Hey Spike,
I hope you find a doctor to treat you for hypogonadism. When my TT was in the low 300’s I was unmotivated, depressed,(insert adjective here), all of them. My doc put me on HRT soon after and life has been so much better over the last year I just don’t have the adequate words to describe it.
I wish you the best of luck, and if I may be of more help, PM me.
KNB
Thanks KNB,
I’ll shoot you a PM one of these days. Glad to see someone has seen the other side again.
Back to the basic question, how to choose a doc. I cross referenced the WHO’s website of anti-aging docs in my area w/ my insurance provider. There are 3 possibles, i’m enthused.
One of them is a DO. What exactly is the difference between an MD and a DO? Her specialty is pain management, might be a good thing since I’ve got aches and pains everywhere. Ahhh, a powerlifter in winter!
I think it may come down to something as mundane as who has extended office hours, work has been busy. I’ll start making calls tommorow.
Here’s a good link as to the different between an MD and a DO
Thanks dawg,
I’m sold on DOs, I’ll call the DO first. was absolutely swamped at work so didn’t get to make any calls today.
OK I finally got in to see a new DO this AM. I think I’m more confused than anything. After waiting for him forever he covered a lot of ground in a very short period of time. He does both pain management and age management.
I’m curious about pain management and I wonder if there’s a correlation between the neck and upper back soreness from the second car accident and low test levels. For whatever reason they had me set up for a pain management consultationfirst. He looked at a timeline and symptom list and agreed that my stress level has been really high the last few years.
He looked at my lab results and I believe he said 300 was in the low end of normal for my age range. He some ther ratio was acceptable, bioavailable I think. In my life I’ve squatted over 600 pounds at 11% bf, drug free. I’m not really interested in normal. But normal would be an improvement over this. He seemed more concerned about how much caffeine and nutri-sweet I take in than how low my T levels were.
He ordered more blood work including serum cortisol, thyroid function, c-reactive protein and about 6 other things. I’ll probably do that Thursday AM. He did a physical there. He took a urine sample and did an EKG there. He also ordered an MRI.
I was supposed to do that tonight but when I got the regular insurance girl had left, and the girl there could not explain my coverage to me and it was looking like anywhere from $200 to $1000 out of pocket so I kindly rescheduled and won’t have that done w/o a better explanation of both insurance coverage and neccessity. I’ve been declined coverage by my insurance provider in the past so I’m that much more leery.
The MRI is a precursor to some procedure he wants to do on my upper back next week. I cannot remember the name of it and I’m not even sure if it’s diagnostic or therapuetic. It’s going to make me miss some work (the last thing I need) plus I’ll need someone to drive me home.
My head is hurting from everything that has transpired and for whatever reason I don’t get a good vibe here. I feel like my neck/back could be straightened out if I could just get 3-5 chiropractor visits in quick succession but neither of my chiros are particularly accessible.
Any thoughts?
[quote]e-loo wrote:
Spike9726 wrote:Would I be a good candidate for TRT?
You are a good candidate for TRT if your testosterone is low.
If your test isn’t low, then it is something else. Pudgy, unmotivated, low energy? Maybe you are diabetic and need to get your insulin level regulated!
So that would be the first thing to find out – is your testosterone level low?
Get tested.
If it is low, then the doc will want to find out if what is causing it. (i.e. primary (testicles failed) or secondary (other endocrine causes – testicles not getting the right signals)
[/quote]
You can always drop me a line about grief recovery, I have to admit I gained twenty pounds at a shot until I was sixty pounds overweight, but I’d suggest:
Put yourself on a walking program, walking 2-3 miles every night. Not for weight loss, but for stress reduction.
Journal. Get a notebook and write about your feelings for at least ten minutes every night.
Follow up on the testing.
Get on a low glycemic index diet.
Really. Those things will help you get on top of your grief and, at the same time, double check any extraneous problems you might have.
OK the MRI was going to cost me a $1000 out of pocket. That was a precurser to some other diagnostic procedure on my upper back/neck. I cut ties w/ that DO today and I’m going to call a different doc in a few days.
[quote]Spike9726 wrote:
OK the MRI was going to cost me a $1000 out of pocket. That was a precurser to some other diagnostic procedure on my upper back/neck. I cut ties w/ that DO today and I’m going to call a different doc in a few days. [/quote]
I hope things work out for you.
If you are in Texas, get in touch with the program they have for depression support. If you aren’t, a lot of other states have similar or better programs for attorneys with problems that will do nothing to harm your license (these are support programs designed to keep you from failing).
Hope all works out.
[quote]KNB wrote:
Hey Spike,
I hope you find a doctor to treat you for hypogonadism. When my TT was in the low 300’s I was unmotivated, depressed,(insert adjective here), all of them. My doc put me on HRT soon after and life has been so much better over the last year I just don’t have the adequate words to describe it.
I wish you the best of luck, and if I may be of more help, PM me.
KNB[/quote]
Wow, you just described me to a T in your second sentence. You mind if I PM you? I have a few questions.
To TS, good luck, I’ll be following this thread to see what happens.
Well greetings gents. I thout I would update everyone. I’ve yet to start any therapy. The first doc just gave me a bad vibe. I’ve been playing phone tag w/ the second docs office. He’s a DO and does adjustments similar to a chiropractor and he does not take insurance but charges a lot less. I’m pondering a career change and I may be w/o insurance for a while.
Work has been stressful as can be. The powers that be have decided we’re going to handle more cases in-house instead of referring them out. This means more $ for them and a bigger ulcer for me.
I’ve eaten clean for a couple of weeks now. I’d fallen back off the wagon a bit after being good at the first of the year. I’ve made it to church 2 Sunday’s and a row and I’ve started reading my Bible for about 15 minutes before work, really helps the nerves. I made it to the gym 3 days last week and I seem to be feeling a bit better. I remember a time when I was so much more disciplined.
I’ve decided to take the diet/training to a bit higher level and I’ll be eating stricter while adding AM cardio. I bought a digital camera. If I ever figure out how to work it I’ll post some pics and measurements.
Well, been eating clean and working out consistently for a few weeks now. Actually went to a hockey game with no beer last night. Stars stunk it up and lost to Pheonix 2-1.
Say a prayer guys, I’ve just gotten a job offer. It will be more $ and less stress but it will be a change in fields. Changes make me nervous, but it needs to happen. Not sure when I’m going to get in to see a doc to look deeper into HRT.
Thought I’d update:
Well I took the job. Overall it’s better but it’s so much different. The stress level is a lot lower but I’m driving 70 miles one way and my job location and description can change in the blink of an eye. This is truly a gypsy profession. Not sure how I feel about that.
Got off the diet/training for a few weeks after the change. I’ve never struggled this hard to get motivated. Usually once I get the ball rolling it kinda takes over. This is now the 4th time I’ve tried to pull myself out and get started again. Started eating clean and I rejoined a gym about a week ago, feel better already.
I took a day off and finally got in to see the new doc. He’s a DO. I’m not sure what to make of him. He did a chiropractic type manipulation on me and it was a joke. I hardly moved or felt anything. He said i was stiff as a board, I thought to myself "no kidding doc, that’s why I’m here. I’m a big fan of chiropractors and have used a number of them over the years. He wants me to go see a nutritionist for a liver flush. He also wants me to go to a hypno therapist for grief counseling.
He gave me a shot of testosterone. I don’t know if that was really what it was. He said to call him in a few days and report how I feel. If I feel better he’s going to put me on the cream. He said after about 3 months on that he’d retest my blood levels and possibly use some Arimidex to prevent aromatization. I asked him about testicular shrinkage and he seemed to think that HRT would help reverse that.
I wasn’t too bowled over this AM. What does the T-Nation think?
Spike, agree with Bushy on lack of confidence in the DO. Not to give you yet something else to consider … but people who go through lots of life stresses (deaths of loved ones, job changes, exams, relationship issues, etc.) over a protracted period of time are prime candidates for adrenal fatigue, with a symptom list sounding very much like your own, especially the lack of energy. Don’t know too much about it, but it has to do with improper balance of DHEA and Cortisol. Unlike most hormone tests which are blood serum based, this test is saliva based. You can get a kit from ZRT Laboratories (or various agents of theirs) for anywhere from $60-$150, depending on which hormones you want tested.
As a minimum, you may want to do some “google-ing” on adrenal fatigue and take one of the questionnaire self-assessments.
Bushy,
Thanks for the response. You are correct. It’s not that I think he’s trying to decieve I just don’t think he knows what he’s doing. I’m gonna ditch him. He didn’t sound like he knew what he was talking about on TRT, the adjustment was a waste, and he totally lost credibility recommending that hypno-therapy. You’ve made several good posts on this thread. You are much appreciated for it.
Beach Billy,
I think you are on to something. I’m going to look into that. It seems like it’s a combination of things as much as any one thing. Thanks
I’m curious about the liver flush. What exactly is that going to accomplish? Basically one enzyme level was elevated and I told the doc that I feel like crap for several days if I have so much as a few beers. He said I’m not processing the alcohol properly. Frankly if this makes me quit drinking completely I’d probably be better off.
Well, I’m going to try again. I got a call from a nearby doc’s office manager. Frankly I didn’t like his attitude, he was kind of cocky, kept saying that they’ve been doing it for a long time, whatever. Made a comment about how old my last blood results were. If I felt better I wouldn’t be calling you would I? I asked him a number questions and he kind of answered in circles. I guess that 1. He’s not the doc and 2. They can’t say much w/o more concrete results in front of them.
I asked about estradiol, he said they test for the full panel on estrogen. He said that they MIGHT prescribe Arimidex or some other drug, I forgot the name. Frankly I’m curious about just doing Arimidex.
I asked about testicular shrinkage and he said that if everythings done properly that won’t happen. He didn’t say anything about prescribing hcg or some other drug.
I told him I’d done a bit of research on my own and he sounded unimpressed. I also told him that I used to powerlift but have never juiced. I don’t think he believed I was drug free. Luckily he’s not the Doc.
Long story short I’m going by to pick up the blood test kit in the AM. It’s over $600. I was practically floored. It’s through Quest diagnostics. I’ll probably do it Saturday AM since it requires the same 12 hour fast. He said they freeze it and ship it off somewhere so it takes about 10 days to get results. That gives me more time to research the board. The consultation is goiing to run about $300 but atleast the office is very close, could almost walk.
Any suggestions? Anyone know a good HRT Doc in the Fort Worth Dallas area?
BTW I’ve been back in the gym and eating clean 3-4 weeks now. I’ve lost about 6 pounds and feel a touch better.
Spike - No sex for a while before the labs if they are going to test for prolactin or PSA. Also never get a DRE and get sent for lab work on the the way out, PSA will spike.
HPTA shutdown always happens with effective TRT.
You need to time the labs relative to last injection. Should be done 1/2 way between injections.
If one is HPTA shutdown, time of day should not matter.