Poll for MEN ONLY - Sex Hormones

[Marco]

There have been a number of threads with male PWME discussing issues with sex hormones. Plus we are men with what is frequently considered a 'woman's disease'. What gives?

I've had and still have concerns, been tested and have (at times) had results outside of normal range.

How about you?

 

[A.B.]

Can you define sex hormones a bit better? Everybody knows about testosteron but what about the other ones?

 

[Marco]

Can you define sex hormones a bit better? Everybody knows about testosteron but what about the other ones?

I left it open as endocrinology tests vary widely. For example total testosterone is widely tested but free T less so. Some test for total estrogen and some for estradiol. I reckon that anyone who has been concerned and tested knows what has been tested. Whether what was tested is adequate might emerge in conversation. I've never had free T tested.

 

[A.B.]

And what about results where some are normal while others are abnormal?

Should the "Sex hormones tested and outside normal range" option be selected if at least one was abnormal?

 

[Marco]

And what about results where some are normal while others are abnormal?

Should the "Sex hormones tested and outside normal range" option be selected if at least one was abnormal?

I was trying to avoid overcomplicating the responses while being aware that it's often a complicated issue. Feel free to provide some detail if it's a mixed picture.

 

[halcyon]

My total testosterone has always been "in range" though right at the bottom and very much too low for someone my age. My free testosterone has been borderline and did fall out of range at one point about 8 months in to my illness prior to starting treatment. Prolactin was measured simultaneously each time and the levels have correlated inversely.

 

[drob31]

My total T was slightly lower after (before: 742 ng/dl, after 675 ng/dl), and I attribute this to the adrenal glands not producing adequate DHEA which would convert to a bit more test. Furthermore my free test before was normal middle of range, and after is borderline low.

I think the low free T is due to high SHBG caused by HPA-axis issues, such as the hypothalamus sensing high levels of t3 because it's not being used at the cellular level. This is probably due to low or extremely high cortisol levels.

Therefore I think many symptoms happen because of the following:

Trigger (stress, virus, pathogen, toxin, etc) > HPA-axis malfunction (low cortisol, low adrenal hormones) > Immune system/Endocrine/CNS issues > Low T, Low T3, Low Cortisol, High SHBG > Fatigue, Brain Fog, Hair Loss, Cold Extremities, etc etc etc

 

[Marco]

This is what I wrote in response to another recent thread :

Due to increasing and worsening symptoms (including profuse sweating/heat intolerance) I was referred to an endocrinologist (a professor no less) and my Total T levels were all in the lower quartile for the all age range (aged late 30's; early 40's) and for a number of months tested below the reference range (tested by my GP, not revealed to me and dismissed as irrelevant by the endo). Both LH and FSH were at the lower end of the range (as I understand it one or other might be raised to compensate for low T). Oestradiol levels were within range but high enough to be flagged with an exclamation on my GP notes). Free T was never tested.

Fair enough, T levels vary by individuals but in my mid 20's total T tested at 25 nmol/L which was shortly after ME onset. A decline from 25 to less than 9 nmol/L in just over 1O years is a lot more than you would expect (estimated at 1% per year after age 30) and even in excess of what you expect in the very elderly.

None of this was considered clinically significant or relevant to my symptoms.

I need to go back and check SHBG.

 

[Martial]

My test levels dropped to 150 at the lowest point, and this was at 24 years old! Then it went to 400 something and did not have it retested since. Feel a lot better though, muscle gains have been harder to come by still though. My doctor stated my chronic infection focused my bodies energy on healing/dealing with it. So there was less testosterone being produced as a result. Before getting sick it was always well above 850.

 

[Rvanson]

This is what I wrote in response to another recent thread :



I need to go back and check SHBG.

Don't forget your "free" T levels. That's what really counts, not so much your total T-levels.

Lots of the plastics in food sources are raising hell with Testosterone, even in young men.

 

[Barracuda48]

My testosterone has been tested as low as 113 and 118. Then I found Testopel. I have to get the implants every 3 to 4 months but it has allowed me to live a more normal life. It takes my testosterone to the 600 to 800 range. Now that seems in jeopardy. Last week right before the implants they tested my blood and my PSA level came back at 3.08 and the nurse informed me a few days later that until my PSA came back down I could receive no more. My DHEA came back a low 54.7 also.

 

[MonicainAz]

For any of you guys who are borderline/low, my experience would suggest that testosterone therapy is worth investigating. I am a woman (obviously) but before starting treatment my free T was 0. Literally undetectable. I started first with injections of testosterone, and I would walk into the office feeling terrible and already be feeling better within MINUTES of getting the injection. I am on pellet therapy now, and when it gets low, my symptoms get worse. After the pellet, I'm much improved.

Between my experience here, this poll, and the fact that as you note this is usually a "women's disease," I am very suspicious that T plays a very important role in this for many of us.

Just by way of information, my DHEA is also low/non-existent, but supplementing with it or not doesn't seem to make any difference for me. My SHBG is also very high. My T level is now what would be considered very high for a woman (~150) but this is what is needed to bring my free T into the right type of range and make me feel, well, functional at least some of the time. It's not a cure but makes a HUGE difference for me in symptoms.

 

[drob31]

Don't forget your "free" T levels. That's what really counts, not so much your total T-levels.

Lots of the plastics in food sources are raising hell with Testosterone, even in young men.

Yes, and no.

Free testosterone has some importance, but even T that is bound with SHBG has signaling properties. SHGB allows it to last longer, but free T can be too low as well.