Bostonusa2009's blood test results Very Low Free T

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#21

I’m not sure if anyone has done this. I just got off of the phone with my Doctor. I talk to the dr about as much as my customer’s lately.

We discussed my low GH. He is going to run a more in depth test to further check the GH. He said if he believes the low GH could be the cause of my problems . I could do Arginine injecttions. I have not seen this posted on the site, but I have seen many posts by guys saying that Arginine has helped them.

I use a supplement Arginine somewhat regularly, every couple of days. I really haven’t noticed much of an improvement from the supplement. Does anyone know if anyone here has had positvive results from an Arginine injection. It’s kind of difficult to understand my dr sometimes because he is a indian guy with a really thick accent, so I think he is talking about it being an actual injection. I know synthetic Human Growth Hormone is incredily expensive and would never be covered by my insurance company. So I don’t understand how Arginine could directly effect my GH. I haven’t had time to research it yet.

ALso, tomorrow I’m getting an in depth blood test done on my adrenal glands, Thryroid T3 & T4. I am also going to separate lab to have an xray done on my pituitary gland to be sure there is no tumor there.

I have kicked the tests into high gear and am determined to find out what the f is causing this crap. I pray my tests help me and some of the results can help you guys too.

I’ll will post the reults as soon as I get them.

BostonUSA

#22

L-Arginine at high doses, especially when injected, can increase GH secretion.

The role of nitric oxide in L-arginine-stimulated growth hormone release.
grande.nal.usda.gov/ibids/index. … row=641785

A study of growth hormone release in man after oral administration of amino acids
informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10 … 8109114287

The assessment of growth hormone status in normal young adult males using a variety of provocative agents
www3.interscience.wiley.com/jour … 1&SRETRY=0

L-Arginine and insulin-tolerance tests in the diagnosis of adult growth hormone deficiency: influence of confounding factors
www3.interscience.wiley.com/jour … 5/abstract

L-arginine-induced growth hormone secretion is not influenced by co-infusion of the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor N-monomethyl- L-arginine in healthy men
sciencedirect.com/science?_o … d11457c887

#23

Thanks Mew,

maybe that will help me at a high dose.

#24

Ok well I went for an in depth test of Thyroid & Adrenal Glands test today. The nurse drew blood three times. After the second batch of blood, they infused Cortisol into my body.

They were looking to see how my body handles the Cortisol. I asked if there was a specific name for this way of testing the adrenals, but the nurse didn’t give me one.

They ran the first test, infused the cortisol. They waited an hour, took blood again. Waited another half hour and then took blood again. The nurse was pretty cool. She gave me the first batch of blood tested. Here are those results. I will post the complete test when it comes back from the lab next week.

Free T 4 1.01 (0.61-1.12)
Free T 3 2.81 (2.50-3.90)

CORT Basel 12.6 (8.7-22.4)

Total Creatine Kinase 244 (32-269)

She says preliminary your thyroid and adrenals look normal, but you will need to see complete test.

So now I now my Growth Hormone is completly Messed up at 4% of the range. The result from two weeks ago was: GH .05 (.01-.97)

Also, it actually looks like my Free T went up fairly significantly from the last test. The weird thing is the range that is given is different than when I got back from the last two tests. Does anyone know why that is? Is there a way to convert this?

Here is the most recent free T: FREE T 19.7 (9.0-30.0)

Here are the older ones: 11/09 Free T: 11.7 (12.4-40.0) pg/ml
6/23/09 Free T 9.3( range 12.4-40.0)

#25

I had my GH tested and the results had come back as a low 4% of the healthy range. Then my dr. ordered testing of IGF1 & IGF3, both of these also came back very low.

IGF1 93 (106-277)
IGF3 2.7 (3.4-6.7)

My endo dr said the IGF1 & 3 blood test is accurate, but the gold standard of testing for Growth Hormone is considered the GH stimulation test.

They inject the amino acid Arginine into your body and check the blood level results. If the anterior Pituitary Gland is working properly it should become stimulated and produce GH, if not then there is a problem producing GH then a GH deficiency can be diagnosed.

This test is important if you want to consider synthetic Growth Horome. The test is considered so reliable many insurance companies do cover synthetic GH. Now I have to make the difficult decision of wether to use the synthetic GH if the test comes back confirming a deficiency.

Has anyone here done this test? I have not seen any posts on this one. I had the same type of test done for Thyroid where they injected cortisone into my blood. That one came back as negative.

healthcentral.com/ency/408/003377.html

#26

So they used injected arginine, not as common as some of the others. At what period after the dose did they begin blood sampling, and how many samples did they take? What were your approximate T levels at time of test (T effects GH release). I would say you are still making some GH otherwise your IGF-1 would be even lower.

Tried an oral arginine stimulation test following an article on the subject that I’ll try to add a link to later. Did not get a GH response one hour after a fasting dose.

But, I did begin using an arginine based GH secretagogue afterwards, cycling on and off, and low and behold my IGF-1, which had been very close to yours, basically doubled at the end of the first cycle. It then went a little higher at end second cycle. My best doc indicates to me that IGF-1 is a better marker for average GH, because the sampling can easily miss the pulse. I did get an annoying side effect (puffy nipples) when combining the secretagogue with clomiphene, which is why I have not posted about it before. A side effect of arginine is increased NO, thus its contraindicated for those on heart medication, but does tend to yield firmer wood. Chose your secretagogue carefully, or make your own up (I am consdiering doing so), as effectiveness varies widely. Also, Mew has posted information not to take both a PDE5 inhibitor (e.g. goat weed or Cialis or Viagra etc.) in combnation with arginine because it could really mess up your blood pressure.

Someone posted some guidance their doctor gave them on IGF-1/IGFBP-3 ratios, it would be worthwhile to review what they posted and compare yours (and mine for that matter).

After the miserable experiences with various topical TRTs, am now a firm believer in trying to stimulate the pituatary if there are signs that it is still functioning. You get much more natural pulses of T, GH, etc. than you ever would just dosing with the hormone directly and having it come through in a low wave. Also you have the problem of injecting GH and having it surpress your own natural production, kind of like T supplementation shrinking ones testis.

The effectiveness of oral arginine to boost GH declines in your 40s, but there have been reported cases of it still working to age 60, if you are one of the lucky few who still respond to it at that age (crossing my toes and fingers). Still worked for me in my mid 40s (certainly in the first cycle it lifted my libido off of zero, also nocturnal erections returned). Raising GH in this manner apparently gives some estradiol control.

Anyhow, gave you something to consider. kazman

#27

Kazman, What is an Arginine based GH secretagogue? Is this an oral pill? I have taking Argine about 1500mg per day. I feel no change what so ever from this.

#28

Have you tried adding lysine in with your arginine? According to Mews post above you have to gang these two together to get an effect on GH. I haven’t tried it yet, but the doses in the study weren’t too high (1200 mg) so might be worth a shot.

#29

Badluck,

I have not tried this. However, I have tried so many different supplements I just happen to have some Lysine on my desk. I appreciate the advice, I’ll give it try.

I just spent some time this morning reading a few articles that indicate intense exercises like bike riding, sprints and intense arobics can increase HG. I have to admit I have not been doing this.

I think I’m going to give this a try for a month or so and see if I notice any difference. I started today with a 40 minute Intense bike ride. On another note, I am pretty confident I will post bad numbers on the HGH stimulation test. So, I feel as my HGH levels are responsible for most of my problems. I will be able to confirm this next week.

I am happy I found a good endo dr that is trying to help me. I will be visting with a Dr that specializes in Pituitary problems in the next week or two. He will be the dr that runs my HGH stimulation test. I am hoping I can get some good information from him. Maybe he knows about some natural methods of increasing HGH.

#30

Bear in mind these tests indicate you are deficient in IGF1 and IGF, NOT that you are GH deficient.

IGFs are made in the liver (? GH and effect of androgens, (I read particularly DHT effect??)).

You may be LOW IN THE ANDROGENS (ie) DHT which are required to form IGFs in the liver, NOT Growth Hormone.

BostonUSA, is there any chance you could research this please and post your literature result as it would be interesting to know how IGFs are made? Moreover, it is critical to you as you are under treatment aimed to increase IGFs, and I hope you are doing it the right way.

JN

#31

Can all this stuff mean I blocked my further growth by taking finasteride? I’m only 18 years old and could certainly still be growing.
Thanks!

#32

JN,

Thanks for chiming in. I remmber you had used HGH and I believe you were the one that was telling us to get our IGF1 &3 tested.

I had read an article this weekend that indicated that IGF1 & IGF3 are made in the liver. I did not to make of it and realized I would have to do more research. I will try to put together a couple of articles and post them later tonight.

I am definitely moving to get treated to get my IGF1 & IGF3 to move higher immediately. I am not sure if you have seen any of my previous threads recently, but I have undergone a slew of tests in the past few weeks. I have made it my number 1 priority to get to the bottom of what is causing my problems and to begin to treat it as quickly as possible.

I don’t think enough of us are getting blood tests done. We all need to be doing as many tests on our hormones as possible. I know it’s a pain in the ass, but no else is going to help us. I call my endo dr every few days to discuss things. I’m sure they are tired of me, but I am determined to get my self better.

thanks, Boston

#33

Well here is one article form wikepedia explaining IGF1. It states it is stimulated by Growth Hormone, produced primarily in the liver and can be retarded by a lack of Growth Hormone receptors.

If I do test positve on the stimulation test as being GH deficient, wouldn’t an increase in GH stimulate the liver to produce more IGF1?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin-li … h_factor_1

Also, here is a link that states that DHEA can increase IGF1, Insulin like growth factor.

hghtalk.com/dhea/dhea-and-igf-1/

I will do more research later.

#34

Boston, I promise a more in depth thread on secretagogues soon. They are designer supplements that are arranged to provide your body with the right kind of stimulation to secrete GH.

Suffice to say that 1.5 gram current dose won’t do anything, you need 3 to 4 grams on an empty stomach just to get the NO effect for enhancing sexual performance. My dose is around 7 grams arginine, with additional amino acids, vitamins like B5 that enhance absorption, and other agents to favor the right brain chemicals to enhance GH secretion. Taking more than 4 pills of 1 gram arginine hydrochloride would cause some stomach upset, but the drink is fine.

Get to the bottom of your low IGF-1 issue first, hold off on injectable GH, and try the secretagogue route first. Interval training will also increase GH/IGF-1, and was one of the first techniques I found that gave relief on the sexual performance front (I thought my post fin symptoms were actually some sort of circulatory issue so I started an excersie regimen). You need to be in shape (able to do 20 minutes at 80% heart rate) for a few months EOD before jumping in to interval training (one minute bursts at 90-95% of calculated maximum heart rate, something that can cause a heart attack if you’ve already got something going on).

Some of the best effects I’ve seen are from interval training while dosed with secretagogue.:wink:

kazman

#35

at Fanjeera, at age 18 please do not mess around with GH or GH secretagogues as your bones have not stopped growing yet. You can trigger acromelagy (rapid growth of facial bones causing distortion of your face, cranium, along with pain). Wait until you are at least 25 or so.