T Nation

Low T, Chest Pain Radiating into Shoulder and Left Arm

T Replacement
#1

Hey guys, sorry this isn’t quite on topic of this category, but I’m in need of some advice as doctors have no idea what’s happening to me, and I fear I’m getting misdiagnosed.

I’ve had lower t for a number of years. I’ve tried trt, clomid, hcg all in varying protocols. While on any of these protocols, I’ve been experiencing chest pain, that radiates into my left shoulder/ left armpit and left arm. And at times my left arm will be numb, this pin is also accompanied by cold sweats all over my body. Now I’m off trt, and I’m experiencing this pain in an even more severe manner. If I drink alcohol, the issues flare up the day after drinking, and if I smoke tobacco, they get very bad, and have brought me into the ER as I thought I was having a heart attack.

I’ve been to the ER a handful of times, and I’ve also done a stress test and echocardiogram. They’re saying everything is normal. One doctor told me anxiety was causing it, but when I take Ativan the pains do not go away. Another said “I’m too young to have heart issues, so I doubt there’s anything going.” I’ve recently had to do my own research and try and figure out what’s going on. This is where I’m sitting right now:

-possible adrenal issues/adrenaline spikes from high cortisol/blood sugar issues.

-microvascular angina/coronary artery spasm. These two diseases are related, and although more common in women, its a possibility I wanna look into. The only issue is, it’s hard to diagnose and most often won’t show up on ecg, or stress test. so doctors will miss this diagnosis most of the time and won’t do any further testing to investigate, because your ecg shows normal activity.

I’m at my whits end guys, and I’m desperately searching for anyone who might have experienced this from hormone imbalance/ heart issues, or any other reason, and found a solution OR knows of a doctor through this messageboard or somewhere else online that I can contact for help. I live in Canada, and our medical system has not done me any favours ever since I started down an unhealthy path years ago. so I’ve been looking at going south to the states. Any help, personal experiences, or advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks

#2

You say you’ve tried TRT, describe your TRT protocol. This may be to blame.

You may also provide a complete set of iron labs.

#3

Have you checked your adrenals? I have adrenal problems and get the same type of left chest pain when my cortisol drops.

Also when my lymph gets backed up and I’m not detoxing, I get the same pain. Along with my hemoglobin being high.

#4

It happened on trt but I’m currently off trt and it’s worse than it was on trt. My trt protocol was 25 mg every 2 days, and than roughly .5 Mg arimidex/week. But I didn’t take my arimidex religiously, and often id Go a week without as I didn’t need it that much. When I was on clomid, these symptoms were the worst they have ever been. I had constant chest pressure and armpit/ left arm pressure almost the whole time I was on it, which is why I had to come off of it. Also, if I drink ANY caffeine whatsoeever they get bad as well. I notice when I drink caffeine, The pain spreads the Center of my back also, among the other symptoms

#5

So you get the pain and pressure in all the same areas? Is yours affected by drinking alcohol, or smoking? Does stress make it worse? What about caffeine?

#6

There’s your clue to your problem, I read somewhere that there’s an organ under your left arm than can swell up and put pressure on a particular nerve and this may be a piece of the puzzle.

#7

@loui1991 I don’t smoke, drink, or have a lot of caffeine. Stress makes it 10x worse.

#8

You can do a CT cardiac angiogram To check for blockages.
Also a carotid artery scan.

#9

Sounds like peripheral artery disease. Nicotine is a strong vasoconstrictor.

#10

Problem for me is the doctors aren’t taking the issue seriously because of my normal ecg, and stress test, so they won’t refer me to have anymore heart related tests done. Canadian medical system is a joke for getting things done. I may have to look south of the border for options

#11

That could make sense, as I also suffer from ED. I tell doctors that my ED is a sign of poor blood flow around my body, but they told me “not at your age” it’s “very unlikely”

#12

So you said it happens when your cortisol drops? My cortisol has been high according to last lab work I had done. I suspcan cat it’s been high for white a while. Doctor ruled out Cushing’s syndrome and basically just said, well sometimes it’s high, and didn’t follow up on it after that

#13

Have they checked for thyroid issues?

#15

I actually just got an appt with a new doctor yesterday and I noticed she asked to get lab work for my thryroid levels

1 Like
#16

@loui1991 For me it happens when my cortisol drops. Which happens when I get stressed because I don’t produce adequate cortisol levels. But since your cortisol is high, it is unlikely that.

#17

The last time I had my cortisol checked was probably 2 years ago however. Chronic high cortisol can lead to stressed adrenal system, and actually deplete cortisol over time I’ve heard. So maybe, I should have hem checked again to rule out that they didn’t sink over the years.

#18

@loui1991 Did you check cortisol with an 8am blood draw?

#19

Yeah that’s the one I had done, but that was probably 2 years ago. Maybe I should get it done again. Or is 4 point saliva tests better for cortisol?

#20

@loui1991 Blood is very innacurate. 4 times/day saliva is much more accurate and gives a good full day picture. Dried urine like the DUTCH test is also another way.

#21

Will get that done then