Possible Weight Gain With Arimidex ?

[knickerbocker]

I'm a 44 yr old male. I am not a body builder. I have been gaining weight (body fat )steadily over the past several years despite a low carb died and 5-6 days a week of exercise ;primarily an indoor rowing and elliptical. I've had abnormal hormone results for the past several years; mainly high estrogen. Most recently my estrogen came back at 242 (top reference range being 130) My doc says he has never seen estrogen levels this high... He is sending me for CT scans and MRI looking for estrogen producing tumors... In the meantime he has me on Arimidex 1mg twice a week... It seems since starting the Arimidex about a month ago I'm actually gaining weight at a faster rate...

I'm wondering if anyone has had the experience of weight gain on Arimidex ? I've read women can gain weight on it, but that is usually at much higher doses... If anything I thought I would be losing weight with it !

[doc w]

Could be secondary muscle gain from increased trestosterone levels. Do u have ore and post starting levels of test. Are u lifting at all?

[bass]

i don't think one month on Adex will have that much effect on raising testosterone and effect on muscle gain. what is your "clean" diet, how many grams protein, carbs and fat, and how many cals per day? and finally what are the rest of your stats?

[Gym_]

I haven't herd of anyone having weight gain from it... more like sides from something else

[knickerbocker]

My situation is a bit complex... my T levels generally run low normal... although they have been below normal before... I've always called myself an "athletic endomorph" I'm sort of built like an NFL fullback or middle linebacker... I tend to bulk up and put muscle on very easily... even from resistance based cardio... Elliptical builds my already large calves and thighs and I turn into a beast from using the rower... This has always been the case... For that reason I really don't need to lift. But my weight has Been ballooning ... I'm 6 ft and weight 260lb right now... although I don't look it... At 210 lb I look anorexic... At 220 lb I look and feel good ! When I do these kinds of exercises my T shoots up on its own... also dealt with ED issues in the past.... the rower and elliptical work better than the little blue pill... Go figure... problem is everytime my T goes up (its about 550 right now... up from 390) my E spikes as well... so the thought has been I'm aromatizing... but the docs don't know why... Always seems to happen when I go through an intense exercise period... If I was just gaining muscle it would be fine... but I also gain significant body fat.. which actually fits with the high E. I have met with a few endos, (Endos are useless unless you have diabetes or thyroid issues) had calometic breathing tests down ad worked with two nutritionists... if anything I've been told I don't eat enough... most days don't even hit 2000, but I'm working on that... as far as exercise I alternate between the rower and HIIT on the elliptical... usually 40-50 minutes 5-6 days a week... Heart rate is way up and covered in sweat... so I'm getting good workouts ... Concept 2 Rower is probably the best single piece of exercise equipment on the market.. very under utilized at gyms who still have them !

As far as clean diet... wouldn't say I eat completely clean... but try to stick to low process carb....lean protein... last summer I did The Primal Blueprint eating plan for a while (most people I know lose weight on that)... I didn't drop a pound... didn't gain though either...
I'm working with a urologist now who specializes in male sex hormone issues... He is convinced I have a tumor somewhere... so the hunt is on... What I do know is there is some connection with my exercise.... I don't get these big wt gains when I go through a period of not exercising.... Sounds crazy I know
Oh one other interesting fact...
Several years ago my T levels were really low...(I used to run alot .. about 30 miles per week) my doc put me on T injections for a while... not only did I get testicular pain from it , but I "swelled up like a balloon" Took on a puffy look... like someone on Prednisone.. so my body' hormone response is a bit weird !

As far as my labs... I didn't have complete labs done this time around... My PCP just ran off a couple b/c I've had problems with high E before and had a hunch it was up

E was 242 top range 130
Total T - 527(250-1100)
Free T - 65.9 (35-155)
LH- 1.3 (1.6-9.3))
FSH 2.6 (1.6-8.0)
DHEA- 118(45-345)

I'm having more complete labs done in a few days and have these redone and add Estradol, Prolatin, and SHBG