Seeking Feedback on Atypical Lab Results

[drkinsey]

I have been on the following protocol for the last 6 months:

Testosterone Cypionate - 100 mg/week
Deca Durabolin - 100 mg/week
Oxandrin - 10 mg/day
hcg - 500 units 3x/week
Arimidex - 2 mg/week
Growth Hormone - 2.4 units daily to treat osteoporosis
Armour Thyroid - 60 mg/day

Current health problems: hypogonadism, osteoporosis, rhabdomyolysis with potentially an underlying muscular dystrophy, GERD, hypothyroidism, hypertension, high cholesterol (allergic to statin drugs due to rhabdo)

Here are the latest blood test results from Quest:

Total T 377 (5 days after injection)
Estradiol 14 (13-54)
SHBG 4 (15-49) This is the first time that SHNG has fallen below 12
PSA - 1.2
TSH - 3.54
DHT 46 (25-75)
DHEA - S 383(25-240)
IGF-1 211 (86-220)
C- Reactive Protein - 1.16 (less than 0.8
Glucose (fasting) - 84 (65-99)
Creatine Kinase 9020 (less than 200) This is due to rhabdomyolysis muscle disease
ALT - 100 (9-60) This is elevated due to rhabdo rather than liver disease
AST - 127 (10-35) See above comment
GGT - 25 (3-95) This test is a more specific indicator of liver disease that either ALT or AST. It is said that ALT/AST test lacks specificity to properly diagnose liver disease.

Total Chol - 216
Trig. - 104
HDL - 24
LDL- 171
Chol/HDL ratio - 9.0

[zkt]

At first glance - youve got liver disease and youre taking steroids ?
Did I miss something or did you ?

[drkinsey]

Originally Posted by zkt

At first glance - youve got liver disease and youre taking steroids ?
Did I miss something or did you ?

Yes - you apparently did not read my entire note. First, I do not have liver disease. Elevated ALT and AST are not NECESSARILY an indicator of liver disease. As I stated, they lack SPECIFICITY with respect to the diagnosis of liver disease. GGT, on the other hand, has high specificity in its prediction of liver disease. A test with a high specificity has a low Type I (false positive) error rate. Both ALT and AST are elevated when muscle enzymes (i.e, Creatine Kinase) are elevated due to rhabdo. Only a small percentage of doctors understand these distinctions.

Second, your comment that I am "taking steroids" is glib and implies that I am taking these drugs for recreational reasons. In my original note, I stated that I have hypogonadism and a number of other serious diseases. (Osteoporosis is a serious disease that is associated with a high mortality rate for men.)

[drkinsey]

Originally Posted by drkinsey

I have been on the following protocol for the last 6 months:

Testosterone Cypionate - 100 mg/week
Deca Durabolin - 100 mg/week
Oxandrin - 10 mg/day
hcg - 500 units 3x/week
Arimidex - 2 mg/week
Growth Hormone - 2.4 units daily to treat osteoporosis
Armour Thyroid - 60 mg/day

Current health problems: hypogonadism, osteoporosis, rhabdomyolysis with potentially an underlying muscular dystrophy, GERD, hypothyroidism, hypertension, high cholesterol (allergic to statin drugs due to rhabdo)

Here are the latest blood test results from Quest:

Total T 377 (5 days after injection)
Estradiol 14 (13-54)
SHBG 4 (15-49) This is the first time that SHNG has fallen below 12
PSA - 1.2
TSH - 3.54
DHT 46 (25-75)
DHEA - S 383(25-240)
IGF-1 211 (86-220)
C- Reactive Protein - 1.16 (less than 0.8
Glucose (fasting) - 84 (65-99)
Creatine Kinase 9020 (less than 200) This is due to rhabdomyolysis muscle disease
ALT - 100 (9-60) This is elevated due to rhabdo rather than liver disease
AST - 127 (10-35) See above comment
GGT - 25 (3-95) This test is a more specific indicator of liver disease that either ALT or AST. It is said that ALT/AST test lacks specificity to properly diagnose liver disease.

Total Chol - 216
Trig. - 104
HDL - 24
LDL- 171
Chol/HDL ratio - 9.0

Update: I notified my neurologist that my CK levels are now at a critical level. Last year, I was hospitalized when CK reached the 10,000 level.

[zkt]

Yoy obviously kmow more about your contition than I do. And you`re right in that when I glanced over your post the first thing that caught my eye was the steroid use and bad liver numbers so I commented on it. Ive seen people use steriods with liver disease. Sure didnt mean any disrespect and sorry I havent been able to help bro.
Re. the hypercholesterolemia: can see why statins are contraindiated for sure. Have you tried gemfibrozil to slow down the triglycerides and Zetia to limit dietary intake ?
Curious as to which BP med youre on.
Re. the osteoporosis: you probably knbow that testosterone will help the bone density. Are you taking Alendronate or similar ?
Wahat is the reason for the AAS ? Trying to replace the lost nuscle ?

[drkinsey]

Originally Posted by zkt

Yoy obviously kmow more about your contition than I do. And you`re right in that when I glanced over your post the first thing that caught my eye was the steroid use and bad liver numbers so I commented on it. Ive seen people use steriods with liver disease. Sure didnt mean any disrespect and sorry I havent been able to help bro.
Re. the hypercholesterolemia: can see why statins are contraindiated for sure. Have you tried gemfibrozil to slow down the triglycerides and Zetia to limit dietary intake ?
Curious as to which BP med youre on.
Re. the osteoporosis: you probably knbow that testosterone will help the bone density. Are you taking Alendronate or similar ?
Wahat is the reason for the AAS ? Trying to replace the lost nuscle ?

(1) I was also on Zetia, but it also contributed to my rhabdo. Zetia is not a statin, but Dr. Paul Phillips at the Scripps Institute was the first to report on the dangers of Zetia recently. I have not tried Gemfibrozil yet.

(2) I am currently taking hydrochlorothiazide and Cozaar for blood pressure.

(3) I became very sick when I was put on Actonel and Fosamax. Basically these drugs do very little to improve bone healthy. They slowdown the breakdown of bone tissue but do not create any new bone. The bottom line is that the bone over time becomes slightly harder but more brittle. The most promising treatment is Forteo, a form of parathyroid hormone that addresses the root cause of bone loss. The 4 parathyroid glands (no relationship to the thyroid gland, by the way) regulate the rate at which calcium is extracted from the bones to meet the body's requirements for this mineral.

(3) I am on Deca to minimize the amount of Testosterone I need to maintain muscle mass. While under the care (or misguidance) of the endocrinologists, my weight plummeted to around 154, and at the same time, my body fat ballooned to 33.8 percent. Yes - I became nearly anorexic by one measure yet I was clinically obese according to body fat percentage standards. Today I weigh 215 pounds and my body fat is at 11.5 percent.

[zkt]

I`v believed fosamax was more or less useless too but my wife feels better taking something. Thanks I`ll look into Forteo.
Are there advantages of Deca over T ? Dont know much about it but have done considerable reading on T. Numerous studies point out its positive effect on osteoporisis.
Hope you stick around bro. You might teach us something and , who knows, maybe someone will be able to do the same for you.

[richyrich]

good lord, how do you feel with a CK over 9,000. I once had to be hospitalized with a CK level of only 800 from medication induced rahbodmolysis. it was an anti-depressant called Remeron several years ago. now that statins are common and are also common in causing rhabdo, so doctors are now aware of it.

after the third night on this medication, i woke up with my legs partially paralyzed. they felt like jello and I could not keep myself up very good and every muscle and joint hurt to high hell. i went to the ER and the doctors were like what is wrong with you. can you imagine a large bodybuilder type guy hobbling in and saying my legs are like jello and I dont know why. they looked at me like i was crazy. for hours they couldnt find anything wrong with me until the labwork came back. then i was admitted for a few days. i should of sued the pharma for their poison.

anyway, had to rant. sorry, i have no answers for you.

[drkinsey]

Originally Posted by richyrich

good lord, how do you feel with a CK over 9,000. I once had to be hospitalized with a CK level of only 800 from medication induced rahbodmolysis. it was an anti-depressant called Remeron several years ago. now that statins are common and are also common in causing rhabdo, so doctors are now aware of it.

after the third night on this medication, i woke up with my legs partially paralyzed. they felt like jello and I could not keep myself up very good and every muscle and joint hurt to high hell. i went to the ER and the doctors were like what is wrong with you. can you imagine a large bodybuilder type guy hobbling in and saying my legs are like jello and I dont know why. they looked at me like i was crazy. for hours they couldnt find anything wrong with me until the labwork came back. then i was admitted for a few days. i should of sued the pharma for their poison.

anyway, had to rant. sorry, i have no answers for you.

Wow - people react differently to elevated CKs. I am tired and fatigued, and every joint in my body aches.

What state are you from? I am from Michigan, and Michigan is the only state in the US where a consumer cannot sue a drug company under any circumstance. I believe that the Pravachol statin and Zetia combination was the proximate cause of my rhabdo.

I agree that ant-depressants can cause serious life-threating side effects. In December 2005, I was forced to take Zoloft after I literally lost the ability to sleep. I went several days without sleep - a condition that is far more serious than the typical "insomnia" a doctor sees his in his practice. Unfortunately, traditional medicine is not equipped to deal with these statistically unlikely cases, and the problem was said to be due to a serotonin deficiency. Without doing any lab tests or taking into account my very complex history, the clueless doctor (a shrink) prescribed what turned out to be a very toxic substance. During the 6 months that I was on Zoloft, I suffered an altered form of consciousness know as depersonalization and derealization -- a nightmarish hell where time and space are distorted and the person experiences life as if he is sitting in a theater observing himself perform on a stage. Never did I expect that a prescription drug would induce a mental state similar to an "LSD trip."

[cpeil2]

Originally Posted by drkinsey

Elevated ALT and AST are not NECESSARILY an indicator of liver disease.

Also, the elevations are fairly mild.

[cpeil2]

Originally Posted by drkinsey

(1) I was also on Zetia, but it also contributed to my rhabdo. Zetia is not a statin, but Dr. Paul Phillips at the Scripps Institute was the first to report on the dangers of Zetia recently. I have not tried Gemfibrozil yet.

.

Since statins can cause rhabdo, I would think that pre-exisiting rhabdo would be an absolute contraindication to their use.

[richyrich]

Originally Posted by drkinsey

Wow - people react differently to elevated CKs. I am tired and fatigued, and every joint in my body aches.

What state are you from? I am from Michigan, and Michigan is the only state in the US where a consumer cannot sue a drug company under any circumstance. I believe that the Pravachol statin and Zetia combination was the proximate cause of my rhabdo.

I agree that ant-depressants can cause serious life-threating side effects. In December 2005, I was forced to take Zoloft after I literally lost the ability to sleep. I went several days without sleep - a condition that is far more serious than the typical "insomnia" a doctor sees his in his practice. Unfortunately, traditional medicine is not equipped to deal with these statistically unlikely cases, and the problem was said to be due to a serotonin deficiency. Without doing any lab tests or taking into account my very complex history, the clueless doctor (a shrink) prescribed what turned out to be a very toxic substance. During the 6 months that I was on Zoloft, I suffered an altered form of consciousness know as depersonalization and derealization -- a nightmarish hell where time and space are distorted and the person experiences life as if he is sitting in a theater observing himself perform on a stage. Never did I expect that a prescription drug would induce a mental state similar to an "LSD trip."

I'm in California. It wasnt a pleasant experience at all. They pushed so many IV bags through me to flush my body out. I pissed on the every half hour for two days. Nobody wanted to believe anything was wrong with me - the doctors - until the labs came back. Discriminating against me because I look big and healthy. Even when I went back to my psychiatrist a week later and told her what happened, she didnt want to believe it. She said she never heard of it happening. I told I dont care If you havent heard, it happend and look at my records. After some long searching, I found that Remeron can cause it and I had to find it in the pharma companies research trials. It has happened. Anyway, this was all with Kaiser and I am long gone from them. They could all kiss my a$$.

[drkinsey]

Originally Posted by richyrich

I'm in California. It wasnt a pleasant experience at all. They pushed so many IV bags through me to flush my body out. I pissed on the every half hour for two days. Nobody wanted to believe anything was wrong with me - the doctors - until the labs came back. Discriminating against me because I look big and healthy. Even when I went back to my psychiatrist a week later and told her what happened, she didnt want to believe it. She said she never heard of it happening. I told I dont care If you havent heard, it happend and look at my records. After some long searching, I found that Remeron can cause it and I had to find it in the pharma companies research trials. It has happened. Anyway, this was all with Kaiser and I am long gone from them. They could all kiss my a$$.

Don't trust psychiatrists -they practice a toxic form of medicine and cause more harm than good. For some reason, those who practice this so-called "medical specialty" feel that they are superior to other doctors and don't need to conform to standard medical procedures. When was the last time you heard of a psychiatrist running blood tests or researching a patient's medical history before writing a script for Prozac or Zyprexa? I will go a step further and state they neither adhere to nor subscribe to the scientific method. Any attempt by a patient to question their methods or motives is used against the patient. The patient is accused of being paranoid or compulsive or hysterical, and is never taken seriously. After all, "psychiatric" patients are "different" from other patients. Their problems are "psychological" (whatever the hell that means!) and they are not worthy of being treated with dignity and respect.

I maintain that so called depressive illness are NOT primary illnesses; rather, they are secondary illnesses - secondary to hormonal, vitamin, and mineral deficiencies. With that said, I stand firm in my belief that the practice of psychiatry is analogous to the practice of alchemy - both are based on pseudo- science and both should be shunned!