Blood Test Issues

[midlifealpha]

I am not expert on this stuff just yet....

Free Testosterone was high (is that bad?)
Sensitive Estradiol was high at 104.2 I don't know the ratio we are supposed to use.
LDL is high at 134 with Total Cholesterol at 177. I was eating like crap and not working out for about two months there. Now I am back on low carb and working out pretty hard plus getting extra activity.


I've redacted my name and such but otherwise this is it. also I cut out the heart images that related to cholesterol.

 

[CoastWatcher]

That is a ridiculously high E2 - and it was measured via the sensitive test. You didn't mention how you are feeling - what is going on? What is your current protocol? When do you have a follow-.up with your doctor? A bit more context will help.

 

[Vince]

When taken at doses greater than the RDA, niacin confers an array of health benefits. Niacin:
Increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) by 20-35%. No other available over-the-counter treatments, and very few drugs, are as effective.
Decreases small low-density lipoprotein (small LDL) particles. Small LDL is an important yet underappreciated cause of heart disease. Niacin is the most effective agent known for correcting this abnormal pattern.
Decreases triglycerides by 30%. Niacin is especially effective when taken with fish oil (at doses of 4000 mg a day, providing 1200 mg of EPA/DHA).
Decreases very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) particles.
Decreases lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a). No other treatment approaches the power of niacin to reduce the genetically determined pattern of high Lp(a), which is among the most serious risk factors for heart disease.
Decreases low-density lipoprotein (LDL), usually by 20-40 mg/dL, or 5-25%.

 

[Vince Carter]

You're TSH is a little fracked up and high, you should start talking to your physician about that. Otherwise you're going to have to divulge here what you're doing as far as your T dosing and frequency, same with HCG if you're using it, timing of your injections and timing of the test. Your TT is excellent, FT is excellent, gotta be a reason for your E2.

 

[midlifealpha]

First off I am ridiculously addicted to Energy Drinks. RaceTrac a Florida gas station sells then in the Fountain which is a giant cost savings and I have to have 3 No-Sugar drinks per day at 52. oz. I went cold turkey off of them last year about this time and started up around HS graduation time again. However I was able to quit and it really seems I need to do that. Now my elementary understanding is when caffeine is no longer effective you could potentially have Adrenal Fatigue. My sleep is poor at best as you can see what time I am typing this. Dr. Crisler was previously concerned about the Thyroid so this follow up confirms there might be an issue. According to this article levels above two might point to Adrenal Fatigue.

http://adrenalfatiguesolution.com/testing-for-adrenal-fatigue/

I was dosing 150 IU of HCG Daily. Now I am thinking of the 350-350-350 protocol some are talking about.

T-Doses are Mon-morning, Thursday Evening 200 mg per week so 500 IUs in 27.5 syringe Sub-Q.

I would say at times very depressed and irritable but no pain in the breasts. Couldn't get off the couch and started gambling heavy on sports around Bowl season which did nothing positive for my mental state. Mostly just a bit angry and distracted in general is where my brain is. Now I've since started hitting the gym pretty hard but still tend to skip a day when it's not necessary I see no reason why I should be there 6 days a week at least.

I stopped my Low-Carb Diet and binged and gained at least 25 lbs. I was very much in a "who gives a shit" state of mind and much of that was likely due to personal family situations..

Vince I stopped talking Fish Oil about 4-5 months back when I saw a report that it wasn't helping people that much. I tried Bergamot for 5-6 months but I don't see where it's helped much. Niacin is likely loads cheaper as is Fish Oil from Vitacost.

 

[midlifealpha]

One other thing I would add. Robb Wolf who does a pretty good job with the Paleo world (I am not Paleo but enjoyed his podcasts some time back) used to talk about Adrenal Fatugue.

The general gist as I recall was to simply drop all caffeine for 30 days minimum and if you must add it back just one single cup-o-joe in the AM.

I am starting to think there is a very strong correlation between my excessive consumption that might even go so rar as to tie in the high Estrogen to the high TSH. I don't have it all perfectly memorized but a symptom of Adrenal Fatigue -- Cortisol....apparently can cause issues with the T3/T4 so in some way they might all be related.

Maybe before hopping on drugs for hypothyroidism I simply stop taking the drinks until the next round. I don't think I'm going to die between now and then and I prefer to change one thing at a time to correctly diagnose this. I will mention all this to the Doctor that before we start looking at a drug to fix maybe we try to quit crashing our adrenals with mass amounts of caffeine.

There are so many dots to connect here. I think to properly diagnose let's first eliminate that which we know isn't any damn good for you.

 

[Vince]

Using fish oil to reduce triglycerides and triglyceride-containing lipoproteins that trigger coronary plaque growth, and reduce risk of plaque rupture and/or the abnormal rhythms that are consequent to plaque rupture. Data powerfully suggest benefits in these circumstances.

 

[midlifealpha]

Vince I'll get back on it. I always thought vitacost had the best bang for the buck deals on Fish Oil in terms of maxing out the EPA/DHA.

I am not one full day cold turkey on killing caffeine. One question I had was do you get plain old Niacin or the time release? I see people complaining about a burn rush or something from Niacin but I am kind of old school and like when I take something and get some kind of feedback. And who knows I might not get it at all. Even Jarrows or Life Extension where I usually don't shop first has great prices on Niacin.

I still might request Dr. Crisler on the thyroid stuff. This might explain too why weight loss sometimes gets stuck for no good reason, i.e. active, working out, eating low carb. It would seem like being in ketosis would create weight loss anyway without the working out. I lost 80 lbs originally just walking, low-carbing and taking adderall which seemed to keep the appetite down but that was about a year before TRT. Since TRT I've mostly been energy drink addicted and while gaining a good amount of muscle not nearly as much fat loss as I would prefer.

 

[Vince]

I use ENDUR-ACIN, I take 1500mg before bed and I do get a niacin flush. I know some people can't tolerate the flushing effect of niacin.

 

[ERO]

FWIW - I have used Niacin and the flush can be extreme at first. I once turned so red that my wife and her folks all thought I was having a heart attack. It took me like 5 minutes to convince them that I had taken Niacin and that I really did not need to go to the ER right now.

 

[ERO]

First off I am ridiculously addicted to Energy Drinks. RaceTrac a Florida gas station sells then in the Fountain which is a giant cost savings and I have to have 3 No-Sugar drinks per day at 52. oz. I went cold turkey off of them last year about this time and started up around HS graduation time again. However I was able to quit and it really seems I need to do that. Now my elementary understanding is when caffeine is no longer effective you could potentially have Adrenal Fatigue. My sleep is poor at best as you can see what time I am typing this. Dr. Crisler was previously concerned about the Thyroid so this follow up confirms there might be an issue. According to this article levels above two might point to Adrenal Fatigue.

http://adrenalfatiguesolution.com/testing-for-adrenal-fatigue/

I was dosing 150 IU of HCG Daily. Now I am thinking of the 350-350-350 protocol some are talking about.

T-Doses are Mon-morning, Thursday Evening 200 mg per week so 500 IUs in 27.5 syringe Sub-Q.

I would say at times very depressed and irritable but no pain in the breasts. Couldn't get off the couch and started gambling heavy on sports around Bowl season which did nothing positive for my mental state. Mostly just a bit angry and distracted in general is where my brain is. Now I've since started hitting the gym pretty hard but still tend to skip a day when it's not necessary I see no reason why I should be there 6 days a week at least.

I stopped my Low-Carb Diet and binged and gained at least 25 lbs. I was very much in a "who gives a shit" state of mind and much of that was likely due to personal family situations..

Vince I stopped talking Fish Oil about 4-5 months back when I saw a report that it wasn't helping people that much. I tried Bergamot for 5-6 months but I don't see where it's helped much. Niacin is likely loads cheaper as is Fish Oil from Vitacost.

Even though you do not have breast pain, your E2 is very high and it *may* be contributing to you feeling depressed/low energy. It is likely that some Adrenal Fatigue is in play as well, but it might be a good idea to talk to your Doc and get a low dose of Arimidex and take it twice a week and see how you feel.

 

[JPB]

I think when one is dealing with adrenal fatigue and/or hypothyroidism, there's an even greater desire to reach for that energy drink. So its like a behavioral clue.

 

[midlifealpha]

Just FYI, I've gone off the energy drinks and all forms of Caffeine cold turkey. Surprisingly no headaches or very little.
It should be interesting to see although from some poking around I am not so sure taking something for hypothyroidism is the worst thing in the world if you are trying to lose weight. I've been really exhausted but back when I was listening to Robb Wolf (Paleo) podcasts they used to talk about dropping caffeine for 30 days minimum if you even suspect you might have adrenal fatigue (even before doing a round of cortisol testing)