It could have a significant impact on your E2, Total T, Free T, and LH/FSH.
How long have you been on it? You didn’t mention this in your thread did you? This is kind of crucial information that will make a significant difference in the advice I would give.
Shouldn’t have a ton of bearing on your cortisol (except maybe through tertiary feedback) which I think is your issue, so you should be good to go there.
THanks VT yea i did mention it in the beginning of the thread. I have been on it for about a month at 20mg/day. I am supposed to take it for 3 months. What type of impact would it have on the tests you mentioned above? I have no problem stopping the medicine ASAP but how long would it take to get out of my system and return everything to “normal” Thanks all.
Is this doctor prescribed or are you self medicating?
If I were in your situation, this is what I would do.
-Get the cortisol done (this is important)
-Take the SERM only long enough to get rid of the gyno symptoms
-Stop for 3-4 weeks
-Get other bloodwork as your baseline
I really don’t know what your bloodwork will look like on a SERM, other than that your Test should be higher (if you are not primary) and your LH/FSH will be elevated. No clue how volatile the E2 would be, but I imagine it could swing wildly or just be really high. I recommend getting the cortisol now because there is a good chance you have some degree of hypocortisolism due to your missing kidney/adrenal gland. I really can’t believe your GP has never been concerned about this–what have your discussions with him centered around, kidney wise?
Gyno is caused by high estrogen. You really need to figure out what your body’s natural estrogen levels are now in order to know how to treat. Were you on a SERM or any other meds for your 2008/2010 bloodworks?
Ideally, you want to figure out why (if) your estrogen is high. Could be liver issues, or your body may just have a low set point for hormone metabolism due to your hypocortisolism. Anyway, you need the cortisol to help paint the picture.
If cortisol comes back fine (which I am not expecting) and E2 does as well, then I honestly have no clue how to help you at that point. My toolbox is empty. But let’s not focus on that until we get there.
Thanks VT the Tamoxifen has been prescribed to me by my ENDO. My gyno appears to be gone so I am going to discontinue use. I wasn’t on SERM for any of the bloodwork so that is basically my baseline although I know i need to get a more recent blood test. I agree with you, I think my cortisol could be the issue. I actually have a kidney specialist who has never mentioned anything with my adrenal gland even though I have told him aobut my fatigue…I will be looking for a new doctor soon. Thanks again for the help
^^^This should tell you what sort of chaos our health care system is in when a kidney specialist is not aware that only having one adrenal gland might cause some problems that need to be monitored.
Be sure to coordinate stopping the SERM with your endo, he may have other plans for you. I would take what we’ve discussed here to him and hope for an open dialogue. If he resists, its up to you what next step to take with him onboard or off.
Like I said before, probably no harm in getting the cortisol done while on SERM…but other bloodwork will be a crapshoot, especially E2.
I know the older and marginally wiser I become I realize that most doctors either A) don’t know what they are talking about 90% of the time or B) just dont give a shit. I will hopefully be getting my cortisol bloodwork this week. Do I have to wait a month before I can get the rest of the bloodwork? It isn’t a huge deal but I would like to solve this matter sooner rather than later. Thanks again for all the responses and input.
Getting Thyroid and Cortisol checked tomorrow morning. Will post the results as soon as i get them.
Got the bloodwork done today got thyroid, cortisol and hte doctor also ordered a Test Serum even though the results are probably going to be skewed. Should have the results by tomorrow or Thursday
Ok so I got the bloodwork back but can someone tell me the code or abreviation they use in these tests for cortisol. It was done by labcorp and I cant find anything that sounds or looks like cortisol on there. My testosterone serum was 515 w/the normal being 247-836 normally I’d say this isn’t bad but I have read that Tamoxifen can raise your testosterone about 150% which would make my testosterone around 325ish. Is there any truth to this? Thanks all and I will hopefully have the cortisol level up for you but I have to say every “looks” normal.
If cortisol was in there, you would probably know it. May be an incomplete report, or they may have screwed up and not performed it.
Your Total T is pretty good and indicates that you are not primary hypogonadal (i.e. your balls work). This is crucial information as it helps shape your way ahead.
What did your LH/FSH response look like? I imagine these were significantly higher than your previous tests. Also curious about E2 and Free T.
But post everything up so we can have a look-see.
[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:
^^^This should tell you what sort of chaos our health care system is in when a kidney specialist is not aware that only having one adrenal gland might cause some problems that need to be monitored.
Be sure to coordinate stopping the SERM with your endo, he may have other plans for you. I would take what we’ve discussed here to him and hope for an open dialogue. If he resists, its up to you what next step to take with him onboard or off.
Like I said before, probably no harm in getting the cortisol done while on SERM…but other bloodwork will be a crapshoot, especially E2.[/quote]
Bigpicture where are you located I have colleagues all over the US be glad to recommend a good one around you.
Thanks for the replies. I only had the test serum done. I don’t know why I didn’t even ask for it which makes me think they didnt order a cortisol test. The tests ordered were CBS w/differential/platelets, Testoterone Serum, Venipuncture, Comp. Metabolic panel, and TSH. If you think any of these are important and I will post the results. Hardasnails I am located in teh Boston area. Again I was taking Tamoxifen when I got the blood drawn…How much would this increase my testosterone approximately?
Hardasnails,
Do you have any recommendations for a doctor in Portland oregon area?
thanks
[quote]tuscans wrote:
Hardasnails,
Do you have any recommendations for a doctor in Portland oregon area?
thanks[/quote]
Dont hijack my thread motherfucker. Thats what PM’s are for.
[quote]bigpicture11 wrote:
Ok so I got the bloodwork back but can someone tell me the code or abreviation they use in these tests for cortisol. It was done by labcorp and I cant find anything that sounds or looks like cortisol on there. My testosterone serum was 515 w/the normal being 247-836 normally I’d say this isn’t bad but I have read that Tamoxifen can raise your testosterone about 150% which would make my testosterone around 325ish. Is there any truth to this? Thanks all and I will hopefully have the cortisol level up for you but I have to say every “looks” normal.[/quote]
I go through labcorp and there is no code, it just says “cortisol”. Did he not get you TSH/thyroid labs either?
What is up with this doc?
Thanks for the reply scj…I didn’t talk to the doctor the receptionist asked me what tests and put them in the computer. I literally said cortisol and thyroid and I got all of these other tests i didn’t order. I even asked the person drawing my blood if it was for cortisol and she said yep. My TSH came back 1.510 normal range of .450-4.5. There isnt any cortisol on the results. Upon further review of the test results I noticed my BUN was high at 22 (normal 6-20) and my BUN/creatinine ratio was also high at 20 (normal 8-19) Can anyone tell me what these are/mean and why I was told that everything was normal when clearly the tests have a big H next to them standing for HIGH!?!
[quote]bigpicture11 wrote:
Thanks for the reply scj…I didn’t talk to the doctor the receptionist asked me what tests and put them in the computer. I literally said cortisol and thyroid and I got all of these other tests i didn’t order. I even asked the person drawing my blood if it was for cortisol and she said yep. My TSH came back 1.510 normal range of .450-4.5. There isnt any cortisol on the results. Upon further review of the test results I noticed my BUN was high at 22 (normal 6-20) and my BUN/creatinine ratio was also high at 20 (normal 8-19) Can anyone tell me what these are/mean and why I was told that everything was normal when clearly the tests have a big H next to them standing for HIGH!?![/quote]
Both those will be high if you eat a high protein diet, it doesn’t mean you are unhealthy. Don’t sweat it.
1.5 is decent for TSH. Cortisol still remains very important.
Edit: I remembered you have only one adrenal gland. Are your kidneys otherwise healthy?
I actually only have 1 kidney. I was born this way its called renal agenisis. My kidney is healthy I had blood in my urine when i was younger but all the test results since I started eating right and what not have come back great. Thanks for the reply I figured it had something to do w/my diet being pretty high in protein I think that I am going to have to go back to the doctor tomorrow and ask for another bloodtest just for cortisol hopefully i actually get it this time lol.
I don’t think Tamoxifen would affect your E2 that much as it just blocks E2 from binding to certain receptors (especially in the breast)…It is NOT an aromatase inhibitor which would reduce E2 . My guess would be that your breast tissue may be ultra sensitive to estrogen. Can you test your prolactin as well? If your breast tissue is overly sensitive it could explain why with normal e2 levels you may be getting gyno…however I have no idea how you would test that and I really have no idea how that would be treated. Maybe prolactin could be an issue.
The only time i’ve gotten my prolactin tested it was normal but i was on a PH if that could mess up the results at all hopefully i will get bloodwork done monday or tuesday.