My Labs What Should I Do?

I recently consulted with a hormone doctor who ordered a huge panel of tests for me to have done. I have had them done and I am posting them below to get some advice on what would be my best course of action prior to my going back for my follow up with the doctor.

For full disclosure I should also let any would be commenters that I have an extensive Orthopedic history 7 knee procedures ultimately ending with a right total knee replacement. 3 elbow procedures, although it should have only been 2, and 2 shoulders, 1 of which involved a tenodesis. I’m getting ready to have my 3 rd as my superior labrum is completely worn out. I am going to see a Doc in Chicago who replaces the Labrum with a lateral meniscus from a cadaver.

My Ortho thinks I may have a very rare genetic condition called Ehlers Danlos syndrome which prevent my body from producing sufficient collagen the main tensile fiber connective tissue is comprised of. He believes that I may benefit from the use of Growth Hormone.

The problem with this is that I am actually fairly strong compared to most people (probably not most on this forum however) 325 lbs on bench, 315 lbs on a full deep squat. My understanding is that people with this condition would not be able to push this kind of weight. I am a 37.5 year old white man, Father of 2 with one on the way. Anyhow, below are my numbers. I want to thank those of you that take the time to comment in advance.

Lipid panel:
Cholesterol :149------125-200 mg/dL
HDL: 31-------------> or = to 40mg/dL
Trigycerides: 115-----<150 mg/dL
LDL-Cholesterol------<130 mg/dL

Chol/HDLC Ratio: 4.8–< or = 5.0
Non HDL Cholesterol: 118

Homocystine,
Cadiovascular: 16.2 H—<11.4 umol/L
Glucose: 81------------65-99 mg/dL

Urea Nitrogen (BUN): 13---------7-25 mg/dL
Creatinine: 0.94---------------0.60-1.35mg/dL
eGFR Non African American: 103—> or = 60mL/min/1.73m
eGFR African American:120--------Don’t know what this one is???
Sodium: 141--------------------135-146mmol/L
Potassium: 4.1------------------3.5-5.3 mmol/L
Chloride:101--------------------98-110 mmol/L
Carbon Dioxide: 29--------------21-33 mmol/L
Calcium: 9.7--------------------8.6-10.3 mg/dL
Protein Total: 7.7----------------6.2-8.3 mg/dL
Albumin: 4.7--------------------3.6-5.1 mg/dL
Globulin: 3.0--------------------2.1-3.7 mg/dL
Albumin/Globulin Ratio: 1.6-------1.0-2.1
Bilirubin: 1.1--------------------0.2-1.2 mg/dL
Alkaline Phosphate: 59-----------40-115 U/L
AST: 16------------------------10-40 U/L
ALT: 12------------------------9-60 U/L

Vitamin D 25-Hydroxy
LC/MS/MS
Vitamin D 25-OH Total: 46--------30-100 ng/mL
Vitamin D 25-OH, D3: 46
Vitamin D 25-OH, D2: <4

Uric Acid: 5.6------------------4.0-8.0 mg/dL
TSH: 2.37---------------------0.4-4.50 mIU/dL
T4 Free: 1.4-------------------0.8-1.8 ng/dL
T3 Free: 3.3-------------------2.3-4.2 pg/mL

PTT: 43H---------------------<= 40 sec Not sure what this one is???
DRVVT Screen: 39--------------<= 45 sec
Hexagonal Phase Confirm: Negative
Sex Binding Hormone:
Globulin: 28-------------------10-50 nmol/L
Lipoprotein: 23 ----------------< 75 nmol/L
IGF I LC/MS 120----------------53-331ng/mL
Z Score (male): 0.4--------------2.0 – +2.0

Estrone: 33-------------------< or = 68 pg/mL
Dihydrotestosterone
LC/MS/MS: 25-----------------16-79 ng/dL

Urinalysis
Color: Dark Yellow-------------Yellow
Appearance: Clear------------- Clear
Specific Gravity: 1.024----------1.001-1.035
PH: 7------------------------5.0-8.0
Glucose, Bilirubin, Ketones, Occult Blood, Protein, Nitrite, Leukocyte Esterase ((All Negative))
WBC: None Seen---------------< or = 5/HPF
RBC: 0-3---------------------< or = 3 HPF
Squamous Epithelial Cells: None Seen
Bacteria: None Seen
Hyaline Cast: None Seen
CBC (Includes Diff/PLT)
White Blood Cell Count: 5.5-----3.8-10.8 Thousand/uL
Red Blood Cell Count: 4.58-----4.2-5.8 Million/uL
Hemoglobin: 14.9-------------13.2-17.1 g/dL
Hematocrit: 42.5--------------38.5-50.0%
MCV: 92.8-------------------80-100 fL
MCH: 32.5-------------------27.0-33.0 pg
MCHC: 35.0------------------32.0-36.0 g/dL
RDW: 12.9-------------------11.0-15.0%
Platelet Count: 213------------140-400 Thousand/uL
Absolute Neutrophils: 3872-----1500-7800 Cells/uL
Absolute Lymphocytes: 1155----850-3900 Cells/uL
Absolute Monocytes: 292-------200-950 Cells/uL
Absolute Eosinophils: 149------15-500 Cells/uL
Absolute Basophils: 33---------0-200 Cells/uL
Neutrophils: 70.4
Lymphocytes: 21.0
Monocytes: 5.3
Eosinophils: 2.7
Basophils: 0.6----------------< or = 200 IU/mL
Anti-Streptolysin:33-----------<14 IU/mL
C-Reactive Protein: 0.16--------<0.80 mg/dL
DHEA Sulfate: 154-------------110-370mcg/dL
FSH: 4.2---------------------1.6-8.0 mIU/mL
LH: 4.4----------------------1.5-9.3
Prolactin: 5.0-----------------2.0-18.0 ng/mL
Estradiol: 27-----------------< or = 39 pg/mL

PSA Total: 0.7----------------< or = 4.0 ng/mL

IGF Binding Protein 3: 4.1-------3.4-7.0 mg/L
Total Test: 648---------------250-1100 ng/dL
Free Test:107.6--------------35.0- 155.0 pg/mL
Dnase Antibody: <95---------<301U/mL

Thanks again guys, much appreciated.

Other than your cholesterol and vitamin D, I would say your bloodwork is pretty damn near perfect.

Niacin can help raise HDL levels (500 mg/day to start, double based on improvement)

Vitamin D supplement. 6,000 iu/day.

You didn’t mention symptoms other than your laundry list of tendon injuries (seriously? you might not think there is anything wrong with you but that many injuries requiring surgery is not common). So do you have any?

Deca has been known to help with tendon/collagen issues, I think. BUt this is as an adjunct to TRT, which you certainly do not need.

[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:
Other than your cholesterol and vitamin D, I would say your bloodwork is pretty damn near perfect.

Niacin can help raise HDL levels (500 mg/day to start, double based on improvement)

Vitamin D supplement. 6,000 iu/day.

You didn’t mention symptoms other than your laundry list of tendon injuries (seriously? you might not think there is anything wrong with you but that many injuries requiring surgery is not common). So do you have any?

Deca has been known to help with tendon/collagen issues, I think. BUt this is as an adjunct to TRT, which you certainly do not need.[/quote]

I have a number of symptoms, aches and pains and my body feeling more like 67 than 37. I am well aware that this many surgeries is not normal, and I have never had a complete recovery from any of them. My tendon/ligament/cartilage issues are my symptoms.

Maybe normal levels are not enough for my body to keep itself held together. I have not been to the gym in 16 months because of my shoulder; I am in the worst shape of my life. It is depressing.

Joint/muscle issues would be outside the scope of my knwoledge for sure, but it doesnt appear to be linked to sex hormones.

[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:
Joint/muscle issues would be outside the scope of my knwoledge for sure, but it doesnt appear to be linked to sex hormones.[/quote]

Thanks for checking it out. I am desperate at this point; I am way too young to feel this way. Even though my numbers are normal I am leaning toward trying the growth hormone to see if it relieves some of my everyday aches and pains. I’m not looking for a bodybuilder type of dosage, but maybe getting myself to the higher end of normal, since my current number is on the lower end of normal. I have also read a number of things saying that GH is very beneficial to recovery from surgery. I think that if I can get my butt back in the gym following the surgery with the GH then my test levels will go up. Total test is about 200 lower than it was 2 year ago before the shoulder injury, but I was going to the gym 6 days a week back in those days.

Any thoughts on my rationale???

Have you read about Fibromyalgia? People have a range of symptoms and muscle pain is one of them. I just thought maybe something to look into, if you have not.

one link with some symptoms

www.medibrain.com.au/fibromyalgia.htm

[quote]iroczinoz wrote:
Have you read about Fibromyalgia? People have a range of symptoms and muscle pain is one of them. I just thought maybe something to look into, if you have not.

one link with some symptoms

www.medibrain.com.au/fibromyalgia.htm[/quote]

Fibro and CFS are bull shit diagnosis which are just imbalances in the body dr’s are too incompetent to look for. I deal with these cases from Dr’s on a daily basis and its amazing what you will find at the root issue through detailed analysis. When corrected with proper treatment the person amazingly gets better after 10-15 years like feeling like shit.

[quote]iroczinoz wrote:
Have you read about Fibromyalgia? People have a range of symptoms and muscle pain is one of them. I just thought maybe something to look into, if you have not.

one link with some symptoms

www.medibrain.com.au/fibromyalgia.htm[/quote]
I’ve looked into Fibro, but the problem is that my symptoms go way beyond pain without an obvious or underlying cause. I have sustained numerous joint injuries over the years. For the most part they were confined to my knees, and I chalked it up to sports injuries. Problem is that I have lots of friends who played sports and they were never hurt the way I was…Also, which I stated in an earlier post, I have never fully recovered from any surgery I have ever had in the past. Now at 37 my shoulder is completely wrecked. I never had shoulder problems until an injury of unknown origin at 35. I have finally come to the hard realization that my body composition is not the same as everybody else’s. The more I read about EDS the more I am coming to the realization the it is a very real possibility.

I am not sure if HGH can help me with strengthening my connective tissue, since the underlying problem may be genetic, but I feel like it is worth the try.

A little off topic - I’m also in route to a total knee replacement (I’m 29 by the way). I’m curious if you were able to squat like that after the replacement ?

Were you tested for Lyme disease? Maybe it’s there and I’m not seeing it.

any history of juvenile rhumetoid arthritis as a child?

also consider that you maybe have clinical depression and consult with a doctor.

rheumatoid Arthritis is a another possible, again consult doctor

[quote]Koolwhip wrote:
A little off topic - I’m also in route to a total knee replacement (I’m 29 by the way). I’m curious if you were able to squat like that after the replacement ?

Were you tested for Lyme disease? Maybe it’s there and I’m not seeing it.

any history of juvenile rhumetoid arthritis as a child?[/quote]

It was prior to surgery, My shoulder injury occurred around the time I had the TKA. I was back in the gym about 2 months afterward, but my shoulder made me stop going in. Your knee will not have the kind of flexion you had prior to surgery, but if you work at it you will get enough of it back. Often times you need to have a follow-up scope (especially at a young age) to clean out all of the scare tissue.

Not to sound like a complainer, but I’m not really getting the kind of advice I thought I would be getting here.

[quote]bartonmlee wrote:
also consider that you maybe have clinical depression and consult with a doctor.

rheumatoid Arthritis is a another possible, again consult doctor
[/quote]
Although my situation is depressing, I’m not depressed. My life is pretty good. EDS is often misdiagnoses as RA, because many MDs have never heard of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome before.

Maybe I posted in the wrong forum, but I am feeling (Physically not Mentally) much older than my age. Too many aches and pains, too many injuries that never get better even with surgery. What I want to know is can HGH and/or something like Equipoise help my situation.

[quote]insearchofstrong wrote:
Not to sound like a complainer, but I’m not really getting the kind of advice I thought I would be getting here.[/quote]

Well that is because you had somehow convinced yourself that you have low T despite probably having the highest natural T levels of anybody that posts on this board.

None of us need to live in a bubble to avoid injuring ourselves, despite being T (or other hormone) deficient, so what does that tell you?

This is not a community of doctors specializing in the rarest unique ailments on the planet. We are offering you suggestions of things based on our own collective (albeit limited) knowledge…if you do not appreciate the advice you are receiving, you are welcome to get the fuck out.

[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:

[quote]insearchofstrong wrote:
Not to sound like a complainer, but I’m not really getting the kind of advice I thought I would be getting here.[/quote]

Well that is because you had somehow convinced yourself that you have low T despite probably having the highest natural T levels of anybody that posts on this board.

None of us need to live in a bubble to avoid injuring ourselves, despite being T (or other hormone) deficient, so what does that tell you?

This is not a community of doctors specializing in the rarest unique ailments on the planet. We are offering you suggestions of things based on our own collective (albeit limited) knowledge…if you do not appreciate the advice you are receiving, you are welcome to get the fuck out.[/quote]
It tells me that I was able to compete at an extremely high level in sports in both H.S. and college despite the possibility of having a rare condition that stacked the cards against me and precludes most others from engaging in anything outside playing go fish.

Please tell me what it tells you?

To everyone but VTBalla34, I apologize for any offense that was taken; it was not my intent.

Your e-credentials are impressive!

Try not to break your arm patting yourself on the back.

[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:
Your e-credentials are impressive!

Try not to break your arm patting yourself on the back.[/quote]

I can laugh at that.
Touche