Need Some Help (Blood Work Icluded)

Pharma / TRT Testosterone Replacement
1

So here is what is up, I’m 5"11 and currently 320, graduated high school at 265-275. I’ve been heavy my whole life, always been semi strong, agile, mobile and hostile. Was a good runner for a fat guy, could jump for a fat guy, etc. I’ve always been into powerbuilding lifting heavy is fun, cardio blows so it’s not something I can say I like doing and do/did it often.

I started using AAS in my late teens, early 20’s and late 20’s (did GH late 20’s). Well over a year ago I start feeling really run down (sleeping 1-3 hours daily after work), not recovering as well as I used to and my weight got up to 353 and it was really difficult to drop weight. I had my test levels checked several times over the years since I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma back in 2000 (did 6 months of Chemo).

After chemo I got my test levels checked and they were 290 and I was told that was good, I was 30-31, then I did a few more checks over the years and it slowly decreased to 262, so I started therapy. I was doing 1 cc/ML a week of cyp 200 mg. I did this for 46 weeks and my levels were up to 1158, doc pulled me back to 3/4 cc/ML a week, I did that for 10 weeks and then decided I was sick of sticking my self in the ass and that I wasn’t seeing the weight loss and body comp I thought I should be seeing. So I wanted a better picture of my hormones. I went to an ENDO and did a full run down…

Here it is:

IGF-1 89 ng/ml range: 106-255

Comprehensive Metabolic:

Sodium 142 meq/l range: 133-145
Potassium 4.3 meq/l range: 3.3-5.3
Chloride 102 meq/l range: 93-108
Carb Dioxide 26.5 meq/l range: 23.0-33.0
Bun 13.1 mg/dl range: 6-20
Serum Creat 1.0 mg/dl range: 0.7-1.2
SGOT (AST) 44 iu/l range: 0-40
SGPT (ALT) 48 iu/l range: 0-41
ALK Phosphatase 78 iu/l range: 40-129
Bilirubin Tot 0.5 mg/dl range: 0.1-1.0
Calcium 9.7 mg/dl range: 8.4-10.2
Protein/Total 7.2 g/dl range: 6.0-8.4
Albumin-Serum 4.6 g/dl range: 3.5-5.2
eGFR, non-african > 60 ml/min range: >60
eGFR, afric/amer > 60 ml/min range: >60

Lipid Profile:

Cholesterol 209 mg/dl range: 0-200
Triglycerides 112 mg/dl range: 35-200
HDL 54 mg/dl range: 35-55
VLDL 22 mg/dl range: 0-75
LDL-calc’d 133 mg/dl range: 0-130
CHOL/HDL Ratio 3.9 -------> see line below
Range: Danerous = >13.5, High Risk = 6.5-13.4, Average Risk = 4.5-6.4, Below Average Risk = 3.5-4.4, Low Risk = <3.5

TSH 1.180 uIU/ml range: 0.270-4.200

Glucose/Fast 95 mg/dl range: 70-99

FSH 7.1 mIU/ml range: 1.5-12.4
LH 9.5 mIU/ml range: 1.7-8.6

Cortisol Random 12.8 ug/dl range: 4.0-22.0 (8:00 am - 10:00 am)

DHEA Sulfate 273 ug/dl range: 120-520

Estradiol 26 pg/ml range: 8-43

Testosterone 471 ng/dl range: 250-1100

Free Test % 1.26% range: 1.5-2.2
Test, Free 59.5 pg/dl range: 35.0-155.0

Vitamin D 25-oh 38 ng/ml range: 20-100
Vitamin D3 38 ng/ml
Vitamin D2 <4 ng/ml

I don’t have the other test results since I left them with my primary care doctor. I should have just stuck with the cyp or asked for gel and some anti-est to help out. As you can see everything is clinically NORMAL. I hate to use this word, but FUCK! I was thinking it was thyroid or something that could be out of wack. The only thing that is below it IGF, the Endo thinks it could be pituitary issue, whether that be a tumor or damage from using GH back in 1999! I’m not sure, but she wants and MRI, I don’t really think it’s useful at this time, because if they find it’s low/not producing and nothing else is the cause, then I’m stuck with doing GH therapy, but since I’ve had cancer in the past it’s a no go! I asked her about clomid, I read it can help bump the pituitary production (not sure on this though).

Anyway any help is appreciated and welcomed. I’m going to my primary again to see about getting on the gel or back on cyp, I just felt better daily and felt like I could function normally without feeling run down and coming home to take a nap everyday after work.

2

There is no danger in restoring GH to normal levels. The alternative would imply that those who have had cancer who have normal GH function should have their pituitary removed. Normal GH levels are not dangerous. But the big issue is the cost of GH.

You need higher vit-D levels.

Check body temp in the morning when you first wake. If a pattern near 97F, there is a problem. TSH is not the whole picture. Are you using iodized salt? Eating sea food? Any history of thyroid problems in your family. You really need to know your fT4, fT3 numbers.

Your LH/FSH suggests that your hypothalamus and pituitary are working OK and that your testes are the problem.

E2 level is OK.

Are you taking cholesterol drugs?

Try this to see if it improves your metabolism. 50mg DHEA, fish oil, vid-D 4000iu [oil based caps], 100mg CoQ10. The CoQ10 is a bit high. Start with that and if you have some progress, then you can see if 50mg seems to do the same. You can also improve mitochondrial function with lipoic acid and acetyl-l-carnitine.

Consider:

3

KSman, thanks for the reply.

The GH scare from my understanding is they don’t want to increase it to much and have a rogue cell mutate and grow cancer.

I know I need the Vit D, just don’t know what brand to buy.

I’ll check my temp, I don’t east iodized salt, just sea salt or celtic sea salt. No history of Thyroid issues that I know of, though I’ve been heavy my whole life (well 3 years and up).

I’m heading to the PCP tomorrow to get back on TRT, my levels now are not productive for me. I’ll have him do the fT4 and fT3 work up.

As for my testes being the issue, what exactly does that mean and how can I fix it.

Not taking any cholesterol drugs at all, never have. Actually I don’t take prescriptions that often and don’t have any I’ve taken for anything other than colds or flu.

Any recommend brands for:

DHEA, Vit-D, CoQ?

If not I’ll just got to Costco or Sams club to bulk up (both size and quantity). Also right now I have a blend of fish, and other oils I take, it’s a 3, 6, 9 Members Mark brand from Sam’s, is that cool?

Thanks again for the info and help.

I look forward to your reply

4

Sam’s vit-D3 2000iu oil based tiny caps.
DHEA is DHEA, best taken with the other oil based supplements to increase absorption.
CoQ10… whatever you can find. Ubiquinol CoQ10 if found has greater bio-availability.

You can find iodized sea salt. Sea salt and kosher salt do not have iodine [unless labeled as added]. Some unrefined mineral salts have some iodine.

5

Cool, thanks again.

I’ll go to Sam’s Club this weekend for some Vit D, DHEA, get some salt that is iodized and CoQ, as stated above I have a 3,6,9 supplement with fish, flax, borage and other crap in it that I’ll start taking again. I laid off all supplement and injections leading up to this latest blood work. I usually have creatine, glutamine, beta alanine, multi.

Once again thanks for your help, I’ll post up the latest findings after my visit tomorrow. I’ll get the fT3 & fT4. I’ll also discuss GH to see what his thoughts are, if you have any other info on GH supplementation for cancer survivors please let me know.

6

KSman, you had mentioned the testes being the problem, what did you mean and what can I do to fix it or atleast educate myself to discuss it with my PCP.

KSman quote from above:

“Your LH/FSH suggests that your hypothalamus and pituitary are working OK and that your testes are the problem.”

7

First day taking temp, it was 97.1 degrees! We’ll see how the next 2 days go

8

So as luck would have it, I went to my primary who originally prescribed my TRT. Long story short told him I went to an Endo and that she thought I was normal, although was considering GH with past history of cancer. He said well I don’t want to step on her toes she’s the specialist, so go use a urologist for a third opinion. Fuck, now I gotta make an appointment, probably do more blood work and go through a few months of feeling like shit again. I know why guys go renegade and get shit on the black market, it so much easier to deal with and you only have to educate yourself not some doctor, Endo or Uro.

On a side note, my primary thought the T3 - T4 test isn’t necessary and checking my cortisol to see if it’s to high isn’t needed.

9

Temp was 96.9 this morning, we’ll see what tomorrow brings.

10

Temp was 96.8 today, so only one day with 97 and the other two were close to it. What does this mean?

11

Keep records. Many consider this to be an indication of low thyroid function Thyroid hormones control your body temperature and determine how many calories your body burns. Low thyroid leads to fat gain. You would want to look at your iodine intake before resorting to thyroid meds.

Check that your thermometer does go to 98.6 during the day. Need to make sure it is not a problem with the thermometer.

12

Just read your post and went in to check, temp was 97.9 on the dot.

13

Temp this morning is 96.6 this morning.

14

So today I had a hot flash where the top of my ears, forehead and eyes were felt hot (not to touch though). My temp was 98.7 and it was around 3:30 pm.

I’ve been doing the DHEA, Vit D, Fish (salmon & 3,6,9 blend) and CoQ for 3 days.

15

How does vitamin D effect hormone function. I know its needed but just curious how it could affect hormone function. It makes me really nervous when I start taking oral vitamin D

16

Every cell in your body has vit-D25 receptors. Vit-D25 is a steroid hormone that is transported to the nuclei of the cells where it plays a role in gene expression, as do all steroid hormones. Your DNA machinery simply needs vit-D25 to function properly.

The point is not hormone function, but optimal function of the cells. One’s sense of well-being is quite complex and depends not only on hormones, but the overall functioning of the cells that hormones also affect.

Lower vit-D status correlates with more infectious diseases, cancers, auto immune diseases, MS, heart attacks, strokes etc.

17

so yesterday’s temp was 96.8 and today was 96.6.

So is there a pattern coming about with the temp reading?

Also above you stated there might be an issue with the testes? What question or test should be done to check this?

I’ll be heading to the Uro tomorrow morning and want to have some talking points ready.

Thanks again for all the help

18

Your LH and FSH do not seem low, so your testes seem to have the signal to produce, but do not. DHEA-S is mid range, so it might be safe to conclude that your testes are not rate limited by low DHEA. Some however, recommend that DHEA levels be higher.

19

I’ll print the replies and take them to the Uro tomorrow and see if he’s cool enough to read and understand it. I just need some feedback and start seeing better results from my hard work.

20

97.0 on the nose this AM.