PSA testing?

[DaVinci2]

Is a PSA test done with your blood work? Is it to keep track of your prostate? What are normal levels and what levels should I be concerned with? Should people who get TRT get rectals every 6 months or so? Just wondering...

[HeadDoc]

here's a good overview. If you start HRT/TRT it does make sense to test PSA and DRE before starting. Prostate cancer needs to be ruled out before starting. Seeing how your prostate responds to the testosterone is important once you start. Keeping tact of the estrodial is likewize important.

[farmerjohn]

I have had mine checked annually since on TRT along with a DRE. I think Dr. Shippen told me elevated Estrogen was more of a danger to getting prostate cancer than bringing your T levels back up so like HeadDoc said, keep an eye on the Estrogen while on TRT.

[JanSz]

Originally Posted by farmerjohn

I think Dr. Shippen told me elevated Estrogen was more of a danger to getting prostate cancer than bringing your T levels back up so like HeadDoc said, keep an eye on the Estrogen while on TRT.

John Crisler, DO, recomends testing Estrogen using “ultrasensitive” assay for males

I never heard about this additional requirement, I do not see any comments of this type on my Estrogen test results, does that mean I have to disregard what my blood work says about my estrogen levels?
I am somewhat worried.

JanSz

[farmerjohn]

If I understood his post right, I think pmgammer18 said on another thread that the sensitive test is needed if you E2 level is below 20.....otherwise the reuslts will just show <20. If this is true then you dont really have to worry about it because its high E2 that is the problem for the prostate and high would be well over 20, probably above 50 or so.

[DaVinci2]

Originally Posted by farmerjohn

If I understood his post right, I think pmgammer18 said on another thread that the sensitive test is needed if you E2 level is below 20.....otherwise the reuslts will just show <20. If this is true then you dont really have to worry about it because its high E2 that is the problem for the prostate and high would be well over 20, probably above 50 or so.

I think my estrogen is at 73...

[farmerjohn]

Is that Estradiol? If so, you definitely need to bring it down.

[DaVinci2]

Yes, estradiol. How would I bring it down? What if it stays that high?

[pmgamer18]

Originally Posted by DaVinci2

Yes, estradiol. How would I bring it down? What if it stays that high?

Gee you are about as high as I was. I tryed a lot of meds with my Dr. and otc supplements. Then I got my Dr. to try arimidex first we tryed .5 mgs of one half a one mg. pill everyother day for 4 weeks did a test and nothing. So I must have been converting a lot of my T meds onto E2. So for the next 4 weeks we did .5 mgs. everyday. and in about 2 weeks my E2 came down from 90 to 24 my ED got 80% better, I had a low pain in my groin with slow voiding, had panic attacks, rashs, and trouble reaching an orgasm with loss of libido all of this gone. So high E2 was doing a job in me.
I stayed on .5 mgs and went to low so we lower it and kept lower it until I was doing 1/4 of a pill every 5 days and still was going to low. Going to low is just as bad as to high.
After talking to David Z I tryed Indolplex/DIM started on one tablet a day and in less then a week I got morning wood back after not having them for 35 yrs. I did dam good on just one half a tablet a day. But still had a problem with a bad rash off and on.
http://www.ritecare.com/prodsheets/PHY-15336.html
Today I use Arimidex it works the best and no more rash. Some men do 1/4 of a pill every 7 days a don't go to low.

[DaVinci2]

Originally Posted by pmgamer18

Gee you are about as high as I was. I tryed a lot of meds with my Dr. and otc supplements. Then I got my Dr. to try arimidex first we tryed .5 mgs of one half a one mg. pill everyother day for 4 weeks did a test and nothing. So I must have been converting a lot of my T meds onto E2. So for the next 4 weeks we did .5 mgs. everyday. and in about 2 weeks my E2 came down from 90 to 24 my ED got 80% better, I had a low pain in my groin with slow voiding, had panic attacks, rashs, and trouble reaching an orgasm with loss of libido all of this gone. So high E2 was doing a job in me.
I stayed on .5 mgs and went to low so we lower it and kept lower it until I was doing 1/4 of a pill every 5 days and still was going to low. Going to low is just as bad as to high.
After talking to David Z I tryed Indolplex/DIM started on one tablet a day and in less then a week I got morning wood back after not having them for 35 yrs. I did dam good on just one half a tablet a day. But still had a problem with a bad rash off and on.
http://www.ritecare.com/prodsheets/PHY-15336.html
Today I use Arimidex it works the best and no more rash. Some men do 1/4 of a pill every 7 days a don't go to low.

I'm not sure I'm suffering from any of those symptoms....my libido is definitely there now and it's killing me I can do anything about it for 3 days (Getting my soldiers tested). What is ED? Would you recommend something like .5grams a week for the first few weeks until a new test comes in?

[pmgamer18]

Originally Posted by DaVinci2

I'm not sure I'm suffering from any of those symptoms....my libido is definitely there now and it's killing me I can do anything about it for 3 days (Getting my soldiers tested). What is ED? Would you recommend something like .5grams a week for the first few weeks until a new test comes in?

You mean .5mgs. yes you can try this but once a week if your this high may not do anything for months. Better to try .25 mgs. 3 x's a week this keeps a little in your blood and brings you down slow. If you try this and lose your moning wood or you can't get it up this is ED. Then you need to stop taking it you went go low. Stop and when this comes back go back on it but do less.

[farmerjohn]

ED = erectile dysfunction. It does sound like you need to bring you Estradiol down. Arimidex will work, or you can try less agressive methods like DIM and zinc suplements. There are other Rx's for it too. I would suggest bringing it down even if it does not effect your libido. From what Dr. Shippen says, its really bad for you to have it that high.

[pmgamer18]

Originally Posted by farmerjohn

ED = erectile dysfunction. It does sound like you need to bring you Estradiol down. Arimidex will work, or you can try less agressive methods like DIM and zinc suplements. There are other Rx's for it too. I would suggest bringing it down even if it does not effect your libido. From what Dr. Shippen says, its really bad for you to have it that high.

Here is what Dr. Shippen says.

Eugene Shippen, M.D. (co-author of The Testosterone Syndrome, 1998) provided extensive evidence documenting the pathology of the testosterone deficiency syndrome in men. Some excerpts follow from a lecture presented by Dr. Shippen at the American Academy for Anti-Aging Medicine Conference in December 1998:

First, testosterone is not just a "sex hormone." It should be seen as a "total body hormone," affecting every cell in the body. The changes seen in aging, such as the loss of lean body mass, the decline in energy, strength, and stamina, unexplained depression, and decrease in sexual sensation and performance, are all directly related to testosterone deficiency. Degenerative diseases such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, and hypertension are all directly or indirectly linked to testosterone decline (220-223). Secondly, testosterone also functions as a pro-hormone. Local tissue conversion to estrogens, dihydrotestosterone (DHT), or other active metabolites plays an important part in cellular physiology.
Excess estrogen seems to be the culprit in prostate enlargement. Low testosterone levels are in fact associated with more aggressive prostate cancer (201, 205, 224-229). While fear of prostate cancer keeps many men from testosterone replacement, it is in fact testosterone deficiency that leads to the pathology that favors the development of prostate cancer.
Testosterone improves cellular bioenergetics. It acts as a cellular energizer. Since testosterone increases the metabolic rate and aerobic metabolism, it also dramatically improves glucose metabolism and lowers insulin resistance (76, 80, 230).
Another myth is that testosterone is bad for the heart. Actually, low testosterone correlates with heart disease more reliably than does high cholesterol (19, 231). Testosterone is the most powerful cardiovascular protector for men. Testosterone strengthens the heart muscle (232); there are more testosterone receptors in the heart than in any other muscle. Testosterone lowers LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol (69, 81, 111) and improves every cardiac risk factor. It has been shown to improve or eliminate arrhythmia and angina (9, 106, 113-115, 233, 266). Testosterone replacement is the most underutilized important treatment for heart disease.
Testosterone shines as a blood thinner, preventing blood clots (32). Testosterone also helps prevent colon cancer (235, 236).
Previous research on testosterone used the wrong form of replacement. Injections result in initial excess of testosterone, with conversion of excess to estrogens. Likewise, total testosterone is often measured instead of free testosterone, the bioavailable form. Some studies do not last long enough to show improvement. For instance, it may take six months to a year before the genital tissue fully recovers from atrophy caused by testosterone deficiency, and potency is restored.
Physicians urgently need to be educated about the benefits of testosterone and the delicate balance between androgens (testosterone) and estrogens. Each individual has his or her own pattern of hormone balance; this indicates that hormone replacement should be individualized and carefully monitored.

[Sunkist]

There is becomming a major question about testing for Prostate Specific Antigen. It goes to epidemiology and specificity and sensitivity, or IOW false positives and false negatives. WTS, I still test but I do believe symptoms are more important. I test to protect my physican if he gets hassled for TRT... and that does happen.