HCG & Spironolactone

[TrevHoff]

My doctor prescribed me HCG for low testosterone and to be honest works nothing short of great. So many benefits, but I will keep this short.

I started getting chest and shoulder acne and went to my doctor and told him about it. He then prescribed me Spironolactone; does ANYONE have ANY idea why my doctor would prescribe such a prescription being an ANTI-Androgen!? Why would he raise my natural testosterone levels with HCG and counter act it with the Spironolactone!?

I attempted to google it with no answer. I will be confronting my doctor about it, but wondering if anyone had any insight prior to me approaching my doctor and asking him what the heck he is doing.

[jomamma007]

yeah I wouldn't take that, I'd get your estrogen checked.
How much HCG are you taking>

[TrevHoff]

I am taking 1ML of HCG every 3 - 4 Days and have been doing so since some time around August I believe.

He does check my levels persistently Estrogen, pregnenalone, progesterone, testerone, IGF... and the list goes on.

[2Sox]

I am taking 1ML of HCG every 3 - 4 Days and have been doing so since some time around August I believe.

He does check my levels persistently Estrogen, pregnenalone, progesterone, testerone, IGF... and the list goes on.

Giving us the dose "1mL" is not useful unless we know the dilution ratio. How many iu's of hCG are you taking?

In answer to your other question: Sometimes doctors make mistakes just like we do because they are imperfect. These include not paying attention to things they ought to.

[TrevHoff]

Giving us the dose "1mL" is not useful unless we know the dilution ratio. How many iu's of hCG are you taking?

I am taking 1 i/u; the dilution ratio is 10,000 USP units per 10,000 i/u of bacteriostatic water (which I believe would be a 1:1 ratio?)

[APIs]

Never mind the Spironolactone, I'd seek a second opinion on your "low test" treatment altogether. Others will chime in, but taking HCG alone for 7 months is not a viable therapy long term. No offense, but your Doc sounds like a quack...

[jomamma007]

You need to post your before and current blood work. If your testosterone level is 349(348-1197), Most docs will say your okay because you're in range.

[TrevHoff]

Never mind the Spironolactone, I'd seek a second opinion on your "low test" treatment altogether. Others will chime in, but taking HCG alone for 7 months is not a viable therapy long term. No offense, but your Doc sounds like a quack...

I am somewhat agreeing to this statement and has me worried. All prescriptions I am on are as follows:

• DHEA - 50mg/Daily
• Pregnenalone - 100mg/Daily
• Progesterone - 40mg/Daily
• HCG - 1i/u every 3-4 days

The acne did lead me going to a dermatologist for a 2nd opinion vs. taking Spironolactone. I explained my situation to the dermatologist and they prescribed me:

• APO-DOXY (DOXYCYCLINE HYCLATE) - 100mg/Daily
• CLINDOXYL - Cream/Ointment applying directly onto chest/shoulder acne

While these medications first started to work like gang busters, it is come back and the acne prescription/ointment don't seem to be budging the acne at all. I have a follow up with the dermatologist first week of April and a follow up with my hormone doctor in 6 months!

[TrevHoff]

You need to post your before and current blood work. If your testosterone level is 349(348-1197), Most docs will say your okay because you're in range.

My original numbers were definitely below 350 when I first started. I recall it being around 310, after HCG I was in the 790 range.

[jomamma007]

With all those supps and the high dose of hcg you probably have some high estrogen problems, which's common symptom is acne.
You need to post up your current blood work, all of it with ranges in detail or the knowledgeable members can't help.

[TrevHoff]

With all those supps and the high dose of hcg you probably have some high estrogen problems, which's common symptom is acne.
You need to post up your current blood work, all of it with ranges in detail or the knowledgeable members can't help.

I would have to reach out to my doctor for these numbers, I trust he has tracked them over time? Is this information something they are willing to give to their patients? NOTE: I do reside in Canada.

[TrevHoff]

Would these "high estrogen" levels be why I maybe carry quite a bit of fat in my mid section? I am extremely lean throughout but when it comes to stomach fat it is quite high.

Notably as a teenager I did develop gyno and had surgery in my early 20's to have it removed, maybe another sign of high estrogen in my body over time?

[2Sox]

Never mind the Spironolactone, I'd seek a second opinion on your "low test" treatment altogether. Others will chime in, but taking HCG alone for 7 months is not a viable therapy long term. No offense, but your Doc sounds like a quack...

Although we'd have to know more about you and your protocol, I tend to agree with API on this. What diagnosis did he have for you regarding the cause of your hypogonadism? Why does he have you on progesterone? FYI, Doxycycline - as will all antibiotics - has an inhibitory effect on T levels and in my opinion, a poor approach to acne control - unless of course you condition is so unbearable that you need to bombard it in the short term. But I'd advise anyone to steer clear of antibiotics unless there is a serious infection that has to be addressed immediately. Systemic antibiotic overuse is endemic and civilization is in for a world of trouble if it isn't controlled.

I've had (as well as my wife) cystic acne on my back, and in other uncomfortable places, and my cure was to lower my T dose (and hCG frequency) - along with a topical solution of clindamycin. It's worked for both of us. It hasn't disappeared but is under control and not a problem. Hers is gone.

I also seem to recall from Shippen's book that he attempts to do a solo hCG therapy for younger men, but for how long I don't remember.

Nevertheless, you still have not made it clear exactly how many iu's hCG you are actually taking. It's your body and you ought to know this right off. 1iu is infinitesimal so I think you've got you numbers mixed up. There are many dosing options but the majority of men here are on 250iu two to three times a week.

[17chester6]

Spironolactone is first and foremost a diuretic (a "water pill") that tends to spare you from losing potassium which the more common diuretic HCTZ causes. It is also used in women to treat PCOS where they have high testosterone levels which causes them to grow excess hair. It also helps to control acne and this is why I think your doctor gave it to you.

Having said that it does reduce your free testosterone in part by increasing SHBG and by other methods. So I am not sure just how effective it is in your quest to have good levels of T. The antibiotics that you dermatologist gave you might be a better option.

As others have said you need to look at your free and total T, your estrogen, your dihydrotestosterone (DHT) as well as the other hormones that you can find in the stickies. You might have high DHT and/or estrogen. I recently went on an extremely low dose of an AI for high E and the reduced water retention and the rate that my small love handles have melted away has been gratifying.

Re getting your results from your doctor in Canada. I'm Canadian and the rules are that you are allowed copies of your chart (or just blood results if that is what you want) by signing a release form and paying a set amount that the doc can charge for photocopying. I am in Ontario myself (just outside of Toronto) and there are a couple of good T docs that are available but you will have to pay $600 to $900 yearly as they don't take OHIP (the provincial health insurance that covers all of us, what the Americans call "socialized medicine"!).

[TrevHoff]

Believe I am then taking 1000 iu's.

When I receive my HCG I add 10,000 i/u of bacteriostatic water to 10,000 USP of HCG. A 10,000 USP of HCG lasts me 10 injections.

[TrevHoff]

Yeah, I pay my Hormone Doctor about the same amount yearly. Maybe not quite as the initial visit was the most of it and $150 per follow up visit.

I am with 2Sox in that "Antibiotic overuse is endemic and civilization is in for a world of trouble if it isn't controlled."