Help with Bloodwork

37 male and in good shape. Eat pretty well and workout non stop. I have been bloated around stomach for past two years and gained ab 10 pounds out of nowhere even on diet. I have gyno from past prohormones years ago and wondering why it gets bigger one day and smaller the next? Hormone related? My blood work came back test total 668. Estradiol 21. FSh 4.4. Lh was 8.6. Anything you see wrong? What other tests would you consider to add to this and is it smart to look at test replacement. Just not sure why my stomach bloats and seem to hold water all the time. Thanks

Check here

https://forums.t-nation.com/t/lab-work-blood-testing-and-symptoms/150881?source_topic_id=38

Labs scores without ranges are useless. SHBG?

Fsh 4.4. Range 1.5. - 12.4
Total test 669. Range 350-915
Lh 8.6 range 1.7 - 8.6

Also seems like if I take proscar my gyno flares and my neck gets bloated, like it’s heavy. Has to be a correlation I would think. What other tests do I need

This is why ranges are so important, LH above the ranges would indicate damaged testicles. I’m leaning towards testicles are damaged and given more time LH is expected to rise. It would be nice to confirm LH above ranges on further tests. Freeze sperm now while you have time.

You require more extensive labs.

Would that cause the estrogen symptoms? I have bloating and weight gain around stomach. Gyno flares up randomly. Face and neck feels bloated. Stomach distended always. Not sure what other blood work I need to confirm something. I feel like something is causing my sides. Been going on a while. Used pro hormoes in the past without much pct. my e2 was actually 21 on a range fromn11-50

Stop Proscar aka Finasteride, this drug has ruined men’s lives! Next time a doctor offers you drugs do your own research, you could have prevented everything that’s happening to you. This drug will destroy your life!

Sometimes symptoms remain long after this drug is stopped, there’s no cure for PFS. This drug can cause female like breast development and enlargement. You cannot trust doctors these days, their heads spend the majority of the time up their *** and most are unaware that men have been dealing with PFS for over a decade.

Google Post Finasteride Syndrome.

http://medsafe.govt.nz/profs/PUArticles/March2016/PostFinasterideSyndrome.htm

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I remember the commercials for that poison. “Certain sexual side effects may occur” the pleasant male voice would say, casually and without much emphasis. Now here we are decades later and guys are still balding but hey, at least their dicks don’t work either. It was like they were shooting for the making-men-miserable exacta.

Ok. But what testosterone blood work would I need perhaps? Free test? Shbg? And total test? I have a baby on the way so my lh doesn’t seem like an issue. Just wondering more about testosterone even when my total test is 669 and estradiol is 22

You were given both answers already. There is a section here, that will give you ALL the labs that you need to get.

You are missing some vital labs, without them, we really cant help.

You need to get off this drug first, it can screw with your HPTA. When you stop this drug you will go through withdrawal for a couple of months. See where you’re at then.

Yeah I understand. I figured someone could summarize the testersterone tests I would need to see what is going on.

The very first response to your post has a link to ALL THE LABS.

You cant rely on people spoon feeding you the very basics. You have to do some reading on your own.

Testing now while you’re on Finasteride is pointless, any results you get now will change once you’re off that drug. You can’t diagnose while on a drug like Finasteride, it cause your entire system to go haywire.

TT
FT
E2 LC/MS/MS method
SHBG
Prolactin
LH/FSH
CBC
hematocrit
TSH
fT3
rT3
fT4

From reading total testosterone is pretty irrelevant. Free test is really the number I need to know?

Pretty much TT is just a reservoir for free hormones, there are some with high free hormones and lower TT that feel fine.

“”"
I am having symptoms of high E. My stomach feels bloated all the time. I workout all the time. Eat well. I simply cannot lose weight around stomach and its about 10-15 pounds. Shortness of breath after a set of bench press for example. Only happened past year . Moderate increase in Blood pressure. I have used Pro hormones years ago without a decent pCT. I developed gyno about 4 years ago and now it flares quite a bit. Not sure why. HEre is what I do know. I have talked to someone about TRT and they cannot treat me because of high levels

Total t + free = 869
Free T = 10.1 %
SBHG = 69.9 (High)
Glucose was a little high and ALT was just a little high

Estradoil 27.7
Cortisol AM 13.7(probably high)

I was told I don’t have much free T and somehow SHBG is high

Would these side effects I have be caused by this? Please let me know

I also took propecia when I was 22 until about 31 or so. I quit because I thought it was causing side effects. I am 37 now.

Few other things to note:
A few things that were high
GLucose 104 range 65-99
Bun 21 range 6 - 20
Alt 49 Range 0-44

Thyroid blood results in case:
AM cortisol 13.7 ug/dl range (6.2-19.4)
TSH 1.310 range (.450 - 4.5)
T4 8.9 range (4.5 - 12.0)
Triiodothyronine, free, serum 4.2 range (2.0 - 4.4)
T4 free, direct 1.57 range (.82 - 1.77)“”"

Mid-range can provide good metabolism and body temperatures, but your fT3 is very high. I strongly suspect that rT3 [not tested] is high and interfering with fT3 at T3 receptors. fT3 is the only active thyroid hormone, there is no T4 receptor.

fT4 is also well above mid-range.

TSH is surprisingly not elevated. TSH=1.0 is seen when things are ideal.

Cortisol is decent, perhaps a but sub-optimal.

rT3 can be elevated from stress leading to adrenal fatigue where eventually cortisol can get low.

Read the thyroid basics sticky and check oral body temperatures - see below.

I am having symptoms of high E. My stomach feels bloated all the time. I workout all the time. Eat well. I simply cannot lose weight around stomach and its about 10-15 pounds. Shortness of breath after a set of bench press for example. Only happened past year . Moderate increase in Blood pressure. I have used Pro hormones years ago without a decent pCT. I developed gyno about 4 years ago and now it flares quite a bit. Not sure why. HEre is what I do know. I have talked to someone about TRT and they cannot treat me because of high levels

Total t + free = 869
Free T = 10.1 %
SBHG = 69.9 (High)
Glucose was a little high and ALT was just a little high

Estradoil 27.7
Cortisol AM 13.7(probably high)

I was told I don’t have much free T and somehow SHBG is high

Would these side effects I have be caused by this? Please let me know

I also took propecia when I was 22 until about 31 or so. I quit because I thought it was causing side effects. I am 37 now.

Lab ranges please.
Total T includes bound, free and weakly bound.

FT=10.1% seems impossibly high.
With high SHBG, all the more.
Was FT=10.1% and index and not absolute %?

TT=869 is high.
Your high SHBG means that there is a lot of non-bioavailable SHBG+T inflating TT so TT overstates your T status while reducing FT.

I suspect that FT is quite low and with E2=27 you would then be suffering from estrogen dominance which is a factor for increased SHBG.

propecia can be very HPTA destructive for a few men, makes antigenic changes - gene expression changes.


Please read the stickies found here: About the T Replacement Category - #2 by KSman

  • advice for new guys - need more info about you
  • things that damage your hormones
  • protocol for injections
  • finding a TRT doc

Evaluate your overall thyroid function by checking oral body temperatures as per the thyroid basics sticky. Thyroid hormone fT3 is what gets the job done and it regulates mitochondrial activity, the source of ATP which is the universal currency of cellular energy. This is part of the body’s temperature control loop. This can get messed up if you are iodine deficient. In many countries, you need to be using iodized salt. Other countries add iodine to dairy or bread.

KSman is simply a regular member on this site. Nothing more other than highly active.

I can be a bit abrupt in my replies and recommendations. I have a lot of ground to cover as this forum has become much more active in the last two years. I can’t follow threads that go deep over time. You need to respond to all of my points and requests as soon as possible before you fall off of my radar. The worse problems are guys who ignore issues re Thyroid, body temperatures, history of iodized salt. Please do not piss people off saying that lab results are normal, we need lab numbers and ranges.

The value that you get out of this process and forum depends on your effort and performance. The bulk of your learning is reading/studying the suggested stickies.

GLucose 104 range 65-99
No problem if this was not fasting lab work.

Thyroid blood results in case:
AM cortisol 13.7 ug/dl range (6.2-19.4)
TSH 1.310 range (.450 - 4.5)
T4 8.9 range (4.5 - 12.0)
Triiodothyronine, free, serum 4.2 range (2.0 - 4.4)
T4 free, direct 1.57 range (.82 - 1.77)