estradiol / prolactin levels

[steve172]

OK, I have puffy nips (when hot), cant feel any gland at all though.... from using propecia. Note that I feel puffed nips came about because I was on a high dosage 1.25mg/day...now on 0.33 mg/day

Had blood work done, can someone please tell me if these levels are in fact "normal"?...for a fit 28 year old.

Prolactin: 265 mIU/L (0-500)
oestradiol: 170 pmol/L (50-220)
DHT: 3.2 (1.2-4.7)

Someone suggested that my oestradiol might be way too high.

Tried Arimidex (0.5mg 3 x per week) for past month...did nothing.

Yet to try Tamoxifen but it is in the cupboard.

Cheers,

Steve

[jamo123]

not sure about prolactin but you est levels are just on the limit which is exactly 170

[steve172]

Thanks Jamo,

Can you tell me (link etc) where you learnt that 170 is the limit (just wondering why the printout suggests 220 being the upper limit).

seems oestradiol is definately the culprit then, so will give tamoxifen a crack.

[Time_to_fix_it]

Was the Arimidex and Tamoxifen prescribed to you by a doctor or preferably an Endo?

The reason I ask is that when put on theses medications careful monitoring of your bodies biochemistry and haematology is usually the norm.  I suggest you go back to your Endo and discuss the results of your blood tests and get advice for your next step.  I personally have to see my Endocrinologist for a full check up and hormone/blood evaluation every 6 months for me to be prescribed Arimidex.  Getting it (and earlier Tamoxifen) prescribed in the first place was only permitted after extensive tests and scans of various parts of my body.  These are 2 very different medications performing very different functions within the body and the effect they can have on oestrogen levels, other hormones such as LH, Test, SHBG etc, bone density as well as red and white blood cell counts, requires very careful monitoring.

All the best to you.

[jamo123]

hi again.

the limit various from region to region. i think mine is 170.

[steve172]

Thanks Time To Fix It,

My doc gave me prescriptions after having blood tests as follows.

I had oestradiol and T checked 31/10/06 when i was on 0.625mg finasteride Every Day
oest =160 (pmol/L) Normal Range = 50-220
T = 20.9 (nmol/L) Normal Range = 10-50

Then had them checked 26/4/07 after being on 0.25mg fin Every Day D for 3 months
oest =170 (pmol/L) Normal Range = 50-220
T = 22.7 (nmol/L) Normal Range = 10-50

Suprised me that both actually went up, although negligablly on the the lower ammount of fin.

***********************

Others are; (all when i had been on 0.25mg/day for 3 months)

F FSH 4.19 <10 IU/L
S LH 4.7 IU/L (1.14-8.75)
Prolactin 265 mIU/L(0-500)
S SHBG 38 nmol/L (10-50)
DHEAS 11.9 umol/L (2.2-15.2)
FAI 59.7 (49-150)
DHT 3.2 (1.2-4.7)
S-cortisol-PM 170 nmol/L (70-235)
S PSA 0.3 ug/L (0-4)
S TSH .65 mU/L (.3-5)

have all the haematology but cant be bothered putting it in...only weird one is

haemoglobin 131 g/L (130-180)...............anyone know if this is weird for a 28 year old?

He didnt seem to bothered about my oestradiol level, just said that yes low doses of arimidex or tamoxifen would lower it. Didn't feel need for an endo as it would only be for short periods anyway.

Arimidex didnt seem to do anything...can you see anything in my results that suggests that Adex / Tamox would be better for my case?

Think I'll try the low dose of tamox for a month, see how it goes and then get blood work done again...possibly see endo.

appreciate any thoughts.

[Paa_Paw]

You gave the following information from your tests:
Oest=160      Range 50-220
T=22.7          Range 10-50

Both readings are "Normal".

But look at it this way: If a median Oest is 135, and a median T is 30; Your Oest is above the median while your T is below the median.

Actually, it takes a true specialist to understand how these results relate to each other so don't allow my supposition to cause concern. The point I wanted to make is that the individual results are less important than how they relate to each other.

We often hear from young men who have used Finasteride in low dosages to prevent balding. For a small number of men, Finasteride can really be bad news and a little Gynecomastia can be the least of the worries for some of them.

I told my daughters years ago to look for balding heads if they wanted verile men. I really believe that. .... And yes, I am a bald old man.

[steve172]

Yes, god is a tricky little bastard aint he...takes our hair and takes our penis away and gives us boobs if we try and trick him back.

now using dht blockers carefully and sparingly....still ganna try tamox to counter effects of the larger finasteride dosages......although double irony will most probably ensue and i'll lose a bit more hair!

have been on 20mg/day for 3 days......and although most probably placebo or in my head, nipples seem less puffed and pecs maybe a bit harder.....will stay on 20mg for 3 weeks and then taper down to 10mg for a couple of weeks (wjich will see the packet out)....then get blood tests and let you all know if I have turned into a monster etc.

cheers