Kjellfh
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Hi everyone.
26 year old male,
height: 170cm / 5,5 ft,
weight: 67kg / 147.5 lbs.
Problems with low testosterone for nearly 3 years. I have tried to avoid making a thread like this and just let the doctor/endocrinologist do his job, but in desperation and failure to get to any solution I am now asking you guys for some advice. I don`t care so much about the numbers, I just want my life back and feel normal again. Sorry for the long posts, but you can just skip the history if it is not relevant. More history/earlier tests are in the second post. I have tried to gather as much information as possible that can be relevant. Let me know if there is anything missing.
I think bad sleep combined with overtraining and negative stress over a longer period maybe started some of this, but don't know for sure. When I had the lowest numbers, I practiced a fairly high amount of cardio and a little resistance training. Had been doing this for quite some time.
I have quit all mid-high exercise long time ago and are a more mentally robust person at this time. Diet is varied and good with no calorie counting/restriction. Stopped eating gluten and casein for half a year ago. Are doing some light exercise(walking/swimming) and get a fair amount of light physical activity in my job.
I am much out in the sun as possible in the summer and in the winter I am taking solarium once a month or more.
Background info:
No problems with puberty.
Never used steroids or similar substances.
Done MRI with contrast, pituitary was ok.
Done lumbar puncture/spinal tap, all fine except a little high in inflammatory cells.
Checked for borrelia.
Checked for sleep apnea.
Liver tests have been ok all the way.
No other disease I know of that could be related.
Full lipid panel taken mid august 2013 was fine, little low in omega 3 despite supplementation/eating fish.
Done LgG urine/and blood test, this showed intolerance to casein and some to gluten, I eat no dairy or grains.
Done a gene test at 23andme.com, results uploaded to google drive. Can also be found down in this thread.
Diet:
Varied. No calorie restriction, lots of healthy fats(olive, coconut, macadamia, avocado, ghee), all kinds of vegetables, low/med. glycemic carbs, meat ,fish, eggs and some nuts/berries and fruits. No/very little refined/processed foods. Stopped gluten and casein for half a year ago. Keep myself away from phyto and xeno-estrogens.
07.01.2014, latest test:
HEMOGLOBIN 13.7 (13.4-17.0) g/dL
PSA 0.29 (0.00-2.5) ug/L
ESTRADIOL <0.05 (0.00-0.16) nmol/L
TESTOSTERONE 11.6 (9.0-35.0) nmol/L
SHBG 40 (15-85) nmol/L
FSH 9.6 (1.0-12.0) IE/L
LH 3.1 (1.0-10.0) IE/L
PROLACTIN 159 (100-500) mlE/L
Current status:
Tried transdermal T (Tostran) and Injections(Nebido) with little effect. Finished tapering off clomid for a little under three months ago, feeling the same or worse now than I did before I went on TRT. Has some good days once in a while where better mood and feelings of well-being/energy are present, but libido is still very low. These days are typically after a better nights sleep. The following days after a good one tends to be very bad, then slowly get a little better and then back to ****t again. Almost like a pattern that I cant control. These occasional good days are the only things that have made me capable of keep things going.
Tried all kinds of sleep meds, OTC and prescription(antihistamines, melatonin, herbals and so on).
Had tiny effect from Zopiclone and Zolpidem(got approx. 4-5 hours continuous sleep) but this caused horrible daytime anxiety/panic attacks so I quit them all for about a year ago. I believe my bad sleep nowadays is due low T.
I have not posted all the blood tests that have been done, but those I think are relevant. Let me know if I shall dig up other tests.
My general doctor thinks that there is nothing somatic wrong with me other than low T.
So what should I do, and how long should I keep on trying to get my natural production/feelings back, before I give up?
Should I check for any other underlying cause?
Go back and try Nebido again over a longer period?
HCG?
Supplements? Have tried Omega 3s, B-vitamins/multiminerals, high dose Vit D, Vit C, Boron, Rhodiola and many other natural supplements with no effect.
Current symptoms/observations:
- Really bad sleep (waking up many times, waking up early and cannot get back to sleep, waking up feeling unrested/like garbage).
- Night sweats (followed me from the start, had some better periods sometimes).
- Hot flashes/feeling warm now and then during daytime.
- More body fat(especially abdominal) and minor gyno development.
- Very low libido (been with me from the start, got better when on TRT).
- Poor concentration.
- Rollercoaster mood(one day fine, next day total crap, usually coupled with the kind of sleep).
- No/very little motivation/energy (most days).
- Anxiety, come and go with no obvious reason.
- Very sore and stiff after exercise/physical activity.
- Weight before bedtime is typically 1.5-3.0 kgs (3.3-6.6 lbs) heavier than in the morning.
- Higher resting pulse than before(was between 50-60, now 60-80),
- Cannot tolerate caffeine or other stimulants(chocolate/theobromine,tobacco/nicotine, alcohol) anymore,I get headache, high pulse and BP, sometimes anxiety and generally feel bad.
- Rarely feel satiation after meals, sometimes I can eat what seems to be endlessly (this have been with me from the start).
- Had a trial with high dose phosphatidylserine and I felt really good for a couple of days, however this effect disappeared and I haven't had the same success with it later(tried both low and high doses at different times a day with no effect)..
- Nasal congestion at bedtime (lately).
- Inconsistent and rare stool frequency.
- Headaches.
- I am very rarely "real" sick (fewer, runny nose, coughing, nausea or stomach aches). Gets the flu maybe once a year.
- Melatonin worked for sleep to begin with, now I get paradoxical reaction(more awake) or no effect at all.
I have an appointment with my endo on June 30 this month to start with Nebido injections again if I fail to find another solution.
Any help/tips would be much appreciated.
26 year old male,
height: 170cm / 5,5 ft,
weight: 67kg / 147.5 lbs.
Problems with low testosterone for nearly 3 years. I have tried to avoid making a thread like this and just let the doctor/endocrinologist do his job, but in desperation and failure to get to any solution I am now asking you guys for some advice. I don`t care so much about the numbers, I just want my life back and feel normal again. Sorry for the long posts, but you can just skip the history if it is not relevant. More history/earlier tests are in the second post. I have tried to gather as much information as possible that can be relevant. Let me know if there is anything missing.
I think bad sleep combined with overtraining and negative stress over a longer period maybe started some of this, but don't know for sure. When I had the lowest numbers, I practiced a fairly high amount of cardio and a little resistance training. Had been doing this for quite some time.
I have quit all mid-high exercise long time ago and are a more mentally robust person at this time. Diet is varied and good with no calorie counting/restriction. Stopped eating gluten and casein for half a year ago. Are doing some light exercise(walking/swimming) and get a fair amount of light physical activity in my job.
I am much out in the sun as possible in the summer and in the winter I am taking solarium once a month or more.
Background info:
No problems with puberty.
Never used steroids or similar substances.
Done MRI with contrast, pituitary was ok.
Done lumbar puncture/spinal tap, all fine except a little high in inflammatory cells.
Checked for borrelia.
Checked for sleep apnea.
Liver tests have been ok all the way.
No other disease I know of that could be related.
Full lipid panel taken mid august 2013 was fine, little low in omega 3 despite supplementation/eating fish.
Done LgG urine/and blood test, this showed intolerance to casein and some to gluten, I eat no dairy or grains.
Done a gene test at 23andme.com, results uploaded to google drive. Can also be found down in this thread.
Diet:
Varied. No calorie restriction, lots of healthy fats(olive, coconut, macadamia, avocado, ghee), all kinds of vegetables, low/med. glycemic carbs, meat ,fish, eggs and some nuts/berries and fruits. No/very little refined/processed foods. Stopped gluten and casein for half a year ago. Keep myself away from phyto and xeno-estrogens.
07.01.2014, latest test:
HEMOGLOBIN 13.7 (13.4-17.0) g/dL
PSA 0.29 (0.00-2.5) ug/L
ESTRADIOL <0.05 (0.00-0.16) nmol/L
TESTOSTERONE 11.6 (9.0-35.0) nmol/L
SHBG 40 (15-85) nmol/L
FSH 9.6 (1.0-12.0) IE/L
LH 3.1 (1.0-10.0) IE/L
PROLACTIN 159 (100-500) mlE/L
Current status:
Tried transdermal T (Tostran) and Injections(Nebido) with little effect. Finished tapering off clomid for a little under three months ago, feeling the same or worse now than I did before I went on TRT. Has some good days once in a while where better mood and feelings of well-being/energy are present, but libido is still very low. These days are typically after a better nights sleep. The following days after a good one tends to be very bad, then slowly get a little better and then back to ****t again. Almost like a pattern that I cant control. These occasional good days are the only things that have made me capable of keep things going.
Tried all kinds of sleep meds, OTC and prescription(antihistamines, melatonin, herbals and so on).
Had tiny effect from Zopiclone and Zolpidem(got approx. 4-5 hours continuous sleep) but this caused horrible daytime anxiety/panic attacks so I quit them all for about a year ago. I believe my bad sleep nowadays is due low T.
I have not posted all the blood tests that have been done, but those I think are relevant. Let me know if I shall dig up other tests.
My general doctor thinks that there is nothing somatic wrong with me other than low T.
So what should I do, and how long should I keep on trying to get my natural production/feelings back, before I give up?
Should I check for any other underlying cause?
Go back and try Nebido again over a longer period?
HCG?
Supplements? Have tried Omega 3s, B-vitamins/multiminerals, high dose Vit D, Vit C, Boron, Rhodiola and many other natural supplements with no effect.
Current symptoms/observations:
- Really bad sleep (waking up many times, waking up early and cannot get back to sleep, waking up feeling unrested/like garbage).
- Night sweats (followed me from the start, had some better periods sometimes).
- Hot flashes/feeling warm now and then during daytime.
- More body fat(especially abdominal) and minor gyno development.
- Very low libido (been with me from the start, got better when on TRT).
- Poor concentration.
- Rollercoaster mood(one day fine, next day total crap, usually coupled with the kind of sleep).
- No/very little motivation/energy (most days).
- Anxiety, come and go with no obvious reason.
- Very sore and stiff after exercise/physical activity.
- Weight before bedtime is typically 1.5-3.0 kgs (3.3-6.6 lbs) heavier than in the morning.
- Higher resting pulse than before(was between 50-60, now 60-80),
- Cannot tolerate caffeine or other stimulants(chocolate/theobromine,tobacco/nicotine, alcohol) anymore,I get headache, high pulse and BP, sometimes anxiety and generally feel bad.
- Rarely feel satiation after meals, sometimes I can eat what seems to be endlessly (this have been with me from the start).
- Had a trial with high dose phosphatidylserine and I felt really good for a couple of days, however this effect disappeared and I haven't had the same success with it later(tried both low and high doses at different times a day with no effect)..
- Nasal congestion at bedtime (lately).
- Inconsistent and rare stool frequency.
- Headaches.
- I am very rarely "real" sick (fewer, runny nose, coughing, nausea or stomach aches). Gets the flu maybe once a year.
- Melatonin worked for sleep to begin with, now I get paradoxical reaction(more awake) or no effect at all.
I have an appointment with my endo on June 30 this month to start with Nebido injections again if I fail to find another solution.
Any help/tips would be much appreciated.