I’m a 39 yr old male from the US. I have spent the last 7 years dealing with some health issues that my doctors keep down-playing. The more I read here, the more hopeful I’m becoming. At this point I’ve probably had 30 gallons of blood drawn to be given the same diagnosis of “you’re fine.” I know I’m not fine because I feel like crap.
Here’s a what I have going on:
Insomnia
Mood swings
Irritability
Decreased libido but all the hardware works
Low energy
Difficulty concentrating
Highly anxious
Depression
EXCESSIVE sweating (all caps because it’s beyond excessive)
No strength/Weakness
No drive or desire
Constipation
I had blood work done 7 years ago that really only found that I had high cholesterol. I had quit smoking about 2 years prior thinking the sweating was related to years of smoking. My first doctor just handed me some Lexapro to help out with anxiety and told me to clean up my diet and get more exercise. I had just started a business and she thought that may have been affecting me. They refused to give me any cholesterol meds because they didn’t want me dependent on a pill for the rest of my life. The lexapro had me feeling good and it was great for keeping me from ejaculating. I eventually gave up on the lexapro after a year and found a new doctor. She immediately put me on atorvastatin and fenofibrate. Cholesterol was now in check. As time went on, my moods worsened. She put me back on lexapro and added welbutrin to help with delayed ejaculation. We also tested T and some thryroid at that time to look into sweating and my fatigue issues. Tests results all landed in the “normal” range. I recall the T was around 348 (scale 300-1100). I was then sent to see a shrink. She had me on 450 mg welbutrin and 10 mg lexapro, and believed that I was showing signs of ADHD and put me on 10 mg of Adderall XR. That eventually got moved up to 50 mg of XR per day. I had tons of energy, that’s for sure. I stopped seeing her and started over with a new doctor. She listened, and ran the same thyroid and T tests with the same results. She did order a test where I had to piss in a bucket for 24 hours as well. I believe that was something for adrenals. Apparently that was ok or within range as well. Sent me to a dermatologist for sweating. They were no help either. After doing some reading, to me, it was becoming more apparent that the T was looking low, although it was in the clinical range. Ended up going back to one of the previous doctors and I kept pushing the issue. Summer of 2016, finally given referral to see a urologist. He listened, examined, did things no other man (or woman) have ever done to me lol, ordered blood work. Tested prolactin, SBGH, Total test, free test. My numbers were “ok” per the doctor. My total T was 459. At that time, I had been taking a T-booster for about 4 months and was actually feeling better, sleeping better, waking better, but still sweating. My moods were somewhat better but nothing to write home about… I use the Adderal like it’s a Red Bull when I’m dragging ass. The XR’s only seem to last 2-3 hours for me anymore.
I just had (very limited) blood work done December 29th 2016. here are the results of what was actually tested.
Testosterone- 317 ng/dL (262-1593)
Chol- 169 mg/dL (114-210)
Trig- 153 mg/dL (36-152)
Hdl- 50 mg/dL (>40)
Chol/Hdl Ratio- 3.4 (<6)
Ldl- 88.4 mg/dL (49-125)
non Hdl Chol- 119 mg/dL (<160)
Hepatic
AST- 26 U/L (6-52)
ALT- 35 U/L (13-86)
ALK PHOS- 107 U/L (22-136)
D. BILI- .20 mg/dL (.10-.26)
T. BILI- .7 mg/dL (.1-1.5)
T. PROTEIN- 7.6 g/dL (6.1-8.4)
ALBUMIN- 4.2 g/dL (3.2-4.9)
GLOBULIN- 3.4 g/dL (1.0-5.1)
TSH- 1.520 uIU/mL (0.35-4.010)
T3 UPTAKE- 31% (29.1-37.9)
T4- 10.2 ug/dL (5.0-11.8)
Reverse T3 Serum- 20.1 ng/dL (9.2-24.1)
Prolactin- 7.6 ng/dL (2.5-17.0)
LH- 2.9 mIU/mL (.8-7.6)
I’m currently 39 yrs old, 5’10, 205 lbs. I’m moderately active. I do commercial HVAC service/repair. I climb ladders, carry heavy motors, do a lot of walking, and sometimes a lot of sitting. I try to maintain a good consistent diet. I avoid all fast food, fried foods, processed foods, and sweets. I do not drink soda or juices. I drink fresh/home brewed tea that is lightly sweetened with sugar. While weight training I eat around 2500 calories, 250 grams Protein, 250 grams Carbs, 80 grams fat. I supplement with whey protein, Omega 3 and CLA. I use a pre and post workout and drink a BCAA drink throughout the day. When not training, I’m cut the protein back, and enjoy a little more sweets. I typically don’t crave sweets, though lately that’s all I want to eat- i.e. soda and donuts.
I workout like a mad man for very small (if any) gains. My abdomen carries all my fat and no matter what I do I can’t shed any of it. I measure close to 40 inches around at my belly button. I’m hard-pressed to grow facial hair. I can go 2-3 weeks without the need to shave. I’ve never had a “beard”, hair doesn’t grow on my cheeks or jaw line. Hair on back and chest though I used Nair on both before vacationing at an indoor water park last month and there’s very little regrowth. Testicles are a good size (per urologist last year), with not pain currently. I did have a period back in 2006 where they hurt like hell but was ruled as a groin strain/pull and treated with some sort of anti-inflammatory/muscle relaxer. I have three kids with my wife. All three did take 3-6 months to make, lol… I don’t know if that’s normal or something to do with me or her. I used to love getting up at 5 am to go fishing or golfing. Hate going to bed and getting out of bed. I become frustrated very easily whereas I used to be the complete opposite.
I plan to find a new doctor and schedule a visit this week. I will request more blood work and look for recommendations from you guys on what to have checked. I’m tired of feeling tired and weak. I’m tired of getting out of the shower only to get sweaty while getting dressed. I truly feel that if I could fix the sweating, that’d fix half of my problems. I will check my body temps and post them tomorrow.
A BIG thanks in advance to everyone. I look forward to ALL feedback and suggestions.