Hi, my partner had bloods done because of high fatigue/little growth etc, can anybody tell what sort of problem the following may point to?
DHEA - 5,900 (range 1-4,000)
Test - 10 (range 10-30)
I don’t have the results on hand, however estrogen & prolactin were above the top of the range also.
Basically what should be high isn’t, and what should be low isn’t. (lots of sleep/good nutrition etc etc)
Cholesterol was also above the top of the range, all other blood (iron, platelets) etc normal.
I’ve done some searches but can’t find anything specific, other than high DHEA should be a good thing. It seems to my uneducated mind that DHEA is not converting to what it should be - but why?? And if it helps he’s only 27.
If anyone can throw up some ideas it would be really appreciated.
Obviously my thoughts here are not intended to be medical advice, but it may lead you in the right direction for your own research or in discussions with an endocrinologist.
For being 27 he should have lower-end DHEA levels and higher-end testosterone levels. As DHEA is converted into androstenedione and then into testosterone, levels on the opposite end of the spectrum (your partner) would indicate a poor conversion of DHEA to testosterone at some point in the process. I would suggest that the elevated estrogen levels could be due to increased testosterone aromatization, but since only about 1% of testosterone is normally converted, and up to a couple percent in abnormal conditions, the large majority of testosterone would remain, and if this was the case your partner would still have at least normal testosterone levels.
Androstenedione is also converted into estrone (E1), which can be converted into estradiol (E2), so it could be that the “fork in the road” so to say with andro being converted into either testosterone or estrogen is being skewed by improper enzyme balance. The cause for this is beyond my knowledge, but could be due to high body fat levels, testicular trauma, or as most endocrinologists would term it, idiosyncratic (essentially "we don’t see an obvious cause, but it’s happening anyway). I’m not going to touch on the progesterone factor, but it can be involved, though much more indirectly.
The most effective treatment without addressing the true cause (if it could be determined, and even then if it could be treated) would be a combination of testosterone replacement therapy and either an AI or SERM, depending on if the testosterone therapy would take care of the elevated estrogen.
The TRT could possibly shut down that part of the hormonal process, resulting in normal estrogen levels, or at least estrogen levels that are due to the testosterone, in which case an AI would be used. If TRT didn’t lower estrogen, a SERM would be necessary. However only an AI or SERM would be necessary if there are estrogen-related side effects, such as significantly altered mood or gyno. Some people can have an elevated level of estrogen and not have these symptoms, which is fine. I would suggest not experimenting on your own, at least not until you follow up and get the doc’s opinion.