Hey guys,
I’ve been lurking this forum for a while now, and I’ve been encouraged by the quality of advice given to people with problems similar to mine. I have my first appointment with an endocrinologist on Friday 9th of October, and I don’t want to be tossed around the system by being unprepared. If anyone would help me out, it would be greatly appreciated. I live in Denmark, so health care is quite different here. I basically have to convince my doctor about everything, hence my need to be prepared
For the last 50 days or so I’ve tried to increase my T by working out and eating healthier and more fat, but all I saw increase was my SHBG and cholesterol.
Age: 26
Height: 180cm (5ft 11in)
Weight: 74kg (163lbs)
Describe body and facial hair: Good amount of pubic and belly hair, slightly less chest hair – it’s starting to connect. Facial hair not full yet (empty patch around chins). A decent amount around cheeks and sideburns, but it’s a bit sparse. I wouldn’t consider growing it out.
Describe fat: Mostly on my thighs (always had large thighs), a bit belly fat, a bit chest fat. Hasn’t really changed apart from the fact that all of it increased a bit during my half year of low physical activity and increased food consumption. I’ve always been somewhat skinny.
Symptoms: Wow, where to start.
In 2007 I had hydrocele in my scrotum. It basically filled with fluid, it hurt like heck, and it was removed by surgery.
In August 2011 I got a benign thyroid cyst that was removed shortly after. At around the time when the cyst appeared, I started feeling like crap in every way: Nausea in the morning, sore muscles, fatigue, dizziness, weight loss (went from 78kg to 67kg), profuse sweating, heart palpitations, brain fog, tingling in my feet and fingers and more. No lab work showed any abnormalities! (Note: I don’t have the numbers) I got tested for Celiacs, ‘cause I’ve had gluten issues before, but it was negative. Been gluten free ever since, and I’ve been recovering progressively from most issues, although I cannot tell if that is the cause.
So having mostly recovered, I still have some issues left:
- Profuse sweating: Some days (completely unpredictable) I sweat all throughout the day. If no physical activity, I sweat a lot under my armpits, and if I add just a little physical activity (even a short walk), my entire body can break out in sweat. Other days I have normal sweating.
- Unpredictable mood: I feel decent in general, but some days my mood is just off for no reason. I may be irritable, my thinking may be slower. I’m just not feeling entirely present. Working out usually improves this significantly for up to several hours after a session. Some days (like 4 a month) I sleep quite poorly.
- Testosterone related issues: I only get morning wood occasionally (less often than not), and it usually subsides very quickly after leaving bed. I used to get it daily and even peeing was a nuisance. Apart from that, my general motivation and desire to pursue women is quite low – I get spikes every now and then I want to – but in general, I’m just indifferent to them.
I went on NoFap for almost an entire year. Having seen this wasn’t super hard, I got my testosterone levels checked back in Dec 3 2015 and my total level showed 299ng/dl. I thought I might just be a guy who functions on low t, but what is functional anyway? I’ve disregarded every notion of “normal” since I got so sick 5 years ago.
I also have acne. It’s not super bad if I avoid milk and treat it, but I thought it should’ve cleared by now.
Rx and OTC drugs: About 10 years ago I had some issues with emptying my bladder and was given some drugs to relieve it. Cannot recall the name at all. Only used that for a couple of months.
Describe diet: Gluten free. My breakfast consists of oatmeal with berries (e.g. goji) and cocoa. My lunch is usually spinach with avocado, eggs, olive oil and sometimes bacon. Dinner varies, but usually brown rice or potatoes with meat, and I try to get vegetables (mostly broccoli) along with it. Supplements: Omega 3 fish oil daily, multivitamins daily.
Describe training: I do strength training in the gym 2-3 times a week – 1-1½ hour sessions of whole-body programs including deadlift, squat, bench, military and lat pull. I make sure I get plenty of rest – sleep about 8-9 hours a night and I postpone training a day if I haven’t recovered entirely. I bike about 2 times a week for ½-1 hour.
Stress: I’ve been unemployed in a very low-stress environment for 2 months.
Testes ache or fever: Not more than normally. My left testicle is sensitive from the surgery in 2007, but no changes in that. No fever.
Morning wood: As mentioned in the symptoms section, it’s only occasionally (less often than not) and not strong at all.
Lab results: The doctor ordered so many tests I don’t know where to start. These are the primary ones that I have that I saw requested in the blood work sticky. I’m awaiting a few more tests.
26 August 2016:
LH: 1.8 IU/L (1.7-8.6)
FSH: 2.5 IU/L (1.2-15.8)
TT: 13 nmol/L (8.6-29)
SHBG: 27 nmol/L (10-57)
Prolactin: 184 10^-3 IU/L (40-400)
Albumin: 46 g/L (36-48)
TSH: 2.13 (0.35-4.00)
T4: 80 nmol/L (60-160)
T4 free: 15.9 pmol/L (12.0-22.0)
T3: 1.8 nmol/L (0.7-2.1)
Additional ones that might be of interest:
Cholesterol HDL: 1.4 mmol/L (> 1.00) [NORMAL]
Cholesterol LDL: 3.8 mmol/L (< 3.00) [ABOVE NORMAL]
Cholesterol: 5.5 mmol/L (< 5.00) [ABOVE NORMAL]
Leucocytes: 3.2 (3.5-8.8) [BELOW NORMAL]
Neutrophils: 1.3 (1.6-5.9) [BELOW NORMAL]
Creatine: 105 µmol/L (60-105)
11 July 2016:
TT: 13.8 nmol/L (8.6-29)
Free T: 0.4149 nmol/L (0.24-0.69)
SHBG: 21 nmol/L (10-57)
TSH: 2.04 (0.35-4.00)
T4: 76 nmol/L (60-160)
T3: 1.8 nmol/L (0.7-2.1)
So I don’t know how my endocrinologist will proceed, but I’m afraid of not being taken seriously. I’ve experienced that way too many times with different doctors in the past 5 years. I’m a 100% certain there’s an issue, but it’s so hard to substantiate.
Do you guys have any idea? Thanks a lot in advance.