interesting test results back today

[heapsreal]

Besides the last couple of nights of crappy sleep, i have been feeling good. I got my lymphocyte subset results back and they have improved alot more then they did in the past when on famvir, maybe its the addition of cycloferon as well, last time it took 12 months to get them down that low but now its been abit over 4 months on famvir and there lower then my previous 12 month treatment got.

First results were in may after being off famvir for 5 months:
1.1-4 .06-.6 .07-.6 .8-2.4 .5-1.6 .2-1 1-3.5 (referance ranges)
total lymphs cd20 cd56 cd3 cd4 cd8 cd4:8
4.9* .82* .29 3.69* 2.13* 1.36* 1.57 May 2010
3.1 .31 .28 2.42* 1.2 1.09* 1.1 January 2011

Even the subsets that are out of range are only just so i think the famvir and cycloferon have made a big impact on my viral load.

I have also been on pregnenolone transdermal cream 50mg/ml which has helped with energy and joint pain, this has increased my total Testosterone levels quite considerably, my free testosterone has increased but still below normal but my doc said this was probably because my liver is busy breaking down the meds i take and this is where alot of hormone conversion happens with total testosterone to free testosterone, so have to look into cutting back there somehow. my dhea level has also come up within range as it was way below range but its at the bottom of the normal range so will be increasing my pregnenolone dosage to help increase dhea levels, i dont supplement with dhea as it worsened my insomnia and just increased my estrogen levels. Im also on a drug to reduce estrogen and this has lowered it abit further. I forgot to get my cortisol results so hopefully will get them emailed to me, these were in the low end of normal range and needed a boost.

All up im suprised and happy at how quickly they improved, now i just have to get this bloody sleep thing sorted, lol.

cheers!!!

 

[undcvr]

I am thinking of getting a testosterone patch like Androderm, like the kind they give hiv patients. What do you think ?

In the US, here they tout 7 keto DHEA which they say is not supposed to convert to hormones.

To help me sleep, I take/ or have taken: Melatonin, Tryptophan (4-5gm), Chamomile, Valerian, Magnesium Orotate and a bunch of other herbal sedatives.

To nip insomnia at bed time, prevent overstimulation during the day. Take a something relaxing in the morning so that your reaction to the stresses of the day is muted. By the time it gets to nite, your CNS will not be firing wildly.

 

[heapsreal]

Hi undcvr, get all the right testing first like total and free testosterone, estrogen(E2), dhea, cortisol, progesterone, pregnenolone, get all this first. If u supplement testosterone and your making good levels already u will shut your own production down as well, maybe all u need is E2 management as sometimes this can lower E2 and increase your free testosterone levels without the negative feedback problems of testosterone, but if your levels are low then u need it. As for which testosterone is best, i havent heard good things about patches, best to stick with a compounded testosterone 10% cream or testosterone injections and with injections they are finding more frequent dosing better although doses are lower. docs use to use 200mg given once every 3-4 weeks which is terribly low by the end of the third week but now they do atleast 100mg once a week or 50mg twice a week which helps them with more stable testosterone levels and less aromatisation to estrogen when used this way, big doses of testosterone can convert to estrogen, why smaller more frequent doses are preferable.

As for keto dhea, i dont know much about it, what u are after is the convertion of dhea to other hormones and with the keto version this doesnt happen, so not sure of the benefits.

With sleep i actually dont feel overstimulated, i just cant sleep, like the switch wont flick off, i feel that tired wired feeling when i havent slept the whole night and im trying to function the next day. I have tried numerous herbal combination in high doses to help with sleep, i got some very mild benefits that didnt last but lately i have been using kava extract and it seems to help with other sleep meds i use. My insomnia seems to go hand in hand with aches and pains and is very cyclic, i wonder if its something to do with another infection reactivating or something, because the last few nights and days i feel ok again. Maybe its a lyme infection as well, although some info suggest that lyme infections arent in australia, it might not be the exact same infection here as in the states but im sure our wild life is carrying other tick born infections.

cheers!!!

 

[leela]

not to mention androgens are known activators of XMRV.

 

[heapsreal]

is it proven that androgens are activators? i know low androgens are proven to negatively effect the immune system. If cfs is more common in females then u would think estrogen would be the hormone to be watchful for. on another thread we mentioned estrogen dominance in men causing prostate cancer and other health problems like diabetes etc where they have shown that optimal testosterone levels in men prevent alot of these diseases. I think the common hormone link if theres one in cfs is estrogen dominance, not androgens, also shown how HIV patients immune system profile improves on androgens. Personally i dont think they have really looked into this properly. Xmrv is common in prostate cancer, most men with prostate problems have low testosterone and elevated estrogen. Androgens also have a balancing effect on elevated cortisol levels, high cortisol is also no good for the immune system. I think its wat to early to say androgens play apart, estrogens to me seem to be the obvious hormone problem.

 

[leela]

I think your point about balance is the key. I was referring to a slide at Dr. M's recent talk that specifically mentioned androgens as a stimulator (though when she spoke she mentioned hormones in general). You can see the slide here:
http://lannieinthelymelight.blogspot.com/2011/01/part-2-11711-xmrv-presentation-by-dr.html