
50-59 (n=146)	7.1	3.8-12.8
60-69 (n=126)	6.4	3.4-11.7
70-79 (n=125)	5.6	2.7-8.7

Thread 'Largest dataset of mFT levels to date: male reference ranges spanning a wide age range, using a gold standard Equilibrium Dialysis LC-MS/MS method'

Mar 14, 2026

Sit and dwell on that!

Think of all those overmedicated men on T-therapy gassed up on FT well beyond their natty genetic set-point and unfortunately many off them off the hop!

You can blame all those run of the mill T clinics, kiddie forums loaded with all those numbskulls, throw those blast n cruisers in there too and put the icing on the cake the cesspool of so called gurus polluting gootube!

Gotta love all those kiddie forums loaded with the brainwashed sheep still pushing that more T is better mentality dishing out piss poor advice!

So much misinformation littered on the net its...

• madman
• Assays ft hypogonadism Refernce Ranges
• Replies: 10
• Forum: Testosterone and Men's Health Articles

• 

 

[Arcane]

The direct immunoassay is a known to be inaccurate assay a should never be used/relied on.

I never calculated FT.

Your FT was tested using the most accurate assay the gold standard Equilibrium Dialysis and you are hitting a. FT 7.6 ng/dL which is well below where healthy young natty male would sit 12 ng/dL tested using a standardized/higher order reference method ED assay.

Even then the Quest ED assay reference range 35-155 pg/mL (3.5-15.5 ng/dL) lower/upper limit is lower then most ED assays as of now which tend to be 5-21 ng/dL or 5-28 ng/dL depending on the lab used.

As I have stated numerous times on the forum over the years:

FT <5 ng/dL would be low.

FT 5-9 ng/dL would be what is called the grey zone where some men may experience symptoms of low-T.

FT 10-15 ng/dL would be healthy,

FT 20-25 ng/dL would be high-end/high.




We present 95% mFT age-stratified reference ranges

Age category (years)	Median mFT (ng/dl)	95% mFT reference range (ng/dl)
18-29 (n=140) 30-39 (n=252)	12.0 9.8	6.7-25.3 4.9-18.5
40-49 (n=207)	8.1	4.3.-14.2
50-59 (n=146)	7.1	3.8-12.8
60-69 (n=126)	6.4	3.4-11.7
70-79 (n=125)	5.6	2.7-8.7

Thread 'Largest dataset of mFT levels to date: male reference ranges spanning a wide age range, using a gold standard Equilibrium Dialysis LC-MS/MS method'

Mar 14, 2026

Sit and dwell on that!

Think of all those overmedicated men on T-therapy gassed up on FT well beyond their natty genetic set-point and unfortunately many off them off the hop!

You can blame all those run of the mill T clinics, kiddie forums loaded with all those numbskulls, throw those blast n cruisers in there too and put the icing on the cake the cesspool of so called gurus polluting gootube!

Gotta love all those kiddie forums loaded with the brainwashed sheep still pushing that more T is better mentality dishing out piss poor advice!

So much misinformation littered on the net its...

• madman
• Assays ft hypogonadism Refernce Ranges
• Replies: 10
• Forum: Testosterone and Men's Health Articles

• 

okay I get what you are saying. you converted my PG/ML reading to ng/Dl then placed that on the ng/Dl reference range.

 

[madman]

okay I get what you are saying. you converted my PG/ML reading to ng/Dl then placed that on the ng/Dl reference range.

Just to be clear you need to base your results on that specific ED assay (device/procedure) used by Quest Diagnostics so although you are still in range your FT is not robust as it sits below the mid-point.

Even then if you find out where your SHBG sits you can calculate your FT using the next best testing method the go to linear law-of-mass-action Vermeulen (cFTV) as it will give a good approximation but chances are it may be a little higher as it tends to slightly overestimate.

Reference range 6.5-25 ng/dL.

Chances are you have highish/high SHBG so even though yourTT 636 ng/dL is robust your FT would still fall below where a healthy young natty male cFTV 13-15 ng/dl would sit.

 

[Arcane]

Just to be clear you need to base your results on that specific ED assay (device/procedure) used by Quest Diagnostics so although you are still in range your FT is not robust as it sits below the mid-point.

Even then if you find out where your SHBG sits you can calculate your FT using the next best testing method the go to linear law-of-mass-action Vermeulen (cFTV) as it will give a good approximation but chances are it may be a little higher as it tends to slightly overestimate.

Reference range 6.5-25 ng/dL.

Chances are you have highish/high SHBG so even though yourTT 636 ng/dL is robust your FT would still fall below where a healthy young natty male cFTV 13-15 ng/dl would sit.

any suggestions on what I should do? my SHBG is 49 nmol/L ( 10-50 nmol/L)

 

[madman]

any suggestions on what I should do? my SHBG is 49 nmol/L ( 10-50 nmol/L)

Your opening post:

These were taken in June. I used to be on TRT and my total was in the 400s. Ive been off for about over 4 years now and here are my results.

I feel ok if I get a good night's sleep but mentally I was still better on TRT. Im not in an awful place mentally but definitely takes more management compared to when i was on TRT everything just came easily and naturally.

Muscle building has been fine though


When you went for your blood work did you test in the am in a fasted state and were you well rested?

Did you retest a few weeks later to compare (same lab/same assay) your results?

As I stated previously even though you have a robust TT 600s your FT the critical fraction which truly matters here is sub-par but not low as you most likely had highish/high SHBG.

Your TT is inflated due to your high SHBG 49 nmol/L.

If you still feel descent overall and have healthy libido/sexual function then I would ride it out seeing as it has been over 4 years post therapy.

As you should know getting quality sleep, minimizing stress (mental/physical), following a healthy diet, exercising (cardio/weights) and staying lean will have a huge impact on how you feel overall natty or when using exogenous T.

Having healthy thyroid/adrenals is critical too as any dysfunction can easily mimic symptoms of low-T.

If you have addressed all of this and your FT is still sub--par then at your age it is not going to get any better.

If you were truly struggling with low-T symptoms then it would be wise to pursue therapy (SERMs, hCG mono, exogenous T).