Yet another loss of libido, impaired memory, and stress intolerance.

[chip douglas]

Hi all,

I'm not quite new on here, as I've posted in the past (round last fall). I have to tell you this forum is no less than awesone ! I've never ever bumped into such a place for reliable information with the presence of Dr. Marianco--I'm thrilled to have found this place.

Now onto the reason of this post. I've met with Dr. Eric R. Braverman in October 2005, had quite a few blood tests, then had more test done by my local PCP once I returned from New york, and had some more a month ago when i met with an endocrinologist. It cost me $5000 in all to meet with Dr.Braverman...quite expensive isn't it ! Worst of it all is it didn't help much. The diagnosis i recieved from my meeting at Pathmedical was one of : Dysthymia and ADHD. He said though that the ADHD was not actual ADHD as evidenced by the P300 wave amplitude. Now, I'd like to know if it's ok that I post all of the personal info that I have so some hear can comment. At this point i feel I'm within an inch of finding what's wrong.

I'll wait for the go-ahead, cause my post will obviously quite a long post, as i've gathered much labs and other information.

I'd very much like to meet with Dr. Marianco, however money doesn't grow on trees, and I'm moving into a new house this fall, which means much expenditure ahead. By meeting with Dr. Braverman I may or may not have made a mistake, but I have a feeling it's much money without the desire end result. Anyway it's too late now, and that money I had spared to meet with a specialist is no more, yet I need to know what is wrong with me.

As far as i can see it looks like adrenal fatigue. With regards to meeting with Dr. Marianco, like I told him it's not the cost of the consult that bothers me, but the plane boarding passes, as i'm in Canada, in addition to the hotel room rental. Anyway, if I aint' got no choice, that's what I'll do, but I'm tight for money at present. I wasn't aware of Dr. Marianco at the time I made the decision to make an appointment with Dr. Braverman. Looking back, I sure wish I'd known about him, as that's him that I'd have met with. Being a psychiatrist as well as an endo is what i see as quite complete medicine, as most issues we encounter nowadays can be addressed by both or either.

Kind regards
Marc

 

[1cc]

If you have any lab results, post them with ranges and perhaps we can help. Also post symptoms.

 

[chip douglas]

Hi 1cc,

I have to leave now, but when I'm back later on this evening I'll start composing this post--however I may only post it later on this weekend, as I'm helping my mother move in tomorrow and on Sunday.

Many thanks in advance--I'm the appreciative type of guy, so any help provided with definately be appreciated.

Marc

 

[GymJim]

This may sound simplistic but a rigorous weightlifting program, plus cardio exercise and a healthy diet to lose weight and fat and get in tip top physical shape coupled with compounded gel testosterone have solved all my libido and energy problems. I look and feel better and also handle stress better.

I say this because I suspect that some of the guys looking to TRT and HCG and other solutions and those who are being diagnosed with ED, adrenal fatigue, depression, restless leg syndrome and whatever else really need what I suggested above. It's easy to get lab tests and take medicine. It's quite another thing to change your lifestyle and work to get yourself healthier, which is most effective, in conjunction with TRT, to possibly solve your ED, your fatness, your lack of energy, your depession and every other problem you have. It worked for me and only took a year to make a complete transformation from 190 lbs., 30%+ body fat, with repeated ED, ill heath, a big gut and feeling weak and depressed to 142 lbs., <6% body fat, ripped all over with washboard abs, feeling great and can f*ck like a beast now.

 

[chip douglas]

I agree with a good part of what you suggested Gymjim. That's what I've been doing, that is changing my lifestyle--I'm usually a very disciplined type of guy. However some things need sorting out like whether or not I have hypothyroidism, neither the endo nor any of the doctors i've seen to this day have ordered free T4 and free T3 to be performed....I wonder why, really. I had a bunch of blood tests--you'll see when I post this weekend.

I'll have to split my post into parts as I there's much info to be posted with reference range of the lab in questions.

Thanks for your input btw.

 

[chip douglas]

Now that I have some time, I'll list the symptoms I still have :

Low, or non-existent libido + some erectile difficulty though it is not due to poor circulation as I had a penile ultrasound performed.
anxiety
short term memory lapses
inability to concentrate/focus
restlessness
irritable, grouchy, snappy, impatient.
low blood sugar episodes (though very rarely)
inability to sustain stress
Very often, I find I have difficulty thinking.

I started having these at age 26. My condition has very slowly but surely improved over the years, most especially in the last two years. The libido has only improved for about 6 months though. I'm now 34, I'm 5'7'', 170 Lbs. I'e always struggled with stress as far as I can recall. My father has passed away a year and a half ago from Multiple Myeloma, he was the nervous type, and my mom is still alive and well, but the nervous type too--I definately have some genetic predispositions, though it doesn't have to be predeterminations. Before the onset of my health issues, I had a really severe bout of psychological stress, both at work and at home with the girlfriend.

I'll add more when I have time this weekend, that is posting all of the blood work with dates they were performed.

The above is only preliminary information. The diagnosis of Dr. Eric Braverman : dysthymia and some ADHD--ADHD being from dysthymia based anxiety he said. Dysthymia I find is a vague term, that doesn't necessarily point to a specific cause...it could be hypothyroid, adrenal fatigue, neurotransmitter imbalance. It looks as though adrenal fatigue could be the culprit, as my potassium came in within the low normale of the range, plus my BP is always in the lower range. My BP is higher when standing than sitting.

I won't add any more for now.

 

[chip douglas]

Come to think of it I don't and have never taken any steroids. I'm not really weight lifting for now, and I've been off weight lifting for 2 years, since slightly before the passing of my father. I plan on resuming lifting this up coming fall, as I'll be settled in the new house.

I have a very sweet tooth btw. I've eaten tons of sugar for years, though now I've cut back to a large extent for a while. I don't smoke nor do I drink.

 

[1cc]

From your symptoms, it's already starting to sound like Adrenal Fatigue. Especially the sweet tooth, low BP, "inability to sustain stress", "low blood sugar episodes ", "severe bout of psychological stress".

 

[pmgamer18]

I agree with a good part of what you suggested Gymjim. That's what I've been doing, that is changing my lifestyle--I'm usually a very disciplined type of guy. However some things need sorting out like whether or not I have hypothyroidism, neither the endo nor any of the doctors i've seen to this day have ordered free T4 and free T3 to be performed....I wonder why, really. I had a bunch of blood tests--you'll see when I post this weekend.

I'll have to split my post into parts as I there's much info to be posted with reference range of the lab in questions.

Thanks for your input btw.

Go to this link and read about Adrenal Fatigue and Thyroid in this link you can get a Saliva Test that checks your Thy., hormone and Cortisol levels for $140.
http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/adrenal-info/
The test you want is at the Canary Club.

 

[chip douglas]

Ok, I'll post more detail as as I have time to--I have some right now.

I'll post my saliva tests results first. They're ZRT and Great smokies tests. Those tests go back to 2 years ago--at that time my overall state was not as good as it is now.


Hormone results status range
Estradiol 3.6 pg/ml within range 2-7 pg/ml
Testosterone 129 pg/ml above range 30-85 pg/ml

Then comes DHEA/cortisol 4 points :

Cortisol :

Between (1 hour after rising) 7-9 AM : 1.01 mcg/dl range : 0.27-2.06 mcg/dL
Between 11 AM-1PM : 0.44 mcg/dl range : 0.03-0.77 mcg/dL
Between 3-5 PM : 0.20 mcg/dl range : 0.03-0.56 mcg/dL
Between 10PM-12AM : 0.06 mcg/dl range : 0.03- 0.50 mcg/dL

DHEA sampled between 7-9 AM : 547 pg/ml range : 14-277 pg/ml

It is important to note that I was not taking DHEA at the time, in fact I took 1 pill of DHEA years ago, and haven't taken any since then.

DHEA was a good way above range on this test. As far as those test results go, I don't know what to think at all regarding adrenal fatigue.

Later this weekend, I'll post my various very recent blood work. It was all the time I had this morning.

Thank you very much all.
Marc

 

[chip douglas]

With regards to blood pressure, It's 12:06 noon now. I got up 20 minutes ago--I slept in. i'll take my BP now and post it :

113/70 and 60 BPM Ordinarily my BP is much lower than that. Usually it's more in the range of : 106/66 with BPM about the same as above. I had 1000 Mg vitamin C yesterday, so maybe it made a difference. For a good while now, I haven't taken any supplements.

I can tell you that my Potassium came out low on my last blood work, and that taking high potassium foods like oranges helps with the libido. Initially I thought it was the Vitamin C content of oranges, but then I decided to try and take 50 Mg Potassium on it's own as a test, and then take vitamin C on it's own as well. I spaced the taking of both with days in between, and found that it is the Postassium that has the most bang on the libido thingy. I however do not take any Potassium supplements now. I prefer to eat Potassium rich foods.


I've just took my BP again, but this time standing, and the reading is higher at : 128/78 with BPM at : 68. Both the sitting and standing BP were taken while been completely still. I took them 6-7 minutes apart.

Best
Marc

 

[1cc]

Your BP is not low. Your Saliva Cortisol is not low. For everything else it is best to go with blood tests for reliability. Saliva is best only for cortisol. Since your potassium is low, perhaps if that is treated you will feel better.

 

[chip douglas]

Thanks 1cc. As soon as I post the blood test results (hopefully tomorrow) you'll have a much better idea of the whole picture.

Thank you
Marc

 

[chip douglas]

Thanks 1cc. As soon as I post the blood test results (hopefully tomorrow) you'll have a much better idea of the whole picture.

Thank you
Marc

 

[chip douglas]

Sorry for the double post....I got sidetracked and hit the send button twice.

 

[greyowl]

it's not the cost of the consult that bothers me, but the plane boarding passes, as i'm in Canada, in ....

MArc, if you're located in Ontario, I stormgly recommend Dr. Komer at the Masters Mens Clinic in Burlington. Works closely with Swale and is a leading anti-aging expert. He's a regular physician so your visits are paid by OHIP, and I bet you've already done the bloodwork he would call for, so there would be no extra $ laid out.

 

[chip douglas]

Greyowl,

Gee thanks for the pointer, this may *really* come in handy. I'm not in Ontario, yet Ontario is a short drive from where I live.

Thanks for you input, this is indeed helpful.
Marc

 

[greyowl]

Greyowl,

Gee thanks for the pointer, this may *really* come in handy. I'm not in Ontario, yet Ontario is a short drive from where I live.

Thanks for you input, this is indeed helpful.
Marc

Here's his website ... www.mastersmensclinic.com ... if you're out of province (Man or Que?) they should still pick up the cost of ther with the dcotor thru repciprocal agreements. heck with his office and your local health plans.

 

[chip douglas]

I'll post my blood works this evening so you'all have a much better idea of what's been going on.

Best

 

[chip douglas]

Ok, here we go. The following blood work was performed at Pathmedical, the medical office of Dr. Eric Braverman.

**Chemistry**

Total Protein 8.5 HI 5.9-8.4 gm/dl
Albumin 5.6HI 3.2-5.2 gm/dl
Globulin 2.9 1.7-3.7 gm/dl
A/G ratio 1.9 1.1-2.9
Glucose 85 70-109 mg/dl
Sodium 137 133-145 mmol/L
Potassium 3.8 3.3-5.3 mmol/L
Chloride 98 96-108 mmol/L
CO2 23 21-29 mmol/L
BUN 14 7-25 mg/dl
Creatinine 0.9 0.4-1.2 mg/dl
BUN/Creatinine ratio 15.6 10-28
Calcium 9.9 8.4-10.4 mg/dl
Uric Acid 6.9 2.4-7.0 mg/dl
Iron 113 30-160 mcg/dl
Bilirubin, Total 2.7HI 0.1-1.0 mg/dl
LDH 192 94-250 u/l
Alk Phos 63 39-120 u/l
AST (SGOT) 21 <37 u/l
Phosphorus 4.1 2.6-4.5 mg/dl
ALT (SGTP) 26 <40 u/l
G-GTP 14 7-51 u/l
Cholesterol 175 <200 mg/dl
Triglycerides 73 <151 mg/dl
HDL CHOL.,DIRECT 59 >45F/>35M mg/dl
HDL as % of Cholesterol 34 SEE BELOW %
Chol/HDL Ratio 2.97 SEE BELOW
LDL/HDL Ratio 1.73 0-3.55
LDL Cholesterol 102 <130 mg/dl

**Hematology**
WBC 6.9 3.4-11.8 X10(3)
RBC 5.7 4.2-5.9 X10(6)
HGB 16.6 12.3-17.0 gm/dl
HCT 48.9 39.3-52.5 %
MCV 86.1 80-100 FL
MCH 29.2 25-34.1 pg
MCHC 33.9 29.0-34.0 gm/dl
RDW 12.9 10.9-16.9 %
POLYS 58 36.0-78.0 %
LYMPHS 31 12.0-48.0 %
EOS 1 0-8 %
BASOS 1 0-2 %
MONOS 9 0-13 %
Platelet count 253 144-400 X10(3)

**Urinalysis**

Color/Appearance Yellow/clear STRAW/CLEAR
Specific Gravity 1.030 1.005-1.035
pH 6.0 5.0-9.0
Protein, Urine NEGATIVE NEGATIVE
Glucose, Urine, Qual. NEGATIVE NEGATIVE
Ketone, Qual. 1+* NEGATIVE
Urobilinogen 1 0-2 UNITS
Bilirubin, Urine NEGATIVE NEGATIVE
Blood, Urine NEGATIVE NEGATIVE
Nitrites NEGATIVE NEGATIVE
LEU.ESTERASE NEGATIVE NEGATIVE
WBC, Urine NONE 0-3 PER HPF
RBC, Urine 0-1 0-1 PER HPF
Epithelial Cells, Urine NONE NONE
Cast, Hyaline, Urine NONE NONE
Cast, Granular, Urine NONE NONE
Cast, RBC,Urine NONE NONE
Bacteria, Urine NONE NONE

**Miscellaneous**

TSH 2.880 0.27-4.2 uIU/mL
RPR Non-Reacti NON REACTIVE
TESTOSTERONE,TOT.,S. 184 LO SEE BELOW
TESTOSTERONE, FREE, SE 6.3 SEE BELOW
LH 0.7 LO SEE BELOW
FSH 2.2 SEE BELOW
PROGESTERONE 1.09 HI SEE BELOW
PROLACTIN, SERUM 1.8 LO SEE BELOW
ESTRADIOL (NON-PREG.) 21.40 SEE BELOW
CRP <0.3 <0.5 MG/DL
E.SEDIMENTATION RATE 2 M<21/F< mm/hr
FIBRINOGEN 283 200-400 mg/dl
DHEA 18.8 HI 0.2-9.8 ng/dl
ALUMINUM, SERUM 12 HI 3-9 ug/L
LEAD, BLOOD 1 SEE BELOW
DHEA-SULFATE 491 SEE BELOW
MERCURY, BLOOD (3) 2.0 SEE BELOW
SEX HORM, BIND. GLOB. 17.6 SEE BELOW
CORTISOL, RANDOM 16.4 4-32 ug/dl
IGF-1 (SOMATOMEDIN C) 126.0 SEE BELOW
PREGNENOLONE (19) See below SEE BELOW
CADMIUM, BLOOD (3) <0.5 <5.0 mcg/L
HOMOCYSTEINE 12.06 SEE BELOW
IGF-BP3 (19) See below SEE REPORT
DIHYDROTESTOSTERONE (3) 12.3 LO SEE REPORT
IMMUNE DEF.PANEL (CDC) See below

**Reference ranges for the above test results follow below--note that I'll only mention those for males.

Prolactin 4.6-21.4 ng/ml
FSH 1.5-12.4 mIu/ml
LH 1.7-8.6 mIu/ml
PROGESTERONE 0.2-1.4 ng/ml
DHEA-SO4 age 30-39 ---> 120-520 ug/dl
TESTOSTERONE,TOTAL 280-800 ng/dl
TESTOSTERONE, FREE men age 20-39 ---> 8.8-27.0 pg/ml
ESTRADIOL 7.63-42.59 pg/ml
HOMOCYSTEINE 3.7-13.9 umol/L
IGF-1 men age 31-40 ---> 109-307 ng/ml
SHBG 13-71 nanomols/L
IGFBP-3 31-70 years old ---> 1.9-3.6 mg/L
DIHYDROTESTOSTERONE 16.0-66.0 ng/dl
MERCURY WHOLE BLOOD < 5.0 ug/L
CADMIUM WHOLE BLOOD < 5.1 ug/L
PREGNENOLONE <20-150 ng/dl

IMPORTANT : all of the test results above were done on October 10, 2005. Now the following few test results were done over on October 11, 2005, and I recieved the results by email once back from NYC. They wanted to do some of the test over cause some values were abnormal. So again, what right below are from October 11, 2005.

Albumin 5.2 (normal)
Total protein 7.9 (normal)
total bilirubin 1.9 (elevated)
direct bilirubin 0.3 (normal)
indirect bilirubin 1.6 (slight elevation)

ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE IS: while at Dr. Braverman's office, I had a DXA scan, which revealed 25.5% body fat, which obviously was way too high for a healthy libido. I lost weight since then though. Bone density was ideal though.

**I also want to point that I'm 5' 7'', 34 years old, and now weigh 169 Lbs.

**My TSH back 8 years ago, at the worst of my low libido, memory loss and stress intolerance was : 3.67 mUI/L


==========================================================
The next batch of blood works were not done in New York, but in my hometown, once I returned from NYC, and units are not the same. Among those units, I only have the conversion factor for Testosterone to go from ng/dl to nmols or vice versa : 0.0347

What follows are the first test I had done through my local primary care practioner, per Dr.Eric Braverman's recommendations--it was done about one week after I returned from NYC. Dr. Braverman suspected the stress factor altered values for various hormones, while I was undergoing tests at his clinic, and indeed I was stressed out quite a bit during that time.

Here we go :

Testosterone, Total 14.1 8.4-28.7 nmol/L
Free Testosterone 6.0 2.0-14.0 nmol/L
DHEA-S 11.6 4.0-16.3 umol/L
SHBG 17 10-73 umol/L
LH 2 2-9 U/L
FSH 2 2-12 U/L


From those test results, we can now convert nmol/L total Testosterone of 14.1 through the conversion factor of 0.0347, thus 14.1 divided by 0.0347 is : 406 ng/dl. Obviously my TT went up noticeably from the low 184 ng/dl during high stress to 406 ng/dl after I returned from NYC. I don't have conversion factors for other blood hormone values though. My local PCP, said everything was fine, and didn't want to investigate any further after those.
==========================================================

I saw an endocrinologist a month ago, and will post those results tomorrow, after I dropped by the clinic to get printouts of those.

Thanks for any help.
Marc