Post ranges besides your results so we can understand where they fit.
Youngbuck21,
I know you’re in a panic like all of us were when we first discovered we might have long terms damage from this nasty med, but you need a much more thorough testing of hormones.
First of all, like Mew said you need to post ranges. We have no idea where you are at unless we can see the associated ranges of each. Also try to get another test done soon with far more hormones. Propecia seems to effect dozens of different hormones and proteins.
I put in bold the ones I personally would recommend adding to your test. Be sure you have Free Testosterone on the next test. Don’t let any ignorant GP’s try to tell you it’s not important. Do some DD and you will discover it is very important to a man’s health.
Hormonal Panel (Blood / 24hr-Urine tests)
Total Testosterone Free Testosterone
Bioavailable Testosterone
Androstenedione
Androstenediol
DHT (not accurate compared to Adiol-G) 3alpha-diol G (Androstanediol glucuronide-- “Adiol-G” for short): metabolite of DHT, measures 5AR-II activity
Androsterone glucuronide (another metabolite of DHT that measures 5AR activity)
Estradiol (E2) Ultrasensitive Estrone (E1)
Total Estrogens
LH
FSH
DHEA-S
Vitamin DCortisol (24-hour urine sample)
Cortisone
Corticosterone
Aldosterone
Deoxycorticosterone
SHBG
Prolactin
Progesterone
Pregnenolone
17-OH Progesterone
17-OH Pregnenolone
Albumin
ACTH
PSA
TSH
Free T3
Free T4
IGF-1
IGF-BP3
CBC or FBC (Complete Blood Count/Full Blood Count)
LFT (Liver Function Tests - AST, ALT, GGT, Bilirubin, etc.)
Androgen/Estrogen ratio
Testosterone/DHT ratio
17-ketosteroids (24-hr urine sample)
Recommended “short” list:
Total Testosterone
Free Testosterone
Bioavailable Testosterone
Androstenedione
DHT 3alpha-diol G (Androstenediol glucuronide – (“Adiol-G” for short): metabolite of DHT, measures 5AR-II activity
Estradiol (E2)
LH
FSH
SHBG
Prolactin
TSH
Vitamin D
I wouldn’t be concerned if he’s seeing Dr. Jacobs, who seems to order many of the recommended tests.
opps, thanks Mew didn’t see that.
Good call seeing Dr. Jacobs. I think a dozen of us or so are seeig him. You’ll like him. Hes so positive and smart by the time you leave the appointment you’ll feel a bit better just knowing he’s working on this for us. Try to get right to the bloodwork after your appointment if you can. Some of the tests might take over a week or so to come back, like 3 adiol G. gl
E2 seems very high and Bioavail Testosterone out of range low.
two Total Testosterone , which one? One looks low normal range one looks high normal.
LH and FSH seem a bit low. Clomid?
Vit D is low for all of us anymore. I take 50,000 IU’s every 3 days and Im still low out of range.’
Would be interesting to see how you responded on clomid- see if that got your bioavail test in range, something to control the E2- Arimidex? and very high vit D supp.
Did you say you are seeing Dr. Jacobs? Would be interesting to hear what treatment he offers.
One of the worst things about this is people really cant understand how bad it is because they have nothing to compare it with in their experience. PFS is NOT just having some ED or low libido… it effects all aspects of your life. For many of us here it has basically ruined all quality of life. I have just told some of my immediate family. Still, Im not sure if they even completely understand. I basically tell my employees I have condition of the endocrine system if they ask. That is basically the truth anyway. People dont need the details. Find someone you can trust and tell them though. No one should have to contend with this all alone.
If your having a hard time dealing with this emotionally. (We all do, you have every right to be pissed off and/or be depressed.) I’d ask Dr. Jacobs about Wellbutrin or something.
gl
All of these seem on the low end. In fact your Free T is out of range low and since it is what is “active” in the body (only 2% of T is unbound), the fact it is at such low levels points to an issue with regards to your symptoms.
Considering your SHBG is high (49) and SHBG binds up Free T, lowering SHBG might help free up your T.
What did your doc say about the above results? Do you have ranges for the Estradiol?
Wellbutrin worked well for me in the past and I have just started to take it again.
I’m now taking 300 mgs a day and feeling better. Hope the effect lasts, as other times it vanished with time.
I’ve tried many antidepressants in the past under medical supervision and none of the usual ones did anything.
Suprisingly, wellbutrin did its effect pretty fast.
Good luck and keep us posted; mental sides are in my opinion the worse of all.
I noticed this also but didn’t hold much weight to it at the time. It was especially noticeable in darker places, which I take to mean that one eye was working harder to let light in. Come to think of it, one eye was always a little darker at times, I mean things seemed less bright. I don’t notice this much now being over 2 years off.
I sort of noticed that too, but hopefully you know that your pupils change when the light changes from bright to dim… Just stating the obvious… im sure you all know that, but I think ive noticed it as well, but I cant be to sure bc of the light… I could be imaging it though.
I noticed the thing about the eyes once I quit Fin.
It seemed like my pupils were very small when on Fin, but since I got quit and got me T back into range my pupils have become bigger and more focused. My vision has gotten better too, my right eye is still kinda screwed up though.
How much did that cost to get tested?
Wow. I also developed this issue on fin and afterwards - one eye just could not see nearly at all under low lighting conditions. Never put them together until now.
youngbuck21, your FSH is low enough that you might consider getting Inhibin B tested.
I am confused as to why one T level is low and the other is high - were these both early am draws?
With estradiol that high something like arimidex might be the best course, but start at an extremely low dose and work up from there. Maracatu has been able to raise Adiol-G by taking arimidex, but his dose was very high, forcing his E2 too low (you want it at a minimum of 18, standard test not the ultrasensitive one). A low dose might be 0.12 mg twice a week.
Hmmm another one at the top of the range
This stuff about being at the top of bilirubim value it is pretty normal for people who have been taking any drugh for a long time my doctor said, although it must go away after a relative period of time out of drugs…
Quite a jump. I had similar experience altought not as impressive. From 300’s to 700’s in a couple months.
Similar experience for me: I jumped from 160 to 700 in 6 days.
Nope.
You had one test early in the morning showing normal testosterone and another late in the afternoon, the wrong time to have such a test, showing low levels of testosterone. Thats the reasons for your results. You have already been told this by Mew, very clearly: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3070&p=17362#p17362.
Firstly, thank you for posting this and using an easy to read spreadsheet with all the units in place.
Just an observation, but clearly you have been supplementing Vitamin D, or laying in the sun all day every day somewhere in the tropics. That and the variocele surgery, which hopefully was of the right type to increase circulation to your testes, could both be solid reasons for an increase in total T.
I gather you’re not feeling a whole lot better, and that your basically unchanged free T levels (despite large shift in total T) are potentially to blame?
Thank you for posting your urine test results, if I get a chance I’ll calculate the metabolite ratios.