How I Discovered I Had Low Testosterone

My entry into the world of Testosterone Replacement Therapy was completely by chance. Fortunately, it was that random event that would change my life forever.

Early Days

I started lifting weights recreationally around 2005, at age 25. I would go to the gym with my friend and dick around for an hour or so.

We would talk shit, make jokes, check out the girls and not get much lifting done. There was no structure or progression. This continued for about three or four years.

Around 2008, I started to take my health and workouts more seriously. I’d spent the last ten years partying at the height of the rave culture, but it had gotten stale and dull. I felt myself being pulled to a healthier lifestyle.

My gym partner had also started to flake a lot. I wanted to get serious at the gym, but he would always be chatting to people, or worse, flaking completely.

I realised I needed to get to gym on my own and train solo. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Something Is Wrong

I discovered a training program called Stronglifts 5×5 and started working on that.

It was a great program, but I found myself regularly too tired to push myself. My progression also stalled very early on.

On the forums online, I would read about everyone else’s quick progression and fast results, especially as a beginner starting out. I was not seeing the same results.

I was also struggling to get out of bed in the mornings, and was regularly irritable with people around me – snapping at the smallest things.

I continued to make health and nutrition changes, get proper sleep and focus on my exercise form, but nothing seemed to help. Still tired, still unmotivated, still weak.

I heard about Vitamin-B injections via friends and family, and heard that they were great for boosting energy. I was willing to try anything at this point, so I decided to pay my doctor a visit and enquire further.

I explained my symptoms to my doctor and asked her about the Vitamin-B injection. She suggested that we first run some blood tests, to which I agreed.

Life Changing

When the blood test results came back, she said that she didn’t think the problem was related to vitamin B, and said she thought the problem might be low testosterone.

She explained that my testosterone levels were close to the low end of the normal range, which was unusual for someone my age. However, she had had great success treating older men with similar symptoms and testosterone levels with a treatment called testosterone replacement therapy. She thought it would be a good idea if we tried it out.

I had never heard of low testosterone or TRT. When she first explained it to me, I was apprehensive about it. “STEROIDS” immediately came to mind and I wasn’t keen initially.

After some explanation and deliberation, she persuaded me and I decided to give the treatment a go.

Within a couple of weeks, it felt like my batteries had been replaced and that I had been given a new lease on life.

The effects were undeniable and life-changing. Instant improvement in mood and sense of well-being. Less irritable, more calm and focused. Energy and motivation spiked, and naturally, progression in the gym skyrocketed from there.

And the rest is history.

Conclusion

So as you can tell, it was pure luck that I stumbled upon TRT. I don’t know when (or if) I would have discovered testosterone replacement therapy without her.

I owe it all to my forward-thinking female doctor back in South Africa, to whom I am eternally grateful.

How did you discover you had low testosterone? What’s your story? Let us know in the comments below.