Labcorp to Lower Testosterone Ranges

[ERO]

So the big question here is, with these new ranges are our TRT providers gonna keep us all under 916 now?

 

[johndoesmith]

At 348 I felt terrible, at 560 I felt better. At 284 I was ready to jump off a bridge.

This is a bad idea. Probably a result of "reducing" health care costs. Probably all part of ACA.

At 400 I felt like death, but that'd be way in range on this new reference range. The thing is, it wasn't necessarily testosterone that was my issue, but E2, which was very very low due to my low aromatization rate. That wouldn't be reflected, and had I known differently, may still be suffering thanks to this new reference range.

 

[CoastWatcher]

So if I'm understanding this correctly a male at target weight for age and a TT of 264 ng/dL wouldn't be considered low, but a male 30 pounds overweight at 264 ng/dL would be considered low T?

This new range would explain Kaiser Permanente's lab ranges (240 - 871 ng/dL), which explains why my doctors was happy to see me at 531 ng/dL.

No, a man presenting with a total testosterone of 264, as measured by LabCorp, would be "in range" (without regard to body fat).

 

[user_joe]

So the big question here is, with these new ranges are our TRT providers gonna keep us all under 916 now?

I think there are a lot of ignorant doctors out there. Not sure how else to describe the situation. Those docs I am sure are not going to be comfortable with anything out of range, especially the vilified testosterone. Nobody whose wise enough to be reading up here should be wasting their time with a doc like that. There are good ones, local for some, and others over the internet.

 

[mopes]

Wow. Terrible and troubling. Out of the 10 friends I've encouraged to have their testosterone checked, 8 of them have come back low, all of us are in our 30s. I fear the lab ranges are only going to be forced lower and lower as time goes on leading to subpar levels for those of us on TRT if our docs wish to keep us "in range"...

 

[hva]

Not surprising they are lowering the reference range just based off statistics. The first time I had my testosterone checked, through my PCP, it was sent to the lab at the hospital he is affiliated with. Since this was a hospital, and I'm guessing the patients they see are normally very ill or on death's door, the reference range was 139-816. Mine was 149 ng/dl so "in range" for him so all was good. It was about a year from this point until I was on TRT, so this reference range caused me to lose quality of life for much longer than needed.

 

[CoastWatcher]

Not surprising they are lowering the reference range just based off statistics. The first time I had my testosterone checked, through my PCP, it was sent to the lab at the hospital he is affiliated with. Since this was a hospital, and I'm guessing the patients they see are normally very ill or on death's door, the reference range was 139-816. Mine was 149 ng/dl so "in range" for him so all was good. It was about a year from this point until I was on TRT, so this reference range caused me to lose quality of life for much longer than needed.

You're right about hospital ranges for testosterone; I've noticed the same thing here in Toronto. But to think, 149 is "normal"...

 

[Saxon]

The New Normal - A War on Men and Testosterone

http://roguehealthandfitness.com/normal-values-for-testosterone-and-why-they-matter/

LabCorp changed its reference range for testosterone from 348-1197 ng/dL to 264-916 ng/dL. Note that the entire range has been shifted lower. The company explains their reasoning and says the downward shift reflects two changes: 1) a new CDC standardization for the method used to assay testosterone (since different labs may use different methods, giving somewhat varying results), and 2) the new range “reflects a difference in average subjects with higher BMIs”.

Now no one is getting a prescription.

"Now here is the BIG BIG kicker. Cheaply made testosterone can help reverse a LOT of the BIG diseases in our society in some cases for those who are low! I'm talking diabetes, metabolic syndrome, heart disease, obesity. And guess what the medical industry has LOTS of on patent drugs like statins, diabetes & obesity medicines that they love you to take and be on forever (and upgrading to the newest versions as the patents expire) while never addressing any root problems to these conditions!"
- last quote stolen from a guy on Reddit that sees this for what it is.

 

[FrankUnderwood]

Labcorp lowered reference range for testosterone in "healthy men"?

http://roguehealthandfitness.com/normal-values-for-testosterone-and-why-they-matter/

More details here - https://www.labcorp.com/assets/11476

Can Dr Saya and others chime in on this?

 

[CoastWatcher]

We are seeing multiple threads on this topic, the initial one some days ago. They are being merged.

 

[FrankUnderwood]

We are seeing multiple threads on this topic, the initial one some days ago. They are being merged.

got it, thanks!

 

[equel]

Lol i was between 150 and 270 ng dl and wanted to ****ing off myself right at the spot, extremely miserable. Now at 450 im ok but far from great.

Lol at those ranges, something ****ed up is going on in the western world im telling ya, some conspiracy agains manhood or something.