Please Help!

[LowTDude]

Hello guys. I could really use some help please!! Here's my story. I am 28 years old, have always been an overweight guy up until the last year when I lost about 65 pounds.

For the last 5 years or so, I have been battling with severe fatigue, tiredness, lost of concentration, short term memory loss, etc... I have seen around 6 different doctors who had me do all sorts of test and nothing. Finally a friend of mine told me to go get my T level tested. I went to a local TRT clinic and sure enough I was at 136 ng/dL! So they started me on 100mg of test cyp a week, plus zinc. I started feeling a little better but nothing great. Well now, 3 months later and I still feel like crap. I feel as if im getting dumber sometimes. I forget to spell certain words, my memory sucks, I feel like crap. At this point I don't know what else to do. I am on 180mg of test cyp now.

Here are my labs. Please give me some advice. I am so sick and tired of being tired that its actually giving me depression. I would appreciate any help. Thanks

5/1/2012:

Estradiol: 23.0 pg/mL (Reference Interval 7.6-42.6)
Prostate Specific Ag, Serum: 0.5 ng/mL (Reference Interval 0.0-4.0)
Testosterone , Serum: 136 ng/dL (Reference Interval 348-1197)
Hemoglobin: 15.3 g/dL (Reference Interval 12.5-17.0)
LH: 4.1 mIU/mL (Reference Interval 1.7-8.6)
FSH: 1.5 mIU/mL (Reference Interval 1.5-12.4)
Prolactin: 8.5 ng/mL (Reference Interval 4.0-15.2)

5/23/2012:

Estradoil: 31.0 pg/mL (Reference Interval 7.6-42.6)
Testosterone: 340 ng/dL (Reference Interval 348-1197)
Hemoglobin: 15.5 g/dL (Reference Interval 12.5-17.0)

Was given the Anaztrozole right after this lab came back due to higher Estrogen levels. .5mg twice a week.
Also started HCG twice a week.

8/2/2012:

Prostate Specific Ag, Serum: 0.7 ng/mL (Reference Interval 0.0-4.0)
Testosterone: 445 ng/dL (Reference Interval 348-1197)
Sex Horm Binding Glob, Serum: 12.8 nmol/L (Reference Interval 16.5-55.9)
Estradiol: 17.5 pg/mL (Reference Interval 7.6-42.6)
Hemoglobin: 16.7 g/dL (Reference Interval 12.6-17.7)
Albumium: 4.3 g/dL
Free Testosterone: 14.3 ng/dL = 3.13%
Bioavailable Testosterone: 334 ng/dL = 73.4%

So as of now I still feel really crappy. Please let me know what you think. Could it be that my estrogen went down too much? And what is SHBG? Mine is low, it looks like it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

[HealthyMan]

What is your injection schedule? What is the amount of hCG you are taking? Did you have your Vitamin D tested or are you taking any supplement? Welcome to the forums!

[LowTDude]

Thank you. Currently on 180mg test cyp every Tuesday. Was on 250iu (I think) HcG twice a week for a month then they told to to stop for a while and to start the HcG cycle again in 2 months. Vitamin D was a little low. Started taking some supplements.

[HealthyMan]

How long were you on hCG before they told you to stop? How did you feel while on it? What was their reason for you to stop the hCG? How IU's of Vitamin D are you taking daily?

[LowTDude]

Was on it for a month. They told me to stop because they wanted to check my prolactin levels. They told me i be back on it 2 months later. I think I'm taking 5,000 iu of vitamin D. But there's times I forget to take it.

[Mr_Prop_var_Testen]

I think u still feel like crap cause ur levels are below 400 and that's by no means optimum
And I dont know about ur life style
Do u work out?
What's ur diet like?
Sleeping schedule?
All this affect ur quality of life....

[LowTDude]

I have a low calorie diet. My sleep isnt that great. When I first started on TRT I used to sleep like a baby now I rarely sleep well. I try and run twice or three times a week. Sometimes I'm so tired I can't run though.

[Mr_Prop_var_Testen]

I have a low calorie diet. My sleep isnt that great. When I first started on TRT I used to sleep like a baby now I rarely sleep well. I try and run twice or three times a week. Sometimes I'm so tired I can't run though.

Diet can affect ur mood beyond any other so visit the nutrition section post ur diet and they can help u at least fix that.

[SEOINAGE]

Your testosterone levels still look on the lower end of the range, have any thyroid labs?

[LowTDude]

Yeah I don't remember the numbers but doctor said it looks fine. I also had a full body MRI and doc said thyroid looked good. Only thing that came up durin my MRI was tissue behind the breast. I'm Assuming I've had hormone issues for years. I've had man boobs as far back as 14

[SEOINAGE]

i've been doing a little more research on adrenals, maybe you have low cortisol and might be a factor as to why 180 mg has you so low on your test levels.

[LowTDude]

What's cortisol? And how would I raise it?

[SEOINAGE]

Yeah I don't remember the numbers but doctor said it looks fine. I also had a full body MRI and doc said thyroid looked good. Only thing that came up durin my MRI was tissue behind the breast. I'm Assuming I've had hormone issues for years. I've had man boobs as far back as 14

did your doc say your test levels look fine? Cause the doc that did my physical said my test levels were fine, even though they were rock bottom of range on free and total was lower than yours is now.

[LowTDude]

I actually go to a TRT clinic, paying out of pocket. They said they want me at at least 800 total and have my free Test higher. I know I'm still low at 455, but I still feel like crap. My joints hurt too. Any way my estrogen is a little too low?

[PSFinAL]

Yeah I don't remember the numbers but doctor said it looks fine. I also had a full body MRI and doc said thyroid looked good. Only thing that came up durin my MRI was tissue behind the breast. I'm Assuming I've had hormone issues for years. I've had man boobs as far back as 14

Hey LowTDude, I'm new here myself, suffer from mild hypothyroidism, low testosterone , low vitamin D, and had an EBV infection (mono). I finally have my thyroid under control and I did quite a bit of research into it. If your doctor only measured TSH, then that test alone is useless. TSH only measures how much your pituitary is telling your thyroid to produce. You also need at least TSH, T4, T3, Free T4, Free T3, thyroid antibodies (to check for Hashimoto’s disease), and probably cortisol. I found a doctor that practices holistically and he put me on Armour dessicated thyroid. For me, this has the advantage of giving me T3 where most synthetic thyroid medications are T4 only. T3 is what gives you energy. Anyway, your lab work should look something like the following:

TSH: Lower end of the scale, i.e. 0.45 – 1.00 uIU/mL (0.45 – 4.50)
Free T4: Should be mid-range
Free T3: Should be at the upper 1/3rd of its range
Anti-TPO and TgAb: Both should be measured to rule out Hashimoto’s disease (autoimmune response where the body attacks the thyroid)

I would also check out a website by searching for Stop the Thyroid Madness. That was my primary resource during all of my research and I got their book too. It’s based on user feedback and good doctors where patients were allowed to be treated by elimination of symptoms and reported back on their blood work. Basically, the ranges for the tests are screwed up. So doctors look at TSH only and say, oh well your TSH is 2.5 so you’re midrange and you’re fine. This is not right. Anyway, check it out.

[LowTDude]

Thank you. But wouldn't the MRI show if my thyroid was messed up?

[PSFinAL]

Thank you. But wouldn't the MRI show if my thyroid was messed up?

LowTDude, I'm actually not sure. I will say my wife had an ultrasound of her thyroid and she is mildly hypothyroid too. The doctor wanted to have a nodule checked out but there was nothing alarming found. A lot of people have benign nodules. In your case though, I would err on the side of caution and have the additional lab work done to confirm for sure. The uphill battle will be if your doctor will order those tests. If not, you may need to doctor shop until you find one that will. You may try to find a doctor that is willing to prescribe dessicated thyroid medication. Chances are, they will test for the things I listed.