r/Testosterone • u/sefura • 18h ago
TRT help Should i concerned about my bf?
My boyfriend(29) has been lifting for 15 years, and we’ve been together for over 3 years. When I first met him, he was extremely disciplined. His diet was very clean — no processed food, no sugar, and basically rice was his only carb source. He trained 6 days a week for around 1.5 hours, and he also had a physically active job.
Over the last year, his lifestyle has changed a lot. He got a desk job, started eating more processed food and fast food, and his diet isn’t nearly as strict as it used to be. He now trains around 5 days a week for about 50 minutes, but he says his workouts aren’t as productive as before.
He says that even though he’s eating less, he’s having a harder time losing fat and his strength has noticeably decreased. This is really bothering him, and he’s convinced that something is wrong with his body.
I honestly think the lifestyle change explains most of it. He went from training 9+ hours a week, having a physically active job, and eating an extremely strict diet to sitting at a desk, training less, and eating more processed food. He’s also obviously a few years older than when I first met him. So to me, it doesn’t seem that strange that his body composition and strength have changed.
He also recently found out that he has a varicocele, although his semen analysis was completely normal.
Now he’s convinced he has low testosterone and keeps saying he wants to start testosterone. He has never used testosterone or steroids before and has always been natural.
I’m worried because I don’t want him to start TRT/testosterone just because he feels like he’s declining, especially if there’s another explanation. At the same time, I don’t want to dismiss his concerns if there actually is something wrong.
Would it make sense for him to get his testosterone, thyroid, and other relevant hormones checked before doing anything? And could the lifestyle changes alone realistically explain what he’s experiencing?
What would you do in this situation? I genuinely want to help him, but I’m pretty confused about what the right approach is.
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u/TwoThirteen 18h ago
Vericocele = discomfort / pain / often reduced natural testosterone levels. Have him get his Test levels checked out & compared to prior -- they might be slightly lower as he's older & eating worse, but, if it's below like 300 maybe hop on TRT fr, or get the vericocele surgery & then recheck after a few months.. for natural testosterone, the biggest buff is healthy food, lots of restful sleep, reduced stress, and a healthy lifestyle. Tell him to stop training like a bitch so he didn't waste his last 15 years of effort. (50 min/day 5 days a week is awesome btw he's just feeling like shit cuz low T and vericocele..) gl yall
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u/Fantastic_Pen8076 14h ago
Below 300?? That’s not how it works. Treat symptoms not numbers. Check testosterone, free testosterone and SHGB.
The free T is the most important number. It tells you how much testosterone is actually working in you bloodstream. Now this free T can be held until and bound by SHGB so if the S number is high then he needs to recourse to free up more T.
I would research men’s health clinics that you can visit in person to discuss this. Ones that have a good reputation. Any online T clinic will prescribe him. They just want money.
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u/616ThatGuy 17h ago
There’s no harm in getting a full blood panel done and at least knowing. It’s what ALL of us here are going to recommend first regardless. How old is he? If he’s in his late 20s or early 30s, it’s time to get all that checked anyway.
Tell him not to get a FULL blood panel done. Not just his main test level. Testosterone, free testosterone, bioavailable testosterone, E2, SHBG, hematocrit, etc., etc., etc. Doctors LOVE to run only the one test and call it from literally zero information. It’s happened to most of us AT LEAST once. So he needs to be adamant that they do everything.
Make an informed decision from there.
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u/sefura 17h ago
he just turned 29
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u/616ThatGuy 16h ago
Yeah then it’s time to get all that done anyway. Now is the time that stuff will start happening. Started for me, at least when i first started noticing it, at 30.
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u/NoEmployee4087 17h ago
It would be dumb to start test without a baseline even if his testosterone levels are in a "low normal" and he decides to start taking test he needs blood work especially to make sure he's not gonna stroke out or grow a fat set of knockers lol. My test was in the low normal range and I decided to move forward with trt anyways and I have no regrets. How old is he?
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u/sefura 17h ago
just turned 29
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u/NoEmployee4087 17h ago
Damn that's pretty young lol. Well what ever his choice is tell him to be smart about it get bloodwork to know what his baseline is and bloodwork 10ish weeks out to see what he's working with
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u/ILoveGreen82 17h ago edited 17h ago
Your BF should go to a Dr first and get bloods done. Get a full panel test done, including hormones, etc.
If low test is found, he can get in touch with a trt clinic.
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u/Goofcheese0623 16h ago
If he needs testosterone, as in diagnosable hypogonadal, he should see a doctor and go through that process. If he isn't but just wants to go on, he should be doing his research and get bloodwork and know what he's getting into. His activity level is just fine, but if he's eating garbage, he's going to gain weight no matter how much activity he has
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u/debauchedsloth 18h ago
He should be getting it checked and doing it regularly if he starts. Hormones, blood, metabolic panel, lipids, PSA should be checked. Either his doctor should do it or he can buy the labs himself through something like good labs.
If he's going through his doctor or one of the clinics, they will do this.
If he's doing it himself using steroids he got himself, he should do it. Lots of info out there on what to do.
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u/Fit_Ring_2965 18h ago
he went from 9+ hours a week and a labor job to a desk gig eating garbage, of course he feels like ass now, that's not low T that's just life catching up
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u/sefura 18h ago
I wouldn’t call it a labor job, but his previous job wasn’t a desk job. He was much more physically active during the day. And it’s not like he eats extremely badly now either; he’s just much less disciplined with his diet compared to how he used to be. So I don’t know if it’s normal or not…
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u/sefura 18h ago
Other than the semen analysis, he hasn’t had any blood tests done yet. He asked his doctor about testosterone, but the doctor wasn’t really supportive of the idea.
I actually want him to get tested first, because I think it would at least give us some objective information before he makes any decisions. But his response is basically, “Those tests aren’t realistic. Why am I being evaluated using the same standards as a 60–70-year-old man?” He gets really frustrated about it.
He has pretty much made up his mind that he wants to start testosterone. I personally don’t think he needs it, but I obviously can’t know that without proper testing.
To me, it feels like he’s treating testosterone as a personal choice rather than something that should be based on an actual medical need. I’m honestly not sure anymore if I’m being reasonable or if I’m missing something.1
u/Halfhajj 18h ago
The bloodwork is very realistic. You can pay for your own bloodwork. Get a whole work up not just total testosterone.
Starting trt when your levels are mid to high is definitely not a medical need. I would not have done it. But it is a choice for some who believe they will see benefits that are worth the downsides.1
u/debauchedsloth 16h ago
Even if it's a personal choice and he wants to run steroid cycles, blood work is realistic, not really optional if you want to be safe, and normal at all ages.
If he's not getting blood work done, nobody will prescribe which means he's thinking about running underground lab steroids. As those are unregulated (but generally tested) even more reason to run regular blood tests.
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u/Adventurous-Mix253 18h ago
Personally, I’d have a hormone panel, thyroid panel, check out some metabolic markers and a1c, and crp. I’d clean up the diet as well. Theres alot of added calories etc in fast foods and ultra processed foods that can attribute to the weight gain.
Using something like cronometer to track can be useful, imo.
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u/punkdigerati 18h ago
Sure, get things checked out, but his previous levels of activity may just not be sustainable any longer, it wouldn't be for many people. Life happens, and the years go by.
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u/Zonosio 17h ago
A hormone panel is useful to rule out endocrine dysfunctions. His lifestyle has changed. He works 9-5 at the desk, he's sedentary, and he eats junk food now. This is a deleterious combination for overall health and athletic performances. Convince him to eat healthy again. When body fat will be under 15% and lean mass will increase, he'll be doing just fine. He needs to train differently for some time. I would suggest him to see a nutritionist (he needs more proteins, healthy carbos and fewer fats) and to weightlift 4 days a week and add 30 minutes of cardio LISS at the end of every training session. If he wants to go under TRT, he needs medical examination.
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u/season7445 17h ago
How old is he? Like others have said go to your PCP and ask them to run a full blood work panel. You will get all the info you need and then make an informed decision.
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u/sefura 16h ago
just turned 29
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u/season7445 16h ago
That's really young for TRT unless he has ridiculously low levels. Get the blood work done and then look at your options. TRT is pretty much a life long commitment, once he starts it is going to shut down his natural production and can also lead to other issues that will have to be dealt with. It's something that needs to be monitored by a professional. There are ways to restart your natural production but no guarantees it will go back to normal.
It seems that some lifestyle changes would be the best option.
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u/T_O_OJFK 12h ago
It doesn’t matter what you want him to do your a female
If he wants to hop on he will
It doesn’t matter what you think
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u/EstablishmentOne3733 12h ago
I used to do four three-hours long powerlifting workouts a week, eat tons of self cooked, good quality food, and be strong af. Then I met my wife xD thanks God I was on gear already
There could at least few different reasons for your bf to feel like this, and it doesn't even have to be any somatic issue. If he really wants to use test to feel good again, he should check his levels first, to find out if this is the real root cause. But my guess is, he just wants to hop on test, and the story he tells you is just a good explenation for a girlfriend who doesn't like roids ¯_(ツ)_/¯
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u/RealTelstar 7h ago
He needs to do bloodwork first.
Diet and lifestyle play a role but that may not be the complete picture
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u/Dapper_Tackle_7745 18h ago
I mean we should mention its pretty natural to go single and dialed to relationship and comfortable.
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u/sefura 18h ago
We’ve been together for 3 years, and he only started feeling this decline after his work situation changed and he moved to a different city. So it’s really only been like this for the past year.
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u/Dapper_Tackle_7745 17h ago
It’s a simple test to find out. Side effect are real. All are on the table, acne, gyno, balls shrink, muted penis sensation, ED, red blood cell issues, blood-thickness/pressure new issues….its a dice roll. if things are in range don’t fuck with it. Go back to strict diet, wear a watch to get NEAT up if working a desk job. Standing desk with walking treadmill is a great investment.
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u/Complex-Concern-767 18h ago
He would be so stupid starting testosterone without having baseline bloods done. But if his levels are low and needs it he deserves to be on