so what is your conclusion about hypogonadism caused by vasectomy and caused by Fin/SP?
I first read about a possible connection between hypogonadism and vasectomy in “Testosterone Revolution” by Malcolm Carruthers, M.D. He devotes an entire chapter to the subject. Carruthers became interested in the possibility of there being a connection after treating a relatively large number of hypogonadic men who had a vasectomy around 10-15 years prior to their diagnosis.
He cites some studies but at the time he wrote the book the studies he refers to had been done 10-20 years previously and were generally of short duration. (There are two editions of his book published in 1996 and 2001.) He also noted that those studies were done before vital factors such as sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and prostate specific antigen (PSA) were included in research studies.
What is interesting in relation to PFS is that testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) are reduced by one third by vasectomy. The dramatic drop in these hormones usually did not occur in the first five years after the procedure and some studies showed an increase in DHT and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). He suggests that the pituitary gland is trying to compensate for impaired testosterone production by stimulating the testes to produce more hormones. He also notes that several studies have shown an increase in testicular cancer within the first four years after vasectomy. Some studies have noted a link between vasectomy and prostate cancer.
I have read many of the books written for laypeople on hypogonadism and I cannot recall ever reading about a connection between hypogonadism and vasectomy in any of them other than “Testosterone Revolution.”. And it hasn’t come up in any of the over 2700 studies that I have read and have in my database. But I also haven’t done a thorough search of the literature focusing on the subject. I am planning on writing a paper on the subject, so at some point I will be delving into the vasectomy/hypogonadism connection, hopefully by the end of this year.
I’d like to relate something about my own experience with vasectomy. When I underwent the procedure the surgery on my right vas deferens was painless (I wish it had remained that way…the next day I would describe the pain as being the equivalent of having my balls run over by a semi-trailer). But when the doctor snipped the left vas deferens I felt a sharp pain. It subsided rather quickly and I didn’t thing anything much about it except it seemed rather strange since the local anesthetic had certainly numbed my scrotum.
But shortly after the surgery I developed a persistent, nagging pain near my left testicle. The pain remained a constant companion for at least eight years, at times being so uncomfortable that it interfered with sexual activity. (That’s one way to prevent conception, but it wasn’t what I had in mind when I consented to the vasectomy…)
My doctor never mentioned that I might suffer from residual pain; in fact, my doctor did not discuss any possible post-surgical complications with me. (It just goes to show how much the procedure has been minimized by health care practitioners…) I later discovered that persistent post-vasectomy pain is a disturbingly common complication. And there is no cure as such that allopathic medicine can offer to alleviate it.
It was only when I happened to mention it to my acupuncturist during a visit for another complaint that he said to me “Oh, I think that I may be able to help with that.” It turned out that my acupuncturist had experienced testicular problems of his own and he had spent some time studying various treatment options offered by traditional Chinese medicine.
If I remember correctly it took no more than two treatments (I actually recall only one treatment…) but almost immediately my pain was significant reduced. It continued to get better over a period of a few weeks until I was essentially pain-free for the first time in years. That was over seven years ago and while I have occasional twinges and I don’t like being touched very hard at one small spot I have remained pain-free.
Do you think both cases can be fixed the same way by simply adjusting different hormones? OR you think vasectomy induced hypogonadism is easy to fix but Fin/SP induced hypogonadism is not simply matter of fixing the hormones? what is your current protocol?
Well, from what I have read on this forum it doesn’t seem likely that simply adjusting hormones is the magic fix people are hoping for PFS. If a man develops hypogonadism after a vasectomy hormone replacement therapy offers the best chance for a full recovery. But PFS is a more complex syndrome; if it was only a matter of not having sufficient DHT or other hormones one would expect that with all the experimentation going on someone would have stumbled upon a solution. And even if someone does appear to have come up with a protocol that seems to work, I would not be surprised if it didn’t do the trick for other men. (Factor-in the reported spontaneous recoveries and the research waters are considerably muddied.) When it comes to the male endocrine system we are all rugged individualists, for better or worse. It’s more likely that for a treatment to be successful it will have to be tailored to the individual.
Before I go on, I should state that I haven’t perused much of the forum recently and I don’t plan on doing so. (I simply do not have the time; I have had to make some decisions about where to focus my research and I am involved in some demanding projects. I doubt that my input would add much to the discussion anyway since there appears to be plenty of people already looking into the matter.) So please forgive my ignorance as I am not up on all the current theories, etc.
But what has come to mind recently is that PFS may be the result of “gene switching” a relatively new theory in genetics that postulates that certain substances, radiation and environmental factors can cause a gene to switch on or off, which can cause undesirable physical changes. The amount of exposure necessary to trigger the condition apparently varies greatly among people. This would explain why some men get PFS and others do not; you would need to possess a particular gene and then be exposed to Finasteride for it to be switched “on.”
I am also aware of the theory that Finasteride may be able to permanently alter “gene expression.” Bisphenol A (BPA) has been shown to do this in pregnant mice. Tobacco smoke is also suspected of permanently affecting airway epithelial gene expression. There are other examples in the literature. It is an intriguing and disturbing idea and it would explain why the side-effects persist after the drug is no longer present in the body.
I am hopeful that treatments can be developed for PFS. If a gene can be switched on it can be switched off. A change in gene expression may be reversible. But I differ from many who seem to rely on all the answers coming from allopathic-oriented research. I think that there are some non-traditional therapies that show some promise; they might be useful as stand-alone treatments or as an adjunct to traditional modalities. For example, it is extremely shortsighted to dismiss alternatives such as acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine. They were successfully treating hormonal problems over a thousand years ago… and they didn’t even know that hormones existed. (At the same time the cutting-edge treatment for many maladies in western medicine was bleeding.) Chinese medicine has an incredibly nuanced view of the endocrine system; I think that they have much to teach us, if we will only shut up and listen.
You will have to be more specific regarding your question about my current “protocol.” What exactly are you referring to?