You got your results and there is a testosterone number on the page. Before deciding whether it is low, it helps to know what else the panel is telling you and whether the test was done in a way that makes the number trustworthy.
Testosterone is highest in the morning and drops through the day, so an afternoon test can look low when it is not. Clinical guidelines, including the American Urological Association's, recommend testing in the early morning and confirming a low result with a second test on a different day before calling it low testosterone.
This is all the testosterone in your blood. The AUA uses a total testosterone below 300 ng/dL as a reasonable cutoff for low testosterone, alongside symptoms. Reference ranges vary between labs, so check the range printed on your own report.
Most testosterone is bound to proteins, especially sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG). Free testosterone is the small unbound share your body can use directly. If SHBG is unusually high or low, total testosterone alone can be misleading, which is why the two are read together.
These are the brain's signals to the testes. Low testosterone with high LH and FSH points to the testes themselves. Low testosterone with low or normal LH and FSH points to the brain's signaling. That distinction affects which treatments make sense, for example enclomiphene vs. testosterone therapy.
If your number came from a single afternoon test, repeat it in the morning. Osirius offers testosterone and men's hormone panels you can order online and walk in for at Quest Diagnostics, and a licensed provider can review the full picture with you.
This guide explains general information and is not medical advice. It doesn't replace a licensed provider reviewing your own history.
