m 30 years, having some real issues with energy, libido, sleep and muscle growth/regeneration. Looks like my hormones are not that great. Never did HRT, but considering it.
This test was done after stopping 3 months ago with caffeine (though the issues persist since my teens).
fT3 2.66 pg/ml (2.00 - 4.40)
fT4 1.15 ng/dl (0.93 - 1.70)
TSH 1.64 µU/ml (0.35 - 3.50)
Estradiol (E2) 12.86 pg/ml (<32)
Free T 243 pmol/l (180 - 972)
Total T 5.21 ng/ml (1.75 - 7.81)
SHBG 63.60 nmol/l (13.2 - 89.5)
DHEA 5.5 ng/ml (1.5 - 9.0)
DHEA-S 1650 ng/ml (1200 - 5200)
DHT 400 ng/l (219 - 1140)
Vitamin D3 38.9 ng/ml (30-100)
Cortisol saliva test (5 times) was low after 12 hours but in range.
DHEA saliva morning: 424 pg/ml (139 - 573)
DHEA saliva after 12 hours: 66 pg/ml
Cortisol / DHEA-ratio morning: 23.4 (8.7 - 70.6)
Cortisol / DHEA-ratio after 12 hour: 8.2 (2.9 - 45.8)
I also have some big issues with digestion (slow motility constipation), depression, some anxiety issues. I’m also battling lyme for years, but hoping to get it under control with disulfiram (new treatment option). Could the chronic stress from a chronic infection be a reason for out of whack hormones?
I’m considering testing progesterone and pregnenolone, does this makes sense to check if the hormones upstream are low? Should i test prolactin?
Does it makes sense to take DHEA to help with the fatigue?
Chronic stress can cause hormonal problems. Your SHBG is up there and not sure why the ranges go so high as anything in the high 40’s starts to affect Free T negatively. The low E2 pretty much hints at how serious the situation really is, levels this low and osteoporosis is likely.
TRT may not be enough to get E2 high enough, you might need HCG to get to a healthy level.
Estradiol 68.8 pmol/L (99.4 - 192) (must have been the test for women bc of range)
Here are some lipid values i did 6 months ago:
Cholesterol 223 mg/dl (<200)
Triglycerides 71 mg/dl (<150)
HDL 89 mg/dl (40-200)
LDL 138 mg/dl (<160)
LDL/HDL ratio 1.6 (<3)
I’m doing some more lab work (pregnenolone) and then trying supplementing pregnenolone and DHEA while on lyme treatment before going the TRT route. But if that fails doing some changes, i’m definitely going on TRT. I’m having enough of this low energy and fatigue.
It heard about cycling pregnenolone+DHEA 5 days on 2 days off. Does that makes sense?
no still not started or even tried TRT. But i noticed a big improvement in energy by taking high dose thiamine. It is now the first time for years where i can work out several weeks in a row without pilling up fatigue. Here are some informations if you’re interested: Mega-Dose Thiamine: Benefits Beyond Addressing Deficiency - YouTube
Also my digestion has improved a lot by taking boron 3 mg a day.
My testosterone is still low though. But i’ve found a privat hormone specialist in my area which i can visit for diagnostics and treatment. If i have the money, i will go there.
Still not sure if it would be a good idea to take TRT, it seems supply chain disruptions are more common now. Here in germany we can be happy if the lights don’t go out in winter.
I also did a BIA which the result was 11% bodyfat (but skinnyfat)
The SHBG came down from 78 to “only” 57, but still just over the upper range. I did change my diet, eating enough calories and tried to reduce stress but you can do only so much. Something is still driving my SHBG high.
I’ve read somewhere that high shbg might have something to do with low insulin:
basal insulin: 2.06 mU/L (2.6-24.9)
basal glucose: 85 mg/dL (75-115)
homa index: 0.43
My diet is still lowish carbs, but i went up from very low carb <50gr to around 150gr. Maybe that change in carbs reduced my shbg, who knows.
I also have issues digesting fats, getting the runs, headaches, stomach pain in the area where the liver is. My liver seemed good though, maybe there is something wrong.
Also problem with high carb is that i get candida overgrowth, my tounge gets all white.