Just got in my bloodwork, new to TRT

[daleb]

Was wondering if I could get some ideas on what to do next.

Im upper 30's
6'5" 330 lbs back, hip, midwaist fat
white
diagnosed obstructive sleep apnea
ordered the male hormone panel from private md labs

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[Megatron28]

What time of the day was the blood work drawn?

More blood work is needed and a consult with a doctor. You appear to be Hypogonadal. You need to determine if it is Primary or Secondary by checking LH and FSH. Prolactin should be checked as well.

How are you treating your sleep apnea?

 

[daleb]

it was taken at 1130am, i woke up at 9am and went straight to labcorp, they were very busy. I will get the tests lined up. I have a CPAP but I have a lot of trouble keeping the mask on at night and then my machine broke about 3 months ago and I havent replaced it.

 

[PrinceDianabol]

Agreed with Mega ^

You should also donate blood soon, your blood is becoming quite thick.
Fasting glucose is obviously high.. you should consider cutting back on the simple sugars and try to consume mostly complex carbohydrates.
Oats are a great source for this and will also help your lipid profile which isn't the best.

 

[Megatron28]

it was taken at 1130am, i woke up at 9am and went straight to labcorp, they were very busy. I will get the tests lined up. I have a CPAP but I have a lot of trouble keeping the mask on at night and then my machine broke about 3 months ago and I havent replaced it.

Next time you get blood work it needs to be first thing in the morning. Like 8:00 AM.

Get you cpap working. Sleep Apnea can cause Hypogonadism. And actually use your cpap. It can make a huge difference. TRT is a life saver if you need it, but avoiding it is preferable.

What does your diet look like?

Make sure you check Total Testosterone again too when you repeat blood work.

There is a sticky thread in this forum on TRT. It is one of the threads at the top and it is called Basic TRT Overview. Have you given that a read yet?

 

[daleb]

I will get the tests set up, then donate some blood, i'll mind my diet better, and get another cpap.

My health really started turning when I was 13, I failed a sports physical, eventually was allowed to play sports. Always had a hard time with my conditioning even in high school wrestling/football and college football. I have never been able to run more than 5 laps around a track. Ive slowly added on weight since the end of my freshman in hs year. I work outside doing construction, try to stay active, try to eat healthyish. Have a hard time with Atkins and exercise in general, always have.

Ive tried various methods to keep the cpap on overnight, using different masks, taking benedryl, nyquil, melatonin and ambien. the longest I've been able to keep it on is 5 hours.

Yes I did read your TRT post, I've also listened to some of d&p's podcasts on TRT.

BTW, thanks for the replies

 

[daleb]

will these labs work?

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[Megatron28]

will these labs work?

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Probably cheaper to get the Hormone Panel for Females and Prolactin.

Are you working with your doctor?

 

[daleb]

My Dr retired a few years ago, havent been sick or needed anything except some perscription eye drops which i got from an eye doc. I got the CPAP and sleep study done though my ENT. I live in the middle of nowhere in the midwest and am on vacation in arizona for a few more days. When I get back I will look for an Endocrinologist.

 

[daleb]

I got bloodwork done today, I told the vampire about the high iron and rbc, she winked and said sometimes they need a few extra tubes in case things go wrong, then I donated blood at the red cross. All said I gave 12 vials plus a pint of blood today. I feel better. Too bad their machine for double red blood cell was down or I could have made a good dent in my iron n rbc today. By the way, my blood pressure before the blood draw was 136/92. Thats a pretty good reading for me.

 

[daleb]

Lab results just in.

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[Megatron28]

Lab results just in.

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You have Secondary Hypogonadism. For peace of mind you may want to schedule an MRI of you pituitary as elevated prolactin can indicate a problem there and it would cause Hypogonadism. If everything with your pituitary is fine, you should probably go on TRT.

Testosterone injections are the preferred method for TRT.

 

[daleb]

It just so happens that I had an MRI of my head done last year, relating to hearing loss in my right ear, I am making phone calls to see if they got some images of my pituitary gland and if they did I will try to get something going on that end. Are you fimiliar with chapter 8 - "Male Hypogonaldism - Basic Clinical and Theraputic Principles" Winters C 2004 ?

Just got a call back on the mri, according to them everything looked normal as of jan 2014.

 

[THE-DET-OAK]

Your prolactin is up and that is the worst. Your TT and your E2 are consistently low, you DEFINITELY would benefit from TRT.

 

[Lenex]

Speaking of prolactin, what is the optimal level ? And what is the reason for it being slightly elevated?
My prolactin is 13.3 , does that affect my well-being in any way?

 

[PrinceDianabol]

Speaking of prolactin, what is the optimal level ? And what is the reason for it being slightly elevated?
My prolactin is 13.3 , does that affect my well-being in any way?

0 would be optimal for men

We have no need for prolactin and low levels have no effect on health. As long as it's in range though it doesn't matter. Lots of things can cause high prolactin.

 

[THE-DET-OAK]

Speaking of prolactin, what is the optimal level ? And what is the reason for it being slightly elevated?
My prolactin is 13.3 , does that affect my well-being in any way?

Symptoms would be: Trouble ejaculating, trouble maintaining an erection, sleepiness, salt sugar cravings. Everything you feel after having sex. Thats why you can't get hard again right away after sex, not enough T and too much prolactin, it shoots up at ejaculation.

 

[daleb]

Anecdotally, I do ok with women for a guy my size and sex function is like trying to do the uneven bars drunk. I get by, and if it don't work I blame it on them and leave. Yes that makes me a bad person. I spent a day on nimh and pub med and think I got my liver figured out, the prolactin I'm saving for the poor endo I'm gonna try to find. Heh

 

[daleb]

Got back from the doc, he prescribe axiron. I asked him about injections he said he was ok with that but then pressured me to go on the axirin. No script for an AI.

 

[PrinceDianabol]

Got back from the doc, he prescribe axiron. I asked him about injections he said he was ok with that but then pressured me to go on the axirin. No script for an AI.

Axiron works, but creams and gels generally have a terrible bio-availability and can be more difficult to dial in. You could go back and tell him you're too scared of the risk of transfer to your girlfriend/wife/kids/pets. Entirely up to you which method you choose, but personally I'd take two pins a week + stable levels ANY day over the foam/gel.

BTW, the AI can wait. It's not entirely necessary to start with because you'd generally ending up crashing e2 first. Also some lucky individuals don't even need one. Once you're on your desired method of testosterone replacement and have your first bloodwork (4-6 weeks in usually) make him check for e2 aswell. If it comes in high, ask for an AI to help control it. Then it's just a case of dialing in your T dose and AI dose to give optimal levels of both. And remember, an AI will raise TT slightly too by inhibiting conversion to estradiol.