Whats normal testosterone?
This is a bit tricky. What’s considered normal is really broad, because levels vary a lot from person to person. What’s low for one person can be quite normal for someone else. Since most of us have no idea what our usual testosterone level is (who gets a testosterone baseline?), trying to figure out if you’re low can be difficult, unless you’re super low. For women, even what’s low is debatable. The research is minimal. For example, a big national lab, Metpath, used to state that under 20 ng/dl was low. Under new management, they just switched to saying that under 15 ng/dl is low. Other doctors argue that 30-60 ng/dl is a much healthier range for women, particularly after menopause. Low testosterone is called hypogonadism. Since testosterone is produced in daily cycles, levels vary by time of day, stage of menstruation/menopause, and age. Studies of men in combat show that severe stress and fear strongly lower testosterone. Coping with an opportunistic infection or a diagnosis of AIDS
