Secondary Hypogonadism?!

[Prefect]

Is low free testosterone, LH and FSH a common finding in males that suffer from CFS/ME, etc?

And I don't mean borderline low, I mean low enough through testing by public health labs that would point at a clinically significant level of secondary hypogonadism and be diagnostic of an actual disease.

My understanding is routine hormone problems are not findings in CFS otherwise there'd be a way to test for CFS. BTW my doctor who sees CFS patients has told me I don't fit CFS diagnostic criteria so we're trying to find out what's wrong with me.

What is striking is around 4 years ago my ex wife miscarried 3 times so they checked my sperm level just to rule things out from my end, and the doctor told me I almost have an excessive sperm count! (I'm 48 now) 3 years ago we conceived a child who went full term and is my current 3 year old.

How do I go from that to these levels in 3 years? Testosterone is supposed to reduce about 1% a year. My free testosterone is way below the minimum number! My LH and FSH are at the bottom of the range. I don't suffer from erectile dysfunction, not losing muscle mass or hair, though my libido's not what it was a year or two ago.

So confused.

Before I go digging up possible pituitary problems (tumor, etc) I'd like to know if any other men here have had sudden drastic drops in their pituitary hormones?

Thanks.

 

[mariovitali]

Yes this is possible and it was one of my Symptoms.


See here my post :


http://forums.phoenixrising.me/inde...e-treatment-for-cfs.37244/page-70#post-694442

To raise my testosterone levels i was injecting with HCG for many months. Of course i was treating the symptom and not the cause.


This happens to you because of HPA Axis dysregulation, one more face of ME/CFS.

 

[Prefect]

This happens to you because of HPA Axis dysregulation, one more face of ME/CFS.

I understand a certain level of HPA Axis dysfunction is suspected in CFS (Dr Jay Goldstein suspected this in the early 90s), as observed in PTSD and major depressive disorder, or even a temporary form in major stress events.

But is secondary hypogonadism a clinically recognized comorbid finding in CFS in men? The medical establishment's position on difficulty in diagnosing CFS is lab tests are usually unremarkable. Otherwise you'd be able to use it as a diagnostic tool in CFS at least in young (or 30-40 something) men. My understanding is to have secondary Hypogonadism you'd need to have considerable HPA Axis suppression, as observed in:

Chronic opioid use
Anabolic Steroids
AIDS
Cushing's
Pituitary Tumor or Autoimmune attack on pituitary glad

I keep googling Secondary Hypogonadism comorbidity with CFS and can't find much other than a couple of personal posts. Was your hypogonadism sudden like mine?

 

[drob31]

I have low normal free testosterone.

High dose Boron seems to help lower SHBG and raise free test, although I don't have labs to prove it yet.

Dose = anywhere from 12-15 mg / day

 

[Runner5]

I moved to a dark rain soaked forest community and one of the things I found out is that if you are not exposed to enough sunlight you won't make testosterone. It's connected to vitamin D I guess, not really sure, but a lot of the men who live around here take T shots.

That might not pertain to you at all but it's one of those weird random factoids that lodged in my brain filed under, 'hu, that's kinda weird' -- so this might be the only time I get to share. ;-P

Thought pituitary tumors generally induced weight gain ?

 

[Prefect]

Thought pituitary tumors generally induced weight gain ?

Weight loss or gain, either can happen.