Catfish74's Thread w/ Bloodwork

Here’s my 3-month update.

Notes:

  1. Cholesterol was bad - stopped the Crestor (10mgED) to see if TRT would improve. Obviously it did not make the change I was hoping for, so I am back on it. Was 177 total before w/ Crestor. HDL was OK then, as well.
  2. E2=7 - I had thought I was AI overresponder before, now I know. Dropping back to .125mg EOD for a while to see how that works, down from .25EOD. Will adjust down more if necessary, based on wood/mood/etc.
  3. LH/FSH both low, even with hCG 250iu 2x/wk. Will go to M/W/F 250iu

CMP
Glucose, serum 79 (65-99)
BUN 20 (6-20)

Creatinine, serum 1.40 (0.76-1.27) ***Flagged high, is this an issue?
eGFR 57 >59 ***Flagged low, issue?
BUN/Creatinine ratio 14 (8-19)
Sodium, serum 138 (135-145)
Potassium, serum 4.2 (3.5-5.2)
Chloride, serum 102 (97-108)
Carbon Dioxide, total 25 (20-32)
Calcium, serum 9.6 (8.7-10.2)
Protein, total, serum 7.1 (6.0-8.5)
Albumin, serum 4.6 (3.5-5.5)
Globulin, total 2.5 (1.5-4.5)
A/G Ratio 1.8 (1.1-2.5)
Bilirubin, total 0.7 (0.0-1.2)
Alkaline Phosphatase, S 61 (25-150)
AST (SGOT) 30 (0-40)
ALT (SGPT) 37 (0-55)

WBC 5.8 (4.0-10.5)
RBC 4.86 (4.10-5.60)
Hemoglobin 15.3 (12.5-17.0)
Hematocrit 46.8 (36.0-50.0)
MCV 96 (80-98)
MCH 31.5 (27.0-34.0)
MCHC 32.7 (32.0-36.0)
RDW 13.9 (11.7-15.0)
Platelets 184 (140-415)

Chol, total 259 (100-199) High!
Triglycerides 142 (0-149)
HDL 38 >39 Low, was better before
VDLD Chol Cal 28 (5-40)
LDL Chol Calc 193 (0-99) High!

LH 0.1 (1.7-8.6) LOW
FSH <0.2 (1.5-12.4) LOW

Testosterone, serum 692 (249-836)
Free Test, Direct 22.8 (8.7-25.1)

Cortisol 11.8 (AM 6.2-19.4, PM 2.3-11.9)

Estradiol, sensitive 7 (3-70)

Blood was taken @ 7:30ish AM, fasting.

So, are my notes/thoughts above on the right track as far as adjustments go?

  • Back on Crestor (cholesterol)

  • Up hCG to 3x/wk 250iu (LH/FSH)

  • Modify armidex dosage (back down to .125mgEOD or E3D from .25mgEOD)

  • Creatinine was flagged high, is this an issue?

[quote]catfish74 wrote:
Here’s my 3-month update.

Notes:

  1. Cholesterol was bad - stopped the Crestor (10mgED) to see if TRT would improve. Obviously it did not make the change I was hoping for, so I am back on it. Was 177 total before w/ Crestor. HDL was OK then, as well.
  2. E2=7 - I had thought I was AI overresponder before, now I know. Dropping back to .125mg EOD for a while to see how that works, down from .25EOD. Will adjust down more if necessary, based on wood/mood/etc.
  3. LH/FSH both low, even with hCG 250iu 2x/wk. Will go to M/W/F 250iu

CMP
Glucose, serum 79 (65-99)
BUN 20 (6-20)

Creatinine, serum 1.40 (0.76-1.27) ***Flagged high, is this an issue?
eGFR 57 >59 ***Flagged low, issue?
BUN/Creatinine ratio 14 (8-19)
Sodium, serum 138 (135-145)
Potassium, serum 4.2 (3.5-5.2)
Chloride, serum 102 (97-108)
Carbon Dioxide, total 25 (20-32)
Calcium, serum 9.6 (8.7-10.2)
Protein, total, serum 7.1 (6.0-8.5)
Albumin, serum 4.6 (3.5-5.5)
Globulin, total 2.5 (1.5-4.5)
A/G Ratio 1.8 (1.1-2.5)
Bilirubin, total 0.7 (0.0-1.2)
Alkaline Phosphatase, S 61 (25-150)
AST (SGOT) 30 (0-40)
ALT (SGPT) 37 (0-55)

WBC 5.8 (4.0-10.5)
RBC 4.86 (4.10-5.60)
Hemoglobin 15.3 (12.5-17.0)
Hematocrit 46.8 (36.0-50.0)
MCV 96 (80-98)
MCH 31.5 (27.0-34.0)
MCHC 32.7 (32.0-36.0)
RDW 13.9 (11.7-15.0)
Platelets 184 (140-415)

Chol, total 259 (100-199) High!
Triglycerides 142 (0-149)
HDL 38 >39 Low, was better before
VDLD Chol Cal 28 (5-40)
LDL Chol Calc 193 (0-99) High!

LH 0.1 (1.7-8.6) LOW
FSH <0.2 (1.5-12.4) LOW

Testosterone, serum 692 (249-836)
Free Test, Direct 22.8 (8.7-25.1)

Cortisol 11.8 (AM 6.2-19.4, PM 2.3-11.9)

Estradiol, sensitive 7 (3-70)

Blood was taken @ 7:30ish AM, fasting.

So, are my notes/thoughts above on the right track as far as adjustments go?

  • Back on Crestor (cholesterol)

  • Up hCG to 3x/wk 250iu (LH/FSH)

  • Modify armidex dosage (back down to .125mgEOD or E3D from .25mgEOD)

  • Creatinine was flagged high, is this an issue? [/quote]

High cholesterol is a red flag for potential thyroid problems
Proper evaluation would include
ft3
ft4
total t4
total t3
tpo
tgab
ferritin
tsh 3 rd generation
rt3
vitamin D 25 oh

I would also examine factors involving with insulin resistance
total insulin
free insulin
Ha1C

4 point cortisol saliva testing - evalute adrenal function

Really? I just figured it was hereditary, since my mom has sky-high cholesterol as well. It has been high for years - well before I noticed any symptoms.

More Hcg will not raise LH levels.

[quote]jrm850 wrote:
More Hcg will not raise LH levels.[/quote]

Do I need them high/normal?

Also - I do have a TSH test from January '10:
TSH 1.190 (0.450-4.500)

I need to talk to my doc’s nurse in a few days to schedule some refills, I’ll mention getting the other thyroid testing done. They should be fine with it.

Also should mention had a MRI done to check pituitary, came back normal a couple months ago.

Not injecting T? We need your complete protocol.

Not enough data, please edit and add vitals, age, weight, health issues, drugs, supplements, head aches, chronic cough, BP, pulse or anything else.

What is your iodine intake?

Most over-responders are closer to target by taking 1/4th of the expected dose. Based on labs, new dose should be old dose * 7/22

Stop anastrozole for 5 days then resume at the lower dose, this will take care of the half-life issues.

Accuracy of E2 at such low levels is questionable.

You are dead wrong thinking that hCG will increase LH. Also dumb to be even checking LH/FSH. You must be confusing with effects of SERMs.

"I just figured it was hereditary, since my mom has sky-high cholesterol as well. It has been high for years - well before I noticed any symptoms. "

What symptoms?!!

Consider a different statin drug

I use lovastatin and take half tabs. A 90 day supply of the whole tabs from Walmart/Sam’s lasts 180 days and costs $10 - http://i.walmartimages.com/i/if/hmp/fusion/customer_list.pdf

Increase HDL with fish oil, other EFA’s, olive oil and other healthy fats, high potency vit-B complex multi vits, 4000-6000iu vit-D3. Also make sure that you are getting a broad spectrum of anti-oxidants.

Your low HDL is your major CV risk factor. You must deal with that.

You need to test for CRP and homocysteine.

You must take CoQ10 with a statin drug to support mitochondrial function!!!
Do you feel any different while off the Crestor?

You will feel better when you get your E2 levels up, so that change will conceal changes from restarting Crestor.

Creatinine, serum 1.40 (0.76-1.27)
Rosuvastatin - Wikipedia “The FDA has … mandated that a warning about this side-effect, as well as a kidney toxicity warning, be added to the product label.[2]”

Forgot that stuff…sorry.

Current protocol: 100mg test enan weekly, dosed on M/Th (50mg each), 250iu hCG 2x/wk (Sat/Wed), RC Adex (.25mg EOD, dropped down to .125EOD since results back low on E2). I was off Adex for several days after results came back to right the ship.
EDIT: based on formula, should be .08mg EOD for Adex (.25*7/22)

Age: 36
H: 5’11"
W: 225, 34" waist BF ~18%
Supps: OMega 3/6/9 oil, cheap multi, cissus, whey, BCAA (XTend) during training
Training: 3-4 days/wk heavy weights, cardio 1-2 days
AAS: prohormones 1 cycle, couple of T-only cycles, 1 t/deca cycle (low dose deca, mainly for joints)
Started TRT last year, then stopped when changing docs (protocol there was 100mg T only, no AI, no hCG)

No real health issues to speak of now since starting TRT. I had all the symptoms though - brain fog, irritability, memory loss, word searching, fatigue, etc etc…I’m sure the PH/cycles contributed to my low T levels even though I always did proper PCT w/ Nolva or Chlomid. I suspect I was borderline low before that though based on how I was feeling. Have one biological child, although we did have difficulty conceiving. Not sure if it was on my end or hers.

As far as the Crestor goes, I tried a couple of generic statins, and they all made me feel like shit within just a few days. Crestor is the only one that I have taken that didn’t make me feel bad. I didn’t feel any different when I quit taking it.

Iodine intake - we cook with salt, salt things to taste

Let me know of anything else we need here. Again, this is my 3-month update since being on a “decent” TRT protocol. I must admit, I’m finally starting to feel decent again.

Get the high potency vit-B complex vitamin.

You need CoQ10 because statin drugs reduce CoQ10 production in the liver. Do not ignore.

What is your iodine intake? Salt must be iodized.

You can cycle on/off Crestor and to labs to see if Creatinine follows or is steady.

I’ll look to getting a hi-pot B complex. Do the cheap ones work just as well? I’m almost out of my multi, so I need to stock up anyway. I’ll add the CoQ10 in as well.

As for iodine - we use iodized salt NOW…used sea salt for a long time. We use it in cooking, and I generally salt to taste. Not a lot, but some.

EDIT: Test is enan, not cyp. That was other doctor. Dosage is same.