Hey guys, I’ve been going through a life transformation, trying to optimize every aspect of my life. I’m experiencing severe adrenal fatigue, poor memory, terrible mood swings, irritability, ADHD symptoms, depression, and more. I’ve investigated the thyroid, adrenals, signs of inflammation, and now the hormones. Here is where things get scary.
Other things you should know, is that my Reverse T3 is elevated at 36, my Ferritin was elevated at 333, and I’m positive for the MTHFR mutation.
I’m hoping the range for that lab was something different than the standard 11-50 estradiol, but regardless, even they say it’s high. I am 6’2 and 180 lbs, 25 years old. I used to be a solid 250 lbs when I was 19-20 and competing in strongman. I can’t lift seriously right now, when I go into the gym and try I feel like fainting. I have always been completely natural, but I did use SSRI anti-depressants for a long period of time.
I’m seeing an endocrinologist in a few weeks, but I really want to be armed with some quality information before I go in there. Has anyone ever seen an estradiol level like this before? Should I be worried?
SSRIs and SNRIs were part of my undoing. Stay away from that shit for sure. Hopefully the endo does a full work-up, but most disappoint. The stickies provide a really good list of testing you should request. You’re paying for it, so they shouldn’t balk at doing the testing, but some do. Almost like they are personally insulted you question their knowledge and dare take active interest in your own health.
You’re cortisol level is shit. Definitely need to look into that. Unfortunately, that’s the area most docs are the absolute worst. If your doc is unqualified or unwilling to treat that, you probably need to try some things on your own. Definitely get a 4x saliva test. I get mine from canary club. Post the results here.
Estradiol at over 200 pg/ml is terrible. You should aim for 22-26 pg/ml! Upper range for men is 50 but that is bollocks.
Your high ferritin is due to your MTHFR gene mutation. Not much you can do about that. I’d also check copper and zinc, which might also be affected by the mutation(high copper/low zinc) which will adversely affect your test production too. Since your ferritin is high, high copper is unlikely, but it’s worth to test for it since it’s cheap and you can scratch one more thing off the list, because it affects adrenals and all your body. Do you bruise easily?
Test for B12 and folic acid levels, you might try dosing methyl B12 to detox your body from heavy metals.
I’m thinking most if not all your problems are related to the MTHFR gene mutation. Props on the initiative, what drove you to test for it?
Also, ranges are very important. If you can’t get them, get at least the units of measurement so we can compare them to other test results, not the best idea but better than nothing.
Edit: You might want to try hydrocortisone when you wake up, your morning cortisol should be much higher. Do you work night shifts or have an uneven sleep schedule? Also might wanna try supplementing with armour or even Cytomel, since your elevated RT3 might be making you hypothyroid due to it.
Thanks man. MTHFR probably really is the cause of everything, along with my lack of ability to detox. Long-term antidepressant use probably jacked up my estrogen over time (especially Viibryd, which is basically Paxil, one of the strongest SSRI’s).
I’m looking into working with someone who studies nutrigenomics. I will get a hold of this and conquer. I spend hours and hours every day researching everything I can.
I attached a picture of me at 19 years old. I didn’t train for aesthetics and ate like shit, but I was 245-250 lbs with 18 inch arms. Notice the extreme back acne. My dermatologist never once decided to check my hormones, instead putting me on accutane.
My copper is normal, my zinc was high because I was taking supplemental zinc, but I stopped that.
Here is a picture of me the other day, so you can imagine how depressed I am. Weighing about 178 pounds here. Obviously I can’t lift much at all because my adrenal status is complete shit. But I am looking to optimize my health in every aspect, and completely surpass my 19-20 yr-old status.
