Extremely low T and FSH - give me your opinion

mcr

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I started a medication called pregabalin 8 months ago and started getting gyno.

I did a blood test a couple of months ago:
T 550
FSH 0.8 (low)
Estradiol 60 (high)

I'm 33. My last blood test at 25 returned a T level around 1000. I know T levels don't drop that fast.

I stopped the medication for a couple of weeks and did another blood test:
T 120 (low)
FSH 0.8 (low)
Estradiol 35

My T levels completely crashed. I feel depressed, I have zero energy, etc. There is a chance that the medication was only affecting Estradiol, and that the low T is unrelated. I am going to do another test in a few weeks. There is a chance it could be a tumor in the hypothalamus/pituitary, but very unlikely.

I was doing a bit of research and I understand that Clomid has the benefit of lowering conversion of T to E and allowing T to build up in the blood.

Thoughts or experiences on low T, long-term use of Clomid, or the above? If all abnormalities have been ruled out, how would you raise your T level back near 1000?
 
ManBeast

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I've never heard of clomid acting as an anti-estrogen. we need to know your SHBG and free test to have more of an idea of what is going on.
 

mcr

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ManBeast, thanks for your reply. In these times when I have the T level of a minivan driver, I appreciate the moral support. Low T makes me feel defeated.

I think I am mistaken as to what Clomid does then. I thought it worked similar to tamoxifen, which I understand acts to prevent conversion of T to E and consequently lets T levels build up.

The Dr I am seeing is an endocrinologist, but he is not ordering free T or SHBG in the blood tests. For the next test, they will check

DHEAS
FSH
LH
Total T
Estradiol
 

smt1

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I was doing a bit of research and I understand that Clomid has the benefit of lowering conversion of T to E and allowing T to build up in the blood.
No. That's an aromatase inhibitor like letrozole or anastrozole. Clomid, like all SERMs, blocks the action of estrogens by more or less blockading the estrogen receptors so circulating estradiol doesn't do anything (or doesn't do anything in selective tissues like the hypothalamus or breast).

I've never heard of clomid acting as an anti-estrogen.
As a estrogen-receptor antagonist, it's most definitely an anti-estrogen. Anti-androgens do the same thing with the AR.
 

soontobbeast

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ManBeast, thanks for your reply. In these times when I have the T level of a minivan driver, I appreciate the moral support. Low T makes me feel defeated.

I think I am mistaken as to what Clomid does then. I thought it worked similar to tamoxifen, which I understand acts to prevent conversion of T to E and consequently lets T levels build up.

The Dr I am seeing is an endocrinologist, but he is not ordering free T or SHBG in the blood tests. For the next test, they will check

DHEAS
FSH
LH
Total T
Estradiol
No SERM, be it nolva or clomid, stops aromatization .

what it does do is oppose the negative feedback of estrogen on the pituitary, while also competively inhibiting estrogen receptors in breast tissue.

this allows the pituitary to release Test, have some of it aromatized into estrogen, while eliminating, for the most part, the chance for that estrogen to bind to receptors in breast tissue creating gyno.


so ,yes, clomid and nolva increase test and estrogen. you're thinking of an aromatase inhibitor, which inhibits aromatase , the enzyme responsible for aromatization ( creating estrogen from Test).
 

mcr

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So in my case, what would you take to increase T to 900 or 1000 while preventing gyno?
 

soontobbeast

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So in my case, what would you take to increase T to 900 or 1000 while preventing gyno?
lifetime testosterone injections and an aromatase inhibitor will get you there.


If you'd like to not be put on HRT in your 30s, you can try clomid or an hcg protocol - i'd really talk to an endocrinologist,though.

There isn't any magical way of getting your test levels to a certain point, outside of injections. You can take meds and supps that increase test, and hopefully you get it to a reasonable level.
 
ManBeast

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i meant anti-estrogen like an aromatase inhibitor (typical jargon used here).

those tests won't help us (or your doc) figure out what is going on IMHO. I'd look into getting independent out of pocket tests from labcorp (see the sticky) and letting us know those values. total test means nothing if it's all bound up like an S&M freak on a friday night.
 

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