31M – Low-ish Testosterone, Chronic Fatigue, About to Be a Dad. Is TRT Worth It?
Hey all, looking for some insight from people who've been through this or know their stuff.
I recently got bloods done and came back with total testosterone of 10.7 nmol/L and free testosterone of 292 pmol/L. Everything else looked great across the board.
The reason I went was about a year of persistent fatigue that I can't shake. My partner and I joke that I'm "just always tired". I train high-intensity strength to failure three times a week, sleep 7-8 hours a night, eat around 110-130g protein a day, and supplement with magnesium, ashwagandha, B complex, and zinc. I'm lean but struggle to get real definition regardless of how dialled in I am.
In the last 10 weeks I've been on Retatrutide (low dose) to shift some puppy fat that accumulated over summer, which has been going well.
The big life context: I'm about to have my first kid in a few weeks. A lot of friends have told me my T will drop even further after the baby arrives, which isn't something I'm thrilled about. I want to feel energetic and confident heading into fatherhood, not running on empty.
My questions:
- Given my levels and symptoms, is TRT actually worth exploring at 31?
- What's the process like coming off TRT if I decide it's not for me long term?
- My main concerns are the mood crash when stopping and testicular atrophy. Are these as bad as people make out?
- Is hair loss a significant risk?
Any experience or advice appreciated. Thank you.