OK, here we go: As of this date, 8/7/07, I am a few months short of 44 and am apparently suffering from secondary hypogonadism. I have only been aware of the condition for less than 1 year, but now relaize it was probably years in the making. My goal is to get better and let me experiences help others similarly situated avoid much of the BS and pitfalls I've suffered.
I became aware of my problem last fall when I switched from 1 1/2 yrs of Paxil to Wellbutrin due to weight gain. Paxil has been prescribed for general irritability, anxiety and heretofor unknown instances of PE. After switching to WB it soon felt like a switch got turned off as all of a sudden, w/i 2 weeks on WB. erections were non existent, which for me is damn near worse than death.
I had been on Propecia for about a month max a good 7-8 + yrs prior. Dropped it when erectile issues surfaced and recovered-or so I thought. On reflection I realize that erectile quality and general energy levels had been dropping over the preceeding 2-3 years, which is why the Paxil, etc was suggested. I have no proof as to what might have caused what, although I blame the Propecia and W/B.
On a hunch I had my T tested in the fall of 2006 and there it was: 200. FSH and LH were both low (2 or less). I knew next to nothing and saw a local Urologist, who suggested Androgel. I knew next to nothing so I went along w/ it. Net result after 1 & 2X/day trials: 300. Research revealed the ball-shrinking issue and dependency issues, so I visited an Endo, who was even more useless.
Time spent on these boards and a desire to get to the root cause led me to Dr. Shippen, who is trying hcg, which thus far has only given me bouts of depression, a general malaise and near constant fatigue.
The blood tests I list are a compilation of different ones taken post Androgel over a roughly 4-6 week time this Spring. They're a mix of what the Dr. @ Mass Gen'l wanted, Dr Shippen wanted and what I read about here.
The bottom line is that I am trying to educate myself so I know what to look for symptom wise (might make for more accurate diagnosis), ask better questions and be a partner in an eventual recovery. I am fully aware that my mental state stinks, which I view as part of the problem. I can detach myself, so to speak, and look at myself from a 3rd party prespective. I don't like what I see: A tired, frustrated, PO'd at the world, sometimes scared and angry once strong 43 yr old watching everything I've worked for at risk and terrified of having to live the rest of my life like this. Yeah, I know this is a but "heavy", but I need to be honest with myself in order to find a way out. Sometimes I feel like life did this to me:
I very much appreciate the extremely helpful input and help given me by the guys here. Wouldn't have made it this far w/o it.
Here we go in chronological order:
Total/free T (test 1: 4/10/07 Lab work for possible clinical trial which I did not do)
Total T 205
% Free T 5.7
Free T 11.6 (5-21)
E2 9.1 (0-35 pg/ml)
FSH 2 (1-15)
LH 2 (2-12)
DHT 10.28 (no range given)
Prolactin 6 (2-18)
Total/free T (test 2: 4/12/07 Lab work w/ Quest)
Total T: 185
% free T 2.0 (1-2.7)
Free T 37.3 (50-210) Noted "low"
FSH: 1.8 (1.8-8.0)
LH: 2.0 (1.5-9.3)
E2 <32 (doesn't say much)
Prolctn 8.6 (2-18)
SHBG 11 (8-46)
MISC RESULTS FROM 4/07:
Thyroid:
TSH .98 (.40-5.5)
T4 free 1.1 (.8-1.8)
T3 free 297 (230-420)
Cortisol (24 hr test)
Cortisol: 44.6
Cort Free (24hr) 66.9 (5-50) ** seems high **
Cholesterol
Cholstrl 160 (162-280)
Trigylc 257 (55-327)
HDL 23 (27-67)
LDL 86 (87-186)
This seems to be warning me about metabolic syndrome unless I fix this......
RESULTS POST June 2007 CLOMID TEST W/ DR. SHIPPEN:
Test. 319 (up from avg of 200)
FSH 2.4 (up from 1.8-2)
LH 5.0 (up from 2)
DHEAS 250 (241-827)
DHT 18 (25-75)
E2 <32 (<52 Dr did NOT ask for sens. test)
Cortisol: 18.5 (4-22 Once again, cort is high)
Next blood work: Mid August
I became aware of my problem last fall when I switched from 1 1/2 yrs of Paxil to Wellbutrin due to weight gain. Paxil has been prescribed for general irritability, anxiety and heretofor unknown instances of PE. After switching to WB it soon felt like a switch got turned off as all of a sudden, w/i 2 weeks on WB. erections were non existent, which for me is damn near worse than death.
I had been on Propecia for about a month max a good 7-8 + yrs prior. Dropped it when erectile issues surfaced and recovered-or so I thought. On reflection I realize that erectile quality and general energy levels had been dropping over the preceeding 2-3 years, which is why the Paxil, etc was suggested. I have no proof as to what might have caused what, although I blame the Propecia and W/B.
On a hunch I had my T tested in the fall of 2006 and there it was: 200. FSH and LH were both low (2 or less). I knew next to nothing and saw a local Urologist, who suggested Androgel. I knew next to nothing so I went along w/ it. Net result after 1 & 2X/day trials: 300. Research revealed the ball-shrinking issue and dependency issues, so I visited an Endo, who was even more useless.
Time spent on these boards and a desire to get to the root cause led me to Dr. Shippen, who is trying hcg, which thus far has only given me bouts of depression, a general malaise and near constant fatigue.
The blood tests I list are a compilation of different ones taken post Androgel over a roughly 4-6 week time this Spring. They're a mix of what the Dr. @ Mass Gen'l wanted, Dr Shippen wanted and what I read about here.
The bottom line is that I am trying to educate myself so I know what to look for symptom wise (might make for more accurate diagnosis), ask better questions and be a partner in an eventual recovery. I am fully aware that my mental state stinks, which I view as part of the problem. I can detach myself, so to speak, and look at myself from a 3rd party prespective. I don't like what I see: A tired, frustrated, PO'd at the world, sometimes scared and angry once strong 43 yr old watching everything I've worked for at risk and terrified of having to live the rest of my life like this. Yeah, I know this is a but "heavy", but I need to be honest with myself in order to find a way out. Sometimes I feel like life did this to me:
I very much appreciate the extremely helpful input and help given me by the guys here. Wouldn't have made it this far w/o it.
Here we go in chronological order:
Total/free T (test 1: 4/10/07 Lab work for possible clinical trial which I did not do)
Total T 205
% Free T 5.7
Free T 11.6 (5-21)
E2 9.1 (0-35 pg/ml)
FSH 2 (1-15)
LH 2 (2-12)
DHT 10.28 (no range given)
Prolactin 6 (2-18)
Total/free T (test 2: 4/12/07 Lab work w/ Quest)
Total T: 185
% free T 2.0 (1-2.7)
Free T 37.3 (50-210) Noted "low"
FSH: 1.8 (1.8-8.0)
LH: 2.0 (1.5-9.3)
E2 <32 (doesn't say much)
Prolctn 8.6 (2-18)
SHBG 11 (8-46)
MISC RESULTS FROM 4/07:
Thyroid:
TSH .98 (.40-5.5)
T4 free 1.1 (.8-1.8)
T3 free 297 (230-420)
Cortisol (24 hr test)
Cortisol: 44.6
Cort Free (24hr) 66.9 (5-50) ** seems high **
Cholesterol
Cholstrl 160 (162-280)
Trigylc 257 (55-327)
HDL 23 (27-67)
LDL 86 (87-186)
This seems to be warning me about metabolic syndrome unless I fix this......
RESULTS POST June 2007 CLOMID TEST W/ DR. SHIPPEN:
Test. 319 (up from avg of 200)
FSH 2.4 (up from 1.8-2)
LH 5.0 (up from 2)
DHEAS 250 (241-827)
DHT 18 (25-75)
E2 <32 (<52 Dr did NOT ask for sens. test)
Cortisol: 18.5 (4-22 Once again, cort is high)
Next blood work: Mid August