Women of T Nation

Life-changer! Kicking myself for not buying one earlier and spending so much on disposable products…

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So I got my hormones results. Better but some adjustments to be done.
So I take 3000UI of the vit D per day and my numbers are still low but higher.
The Promerium is working but we will increase the duration and see if in 3 months it gets even better.

TSH 2.23, T3 4.4, T4 11.6
FSH 2.9, LH 3.4
Progesterone 53.1
Oestradiol 814
Testosterone total 1.13
Cortisol 380
DHEA-S 4
Insuline 50
Prolactine 22.4
OH Vit D 88

Any one going thru menopause like a disaster should look into those bio indenticale hormone or a tailer made plan

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How’s your mood? High prolactin tends to make people pretty ‘meh’ about everything. Low prolactin turns people into Amber Heard-level crazy.

I’m always ‘meh’ and blood results showed I’ve got above-range Prolactin levels.

I am in the meh club. Introvert who doesn’t give f**k about much. I am has expressive as a rock. :rofl:

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If this is/becomes an issue (high prolactin can lead to other emotional/behavioral issues), you could load up on vitamin B6, or for more serious intervention you could look into Caber… would strongly consider risk/reward before caber if you decided to go that route.

Or if you’re cool with this as-is, you can ignore it and hang out in club ‘meh’ with me and the other un-excitables lol.

Glad to hear things are doing better than before in your pursuit of BHRT.

FYI you might have better treatment/results if you get your free testosterone (fT) tested next bloodwork run. Total Test is like showing Horsepower in a car but ignoring the Torque (hoping this makes sense)… If you want to get fT tested, I would request Equilibrium Dialysis as most other methods are inaccurate.

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I can ask about free testo but here it is already hard for a women to get access to this level of care. I only get that because I can aford to pay for it. My insurence only cover the cost of the BHRT not the Dr visit.

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How’s everyone doing???

Time to get this thread rolling again, come on ladies! Let’s invite some friends… I’ll go first!!

Welcome @Allan.LD

This is my good friend, Laura Allan! I want to introduce her to this forum and try and get her to participate in our crazy conversations because she’s one of the best female coaches that I know. When it comes to strength sports this girl knows her stuff. If you girls are struggling with nagging injuries or need help with technique, she’s an excellence source of knowledge and has a great eye.

She joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 2009 and has served in multiple tours, and received high praise for her contribution to the force. She was one of the first female to serve on Her Majesty’s Submarines. She certifications as an Electrical Technician and fourth class power engineer. On top of her military career she’s a world class powerlifter, strength coach and a mom! Also, she’s the meet director for the Canadian Powerlifting League and runs her own gym, Van Isle Strength.

HER STRENGTH CAREER:
◦ Held numerous National records in both the CPL and CPF
◦ Achieved a 500kg total at the Kabuki Northwest classic in 2019
◦ Best lifts Squat 202.5kg/446lbs, Bench Press 100kg/226lbs, deadlift 200kg/441lbs, log press 160lbs, atlas stone 220lbsx5
◦ Won the Strongman Event at the Victoria Highland Games in 2019
◦ Trained Muay Thai at ZUMA with Sarah Kaufman for 4 years
◦ Competed in MAS Wrestling

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Now that I’m the queen of shoulder dislocations, I’ve become very familiar with rehab work.

Here’s one of the routines that has helped me strengthen up my shoulders. It’s been about 6 weeks since my dislocation and I’m able to train normally again… woohooo!!

It’s a great way to get a quick workout and a wicked shoulder pump even if you don’t have a shoulder injury. You don’t need a lot of time or equipment :muscle:t3:

Superset 1 (x3)
• Arm circles 15-20 in each direction
• Band pull aparts 25-30
• Overhand deadhangs 25-30s

Puppy dog 1.5min
Twisted cross 1min each side

Superset 2 (x3)

• Banded front raise 12-15
• Banded lateral raise 12-15
• Sword Draws 12-15
• Neutral grip hangs 25-30s

Superset 3 (x3)
• Banded overhead press 15-20
• Banded face pulls 15-20
• Reverse grip hangs 20-25s

Puppy dog 1min
Twisted cross 1min each side

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Doing well!

Just got back from Hawaii

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Fun!! I hope you had a good time there.

Merry Christmas :christmas_tree:

Hello ladies,

Hoping you can help decipher whether or not her symptoms are related to her hormones (if unbalanced). I’m very familiar with ranges for men but not women for hormonal functions.

My wife just had her blood work done due to symptoms of depression, irregular periods (had it for several years), low libido, tiredness, mood swings, and low motivation and focus.

She is 35 y.o. and we have 8 and 4 year old together.

She had her last period about 24 days ago.

Here are her lab results:

Total testosterone: 24 ng/dl (2-45 ng/dl)

Free testosterone: 2.3 pg/ml (0.1-6.4 pg/ml)

And the rest of the results shown below:

Maybe keep an eye out for her progesterone and estradiol levels. They look fine to me, but for the progesterone it may be a bit too low since it’s day 24 into her cycle. She should be into the luteal phase, and by that time levels tend to rise higher.

Her estradiol levels may also be a bit low too, but they may also be fine according to her person. Mid cycle peak usually should be around 150-720. Again, if she’s hovering in or around luteal phase, that’s usually peak time.

@Bronwen_Blunt
Definitely weigh in though, or correct me if I’m missing something. I’m using deduction/observation as best I can.

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Thank you for your response!

How about testosterone levels?

According to some research, she should be hovering at around 60 for optimum level.

Also any suggestions on trying natural supplements like zinc and vitamin B complex before considering HRT?

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Anytime! I can’t say for absolute certain, but definitely look into it more and maybe get a second opinion. It could very well be causing her some issues. Her levels do look to be in normal range, so just try to approach it a bit slowly.

I had excellent results with vitamin D, fish oil, and zinc in particular. Give the vitamin B a go as well. I personally get a lot of skin irritation or flushing sensations from vitamin B so I don’t take it, but your wife could benefit from it. I double dose the fish oil given my activity levels, but healthy fats are excellent for keeping hormone levels functioning optimally. I personally did an experiment with Yohimbe and loved it.

Do be careful with it though, some people don’t respond too well to it. I added one or two drops to my morning coffee every other day.

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A graphic that may prove useful for you/your wife in the future:

Your wife is doing fine on Estradiol, DHEA and Testosterone. Progesterone looks low.

Test, though perfectly acceptable, could be improved if you wanted to go that route - HRT can help with a lot of the symptoms you’ve described. My wife is on 8mg/wk Test Propionate, split E3.5D… though I’d recommend starting off with a cream, troche, or nasal spray before going the injection route.

We (as in T-Nation) also have a Testosterone Replacement subforum that you could get more insight from as well, if you wanted to start a thread.


Zinc, Magnesium, Vitamin D, Vitamin B & B12. Probably also worth checking her blood iron levels. If these are all being supplemented/are okay, then a consult for HRT seems reasonable. I’d recommend Defy if US based, it’s where we both go.
Also recommend getting the following checked if another lab panel is requested:

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@Purekoryo a couple other things to consider here/questions to ask:

  1. What are her current height and weight?
  2. What does her diet look like?
  3. Is she exercising and if so - how much/what type?
  4. What are her stress levels and sleep like?

This may be a product of lifestyle - the above can all have a major impact on hormones, mood, menstrual cycle. etc. It’s important to identify the root of the problem before supplementing and/or start HRT to treat it. The last thing we want to do here is make things worse.

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@Purekoryo

Also be vigilant on things like mental and emotional health. Too many people let that fall to the wayside/don’t know what to look out for.

Korean gal @ 5’-7” and 125-130lbs

Diet is relatively healthy (mostly Korean foods) and she doesn’t eat a lot but doesn’t seem to shed any weight and gaining fat around her mid region.

She doesn’t like to exercise. I tried to get her to workout with me but after a couple of sessions she didn’t want to do it anymore.

Stress levels I would say moderate. She’s a stay at home mom with 8 and 4 year old but they both go to school. So nothing externally that’s putting a lot of stress. Although she does complain about how hard it is taking care of the kids but I think it’s because of her low energy, depression, etc.

Is she currently taking any prescription medications?

No she doesn’t take any.

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