The Low T Check
Low testosterone, or just life?
Knackered by 3pm. Flat. Short fuse.
No drive, in the gym or the bedroom.
Find out if your symptoms point to low T in 2 minutes.
- Built on the questionnaires doctors use to screen for low T
- Which blood tests to ask your GP for, and the number that matters
- Why "normal" on the NHS can still mean low for you
Jake Avery, coach to busy dads for 13 years. Burnt out running my own gym, testosterone came back low.
This is what I wish I'd known.
Tap to answer. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
A screening tool, not a diagnosis.
Your result
Symptom score /100
01What's pushing it down
02Get tested properly
Ask your GP for this
- Total testosterone, taken between 7 and 11am, ideally fasted
- SHBG and albumin, so they can work out your free testosterone
- LH, FSH and prolactin, which show why it might be low
- If it's under 12: a repeat test about four weeks later. One test is never enough
- Worth asking while you're there: full blood count, HbA1c, cholesterol, thyroid (TSH)
What to say
"For the last few months I've had low energy, a lower sex drive and fewer morning erections. I'd like a morning testosterone test before 11am, with SHBG and albumin so my free testosterone can be calculated, plus LH, FSH and prolactin. If it comes back under 12, could it be repeated?"
Lead with the symptoms.
GPs test when there's a reason, and a list of symptoms is the reason.
03Know the number
Total testosterone, from two morning tests. This is how most NHS areas read it:
The latest British Society for Sexual Medicine guidance (2023) goes further: under 12 with symptoms usually warrants treatment.
The catch
Most NHS labs print a normal range that starts at around 8 or 9. Come back at 10 with every symptom on this page and the result says "normal", so you're told you're fine. You're not fine. You're just not low enough for the system. Always ask for your actual number, and remember GPs don't usually start testosterone themselves. It goes through a hospital specialist, and that wait can be months.
If the NHS says no
Anywhere in the UK, you can test privately for about £19 (testosterone only, finger-prick at home) or £50 to £90 for a full male hormone panel, with a proper blood draw at a clinic or pharmacy near you. Private TRT usually works out at £100 to £200 a month once tests and monitoring are in. Pick a clinic that does two morning blood tests before prescribing, not one.
The UK ones I'd look at are in your action plan below.
Not in the UK?
The tests to ask for are the same everywhere. To find a private test or clinic where you live, type this into Google, swapping in your country:
private male hormone blood test testosterone SHBG LH FSH [your country]testosterone replacement therapy clinic [your country] reviewsLook for a clinic run by doctors that tests twice in the morning before prescribing and keeps checking your bloods after.
Your Low T action plan
Everything I'd have you doing to give your testosterone the best chance, on a few pages you can keep.
Download the action plan
Bring your result to your next check-in
and we'll go through it together.