Hello again -- Lab results 3 months post-HRT

[Sonny]

Hi Everyone:

I hope you're all doing well. I've been off of HRT for about 4 months...long story. The doc wanted to keep an eye on my levels for a few months. This new group of tests is a little different and incorporates some values that are new to me. Can anyone help decode?

Testosterone, Free and Weakly Bound:
Albumim: 4.7 (3.8-5.0)
SHBG: 15 (13-71)
Testosterone, Total: 370 (241-827)
Testoserone, Free: 115 (34-194)
Testosterone, Fr and Wk BND: 247 (84-402)

Endocrinology:
Testosterone, Total: 289 (241-827)
Luteinizing Hormone: 4.4 (1.5-9.3)
Estradiol: 28 (13-54)
DHT: Pending (25-75)

I'm confused by double-listing of Total Testosterone with differing values. (??)

I've been feeling pretty good...my only complaint is libido is non-existent. Could be the Lithium or the Klonopin I take, so I'm gonna try to work it from that angle.

Cheers,
Sonny

[morepain]

that does seem weird, bump for swale on that. Looks like you may have some anxiety issues? Klonipin killed my sex drive but when i was on it it also saved my life (severe anxiety coupled with major depressive episode). Depending on what your doctor says i would try to wean off when he feels it is safe. Also reading from the Life extension foundation reccomends testosterone be in teh upper 1/3 of the normal range and estradiol be in the lower 1/3 of the normal range. I know for me getting my estrogen level in check did the most for fixing my anxiety problem and i was able to discontinue the Klonipin, although i do keep them on hand for emergency.

[Sonny]

morepain: Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I've had problems with anxiety for about 6 years. I started the lithium/klonopin combo about 5 years ago and didn't really have any libido issues until about 2 years ago. I've been slowly trying to wean myself off of it. I was at 1mg/night...have been able to get down to .6mg/night. I'm trying to drop it by .1mg/night every month.

The differing Total Testosterone numbers almost makes me think that the two tests were run on different days? The "performing site" noted for the two results is not the same.

Sonny

[mranak]

Low SHBG for sure, which is why your free and bioavilable testosterone levels are about midrange. Thus, you shouldn't be concerned with total testosterone being a bit low.

[toc67guru]

check DHT levels when they come back also.

[Sonny]

Ok, finally got the rest of the results:

Testosterone, Free and Weakly Bound:
Albumim: 4.7 (3.8-5.0)
SHBG: 15 (13-71)
Testosterone, Total: 370 (241-827)
Testoserone, Free: 115 (34-194)
Testosterone, Fr and Wk BND: 247 (84-402)

Endocrinology:
Testosterone, Total: 289 (241-827)
Luteinizing Hormone: 4.4 (1.5-9.3)
Estradiol: 28 (13-54)
DHT: 22 L (25-75)

I think the low DHT is the culprit in the lack of libido. When libido is affected, so are things like ability to concentrate...I kind of think they are tied together.

I guess the most logical way to boost this would be to use a Test preparation that favors DHT...like Androgel?

I'll do another round of labs before I make any changes. I was hoping that I'd be able to do well on the psych meds alone, but I don't feel that they are doing enough. I don't think they can do enough if there's an underlying problem in need of addressing.

I responded well to Selegiline, too...but it did noticeably raise my E2.

Sonny