My Dr. Appt. tomorrow.....TRT guys in here please.

[BoneDaddy]

So tomorrow I have an appt at a local Dr.'s office that is 1 of those premium, for men, by men men's health type places. I don't know how else to describe it. (link is Erectile Dysfunction, Low Testosterone - Charlotte & Raleigh - Vitality Health Services ). I'm hitting this place up because it is taking me forever to get in to see my regular doc and I have some immediate concerns, primarily the possibility of low T and Thyroid issues. This place will take bloods tomorrow and the lab is on site so I get an immediate 'diagnosis' of sorts. We know the usual things to ask for lab-wise for Low T, but for thyroid I've come up with this:

TSH
Free T4
Free T3
Reverse T3
Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPOAb)
Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TgAb)

I'm also going to ask that E and E2 and such be checked. Can any of you guys chime in and maybe suggest anything to ask or have checked while I'm there. Never really been down this road before and in my attempt at this comeback, shit just isn't moving at nearly the pace it used to or even remotely close.

[Jelisej]

Bro' you cannot just check thyroid, as thyroid is just a part of endocrine system and is very closely related with adrenals and together they create "metabolic rate"
also if anything goes wrong with your body- thyroid has to "slow down" reason being to reduce "damage" and if you test your thyroid hormones it will show low levels- but actually there is nothing wrong with thyroid
likewise your blood can show good levels- and you will asume that its all fine with thyroid but if there is not enough cortisol- that thyroid hormones are not being used up, so basically you are hypothyroid

so basically you have to test adrenals, thyroid and sex hormones to see whats really going on


Thyroid labs you plan to do for thyroid are good.
If you add these, we will get lot of good info


Progesteron Prolactin E2
Cortisol LH Total testosterone
ACTH SHBG Albumin or free test.

And checking fasting insulin may be good idea

[BoneDaddy]

Bro' you cannot just check thyroid, as thyroid is just a part of endocrine system and is very closely related with adrenals and together they create "metabolic rate"
also if anything goes wrong with your body- thyroid has to "slow down" reason being to reduce "damage" and if you test your thyroid hormones it will show low levels- but actually there is nothing wrong with thyroid
likewise your blood can show good levels- and you will asume that its all fine with thyroid but if there is not enough cortisol- that thyroid hormones are not being used up, so basically you are hypothyroid

so basically you have to test adrenals, thyroid and sex hormones to see whats really going on


Thyroid labs you plan to do for thyroid are good.
If you add these, we will get lot of good info


Progesteron Prolactin E2
Cortisol LH Total testosterone
ACTH SHBG Albumin or free test.

Thanks Jel, as always you are a damn wealth of knowledge. Adding those to the list.

[Jelisej]

Also- make sure you're feeling ok before blood tests, if you had some illness recently better skip it for a week or two, make sure you get a decent sleep during night, make sure you're awake for an hour before tests, and in mean time have around two glasses of water to be properly hydrated to get more accurate results
obviously make sure you dont drink coffee, also eat 3 hrs before sleep latest,
Good luck bro'

[ryhigh]

Intelligent man is very intelligent

[weekend]

Jel's got it!

[burlyman30]

J knows his stuff... I don't really have anything to add to the list of tests beyond what you and J came up with.

I will say this, though: those TRT clinics make a lot of money by getting guys on TRT. My friend went in with a level of 550 (considered in middle of range), and they jacked him up to over 1000 with a full TRT protocol. He goes back every 4 months to get testosterone pellets implanted and it costs him pretty dearly between that and the ancillary meds. So go in there with both eyes wide open.

[BoneDaddy]

J knows his stuff... I don't really have anything to add to the list of tests beyond what you and J came up with.

I will say this, though: those TRT clinics make a lot of money by getting guys on TRT. My friend went in with a level of 550 (considered in middle of range), and they jacked him up to over 1000 with a full TRT protocol. He goes back every 4 months to get testosterone pellets implanted and it costs him pretty dearly between that and the ancillary meds. So go in their with both eyes wide open.

Yeah, the wife and I have had several long conversations about this. This particular clinic seems to want to cater to the upper class or people with disposible income so we are both leaning a little cynical. I've promised her not to make any decisions or start any treatments tomorrow. I'm not doing that without fully talking to either my personal Dr or an endo. I'm asking for those particular panels and I'm asking for a copy when I leave of all my results. It'll be fun (I think? lol0 to post them here and discuss, too. And that pellet shit? Not for me....if I actually need TRT I'll stick to old school, thanks. lol

[burlyman30]

The implanted pellets aren't required, of course. It's a convenience because its only 3 times a year. I do know he pays a lot for his ancillary drugs like hcg, and his AI. Through the nose. I get my stuff at a fraction of those prices. And of course injectable testosterone is significantly cheaper (I pay $10 for 10ml). It is readily available at any pharmacy and there is no surgical procedure necessary.

[BoneDaddy]

The implanted pellets aren't required, of course. It's a convenience because its only 3 times a year. I do know he pays a lot for his ancillary drugs like hcg, and his AI. Through the nose. I get my stuff at a fraction of those prices. And of course injectable testosterone is significantly cheaper (I pay $10 for 10ml). It is readily available at any pharmacy and there is no surgical procedure necessary.

Yeah, it's going to be interesting to see what insurance covers and what it doesn't......