For the past year I have been feeling constantly tired and put on a bunch of weight. In January of this past year I started hitting the gym pretty hard. I have always been one who was genetically gifted when it came to building muscle and getting ripped until this past year. I went to a local Medical clinic and had a full blood panel done to see what was going on after I worked out pretty heavily for 12 weeks with little to no results at all. My diet was counted at every corner and I would hit cardio 5 days a week for 40 minutes a day. My lifting routine was strict, I followed the Kris Gethin video trainer on body building.com. In this past Ive always had great results from the program but this time I lost 5 pounds in 12 weeks. At that point I knew something was seriously wrong.
Were you fasting for these labs?
Were you dehydrated?
Prolactin is a concern.
Prolactin secreting pituitary adinomas are something that shows up in younger males.
Prolactin lowers T and leads to lower dopamine and mood problems.
If adinoma gets large, can press on optic nerves.
You should have nearly 180 degrees peripheral vision, can be less with adinoma.
In any case, easily managed with 0.5mg/week Dostinex/Cabergoline.
LH=4.7 is not conclusive because it is released in pulses and has a short half life. Better to test LH+FSH; FSH has smoother levels and can be a better indicator of LH status than LH itself.
Any rashes or skin conditions?
E2 not tested so we do not know if that might suppress HPTA. But SHBG suggests that E2 is not high.
Weight gain can also be from low thyroid function.
Iodine intake from iodized salt is important.
TSH should be closer to 1.0
fT4 should be nearer to midrange
fT3 is good and good body temperatures are expected unless rT3 is blocking fT3
Vit-D25 is sub optimal, suggest 5,000iu Vit-D3 as tiny oil based capsules.
The Doc wants to put me on a 3 week regimen of HCG to get my T-Levels back in check and then 6 weeks of testosterone replacement therapy at 250 IU. I am concerned about this treatment strategy because some the long term negative side affects that are associated with HCG. Also it seemed like LH was right in the middle of the spectrum. Would clomid and arimidex be a better form of treatment?
I took the blood test in the morning around 11. I had a meal prior to the test. I was not to dehydrated at the time of the test I don’t think. I drink about 1/2 to 1 whole gallon per day.
Ok to give an update I went with what the clinic recommended and I really have felt 10 times better however I am concerned about long term damage and the fact that this wont be a true fix to the problem nor does it explain why I had hormonal problems in the first place.
I took HCG 500 IU per day for 5 days a week for 3 weeks. Had great improvement, got libido back, energy back, was able to control appetite better, more ease in getting sleep, etc.
Then on week 4 the clinic put me on 250mg cypionate once per week for 4 weeks while maintaining the use of HCG at 300IU 2x per week.
I have done well but as of this week I have noticed pain in my breast area. I have used an AI through this process that I was given but I don’t feel it is enough. I now have lumps in my breast the size of pop corn kernals and one that is like an almond. I have had a little bit atrophy but not too bad.
I began to question things so I did some digging online about the clinic and found a lot of negative reviews. I have decided I want to get off everything and just go through a true endocrinologist as opposed to some sketchy men’s clinic. I don’t really want to take testosterone endogenously. I would much rather do proper treatment to get my body to a point where it is making the proper amount on its own. For those of you that are about to give me trouble about not doing research, please understand that I felt I did not need to since I was receiving “professional” medical advice.
What is the best way for me to discontinue everything I am taking? I have an appt with the endocrine doc on june 21 so I would like to be off everything by then.