Possible to take dhea or hcg to increase e2
I’ve never heard of lower than 1 causing these issues. What’s your source? My doc said he wants it between .5 and 1.
Thank you @systemlord, I appreciate it.
My apologies if I came off snarky, it’s been a long and frustrating road trying to solve all of my issues and I do value your input and feedback.
Wondering this as well, as DHEA is an avenue that I’ve thought about exploring.
@enackers you’re correct and should be okay between .5 and 1. It is just below this that seems to cause issues, which is why I was concerned because my last reading was well below this.
The study reports that mortality was increased in hypothyroid people - including subclinical - if they were left untreated. And mortality was increased even more if people were overtreated (overtreated was defined as TSH lower than 0.3).
Link to study in the journal where it was published:
https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/pdf/10.1089/thy.2017.0517
Link to a free version:
http://www.overlaeger.dk/paesentationer/Lillevang-johansen%20Thyroid.pdf
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Checking in with my latest oral body temperatures. I still feel cold in my extremities throughout the day regardless of the T4/T3 dosage that I’m on. I am currently taking Levo at 75mcg/day and Tiromel at 6.25mcg/day together first thing in the AM. I am interested to see what my TSH is at this time around, as it came in low during my last blood work.
Mar. 21st
AM: 96.8°
Mar. 22nd
AM: 96.8°
PM: 97.3° (4:15pm)
Mar, 23rd
AM: 97.2°
Mar. 25th
AM: 97.0°
PM: 97.9° (4:30pm)
Mar. 26th
AM: 96.3°
PM: 98.0° (4:15pm)
Mar. 27th
AM: 97.6°
PM: 98.0° (4pm)
Apr. 1st
AM: 96.7°
Apr. 2nd
AM: 96.8°
PM: 97.6° (4pm)
Apr. 3rd
AM: 97.5°
PM: 98.0° (4pm)
Apr. 4th
AM: 97.0°
Apr. 5th
AM: 97.0°
PM: 97.5° (4pm)
Apr. 6th
AM: 97.1°
Apr. 7th
PM: 97.9° (5:15pm)
Apr. 8th
AM: 97.1°
Apr. 10th
AM: 96.5°
PM: 97.6° (5pm)
Apr. 11th
AM: 97.5°
PM: 97.9° (4:15pm)
Apr. 12th
AM: 97.4°
PM: 98.1° (5:30pm)
Apr. 13th
AM: 97.5°
PM: 97.7° (4pm)
Apr. 14th
AM: 97.5°
PM: 98.2° (3:15pm)
Apr. 15th
AM: 96.7°
PM: 97.5° (3:30pm)
Just got my next round of bloodwork and interestingly, everything was “in range” this time around. Of course that doesn’t mean that my levels of everything are optimal, as we know how broad these ranges can be. For instance, my TSH jumped quite a bit to 2.12. I have been taking 75mcg of Synthroid and self medicating with 6.25mcg of Tiromel, so I have since upped the Tiromel dosage to 12.5mcg after seeing my latest TSH reading. Not really experiencing any of the traditional Hashimoto’s symptoms, just still the ED and lack of libido. Thank god for Viagra and Cialis! I’m really starting to lose hope here and my last hope seems to be my appointment with a urologist at the end of May. I’m almost hoping that something is physically wrong with me so that I have some sort of explanation as to what is causing these issues. Anyways, here are my latest bloodwork results:
Hematology
WBC - 6.2 [4.0 - 11.0] x E9/L
RBC - 4.96 [4.50 - 6.00] x E12/L
Hemoglobin - 156 [135 - 175] g/L
Hematocrit - 0.448 [0.400 - 0.500] L/L
MCV - 90 [80 - 100] fL
MCH - 31.5 [27.5 - 33.0] pg
MCHC - 348 [305 - 360] g/L
RDW - 11.9 [11.5 - 14.5] %
Platelet Count - 274 [150 - 400] x E9/L
Differential
Neutrophils - 3.0 [2.0 - 7.5] x E9/L
Lymphocytes - 2.3 [1.0 - 3.5] x E9/L
Monocytes - 0.4 [0.2 - 1.0 x E9/L
Eosinophils - 0.4 [0.0 - 0.5] x E9/L
Basophils - 0.1 [0.0 - 0.2] x E9/L
Immature Granulocytes - 0.0 [0.0 - 0.1] x E9/L
Nucleated RBC - 0 /100 WBC
Biochemical Investigation of Anemias
Vitamin B12 - 510 [138-652] pmol/L
Ferritin - 124 [22-275] ug/L
General Chemistry
Glucose Fasting - 4.8 [3.6 - 6.0] mmol/L
Hemoglobin A1C/Total Hemoglobin - 5.3 [<6.0%
Creatinine - 108 [67-117] umol/L
Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) - 77
Calcium - 2.35 [2.15-2.60] mmol/L
Albumin - 47 [35-52] g/L
Alanine Aminotransferase - 24 [<50] U/L
Muscle Enzymes
Creatine Kinase - 163 [44-275] U/L
Lipids
Hours After Meal - 12 hours
Triglyceride - 0.78 mmol/L
Cholesterol - 5.95 mmol/L
HDL Cholesterol - 1.48 mmol/L
Non HDL Cholesterol - 4.47 mmol/L
LDL Cholesterol - 4.12 mmol/L
Cholesterol/HDL Cholesterol - 4.0
Thyroid Function
Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) - 2.12 [0.32-4.00] mIU/L
Thyroxine Free (Free T4) - 13 [9-19] pmol/L
Triiodothyronine Free (Free T3) - 3.5 [3.1-6.2] pmol/L
Pituitary Function
Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) - 2.2 [1.0-8.0] IU/L
Luteinizing Hormone (LH) - 3.2 [1.0-7.0] IU/L
Adrenocorticotropic Hormone [ACTH]
Collection Time - 8:43 am
Prolactin - 12.2 [4.0-19.0] ug/L
Adrenal Function
Cortisol AM
Cortisol AM - 479 [135-537] nmol/L
Collection Date - 03-MAY-2019
Collection Time - 9:45 AM
Reproductive and Gonadal
Estradiol - 57 [<162] pmol/L
Testosterone - 18.8 [8.4 - 28.8] nmol/L
Serum Proteins
C Reactive Protein - 0.3 [<6.0] mg/L
Bone Markers
25-Hydroxyvitamin D - 217 [75 - 250] nmol/L
Referred Tests
Adrenal Antibody - NEGATIVE
Mitochondrial Antibody - NEGATIVE
Also checking in with my latest oral body temperatures.
Apr. 16th
AM: 97.1°
PM: 97.8° (5pm)
Apr. 17th
AM: 97.0°
PM: 98.1° (3:45pm)
Apr. 18th
AM: 97.5°
PM: 97.8° (4:45pm)
Apr. 19th
AM: 97.6°
Apr. 20th
AM: 96.9°
Apr. 23rd
AM: 97.5°
PM: 97.9° (4:30pm)
Apr. 24th
AM: 97.2°
PM: 98.2° (5pm)
Apr. 25th
AM: 96.6°
PM: 97.9° (5:30pm)
Apr. 26th
AM: 96.6°
PM: 98.3° (4pm)
Apr. 28th
PM: 98.2° (5pm)
Apr. 29th
AM: 97.5°
Apr. 30th
AM: 97.6°
May 1st
AM: 98.0°
PM: 98.6° (3:30pm)
May 2nd
AM: 97.1°
PM: 98.5° (5:30pm)
May 3rd
AM: 97.9°
PM: 98.8° (5pm)
May 5th
PM: 98.6° (3:30pm)
May 6th
AM: 96.8°
PM: 98.2° (5pm)
May 7th
AM: 97.6°
Checking in with my latest oral body temperatures, as well as an update from my urologist visit. I saw the urologist at the end of May and he wasn’t very helpful in trying to find the root cause of my ED. He was a young guy and had no issue prescribing me 5mg Cialis (which is great lol), but made no real attempt at figuring out what was actually causing it. I have a follow-up appointment in October, or earlier if I call him and request one, so I am going to press him a little harder next time on running some tests that might help determine what the root cause of my ED is. Anyways, here are my latest temperatures.
P.S. Does @KSman still lurk around these parts? Seems like the dude dropped off the face of the Earth…
May 8th
AM: 97.0°
PM: 98.5° (4pm)
May 9th
AM: 97.4°
Note: May 10th - 20th I was away on vacation and could not measure my temperatures.
May 21st
AM: 96.5°
PM: 97.5° (4:15pm)
May 22nd
AM: 97.0°
PM: 98.2° (4pm)
May 23rd
AM: 97.1°
PM: 98.1° (4:30pm)
May 24th
AM: 96.7°
PM: 98.1° (5pm)
May 25th
AM: 97.5°
PM: 98.7° (3:30pm)
May 27th
PM: 98.3° (5pm)
May 28th
AM: 97.1°
PM: 97.7° (5pm)
May 29th
AM: 96.3°
PM: 97.9° (4:45pm)
May 30th
AM: 97.2°
PM: 97.9° (4:30pm)
May 31st
AM: 97.1°
Jun. 1st
AM: 97.5°
Jun. 3rd
AM: 97.0°
PM: 97.8° (4:30pm)
Jun. 4th
AM: 97.4°
PM: 97.9° (5pm)
Jun. 5th
AM: 97.4°
PM: 98.1° (4:30pm)
ksman has left the building. Why exactly are you wasting your time with all the temperature taking? You know that’s a bunch of crap, right?
ED can be a lot of things, but one thing for sure is that your T levels are middle of the road not that great, you have high albumin and I’m guessing high SHBG. And probably low free T. And stop wasting your time taking your temperature, Wilson is a quack.
@hardartery I’ve been taking my temperature first thing in the morning and then mid afternoon on the advice of KSMan and because I have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. I didn’t know that the temperature thing turned out to be a bunch of crap, but thank you for letting me know so that I no longer have to do it.
What is the connection between high albumin and ED? I had my SHBG tested last in December 2017 and it came in at 50.7 [10.0-70.0] nmol/L. My last bioavailable testosterone reading was also at the end of December 2017 and came in at 5.6 [3.6-11.2] nmol/L.
It’s difficult to get both SHBG and bioavailable testosterone tested living in Canada, but I will see if I can get that added to my next round of bloodwork at the end of the month. Thank you for your feedback, it is much appreciated!
Albumin binds test as well as SHBG, just supposedly not as well. You have low free T, which may be part of your problem.
Looking back at your Dec 17 results, your T has not changed much when compared to your latest results.
Using those numbers (since you tested SHBG), you are at a 1.53% Free Testosterone which is low. Of course, I have had lower, and it sucks.
But the big question is … forgetting about your ED issues right now (since your doctor prescribed Cialis), HOW DO YOU FEEL?
Is IR also bunch of crap?
What else should we be informed about ksman’s sticky for thyroids?
Seriously anybody in this forum got good results after IR? I am on my last week of IR.
@hardartery Ah, interesting, I did not know that. So not only does SHBG bind to testosterone, Albumin does as well, which would cause free test levels to drop even lower.
@traveling-man That’s the thing, besides the ED, I feel good! Even before I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s I didn’t experience any of the usual symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog or low energy. Didn’t even have any hair loss or dry skin; the only symptom that I had was cold hands and feet.
That’s why this entire journey has been so frustrating. I feel great and can’t figure out what is causing this one issue of ED…
@pita13 I’m starting to think that IR is a bunch of crap and that it actually exacerbated me getting Hashimoto’s. I did two IR’s at the start of my journey and didn’t feel any better. In fact, I suspect that it sped up the process of me getting Hashimoto’s. I would tread lightly…
Checking in with my latest round of bloodwork. This is only just a part of it, as I am now seeing a Naturopath and he wrote me a requisition to get free and bioavailable test measured, as well as SHBG and thyroid antibodies. Overall since adding 30mg of NDT to my current 75mcg of Synthroid I have been feeling better. No fatigue, brain fog or low energy, but still experiencing ED and weak morning erections for which I have been prescribed 5mg Cialis by my urologist. This is only a temporary fix and I am working tirelessly on finding out the root cause so that I do not have to rely on PDE-5 inhibitors for the rest of my life. Would also really like to avoid TRT if possible, at least until I have children. I find it interesting that my prolactin is slowly rising with each subsequent bloodwork I get done. I think that the next time I see my endo I am going to speak to her about getting an MRI done for a prolactinoma.
Hematology
WBC - 5.8 [4.0 - 11.0] x E9/L
RBC - 4.63 [4.50 - 6.00] x E12/L
Hemoglobin - 144 [135 - 175] g/L
Hematocrit - 0.422 [0.400 - 0.500] L/L
MCV - 91 [80 - 100] fL
MCH - 31.1 [27.5 - 33.0] pg
MCHC - 341 [305 - 360] g/L
RDW - 12.4 [11.5 - 14.5] %
Platelet Count - 263 [150 - 400] x E9/L
Differential
Neutrophils - 2.7 [2.0 - 7.5] x E9/L
Lymphocytes - 2.4 [1.0 - 3.5] x E9/L
Monocytes - 0.5 [0.2 - 1.0 x E9/L
Eosinophils - 0.2 [0.0 - 0.5] x E9/L
Basophils - 0.1 [0.0 - 0.2] x E9/L
Immature Granulocytes - 0.0 [0.0 - 0.1] x E9/L
Nucleated RBC - 0 /100 WBC
Biochemical Investigation of Anemias
Vitamin B12 - 392 [138-652] pmol/L
Ferritin - 129 [22-275] ug/L
General Chemistry
Glucose Fasting - 4.8 [3.6 - 6.0] mmol/L
Hemoglobin A1C/Total Hemoglobin - 5.0 [<6.0%
Creatinine - 115 [67-117] umol/L
Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) - 71
Calcium - 2.36 [2.15-2.60] mmol/L
Albumin - 47 [35-52] g/L
Alanine Aminotransferase - 36 [<50] U/L
Muscle Enzymes
Creatine Kinase - HI 467 [44-275] U/L
Lipids
Hours After Meal - 13 hours
Triglyceride - 0.89 mmol/L
Cholesterol - 5.50 mmol/L
HDL Cholesterol - 1.45 mmol/L
Non HDL Cholesterol - 4.05 mmol/L
LDL Cholesterol - 3.65 mmol/L
Cholesterol/HDL Cholesterol - 3.8
Thyroid Function
Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) - 1.43 [0.32-4.00] mIU/L
Thyroxine Free (Free T4) - 13 [9-19] pmol/L
Triiodothyronine Free (Free T3) - 3.5 [3.1-6.2] pmol/L
Pituitary Function
Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) - 2.6 [1.0-8.0] IU/L
Luteinizing Hormone (LH) - 2.4 [1.0-7.0] IU/L
Adrenocorticotropic Hormone [ACTH]
Collection Time - 9:50 am
Prolactin - HI 19.2 [4.0-19.0] ug/L
Adrenal Function
Cortisol Random
Cortisol Random - 499 [135-537] nmol/L
Collection Date - 04-JULY-2019
Collection Time - 9:55 AM
Reproductive and Gonadal
Estradiol - 54 [<162] pmol/L
Testosterone - 18.6 [8.4 - 28.8] nmol/L
Serum Proteins
C Reactive Protein - 0.7 [<6.0] mg/L
Bone Markers
25-Hydroxyvitamin D - Results are pending… [75 - 250] nmol/L
Referred Tests
Adrenal Antibody - Results are pending…
It supposedly doesn’t bind very strongly to albumin, so free test numbers do not factor in albumin. Prolactin is generally going to be inversely proportional to dopamine, as one inhibits production of the other, so that won’t help you to feel good. That could be related to your ED, it is likely causing libido issues if you have any.
@ngiapmac
High Prolactin has always been believed to be a factor in ED. You might want to talk to your provider about whether he thinks an L-Dopa Supplement would help rather than going to the L-Dopa medicine which has more side effects.
What I DID NOT KNOW, is that LOW prolactin can also cause ED issues. That doesn’t apply to you, but it is something I learned recently.
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