Read that high E2 levels can result in hot flashes/sweating??? Anyone found this. I’m on .25mg anasrozole EOD. Maybe bump that up? .5 mg E3D?
Also, tapering down the HC. Down to 10 - 5 - 5 right now. Has anyone had luck with TD Preg boosting cortisol (ala chilln’s recommendations on the ATM forum)?
Some recent labs ordered by GI Dr a few weeks after last flareup (crohns):
blood glucose 108 (70-99)
creatninine 19 (10-20)
blood urea nitrogen 19 (10-20)
crp .2 (0-.9)
wbc 5.5 (4-10.5)
rbc 4.71 (4.7-6)
hemoglobin 13.9 (13.8-17.2)
hematacrit 41.7 (42-52%)
lymphocyte 13.4 (20-50%)
monocytes 14.3 (0-12%)
lymphocyte # .7 (1-3.5)
Most of the others were middle-ish of the ranges.
do a search for Aldosterone pupil test Sea Salt.
I sweated like crazy and tried to tie it to E2 control, but then found a link about aldosterone (control salt retention). If your body dumps too much salt, then you start retaining more water which causes sweating problems, swollen ankles, and/or excess urination.
stopthethyroidmadness has a good section on aldosterone as well.
Thanks…I’ll take a look.
I don’t have swollen ankles, but definately have excess urination, but always have (blood sugar?), plus i drink tons of RO water. Probably almost 100 ounces by noon.
if you decide to try sea salt, take 1/2 teaspoon COARSE sea salt and toss it to the back of your tongue then chug a full glass of water. It controls the taste so that you don’t feel like you’re drinking straight out of the ocean.
wait 30 minutes and see how you feel, for me it had an immediate and amazing impact - more energy, better mood, etc.
I should note that I already consume ALOT of sea salt. I put it on everything at most meals and occassionally do as you said and just throw some back when I drink water. I have never really felt much from it though. but I’m someone who (unless it is drastic) doesn’t notice changes with much of anything. My trt plan = haven’t noticed any difference, good nutrition vs poor nutrition = don’t really feel that much different, lots of supps vs no supps = no difference.
Dr ordered new labs. When should i draw in comparison to my last injection?
I was planning on Wednesday morning (after injecting on Sunday morning). Do 1 injection/week.
Is this ok? Basically 72 hours after?
sure, sounds reasonable.
just as a side note, I did bi-weekly and weekly injections. I took multiple tests. The day after my weekly injection I had levels of 1500+. 5 days after my injection, I had levels of 400.
so will 72 hours after your injection give you an average? yes, it is possible, but it all depends on your genetics and how fast you metabolize. that is why we keep recommending shots twice a week because it helps balance out your T levels and give you more steady reliable levels.
I did two weeks of twice weekly injections. I didn’t notice any difference, so discontinued. May not have given it a long enough chance? Looking forward to the test results. Libido is better, but no change in energy levels and mood, which is the primary concern.
Alright new labs in:
The previous couple of weeks my protocol was:
120 mg / week T cyp - Sunday am injection
250 iu’s hcg on Friday and Saturday
Anastrozole .25 mg EOD. I though E2 may have been creeping up so was going to bump it to .5mg E3D. Started that on Tuesday of then had blood drawn on Wednesday at 8am.
DHEA/Preg - 50mg/25mg in a MLM sublingual
Was on cortef…in the process of tapering off. At the time of draw was at 12.5mg/day. Didn’t take any on the day of draw.
Cortisol 17.66 (4.3-22 ug/dl)
Estradiol 14 (ND-39.8 pg/mL)
LH .1 (1.7-8.6 mIU/mL)
DHEA-S 430.6 (160-449 ug/dL)
T Free and Weakly T Total Serum 886 (249-836 ng/dL)
% Free T 22.5 (9-46%)
T F+W Bound 199.3 (40-250 ng/dL)
TT LC/MS 979 (350-1030 ng/dL)
Libido is better, morning erections more frequent, stronger erections. My primary concern going in is fatigue and mood/irritability/depression and this hasn’t changed much if at all.
Replaced cortef with some TD Preg cream, trying to boost cortisol and energy levels. See how that goes.
Any thoughts?
1 - your numbers for cortisol and testosterone looks good.
2 - your numbers for E2 seem low if it was the sensitive test. (May be contributing to your symptoms)
3 - makes me wonder what your TSH levels look like (thyroid could be contributing to your symptoms) you’re previous tests of 1.8 and 1.5 are borderline, but your free T3 looked great. so I would lean towards thinking your low E2 is the main culprit.
4 - you can test for Pregnenolone levels. why start taking something when you don’t know whether you are deficient? Your DHEA-S numbers are high which indicates that the other building blocks (i.e. - pregnenolone) are already there.
have you ever tested for ferritin or D25-OH?
[quote]PureChance wrote:
4 - you can test for Pregnenolone levels. why start taking something when you don’t know whether you are deficient? Your DHEA-S numbers are high which indicates that the other building blocks (i.e. - pregnenolone) are already there.
[/quote]
I think his DHEA is at the upper end of the range because he is supplementing with DHEA & Preg…
I think the numbers look pretty good…I would cut the Adex dose down just a bit to raise your levels into the 20 range–let your symptoms guide you…
As far as stopping Cortef cold turkey, I think that’s a bad idea…the recommendation is usually to taper off by 2.5 mg every 10 days and keep an eye on symptoms with each taper…you don’t want to stop it all at once because your ACTH is probably suprressed from it and will not kick back in without proper taper…
I would start with a low dose of preg, and increase it every 10 days coinciding with the 2.5 mg taper…
BTW, OP, what is DHEA/Preg MLM sublingual? I’m interested in checking it out…did your doctor recommend it?
MLM= Micornized Lipid Matrix. Supposed to have a better results on the first pass or something. I get it through College Pharmacy in CO i think.
Vit D is in the 70’s range.
Ferritin 90 (5-244 ng/mL) - hematocrit also low - most likely due to crohn’s.
Prog/Preg - taken in November prior to starting trt.
Progesterone .8 (.2-1.4 ng/mL)
Pregnenolone 48 (<151 ng/dl)
My free T4 number is the one that looked low and of concern, any thoughts on that?
What do you recommend with E2 levels? Going to .25 mg E3D? taking a few days completely off prior to that? They were at 48 while only on DHEA prior to trt. They were 31 on 10g androgel (TT level ~400) with no AI.
I am playing around with Chilln’s Cortisol Boost 101 ala Crislers site…that is why the TD Preg.
I’m just at a loss of where to go next. I look at these numbers and think wow, should be feeling great. why not? We’ll see what the Doc says in the next few days. I’m thinking i may need some thyroid support to boost the cortisol (from preg) or i’m thinking a possible neurotransmitter imbalance.
low free T4 is not a concern I believe unless it is below range. it just means your system is converting ft4 to free T3. in fact, high free T4 can cause problems as it converts to RT3 if there is too much T4.
Chilln knows what he is talking about. A lot of my advice to guys here comes from people like him.
I wish I knew more about estradiol. We are basically walking experiments. I am having problems controlling it myself. I have gone from 11 when on Arimidex to the 40’s now. #$%@$#! and my cortisol has dropped even with all of the hydrocortisone I have been taking. i am now trying 2.5mg-5mg cortisol at night to see if it helps on the theory that your muscles dump testosterone at night if there is not enough cortisol in your system, and the dumped testosterone aromatazes to E2.
Think that i should try .25mg E3D? or back to eod? I’m wondering if the .5mg dose a day prior to the test skewed the results?
I think after vacation i might go back to 2x week injection, say sunday am, and wed pm and try .25 mg anastrozole with injection?
KSman or Purechance, any thoughts on how to proceed with AI dosage?
I have just started experimenting with Arimidex again myself so I have no idea really. You just have to go based on your symptoms and your personal reactions.
I have tried .5mg weekly up to 2mg daily. I am now trying .125mg daily (although splitting that tiny pill into 1/8 segments is proving to be a challenge).
I am thinking about asking my doc for a prescription for compounded generic Arimidex in .1mg capsules and then dosing once (or maybe twice) a day.
[quote]PureChance wrote:
I am thinking about asking my doc for a prescription for compounded generic Arimidex in .1mg capsules and then dosing once (or maybe twice) a day.[/quote]
Be warned that the .05 mg/pill I got my compounding pharmacy to cook up did exactly fuck all for my E2 levels…They were just as high taking it as when I wasn’t taking it…either it was underdosed, my gut wasn’t absorbing it, or my body was fighting the decrease in E2…whatever it was, E2 remained unchanged…
Long time since i’ve been on…alot going on recently (new job, move, etc).
Some recent labs if anyone can comment. 6 month followup with my Dr this week. Feel about the same as above, much better, but not great (mostly from an energy standpoint).
Lipids Profile:
Chol 185 (110-220)
Triglycerides 70 (30-200)
HDL 60 (35-65)
LDL 111 (88-130)
Glucose 100 (70-99)
Hemoglobin A1C 5.8 (4-5.7)
PSA .6 (0-4)
Cortisol 15.21 (4.3-22.4)
E2 <12 (0-39.8)
LH .1 (1.7-8.6)
vit d3 78.8 (32-100)
DHEA-S 572.2 (88.9-427)
IGF-1 218 (115-307)
Test Total 915 (249-836)
Test free 29.65 (5-21)
Test Free % 3.24 (1.5-4.2)
TSH 1.58 (.35-5.5)
Free T3 4.1 (2-4.4)
Any comments welcome…particulary interested in the thyroid numbers.
Been on injectable t-cyp, hcg, anastrozole, sublingual DHEA/Preg, metformin.
Thanks.
What should my LH number be if on T and HCG and trying to concieve? thanks.