where would I get the saliva test - Quest?
canary club
zrt labs
those are two good ones
quest might have it as well, not sure since i am european
11 am cortisol is definitely low, are you tired in the morning?
Yes, I am tired in the morning. But the 11 is well into the range. Am I missing something?
your reading should be highest in the morning and taper off during the rest of the day
i have another forum i frequent and there is a guy who went to see a top doctor (mariano) who commented on his cortisol levels
So i then handed him my labs and basically he was like ya my initial thoughts are correct. It would seem your body is in this state of iflamation stress. he also said i was borderline hypothyroid due to my T4 reading. he also said my morning cortisol was way to low and it sould be about twice what it is now (mine was a 10 scale of 4-22 and he was like you sould be 17-30 even).
so hopefully that helps, and will change your mind on that cortisol reading
some ppl get stressed out for the needle in the morning and produce a high AM cortisol, your’s doesn’t seem to be affected and even low
definitely get a cortisol saliva
Update- guys it has been almost two months off EVERYTHING. Need to get new bloods done and I will post results shortly. During the first month had periods of really bad shrinkage - all over and especially testicles. During second month, shrinkage has dramatically improved - basically in the past three weeks. Now I will note that my scalp has been on fire; I feel like I am shedding like crazy and even the exiting hairs have totally changed their texture (very fine and wispy vs. coarse). All things below the waist better - although balls not back to size and still have the pain in the epidimous on and off…
Today I woke up with a bit of a setback on the shrinkage and numbness but overall, I feel more good days than bad. Could it be I am gradually healing - its been 1.5 years for me since fin.
Of course I am curious on blood results - especially the estrogen/SHBG since that was always an issue
scared,
Just being in range is not good enough. You should be above the top 75% of the range. The higher the better. Your waking Cortisol reading is where healthy people are at around 3-4pm. You can plug your #'s into this quest link if you had a 24hour test done. It will give you a better graphic of what is going on. Scroll down to the chart posted.
How does one go about improving the cortisol profile though? is hydrocortisone the only option? surely there are natural ways of doing it, for example working out in the AM - calming at night and going to bed early.
Here are a few more ways to increase cortisol.
-Transdermal or micronized lipid matrix (MLM) pregnenolone
-Transdermal or MLM progesterone
-increase cholesterol (eat eggs)
-biotin: it increases the output of the adrenal glands
-vitamin B complex
In order for the first 3 options to work, one may need to supplement with thyroid hormones.
I followed hormones 101 by Chillin to a decent degree and it did nothing for me. I have also tried MLM pregnenolone, which did nothing for me. It is far too expensive to play with again.
I am looking to drop all supplements and take only B vitamins, fermented cod liver oil and zinc soon. I will combine that with AM workouts and early nights - hopefully this helps.
When i get the money together i will also get a 4x saliva cortisol test privately.
Some people have had success with dexa, prednisone, or prednisolone. But this is very powerful stuff, and is usually used for people that have physical problems in the adrenal glands.
Anyone get the burning/itching scalp I have. It is horrible on scalp but also notice it on shoulders/face. Feels like my hair is just failing out like crazy - and now I am seeing right through to my scalp.
Weird thing if this was DHT rising wouldn’t I see some improvement in sexual sides???
Just shows how fucked we are, if your increasing DHT and no improvements.
Tell me about it…
It is strange though - pre-fin I never had this intense itching. This is the second episode I have had of this. Last time it lasted maybe two or three weeks during the summer. Lost quite a bit of hair then the shedding and itching just stopped.
Would love to see some improvments below the waist though!
Strange that the drug was discovered through studying eunuchs who did not lose hair. We get hit with similar symptoms but we do have the other Androgenic signs.
I think it has to do more with progesterone levels than DHT. On musclechatroom.com chilln says that progesterone can counteract androgens in hair follicles (something that, he says, estrogen does not do). In my experience, this is true. I take progesterone to increase my energy levels, and, as a “side effect”, my hair stopped falling and my dandruff stopped too, although my DHT has been increasing.
If this is actually true, shedding hair despite low libido points to 1) not low free T, 2) low progesterone, and 3) high estrogen.
More is explained here: musclechatroom.com/forum/content.php?121-baldness-and-prostate-101. Keep in mind that chilln is not a scientific source, but just a guy that has been modulating hormones for decades and has collected others’ experiences.
I have seen all that stuff. I actually think Chillin is a very clever bloke, i reckon your average guy with hormone issues would be better off taking his advice than most endo’s.
I would like to try Progesterone but trying to find a doctor that can see sense in using Progesterone on a male in the UK, is probably literally impossible.
M_81
I have very low Free T, good T, sky high E, sky high SHBG - at least from last testing. Also low cortisol
What would you suggest?
I’m no doctor, so this is just my personal thought. You may want to discuss with your dr what I write below.
It seems that your pregnenolone gets all converted to DHEA and T, and none to cortisol. Your SHBG and E2 are probably high because your body senses that T is too high. I think that supplementing with progesterone would be actually the healthier way to increase your cortisol. That would hopefully increase your metabolic rate*, and your body, at least in theory, should be “willing” to accept higher levels of T, i.e., it will decrease E2 and SHBG.
*you may need to supplement with thyroid too, to help the conversion progesterone -> cortisol
OK - decided to give this a whirl.
From what I have been reading progesterone will help to balance T/E ratio and help cortisol and also potentially stop the itchy scalp.
I am also going to try Calcium D-Glucarate and DIM again. DIM did help lower E for me and this Cal- G is supposed to help your liver to eliminate excess Estrogen.
All three should help get me into better hormonal balance
Back to taking Vitamin D/Biotin/Ibuprofen again
anyone have any suggestions for the itchy scalp?