Hello there.

I have a couple of questions and some cautionary advice for you that might be of some help.

The first and most important question is: have you had your testosterone levels, both free and total, checked by blood work with your doctor? I think that's the best place to start, and it sounds to me like perhaps you haven't taken that step, and it's a really important one to take. I've attached my most recent copy of my blood work from my last physical, just so we are on the same page about what type of information we're talking about.

For the sake of this response, let's assume for now that you haven't had your levels checked by blood work—or, if you have, it was more than two years ago. Normal total testosterone ranges vary slightly from lab to lab and also as you age, but anything between 270–1,070 ng/dL, with a decline of about 1% a year after the age of 30. Normal free testosterone levels range between 35–155 mg/mL.

So, given these normal ranges, and considering that testosterone is perhaps one of the most important hormones in your body, it is very valuable to know what your testosterone levels actually are before you can make an educated plan for how to change those levels. If anything, 30 is a good time to have a physical with a complete blood work-up to establish a baseline against which you can compare future lab results, say when you're 35 or 40.

Personally, I have had physicals every year since I was 20, with a full blood panel analysis. I do this because when I get old(er), which I hope I never do, lol, I want to have my history available for the sake of finding trends that may be helpful in maintaining my good health, or identifying an area that may be a contributory factor to whatever ailment it is that I may have. I always make a point to tell the doctor to check my testosterone levels—both free and total—because for younger men, I don't think that's something that is generally included in your standard CBC or metabolic panel. This is about maintaining good male health and taking care of your body, in my opinion, which is something that doesn't get as much coverage as it deserves. If a woman can get birth control for free with her insurance as part of the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA, otherwise known as Obamacare), surely a man can get a yearly blood panel for free—but alas, this is not the case. So it's up to us to take care of it for ourselves.

My doctor and I discovered that when I was 20, I had PSA, or prostate-specific antigen, levels that were within normal range, but higher than what they should be when adjusted for my age at the time. PSA levels are checked in men as they age because sometimes a rise in PSA levels is correlated with the onset of prostate issues, such as prostate cancer. I've continued to monitor my PSA levels ever since with my yearly blood work, and it's always slightly higher than my doctor is comfortable with, given my age, but since it's a rather constant number from year to year, it isn't something I need to worry about just yet. This is where trending is helpful; if my PSA levels were to go above 4.000 on my next blood test, that would be a red flag because it's out of the normal range that has already been established by previous tests.

To continue that idea, if your testosterone levels were low when you last had them checked by your doctor, he or she would have likely talked to you about some kind of therapy or medication to increase your testosterone levels. I have a 28-year-old friend who has low testosterone, and at a regular interval, (I think once a week? I'm not sure) he self-administers a shot in the bum from a vial that contains a testosterone solution.

The fact that you don't have a vial with testosterone in it to self-administer is why I began with assuming that you hadn't had your levels checked. But let's say you have had your levels checked, and they're within normal range, so your doctor sees no need to prescribe a testosterone therapy regimen. As men, we want our testosterone to stay as high as it can, because it's a key hormone in the way our bodies function and maintain as we age and go about our daily business.

Obviously, I don't believe vials of testosterone are available or easy to come by without a prescription, which is why over the counter remedies is such a big industry. I work for GNC, and they sell several different types of testosterone-boosting products, which generally work in one of two ways: (1) prompts your testicles to actually make more testosterone hormone, or (2) helps un-bind the testosterone in your body, thus creating more free testosterone, and thereby helping you get the results you're looking for. Granted, I'm not a doctor, so hopefully I am not butchering this explanation too much. Any good doctors who may be reading this, feel free to add/correct/whatever.

This is where I wanted to mention the cautionary thing to be aware of if you're using over-the-counter methods to increase your testosterone levels. When those levels go up and over the amounts your body is used to, estrogens are produced to sort of "soak up" and neutralize the testosterone freely floating around your body. This is a normal reaction, as the body is in a constant state of trying to maintain homeostasis. At the molecular level, the testosterone and estrogen molecules are very similarly structured. As a result of this natural response, a good over-the-counter testosterone therapy method is going to contain some kind of estrogen blocker or deactivator or whatever you want to call it.

I believe that the reason steroids and cheap over-the-counter testosterone remedies produce negative side effects is because these estrogens that your body creates are what prompt things like man boobs, acne, withered testicles, and overall lower testosterone levels than what any given man probably started with. This relates back to first knowing what your levels are before you change them—if you're in the normal range, it's probably best to leave well enough alone and pat yourself on the back that your balls are doing their job. Further, if you're within the normal range, a good exercise regimen and commitment is likely all you need to achieve the desired physical effects you want, particularly at a young age like 30. And hey, maybe your testosterone levels are on the higher end of the spectrum, so all the more reason for a confidence boost, in my opinion. Plus, with this more natural method, you aren't tampering with the hormone in your body that is responsible for turning you into a healthy adult male. And in terms of wanting more energy, this is where again a good exercise regimen can help tremendously, and it doesn't even have to be anything necessarily overly-strenuous either. Just walking two miles a day is a good place to start, and maybe add some daily push ups or whatever other physical activity you engage in.

I hope this has been helpful for you, and I apologize for the long response. I didn't realize how much I had to say. I just wanted to try and give you the best advice I could so that you can make an informed decision about what it is you're wanting to do, and advise you of some of the drawbacks, as you also mentioned. Let me know if I can help clear anything up for you, and like I said, any doctors feel free to jump right in : )

Best wishes, hope I was helpful.

Michael