Hormone Levels/Problems?

Bigger Stronger Leaner Over 35 Lifter
1

I was told to post here by KSman so Im moving it from the steriod section. Here are all the posts to date:

Topic: Hormone Levels

03-01-2010, 04:04 PM
bearvsshark
Level 0

Im not sure where to post this so excuse me if its in the wrong area. I figured steroids and hormones go hand in hand.

Quick question on Hormone levels. Without sounding psychosomatic, I recently have felt (for several reasons) that I have been having some kind of hormone issues. Anyways I got my levels checked but I cannot get a sound conformation on whats normal and whats not. Just wanted a T-Nation opinion.
Current levels are:
CK, Total: 232 U/L
Estradiol: 27 pg/mL
Prolactin: 13.7 ng/mL
Testosterone: 321 ng/dL
TSH with Consult: 2.4 mcIU/mL
Background on me: 24yr old 189lbs 9%bf.
Any info in the matter would be greatly appreciated. Im hoping that based on the reply I can spring out more questions concerning Low T issues and Hormonal Issues. Im wondering if there is a conversion issue and how one could get checked for that/what to ask for to get checked for that.
Thank you so much.

03-02-2010, 12:58 PM
KSman
Level 0

Wrong forum, please go to the over 35 forum and read two stickies, protocol for injections and the one on estrogen. See how the meat of the stickies is scrambled with personal stuff… do not post there, start your own post and transfer some of this there or post “Moderator, please transfer to over 35”.

What is CK?

Your TT is low. Your TT is very low for your age. E2=27 will make you estrogen dominant with that TT level.

TSH might be indicating some thyroid issues. You could test fT3, fT4. Are you getting iodine from supplements or from iodized salt? Sea salt does not have any useful amounts of iodine. Some “rock salts” do.

What are your cholesterol numbers?
Are you on an extreme low fat diet?
Are you getting EFAs? essential fatty acids?
Olive oil?

Some drugs, alcohol, weed, OTC and Rx can mess with hormones. Are you exposed to chemicals at work?

When did this start? Any blows to the head or whiplash in that time frame?
Any loss of peripheral vision?

Background on me: 24yr old 189lbs 9%bf.
Height?
Waist?
Where do you carry fat?
How hairy are you?
Did you start to grow early and fast as a teen?

Ever used any drugs to stop hair loss?

03-03-2010, 10:13 AM
TrainWreck80
Level 1

KSman wrote:

“Did you start to grow early and fast as a teen?”

I’m curious why you asked this. What does this have to do with test levels? I grew early and fast, reached peak height in middle school and had low test from at least my early 20s. Is there some connection?

Yesterday, 09:29 AM
KSman
Level 0

That suggests that you may have had higher hormone levels. Some will then be shorter and stockier. You might be one who grew up with higher T levels and would then suffer more with lower levels than some who are tall with lower levels of body hair. We are all not the same, but there are patterns. Those questions and the answers can be quite useful.

Today, 12:49 PM
montez
Level 1

KSman, what would you say is a good enough (in terms of muscle and strength building) amount of free Testosterone for a man in his mid twenties. Quest labs gives a reference range of 35-155 pg/ml but that may be very low.

Today, 10:47 PM
bearvsshark
Level 0

Damn! I Wasnt expecting a reply from KSman. Thank you so much sir and those are some spot on questions. I dont know how to move the post over except for repost and Im pretty sure I read both the suggested stickys you mentioned but still thought I would throw out my own question because I cant put my finger on it. Im gonna post here and try and move it as well (didnt think it belonged there because Im not over 35)
I actually have no idea what the hell Ck is. It seemed that that was where to start writing the info.

“Your TT is low. Your TT is very low for your age. E2=27 will make you estrogen dominant with that TT level.”

I feel you are 100% correct. Fam Dr. said I had nothing to worry about and it was normal. I feel estrogen dominant and also have pseudo-gyno. I hold some fat there underneath the nipple and trailing off the side of the pec (toward the lat). Nip is puffy. Not the end though, it doesnt look like an eraser. Just puffy tissue. This is what lead me to some kind of estrogen related issue - or so me thinks.

Iodine probably biggest source is salt. sea salt on occasion. As stated THS with consult 2.4mcIU/mL. Sodium levels (if it helps) read 140 mmol/L

Cholesterol: unchecked. Thought I had it but cant find it on print out. Im on a pretty high fat diet. Supp. fish oil, frequently use almond milk, avocado, coconut milk, olive oil (including taking shots of it (from a shot glass) nuts, seeds etc.)

Dont know about loss of P. Vision. I where glasses anyways.

Background:
Height 6ft.
Waist: 31in (at belly button)
Fat: Mostly insulin (love handles, lower back) Pecs, as stated from before. I think thats it really (no cockiness)
Hairy: yes, have been all my life.
Growth: Not sure. I dont think so, about 17-20 is when I was able to back on more muscle and such but I associate that from the T boosting. I was a fat baby till a year old and then proceeded to be tall and skinny the rest of the way.

Not exposed to chemicals at work. But Ive been exposed to all of those, some heavily (drugs, Rxdrugs, OTC, alcohol (used to be an alcoholic) etc)

Blows to the head: yes, car accident. Result: cerebral latent hematoma. Skull (according to reports) cracked and I bled out slowly (internally), pressure built up = seizures, blackouts, memory problems, BIG memory problems. Blacked out for 6 months (I was awake and functioning in life but have no recollection of it. I kept notes and recordings, short term memory seriously affected. Basically lived Memento for a while. Still suffer from memory and balance problem(s) (I think this is when the problem started, but seriously and unfortunately, I cant remember. It was I think(I cant remember) I took test boosters and methyl 1 T at this time. (not all at the same time, spread out over months).

no drugs ever used to stop hair loss.

I feel as though I have issues with estrogen. I feel like I have prostate issues and the gyno is another issue.

Dr. appt went sour so I have an appt with a urologist and then will probably make an appt with an endo.

any help in the matter is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.

2

Tell the next docs about the damage to your head and probable pituitary damage. You may need to get a work-up for all of the pituitary hormones, including IGF-1 which a proxy for GH production. Might need a MRI. This is absolutely out of the urologist’s league!

CK = Creatine kinase - Wikipedia
goes up with muscle damage or a heart attack

No iodine in sea salt, oddly enough. You could have an iodine deficiency. Did doc palpate your thyroid gland? You need to use iodized salt or a supplement that has iodine in it.

Your TT absolutely is way too low.

“”“Quest labs gives a reference range of 35-155 pg/ml but that may be very low. “”” is free T? There are different methods of measuring fT that produce very different lab ranges. fT must always be in the context of a lab range.

T boosting? That can be a problem.

Your body hair and growing up fast indicates that you were a higher T guy and you will suffer more from your current T levels than a tall slim guy who grew tall and steady with little or no body hair with the same levels. The lab ranges and pronouncements of being “normal” never take that into account.

3

KSman =s awesome. Thank you so much sir for getting back to me.
I will make an appt for the pituitary issues, although Im pretty sure im going to be pissing off my Dr. by asking for all this testing. In the MRI, what damage would they/should they be looking for? Just asking.

Thank you for that link. Its weird though because Im always sore after a work out (which I associated to lower T levels) and had a real bad dose of rhabdomyolysis once before (pissed dark and everything, bed ridden for over a week) and then had a minor dose a while later. I associated this to heavy, heavy drinking the night before extremely tough workouts which is a big No No and sure fire way to get rhabdo. Could high levels of this (CK) be in any way associated with low T or pituitary damage??

I will check into the iodine levels. I thought my Dr checked Thy gland, but cant find it on spread sheet; what would it say (on paper, like what wording, cuz I swear he said it came back normal but clearly he doesnt know what normal is).

After looking at the list about Low T and having several of the symptoms, including the prostate issues, gyno, sleep issues etc I just got tired of it and started doing the research. I feel its way to low even without being psychosomatic about it.

You seem to still be 100% correct. I felt higher T when I was younger, at least 4 yrs ago, which is when this started. Everything from libido (which has declined) to other issues as well. I dont remember growing fast but I remember shaving early. But I also shaved on purpose early (sports.
Thank you again for all your help.

Also, I dont know if this means anything to the situation but I might as well cover all bases: the only things he said that we abnormal in my tests was that my MCH Concentration was high (@36.3 g/dL (31.7-35.5)) and my GLucose was high (@112 mg/dL (65-100)) which I thought was strange because I ate like 6 hrs before the test had 2 cups of coffee and 1 glass of water (which explains why I passed out during the blood drawing too)

Thank you so much again.