female fat storage patterns

[target2]

other then the chest does anyone else here have female fat storage patterns? In my preteen days i was allways very skinny right up to early teens, when i became around 16 i started getting a more muscular/flabby physique.. i seem to have good muscle mass but also was quite flabby... fat is mostly stored in my butt, upper thighs and tummy... even when i have lost alot of weight i still looked soft. I had my testosterone/estrogen checked doctor said i was fine... can this kind of storage pattern be cause by other hormones like prolactin and LH?

[jc71]

Is your lower body completely out of proportion to your upper body?  I have a good friend who's got huge legs and butt but smaller upper body.  He seems to be fine with it. Others look more pear shaped. Are your legs more fat or muscular.

[Paa_Paw]

What kind of body type runs in your family?

You may want to compare a recent photo of yourself with old snapshots of your grandfathers etc.

[Paa_Paw]

It took a while for this to sink in, I hope you are still following responses.

The problem has a name,  It is gynecoid obesity.

It is often a sign of Hypogonadism,  Though sometimes could be hereditary.

It can be a precursor of vascular problems in the legs and degenerative conditions in the knee and hip joints.

You said your Doctor has checked your hormone levels and they were normal.  I would hope you are seeing your Doctor regularly and that your hormones are monitored over time.  You should look for other possible signs of feminization such as no beard, sparse body hair or a female pattern of body hair growth.  Any of these things should be called to the attention of your Doctor. Though I do not have enough knowlege to be of further help, I believe it is possible for you to have normal hormone levels but still have some feminizing effects if the testosterone receptors are not functiong as they should.

Hopefully, it is simply a trait you inherited from a grandparent  or a transient condition of puberty and not something more serious.

[Gine2D]

Target;
"I had my testosterone/estrogen checked doctor said i was fine... "

Get the actual test report for your medical records.  A copy belongs to you.

The docs look at the report & if you results are in the range of people tested as the standard they say you are OK.

The standard range was from about 20 to 90 age.  If you are 20 & have a total T of 240 & E2 of 54 then you are in the range.  The doc would say "fine, OK".
But you should be 90 years old for those results.  

At age 20 the results should be over 700 for T, & below 30 for E2.

Most docs know very little about hormone levels or treatrment.

[Paa_Paw]

Hello again target2,

What was said above by "Gine2D" was very well put, I could not improve upon it.  

If it is possible, the Doctor you really want to see is an "Endocrinologist". You may need a referral for this depending upon your medical coverage.

Good luck!

[Raymuk]

I took propecia for four years and it was a while before I realised it was gradually giving me gyno. I also noticed that when i put weight on (though it was never too much - I'm 5' 10" and 180lbs), it seemed i was putting weight on around my hips and thighs instead of the stomach where it had always gone on before. Basically, propecia seemed to want to turn me into a women by screwing with my natural hormone balance.

I had surgery in the UK six months ago (Levick) and am very happy with my chest now. I stopped taking propecia then and have lost a little weight since. My hips and thighs are still the same as I described above (a bit better following the weight loss), but to be honest, it's the kind of thing only I would notice.

[target3]

Can someone give me some feedback on these figures?

Prolactin 8 ug/L (<15)
Oestradiol 71 pmol/L (40-250)
Testosterone 12 pmol/L (10.0-33.0)

[Paa_Paw]

DITTO!

I too think that Hypo is our resident expert on hormones.

[hypo]

Hi target,

To be able to provide you with useful information I need to understand you circumstances a little better

First of all where did you get your hormones checked and by whom?

What country are being treated in?

What time were you tested at?

Was the test a blood or saliva test?

Can you confirm that these are all the tests results?

Were you not tested for LH, FSH, SHBG, TSH?

With regard to the testosterone result you have indicated pmol/l.  This is the picomole molecular weight and is used only in saliva tests or free testosterone tests.  However your number reference range looks more like that of serum or total testosterone than that of free testosterone.  

It is very important for me to know what type of test you had to be able to help interpret what is going on.

Can you confirm that you had total, sometimes referred to as serum testosterone checked?

Perhaps this is on your copy of the lab report?

Perhaps pmol/l is a typo?  

I would expect to see nmol/l, (nanomole molecular weight) if we are talking about total testosterone.  Of course if pmol/l is correct any information regarding this being a free testosterone test will also help.

Given that biochemical markers are only part of the picture I am including a symptomatic test for hypogonadism.  The test is not a replacement for pathology investigations but it is an important diagnostic tool nonetheless and was created by world leading endocrinologist Malcolm Carruthers M.D.

If you take the test and tell me how you scored on it, I will have an idea not only of your pathology but also how symptomatic you are for this condition.  You do not have to reveal any details of the test that you do not wish to; the overall score will help me help you.

Instructions
Rate all categories below as none, slight, medium, severe or extreme.  For each category None=0, slight=1, medium=2, severe=3 and extreme=4.  In the age category although a little awkward given your age think how bad you feel and go off that with 30s=0, 40s=1, 50s=2, 60s=3 and 70s=4.  

1 Fatigue, tiredness or loss of energy

2 Depression, low or negative mood

3 irritability, anger or bad temper

4 anxiety or nervousness

5 loss of memory or concentration

6 relationship problems with partner

7 loss of sex drive or libido

8 erection problems or potency problems

9 dry skin on face or hands

10 excessive sweating, day or night

11 backache, joint stiffness

12 heavy drinking past or present

13 loss of fitness

14 feeling overstressed

15 the age you feel 30s/40s/50s/60s/70s.


Having added up your total you need to add an additional 4 if there has been any case of adult mumps, orchitis or other testicular problems, persistent urinary infection or vasectomy.

If you answer the questions above and let me know how you scored (be careful with your maths) then I will have a reasonable picture of your circumstances and will be able to help you obtain a referral if necessary to a relevant expert and will also be able to provide you with support information.  

[target3]

Hi hypo, thanks for replying. I am in Australia, my doctor requested the tests THY, HPP, FHM, CBC, 25T. I had it done at a pathology. It was a blood test not a saliva test and sorry it was a typo, the testosterone is in nmol/L.

So i assume it is total testosterone considering the range and that it is in nmol/L.

I had the test at 10:30am, and if this helps I ate approx 1 hour before the test and had a strawberry milkshake approx 5 minutes before the test.  Does not look like i had any of these tests LH, FSH, SHBG, TSH.

Prolactin 8 ug/L (<15)
Oestradiol 71 pmol/L (40-250)
Testosterone 12 nmol/L (10.0-33.0)

I asked my doctor if 12 was low, he said "no it's fine, 1 is considered low".

This is on the report as well, all were in normal range.
Sodium, potassium, chloride, bicarbonate, other anions, glucose, urea, creatinine, uric acid, total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, alh phos, Gamma GT, ALT, AST, LD, calcium, phosphate, total protein, albumin, globulins, iron, cholesterol, triglycerides.  


1 Fatigue, tiredness or loss of energy - 3

2 Depression, low or negative mood - 3

3 irritability, anger or bad temper - 3

4 anxiety or nervousness - 4

5 loss of memory or concentration - 3

6 relationship problems with partner - 3

7 loss of sex drive or libido - 2

8 erection problems or potency problems - 2

9 dry skin on face or hands - 0

10 excessive sweating, day or night  - 2

11 backache, joint stiffness - 3

12 heavy drinking past or present - 0

13 loss of fitness - 4

14 feeling overstressed - 4

15 the age you feel 30s/40s/50s/60s/70s. 0 I kind of find it hard to answer this question, I am 24 wouldnt say i feel older then 30's.

[hypo]

Hi target3,

I thought that range was measurement was a typo, yes your test was for total testosterone.

You have all the symptoms of testosterone deficiency and if you lived in the US you would be able to be treated, but unfortunately Australia has one of the most draconian treatment regimes in the world.

They accept nothing less than a very low testosterone result when it comes to treating this condition (8mnol/l or lower the last time I knew), which is very sad for those who suffer.

Here is just one paper that details what represents a problem testosterone level for young men (something rarely taken into account).

http://www.wellmanclinic.org/paper2.htm

I guess there is little point in giving you information that only results in you being disappointed so I shall endeavor to help as much as I can.  On this note I am going to provide you with the email address of a testosterone sufferer in Australia who may be able to help you- his knowledge of what is happening specifically in Australia may make some difference in all this.

I will mail it to you via pm

Stay in touch because I may be able to help you in other ways and let me know via pm what our friend has to say.

[target3]

Well that sux... I am considering going for surgery soon, do you think there might be a problem with recurrence of gynecomastia after surgery?

[hypo]

The best I can say is hopefully not.  If you contact the guy whose email I gave you, he will be better able to tell you the lie of the land at this current time in your native country.

Let me know how you get on with him.  If you are refused treatment for hypogonadism get back to me as I may be able to come up with some help to increase your testosterone to estrogen ratio via nutrient supplementation.  That though is a bridge that you do not have to cross yet- speak to him and get back to me.

[target3]

hey hypo did you get my pm? if not can u pm me your email addy if you don't mind?