Doctor changed my protocol

[bouquetCPA]

Isn't 6.8 under range? if it is yes it could easily explain your irritability.

It sure is under range. I guess that explains the night sweats and joint pain too. My elbows and knees have been killing me and my elbows used to NEVER bother me. As for the night sweats, I wake up soaked in sweat at around 2 am. I'm soaked, the pillow is soaked, the sheets are soaked...

 

[CoastWatcher]

It sure is under range. I guess that explains the night sweats and joint pain too. My elbows and knees have been killing me and my elbows used to NEVER bother me. As for the night sweats, I wake up soaked in sweat at around 2 am. I'm soaked, the pillow is soaked, the sheets are soaked...

Low estradiol, time and time again, has been reported by patients as far more uncomfortable than elevated e2. Hormone hell...

 

[TheDude]

I figured I would update my thread to let everyone know what is going on. My testosterone level at 11 days was 634 and my Estradiol was 6.8 on the Sensitive method.

Could that explain my irritability due to the change in protocol?

Regardless, I questioned going from 260 mg per week to 260 mg every other week and was given the "I've been doing this for over 20 years and I know what I am doing" spill by the doctor.

My appointment with the Defy doctor is tomorrow.

On another note, my DHEA was also low at 79.1. I have not idea what that could cause.

EDIT: My SHBG was still good at 51.6. I figured I would throw that number in there since it was asked earlier.

Your irritability is likely due to your low DHEA.

 

[bouquetCPA]

Your irritability is likely due to your low DHEA.

I added a DHEA supplement this morning and I'll discuss it with the doctor this afternoon.

 

[ratbag]

It sure is under range. I guess that explains the night sweats and joint pain too. My elbows and knees have been killing me and my elbows used to NEVER bother me. As for the night sweats, I wake up soaked in sweat at around 2 am. I'm soaked, the pillow is soaked, the sheets are soaked...

If you are taking an AI I would suggest you stop because your Estradiol has crashed and this has lots of the symptoms you describe. As Coastwatcher has mentioned. Also it affects everyone differently. You need to get another set of labs after you have been off AI for 6 weeks. Most people do not need an AI. I suspect your previous TRT MD just doesn't know. Actually that part is quite obvious.

 

[Weasel]

like others have asked, are you taking an AI? I didn't see mention of it.

 

[bouquetCPA]

like others have asked, are you taking an AI? I didn't see mention of it.

I was taking 1mg of Anastrazole every Monday and the nurse practitioner wanted to INCREASE that dosage when I complained about symptoms. I'm just glad I had the wherewithal to NOT listen to her since they managed to crash my levels.

I was also taking 300 mg of a DIM supplement daily, but I ran out prior to my last set of labs, and now I am glad that I stopped that one too since it was touted as an Estradiol lowering supplement.

 

[bouquetCPA]

I'm updating again.

First off, I was extremely pleased with the Defy Medical doctor that I spoke to today. Dr. Calkins took the time to explain EVERYTHING to me.

Next, it looks like things are changing drastically with regards to my protocol. I'll now be doing testosterone shots twice per week at 80 mg per shot along with HCG at 500 iU twice per week. Also, my Anastrozole dose was lowered drastically to .125 mg the day of my injections. It was also recommended that I take 50 mg of DHEA daily, starting at night. If that gives me an energy rush, then I should switch it to the morning. Lastly, my thyroid dose will stay the same.

It kind of sucks that it will take two to four weeks before I get to feeling close to normal again, but it is what it is. I guess I am kicking my local doctor to the curb even though he was the first one in three years to get my thyroid problem properly diagnosed. I toyed with the idea of keeping him for thyroid support and as a second opinion source but I'm having a hard time trusting him after this roller coaster ride that he put me on. If he had things his way, I'd be doing labs at the 6 month mark and there is no way I could have made it to 6 months feeling like this. Then with his nurse practitioner being less than useless, ditching them all together may not be a bad thing.

 

[Milad Zadeh]

I did the same and transferred to Dr Saya at Defy, totally worth it. No more non sense. Call them tomorrow and set up your appointment.

 

[bouquetCPA]

I'm hoping this is one of the last updates regarding my old doctor. I had one last appointment scheduled for today, and still did not have my medication from the new doctor, so I decided to keep my appointment. I gave them a copy of my new labs, and the nurse tried to argue with me saying that a 6.8 estradiol level wasn't bad and that men didn't need estrogen. She even told me that some of their patients take 1 mg of Anastrozole every single day and I literally shook my head in disbelief. With advice like that, I'm kind of glad I had the wherewithal to seek out a second opinion.

I want to thank everyone for telling me to get away from this clinic because holy hell, how many other people have they screwed up with such a bad protocol? Unfortunately, I still may have one more call because the doctor will be in tomorrow. It's kind of a sticky situation because he is a personal friend of mine, so I expect a little backlash over my choice to leave. OTOH, we did work together at the same medical school 20 years ago, so he should have known that I would seek out other advice at the first sign of not feeling right.

It's all water under the bridge though because I'll have my new medications today and begin my new protocol next week. Thanks again everyone!

 

[CoastWatcher]

I'm hoping this is one of the last updates regarding my old doctor. I had one last appointment scheduled for today, and still did not have my medication from the new doctor, so I decided to keep my appointment. I gave them a copy of my new labs, and the nurse tried to argue with me saying that a 6.8 estradiol level wasn't bad and that men didn't need estrogen. She even told me that some of their patients take 1 mg of Anastrozole every single day and I literally shook my head in disbelief. With advice like that, I'm kind of glad I had the wherewithal to seek out a second opinion.

I want to thank everyone for telling me to get away from this clinic because holy hell, how many other people have they screwed up with such a bad protocol? Unfortunately, I still may have one more call because the doctor will be in tomorrow. It's kind of a sticky situation because he is a personal friend of mine, so I expect a little backlash over my choice to leave. OTOH, we did work together at the same medical school 20 years ago, so he should have known that I would seek out other advice at the first sign of not feeling right.

It's all water under the bridge though because I'll have my new medications today and begin my new protocol next week. Thanks again everyone!

Please let us know how things unfold. All the best.

 

[Milad Zadeh]

Can you describe your current thyroid protocol ?

 

[bouquetCPA]

Can you describe your current thyroid protocol ?

Currently, I am prescribed 97.5 mg daily of Nature-Throid. Since that has been unavailable due to their retooling, I was temporarily switched to 120 mg of NPThyroid daily. I take it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach prior to beginning my day and give it an hour before eating.

These were my various labs on 97.5 mg of Nature Throid and 260 mg of testosterone per week:

THYROID II PROFILE (T3U, T4, T7, TSH)
T3 UPTAKE 29.3 (24.3-39.0 %)
T4 (THYROXINE) 7.4 (4.5-12.0 UG/DL)
CALCULATED T7 (FTI) 2.17 (1.50-3.80)
TSH 0.681 (0.400-4.100 UIU/ML)

ESTRADIOL 34.8 (<=60.7 PG/ML)

FREE T3 5.1 H (2.2-4.2 PG/ML)

TESTOSTERONE 1139 H (300-890 NG/DL)

SEX HORM BIND GLOBULIN 40.4 (16.5-55.9 NMOL/L)

CALC FREE TESTOSTERONE 25.4 (4.8-25.7 NG/DL)

These were taken two months before the estradiol crash.

 

[bouquetCPA]

Please let us know how things unfold. All the best.

Thank you. I believe I am on the right road now.

Also, I see what happened at my former doctor's office. I was dismissed by a nurse playing doctor who never relayed my complaints to the doctor. If the doctor calls me, I'm going to make it a point to tell him!

 

[Milad Zadeh]

Those are great numbers overall. I started taking 60mg of natural desiccated thyroid myself recently and hope to achieve the same TSH numbers as yourself. Keep us posted please

 

[ratbag]

Getting optimal numbers for your Thyroid once you start a protocol is to ignore your TSH and focus on the correct FT3 and FT4 numbers while ensuring that your cortisol and ferritin numbers are not out of line. This is how most of the good thyroid MD's handle treatment protocol. Mainstream MD's or PCP's typically look only at the TSH as this is what they are taught to do. (it's a very inexpensive test) They certainly won't do anymore than what they were taught. Where the teaching fails is MD's are told that if something starts to go wrong with a patient's thyroid the TSH will go out of range and that indicates there's a problem that needs attention. However lots of people have a normal TSH with very low FT3. In instances like this the patient suffers and the PCP believes they are normal. The other problem PCP's and general physicians have is they do not listen or care about symptoms. They have been taught to only look at the lab numbers, this is the biggest failing medicine has and why finding Md's like Defy is so important for us.

 

[Maximus220rr]

R u doing .125mg of anstrozole on the day of injections or 24hrs after injections. .125mg twice a week?

 

[bouquetCPA]

R u doing .125mg of anstrozole on the day of injections or 24hrs after injections. .125mg twice a week?

I take .125 mg of Anastrozole the day of the injection. The doctor explained why he wanted me to do it this way, but I didn't write it down, so I probably remembered it wrong. IIRC he explained the aromatase process after receiving the injections and the half-life of Anastrozole. Keep in mind, I'm taking both 80 mg of testosterone and 500 iU of hCG every 3.5 days.

Lastly, I recently added Anastrozole back due to the estradiol crash brought about by my first doctor. I waited for the night sweats to stop first but I still wasn't crying during ASPCA commercials...

 

[rhino5169]

Pisses me off off that so many doctors are ignorant and arrogant. I literally would have told that Dr and his nurse practitioner that they are F-ing morons right to their face.
I'd also say if they ANY sort of professionalism or wanted to be educated on things they are supposed to be experts in, I would point them to this site and tell them to read everything they can for 2 weeks and if they feel they need to they can call you to apologize.

Good luck though, you'll now be working WITH doctors that will work WITH you.

 

[cleverusername]

The nurse I spoke to today stated that my initial, once per week injections, were their own proprietary custom compound designed for weekly injections.

Am I the only one who is wondering WTH this is?