Endocrinologist

[nukem2k5]

Two weeks for lab work?  I had a lot of tests run and got my results back within about three days, but that may be because I went directly to the lab, and not through a doctor.

[Anonymous_Man]

Yes.  Two weeks.  I was supposed to have them 3 days after my appt but the lab had problems.

But the time it took them isn't why I am here.  It's the results.  Mainly being that my testosterone is "normal".  Earlier in this very thread, I was told that I should not accept words such as "normal".

[nukem2k5]

Yeah request that they mail you the actual lab results and then post them here.

[Anonymous_Man]

Here are my results:

Testosterone, Total- 262  My range is listed as 241-827


Estradiol- 25  Dr said that was a little high.

LH- 3.2 Range 1.5-9.3

Prolactin- 5.2  Range is 2.0-18.0

FSH- 1.5  Range is 1.6-8.0

C-Peptide- 6.1  Range, 0.8-3.1

Insulin- 72  Range, Less than 17

There you have it guys.  What do I make of this?

Dr said that my gyne could be caused by the extra weight and the extra insulin that my body is producing.  He said that if I continue to lose weight, and I get my insulin down, which I am taking medicine for now, that the gyne could go away.  Or at least get smaller.

[Anonymous_Man]

hypo?  nukem?  Anyone?

[Anonymous_Man]

I was told to post my results.

[Gine2D]

The LH is low.  But LH is only good for about 30 minutes as new stuff is produced.  It is the hormone that tells the testicles to produce testosterone.  It comes from the pituitary.  

Since your testosterone is at the bottom of the range for a 90 year old male you might ask him about trying HCG to jump start the testicle production.

If the estradiol E2 range is 20 to 54 you are OK for that.  You did not specify the range.  If the range is from 2 to 20 then you are high.  E2 is the main breast growth hormone.

I am suprised that he did not take more interest in the pituritary since the T & LH are both low.  

Are the testicles less than 1-1/2" in length & 1" in diameter?  They may be shutting down for some reason.

Breast growth can be caused by a various meds,  even anti-acid meds like high dose Zantac & Tagament can start the growth cycle.  Some anti-cholesterol meds can stimulate the breast growth.  Anti-depressants can destroy the sex drive for months after you quit taking them.

There many side effects to drugs.

[aux513s]

Your testosterone looks low to me.

Isn't anything under 300 considered low?

[nukem2k5]

The first things I noticed were you estradiol is not really that high.  Mine is 37, and supposedly anything to 50 or so is normal, although I would like to lower mine.

Also, your testosterone is pretty low.  Mine was originally 302 and hypo mentioned I was almost at a hypogodonal point.  I took another test and it was 424, but anyway my point is that yours being so low should be a concern.

I'm not as knowledgeable about LH, FSH, prolactin, etc as hypo, so if you shoot him a PM he may see it and help you out.  I'm sort of busy at the moment but if I get a chance later I'll look up a few things and comment again.

Sorry for the delay in this post.  Also, I would not expect your gyne to completely go away, as you doctor mentioned, but it may diminish a little.

[nukem2k5]

Here's some stuff from some conversations I've had with hypo in the past:

If your LH turns out to be high in conjunction with a low testosterone level it will point to a testicular issue, if your LH is low in conjunction with a low testosterone level it will point to a pituitary issue.

However;

Your doctor should also be aware that if your estrogen level, particularly if your estradiol level is high or even high normal in the presence of a low testosterone level, a normal LH value may be misleading.  

Estradiol mediates LH as the pituitary cannot distinguish the difference between testosterone and estrogen and although estradiol is measured in a much smaller molecular range (pmol/l in Europe as opposed to the nmol/l), it has 200 fold the power of suppression at the same molecular level as testosterone on the HPTA.  The end result being that estradiol has a similar power of suppression on the HPTA as testosterone.  High LH expected in cases of hypergonadotopic hypogonadism can be mediated downwards by estradiol so that it appears in the normal range.  In such cases LH is misleading as the individual concerned is still testosterone deficient.  

Also many endocrinologists are aware of a condition where men are testosterone deficient despite not seeming to have any pituitary or testicular problem. In such cases the androgen to estrogen ratio is poor and LH is normal.  Such an imbalance has been referred to by some as metabolic hypogonadism.

I am not saying that this man has either of the two conditions above, I am just detailing the need to be aware that a normal LH level does not always equate to normality.

your low SHBG should mean that you have a good level of free testosterone.

Your estradiol level is what is termed as high normal and given that range also accounts for men over 50 is not healthy for a man your age.  The fact that you have low SHBG mean that you will also have a higher than normal level of free estradiol (which is bad news) as low SHBG increases the binding affinity of both testosterone and estradiol even though it binds less to the latter.

Hope some of this helps.

[Anonymous_Man]

Thanks guys.  Why didn't the endo know this stuff?