steve999
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I thought I'd post a short history of lab results and other history for general comments/suggestions:
Thyroid TSH levels showed high (6.74 and 5.71, range of 0.54-5.7 uIU/mL) as far back as 1998, but my doctor at the time didn't think that was unusual and I seemed okay. I was 29 at that time, did a lot of long distance running (including a couple of marathons) and seemed to feel okay.
Fast forward to 2004 and my TSH level tested 6.98 on a range of 0.35-5.5 uIU/mL, and I was feeling a bit tired. Retest showed 4.664 ad 4.442, but at that point I had less trust in general docs. So I started seeing an endocrinologist who started me on Levoxyl and TSH has been hovering around 1 for the past few years.
From mid-2006 to late 2007 I was under a *lot* of stress at home and work, which really took a toll on me both mentally and physically. The final solution was to dump the emotionally messed up long-term girlfriend and quit the job with the foolish boss. I haven't missed either or the stress they caused.
I switched to a different endocrinologist in early 2008 due to moving for the new job. He ran a blood panel in April 2008 that showed not so great cholesterol levels (and I eat fairly well and exercise) and a total Testosterone level of 332 (range 200-1200 ng/dL). I had a new girlfriend at that point (very smart and pretty triathlete) and had been having some ED problems, so I was concerned about the Testosterone number. I had never had my Testosterone checked before, so my previous baseline is unknown.
I asked my endo to run a more extensive Testosterone panel. Results showed:
*FSH = 1.7 mIU/mL (range 2-12)
*LH = 2.3 mIU/mL (range <10 whatever that means)
*Testosterone = 380 ng/dL (range 200-1200)
The test results immediately above are from Stanford Clinical Laboratory.
*Testosterone, total, S = 250 ng/dL (range 240-950)
*Testosterone, free, S = 6.3 ng/dL (range 9-30)
*Testosterone, bioavailable, S = 53 ng/dL (range 72-235)
The test results immediately above are from the Mayo Clinic.
My endo doubted the ED issue was due to my Testosterone levels and said he considered hormone therapy for me to be optional. I told him I would like to try it to see if there were any positive effects, so he started me out on Androgel 5g/day, which I've been on for about 5 weeks now. I seemed to notice some positive changes the first 2-4 weeks (more energy, greater sex drive, etc.).
For my next blood panel, the endo is measuring Prolactin, total Testoserone, bioavailable Testosterone, and Ferritin.
After reading information on this board and other sources, I'm having second thoughts about my endocrinologist. He seems like a nice fellow, but he's kind of young, and my guess is he spends most of his time treating diabetics. So I'm investigating other local docs. I found 2-3 promising candidates from the Life Extension Foundation web-site, so I'll have to investigate those in greater detail.
Any thoughts, suggestions, or comments on my history and treatment options are appreciated!
Thyroid TSH levels showed high (6.74 and 5.71, range of 0.54-5.7 uIU/mL) as far back as 1998, but my doctor at the time didn't think that was unusual and I seemed okay. I was 29 at that time, did a lot of long distance running (including a couple of marathons) and seemed to feel okay.
Fast forward to 2004 and my TSH level tested 6.98 on a range of 0.35-5.5 uIU/mL, and I was feeling a bit tired. Retest showed 4.664 ad 4.442, but at that point I had less trust in general docs. So I started seeing an endocrinologist who started me on Levoxyl and TSH has been hovering around 1 for the past few years.
From mid-2006 to late 2007 I was under a *lot* of stress at home and work, which really took a toll on me both mentally and physically. The final solution was to dump the emotionally messed up long-term girlfriend and quit the job with the foolish boss. I haven't missed either or the stress they caused.
I switched to a different endocrinologist in early 2008 due to moving for the new job. He ran a blood panel in April 2008 that showed not so great cholesterol levels (and I eat fairly well and exercise) and a total Testosterone level of 332 (range 200-1200 ng/dL). I had a new girlfriend at that point (very smart and pretty triathlete) and had been having some ED problems, so I was concerned about the Testosterone number. I had never had my Testosterone checked before, so my previous baseline is unknown.
I asked my endo to run a more extensive Testosterone panel. Results showed:
*FSH = 1.7 mIU/mL (range 2-12)
*LH = 2.3 mIU/mL (range <10 whatever that means)
*Testosterone = 380 ng/dL (range 200-1200)
The test results immediately above are from Stanford Clinical Laboratory.
*Testosterone, total, S = 250 ng/dL (range 240-950)
*Testosterone, free, S = 6.3 ng/dL (range 9-30)
*Testosterone, bioavailable, S = 53 ng/dL (range 72-235)
The test results immediately above are from the Mayo Clinic.
My endo doubted the ED issue was due to my Testosterone levels and said he considered hormone therapy for me to be optional. I told him I would like to try it to see if there were any positive effects, so he started me out on Androgel 5g/day, which I've been on for about 5 weeks now. I seemed to notice some positive changes the first 2-4 weeks (more energy, greater sex drive, etc.).
For my next blood panel, the endo is measuring Prolactin, total Testoserone, bioavailable Testosterone, and Ferritin.
After reading information on this board and other sources, I'm having second thoughts about my endocrinologist. He seems like a nice fellow, but he's kind of young, and my guess is he spends most of his time treating diabetics. So I'm investigating other local docs. I found 2-3 promising candidates from the Life Extension Foundation web-site, so I'll have to investigate those in greater detail.
Any thoughts, suggestions, or comments on my history and treatment options are appreciated!