Hi, newbie here trying to find good Endo, low t panels/sluggish...

[mike718]

Hi everyone,

I am thankful for this site... Hope I can get some advice. I started feeling very sluggish and had some horrendous erection problems. From going sometimes at age 38/39 two or three times with my girlfriend in an hours time to barely able to get it up at 40/41. It was not sudden but the last phase of this came on strong. I did go see a doctor and had my testosterone panel. The results were Testosterone Free: 38.6L and Testosterone Bioavailable: 84.3. Both are bolded on the Quest Lab sheet. Also total T comes in at 370, this was 1 3/4 years ago.

I have visited with an endo specialist who sent me for a Mayo test at 9am. Since my total testosterone came back at 500 he decided not to treat me all the while I knew something was going very wrong with my sleep patterns, unexplained heavy night sweats at least 2x a week etc. I knew that I had become very unmotivated and sexually very different. So I am here now trying to go forward and maybe figure this out before too much time goes by.

I am in the Bridgeport area of CT and wonder if anyone could recommend a doctor who understands these types of situations. I am willing to travel out to Hartford or NYC or in between to find the right doctor. I am really tired of doctors giving me the runaround or not taking time to diagnose me, unfortunately my primary care physician is the only one who really takes a good care with me...

Thanks for any help/feedback.

Mike

[kelkel]

So sorry to hear your dilemma Mike but you've landed in a good place. First, we need to see all current BW with ranges to give an educated opinion as there can be various reasons you feel the way you do. You also need to post some stats other than just age: Ht, Wt, Body fat level, activity level, etc.

In the meantime, read the Finding A TRT Physician Sticky and see if some of the links there can help direct you to a competent doc in your area. Read all the stickies for that matter. You said you're willing to travel. If so, cut out the middle men and go see Dr. John Crisler in Michigan. He's pretty much the leading TRT Physician in the country. He will get you straight and after your initial visit the rest can be virtual. Visit his web site at www.allthingsmale.com

Post up more BW. Welcome to the site.

[mike718]

Hi

Thanks Kelkel,

I am 41 (soon 42) am 6ft 2in and about 260. Been overweight and athletic all my life but back injuries have saddled me a bit. I still workout on elliptical 4x a week at least and do about 45 mins 400-500 calories a workout. I am otherwise very healthy with good blood pressure etc. Other tests such as estrogen etc. were not done and insurance has been a bit tough the last 2 years. I am under a plan now but its an expensive plan thats why I wanted to kind of get this taken care of with a doc who knows what their doing. That suggestion in MI is very intriguing and I will have to look into it. I might ask the Endo doc for a copy of my panel which may have had a more comprehensive workup done. I will check with him and post any other findings.

Mike

[MrManGuy84]

Mike - seriously consider ruling out sleep apnea. A common symptom is the night sweats you mentioned. Do you get headaches when you wake up? That's another tell-tale sign. Has your girlfriend noticed you gasping or holding your breath in your sleep? It's not always obvious, but if she's noticed it, it's a no-brainer.

Middle-age and overweight are common risk factors, too.

Treating it often resolves the symptoms you are talking about. Apnea can also lower testosterone . The numbers by which it lowers it are not enormous, but they are significant. In a border-line case like yours, it's a sensible explanation.

It's possible that low T isn't your problem at all. From what I've read the "norm" for ages 40-44 is 600 plus or minus 190. So while we can't say for sure in your individual case, you could be where you're supposed to be.

[kelkel]

Exactly right MrMan. Which is why a competent doc needs to review complete BW to make an educated decision as to what path to take. Op it would be worth it to make that trip to Michigan.

[mike718]

Hi Wanted to follow up.

[mike718]

Hi Wanted to follow up on my situation. My Endo moved to another state and my primary doc was not being very helpful. I was thinking about my stats and what I was really facing. I felt differently and that was a fact along with the low testosterone readings (below range on two, very low on the third range - free, bio available, total). However I had planned a vacation to Thailand a couple of months ago and after some research decided to see a pharmacist while there. To make a long story short the pharmacist suggested therapy. It was basically 1ml of enanthate every week (5 ampules total). I felt energized and had morning erections again (after not having them for about 3 years) after about the 4th day of the first shot. I felt good for 3 weeks but then things started to wane. I still felt better but not as good as those three weeks. In comparison it seemed like the effects waned off to about "half" what they were...

So I returned to the USA on September 11th and I could not get blood work done until the 24th of September. My last injection was on the 10th of September so a full two weeks out from my last injection my bloodwork shows:

Total cholesterol 171 <200 mg/dL
Triglyceride 110 <150 mg/dL
HDL cholesterol 35 >40 mg/dL
LDL Calculated 114 <130 mg/dL
Cholesterol to HDL Ratio 4.9 1.0 - 5.0


Total Testosterone 959 250 - 1100
Free Testosterone 126.5 46.0 - 224.0
Testosterone Bioavailable 238.1 110.0 - 575.0
SHBG 41 10 - 50
Albumin 4.1 3.6 - 5.1
Ferritin 23 30 - 400
Vitamin D 41 30 - 100

I am taking vitamin D supplements about 8kIU per day.

I did not get an Estrogen because my primary wrote this request before my trip and I saved it in case I got therapy before I returned home (which is what happened).

My doc got the bloodwork back and asked me some pointed questions and I gave him some pointed answers but he was more like "ok wow really, ok". Maybe he is open to prescribing now, dunno.

I know this is not the best way to go about this but would like you guys' help and input. I plan another blood draw in about 2 weeks.

So what do you think about my numbers and the waning after the third week? With my numbers so high 2 weeks out from my last 1ml shot I am thinking maybe its too much?

Another bad thing, I am probably out of therapy unless my Doc changes his tunes...

Thaks for any input.

Mike