low T and E

[cheezscott]

I have been on Androgel about 6 months and recently had blood work for my 6 month check up. I stopped taking the androgel about a week prior to the blood work because of bloated feeling, rages, packed on about 20 lbs, suits stop fitting etc. I felt great right after going off this stuff and thought my levels might be ok. Wrong!!! My T was at 160 and E was at 18?!?!?! very low levels for both but a 9-1 ratio? Is this OK?

Im 40 , a cancer survivor for 36 years and had a cancerous teste removed when I was 4 (obv the reason for the low T) Im not worried about the petiuitary or thyroid issues as the low levels are obv. from the cancer and chemo as a kid . I AM worried about heart / cardio issues, bone density - (I already blew out a distal bicept working out) all of these MAY be assocaited with the low T...any help at all would be appreciated.

Thanks guys!!!

 

[diablosho]

Well, I'm not sure about test replacement dosages, but I suppose it's possible you're shutdown. Because you were essentially providing your body with exogenous testosterone, your body stopped producing it. Once you stopped, your body will not be making it's own testosterone, nor will you be receiving it exogenously, so you'll have low testosterone. And since estradiol is derived from testosterone (for the most part anyways), having low test will usually correlate with lower levels of Estradiol. Now if you had high Estradiol and low test, that would indicate a problem. But as of now, everything seems to point to you being shutdown. Have you run a Luteinizing Hormone lab test? That would be my next test if I were doing this for me, as that would indicate the amount of effort your body was putting in to raise your test. If it is high, you may be hypogonadal. If it is low, you may have a pituitary/hypothalamus problem (EXTREMELY UNLIKELY)
Hypothalamus (Out GnRH)-->Pituitary (Out LH)-->Testes (Out Testosterone)-->Aromatase Enzyme (Out Estradiol)-->Hypothalamus (Out GnRH)-->do it again!
As you can see, it's a big loop known as the Negative Feedback Loop of the HPTA (Hypothalamus, Pituitary, Testicular Axis). So as you can see, if you're test is low, so your estradiol would be as well. But what would cause low test. Any of the things before it (low GnRH/LH)!

I'd suggest you run a proper Post Cycle Therapy (SERM), and get a LH test. I really think you're just shutdown though, and you'll bounce back to normal within a couple weeks, so I'd re-run my labs in 3 weeks or so just to double check. If the numbers aren't significantly better, THEN I'd start getting concerned. But so far, I don't see any issues! Hope I helped! And, as always, wait for the advice of others more competent then me before taking my suggestions, as I am not a doctor, nor have I ever even taken a biology class! But I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, and saved a boatload of money by switching my car insurance to Geico! LOL! Good luck man!
--Brian

 

[cheezscott]

Bri, I have been disagnosed with Hypogonadism. hence the one testical and chemo thing!!!..We know WHY its happening Im looking for how to fix it...Thanks man

 

[diablosho]

Well, having one testicle does not necessarily make you hypogonadal (according to the research I've done). I'm seeing that the 2nd testicle is more for redundancy and splitting the workload, so to speak. Being hypogonadal is another different animal, as many times the remaining testicle can keep up with your testosterone levels, and keep you in the normal range (Especially being 40 years old, where the range is not what it is for someone my age). The fact that your test is low is what makes you hypogonadal, now whether it is primary or secondary is what we need to find out, which is why I suggest a LH blood test. You can look here: Invalid Link Removed to decide where you stand. You need to figure this out because the treatment is VERY different for both. For instance, in the case of primary hypogonadism, you'll need TRT for life. In the case of secondary hypogonadism, a proper PCT (and possibly HCg injections if not responding to PCT) for 4-6 weeks, and you should be pretty much back to normal. SO, with a LH test, you can pretty much figure out whether you have primary or secondary hypogonadism (and whether you have a pituitary adenoma inhibiting LH), and treat from there.

 

[diablosho]

On a side note, this is an actual quote from a testicle removal website:

"The actual removal is done by making about a 4 inch incision along the "bikini line" through the lower abdomen on the side in question--they will NOT cut through the scrotal sack whatsoever during an orchiectomy. Once the incision has been made, the surgeon pushes the testicle up through the pelvic region and out it comes. A snip here, a stitch there, and you're done before you know it. Average time on the table is about 45 minutes to an hour, but you should probably expect to stay in the hospital at least overnight following the orchiectomy. Unlike the RPLND, this operation is very simple and should not require any special expertise on the part of the surgeon".

Made me LOL! Very professional when talking about taking someone's left nut! Definitely would not put me at ease.

 

[The Matrix]

there are many one nut wonders running around out there. When dealing with cancer issue HCG and clomid probably will not do anything in these cases as I have found in the past with dr's patients. The best thing to do here is see how your body recovers on its own then start HRT.