Bloodwork help

Pharma / TRT Testosterone Replacement
1

Just looking to feel better. I Figured you guys would know more about blood work than most.

35 yr old male - 5’11"/200lbs. Dragging ass feeling, low libido, always sick, heart palps (PVC’s), mental fog, can’t make decisions easy, no drive, anxiety, mild depression. Sedatary life due to the fear of heart palps. Over all feel like I am swimming up stream.

Previously DX w/ low-T by first DR back in 07 and put on 200mg/ml day of t-cream. (can’t get past doing shots for T, I am trying to avoid it) Never felt better. Guess I was not absorbing it by the results of my new blood work done by a new DR (below).

TSH 2.880 (0.450-4.500 uIU/mL)
Thyroxine (T4) 8.9 (4.5-12.0 ug/dL)
T3 Uptake 31 (24-39 %)
T4,Free(Direct) 1.38 (0.82-1.77 ng/dL)

Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) Ab 10 (0-34 IU/mL)
Antithyroglobulin Ab <20 (0-40 IU/mL)

Homocyst(e)ine, Plasma 8.1 (0.0-15.0 umol/L)

Cortisol 19.1 (2.3-19.4 ug/dL)

Cholesterol, Total 246 (100-199 mg/dL)
Triglycerides 309 (0-149 mg/dL)
HDL Cholesterol 45 (>39 mg/dL)
LDL Cholesterol Calc 139 (0-99 mg/dL)

Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy 21.1 (32.0-100.0 ng/mL)

Prostate Specific Ag, Serum 0.3 (0.0-4.0 ng/mL)
Free Testosterone(Direct) 6.1 (8.7-25.1 pg/mL)
Estradiol 20.0 (7.6-42.6 pg/mL)

Before blood work was done last Tue., new DR felt I might have adrenal fatigue and hypothyroid and low-T

Started me on 2.5mg cortisol and a couple days later 1/4 grain of armor, stay on T-cream. Cortisol made me feel like I had 20 cups of coffee, but I did feel more sharp mentally. I was told to stop for now by nurse. Will not get to go over results with DR until a couple of weeks from now.

Got the results today in my email. Not sure how to read it except that it does look like my T is still really low and I might not have adrenal fatigue. Oh, it also looks like I am a french-fry away from a heart attack/stroke.

2

I’m confused by your post–were you taking the cortisol (hyrdocortisone? prednisone?) at the time of your blood draw or not? If you weren’t, your cortisol is fine and absolutely do not need to supplement…if you were, I’d be surprised if 2.5 mg/day keeps you at such a good level–it will probably just suppress your natural output over time and is not nearly enough to replace that (10-30 mg is standard, with 25 being about the most common)…

You do not appear to be absorbing the T cream, which is a side effect of hypothyroid…I agree with your doctor there…I know you don’t want them, but shots may be in your future…Read the Protocol for Injections stickey here to make sure you do them right…

Your Vit D is abysmall…get a good product and start at 6k iu/day

3

There was no cortisol being taken by me at the time of that bloodwork. He did the bloodwork and went on assumption that I needed the cortisol from adrenal fatigue. This happened last Tuesday and I got the labs today. Guess he was wrong on that one.

So I guess its, Low-T, Hypothyroid, and Vit-D

Is there any easier way to inject T without jabbing that big ass needle into my muscle? I am a big pussy with needles. Damn near passed out from this last lab because of the 8 freakin vials they took.

4

I think most people are able to inject with insulin pins…and do so pain free…but I’m not on HRT w/ injections, so I’m just speaking from my recollection on the posts of others…Check out the Protocol for Injections stickey for some info

5

Not been able to absorb transdermal T is consistent with hypothyroidism.

Iodine deficient? Using iodized salt? [sea salt does not have iodine]
If you are not getting iodine, you need to supplement and get iodized salt [iodized sea salt can be found].

Iodine in vitamins?

You need to inject T, read the protocol for injections sticky.

Heart palps can be sometimes ‘fixed’ with vitamin K.

Do you eat veggies, green veggies? Those are a source of vitamin K.

Taking fish oil?
What supplements?
How long?

Cholesterol:
What time of day was the lab work done?
Were you particularly hyped up for that?

6

Assuming your blood draw was at 8am, your cortisol is fine.

Your TSH implies you need some more thyroid tests. Not sure how your doc can prescribe Armour with so little info (basically just TSH + FT4). FT3, RT3, Iron, Ferritin and Vitamin B12 would be useful labs to have.

x2 on using iodized salt. You may need to supplement iodine to replenish your stores if you are deficient.

x2 also on Vitamin D recommendation - your D is abysmally low. Ideal range is 70-90.

Edited note: Get a thermometer and start taking your body temperature for a week or two (once when you wake, and then again at 3 hours, 6 hours, and 9 hours after waking). The waking temps should be in the upper 97s, and the average of all the other measurements (i.e. every measurement for the week besides waking temps) should be 98.6. Low waking temps and daily temps are symptoms of hypothyroid.