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[Jelisej]

I'm confused, don't know where to go from here. Most doctors dismissed me, only an orthomolecular gave enough attention to order these.
Any suggestions of what king of doctor I should look for?

Well, I guess you need to start fom doctor of general practice, I dont really know what all this results mean, why is you ferritin high- it could be "metabolic syndrome", maybe something with your intestines or kidney problem or some other inflammation, and high b12 also suggest similar- it could all be just "one of those things", but its better to be cautious.

Anyway, after these results we can conclude that there is indeed lot of work to be done, and problems to be sorted and doing so should result in considerable improvement of your general wellbeing.

[ToniBR]

Should I continue lifting? I think the first thing I'm gonna do is increase my water intake drastically.

CORTISOL morning: 28,1 [6,2 - 19,4] µg/dL

[ToniBR]

Quick update.

Talked to a doctor today. He said my insulin and glucose are spiking too high and that might lead to future diabetes (runs in the family). He also said that the high cortisol in blunting the insulin action, so I'll need to follow some kind o diet to address that (still don't know which one). My thyroid is optimal either, with cortisol problably blocking the action of the hormones and producing too much reverse t3.

Funny enough I have some of my libido back and good erections, but still very fatigated a HUGE brain fog. Also muscle wastage, cold, pot belly digestion issues, anxiety, insomnia...

[Jelisej]

I think there is more to that than what your doc says, but what its impossible to say- cortisol, thyroid and some other hormone levels looks like body is tryinhg to fight something off (or at least it looks to me like that), one of the mechanism when body is under some kind of illness, infection etc is to reduce t3 (and hence metabolic rate) in order to slow down damage, also very often body uses cortisol to fight of infections but high cortisol later has downsides, among other it reduces testosterone levels etc,
another possibility is that your adrenal gland is secreting cortisol or/and other hormones (like adrenal hyperplasia, or small benign tumor secretin cortisol) which would also have cascading effect, for example both low and high cortisol will cause excessive aromatisation (which then lowers testosterone).
in any case further investigation is needed

not surprised that you have brain fog and are fatigued, the fact that you have some libido and good erection is nice surprise, if evertying is sorted you should improve in all these areas.

As conclusion, I would say at the moment effort should be directed towards genereal health, and hormones should be dealt with afterwards, tough I would expect lot of will improve by that time by itself.

[ToniBR]

I think there is more to that than what your doc says, but what its impossible to say- cortisol, thyroid and some other hormone levels looks like body is tryinhg to fight something off (or at least it looks to me like that), one of the mechanism when body is under some kind of illness, infection etc is to reduce t3 (and hence metabolic rate) in order to slow down damage, also very often body uses cortisol to fight of infections but high cortisol later has downsides, among other it reduces testosterone levels etc,
another possibility is that your adrenal gland is secreting cortisol (like adrenal hyperplasia, or small benign tumor secretin cortisol) which would also have cascading effect, for example both low and high cortisol will cause excessive aromatisation (which then lowers testosterone).
in any case further investigation is needed

not surprised that you have brain fog and are fatigued, the fact that you have some libido and good erection is nice surprise, if evertying is sorted you should improve in all these areas.

As conclusion, I would say at the moment effort should be directed towards genereal health, and hormones should be dealt with afterwards, tough I would expect lot of will improve by that time by itself.

Thanks, man. I already checked for hepatitis and hiv, all came back negative. Next step will be pathogen and parasites.

I think I have some libido and good erections because I always took good care of my body and maybe the defense mechanisms are still working good. I'm afraid that the long term stress burn them out.

Could it be the Finasteride caused such a stress that got me stuck in this loop? I surely freaked out when I found propecia help and that was a huge stress load, and the reduction in my ability to handle stress caused by propecia inhibition of key hormones and neurotransmitters might have aggravated it. Just theory, of course.

Well, I'll do my best here. Wait for the last tests, keep my diet clean with low GI carbs and remove possible allergenic foods. Might try to test for those too.

Thanks for now

[Jelisej]

Your plan seems good, wheter and how much of these problems are because of propecia- I dont know but I suspect that main culprit is somewhere else, and there is a big chance that most of propecia sides are gone by now;
what main problem is again I dont know, it looks to me that like your adrenal gland is secreting some hormones on its own (adrenal hyperplasia), but thats just my guess...
to me looks like your insulin/glucose is borderline, but you're still on "normal" side- your exercise and effort at keeping good diet definitely pays off, keep it going
and hpeflly you'll came across a good doc who will figure it out.

[ToniBR]

Your plan seems good, wheter and how much of these problems are because of propecia- I dont know but I suspect that main culprit is somewhere else, and there is a big chance that most of propecia sides are gone by now;
what main problem is again I dont know, it looks to me that like your adrenal gland is secreting some hormones on its own (adrenal hyperplasia), but thats just my guess...
to me looks like your insulin/glucose is borderline, but you're still on "normal" side- your exercise and effort at keeping good diet definitely pays off, keep it going
and hpeflly you'll came across a good doc who will figure it out.

My doctor works with bodybuilders and does hrt himself, so I might be in good hands. He also recognizes the importance of gut health and balance, so that is a plus. No wonder he asked for such extensive blood tests, something the most pfs sufferers never do.

My doctor did kid me saying that I had hulk's adrenals, but I hope they are just overworking and not congenital too big. I heard the dexamethasone treatment can actually slow them down, is that correct? Of course I'm not stupid to start taking such a powerful drug without proper assistance and monitoring, I'm just evaluating my options.

My gyno is still getting bigger. I had it previously from a steroid cycle, but now it's really awesome. Women are actually looking at me and feeling jealous. I tried to reverse it once with arimidex, letrozole and even exemestane with no success and even worsening while on the drug, even having all the sides of low estrogen. How is this even possible? Does that shines a light on any other underlying problem? Of course this is no concern right now, I can simply do a surgery once all this is over, but anyway I wonder...

Jelisej, if there is a heaven your place there is secure,
man. Lol. Thanks again, I'll post if anything new happens.

[Jelisej]

Dexamethasone is a dangerous stuff, sometimes some endos use it to test adrenal function, in normal patients it causes supression of adrenals (similar to pituary reaction when adding testosterone) with people with hyperplasia it does not (as its secretion is basically out of control of pituary)... And when these dexamethasone test are carried usually people feel very ill, sometimes they faint... So, definitely you dont want to mess with that,
as for gyno as I said earlier- your E2 is too high and thats main reason, and your hulks adrenals do play role in that (high aromatisation) also progesterone can raise prolactin that can cause bit more sensitivity and even milk execretion; only permanant solution there is surgery, really.
In mean time you may need to control E2, maybe even prolactin- but it needs to be done with cooperation with your doctor, otherwise it can alter blood results, misguide everyone and point all research in wrong direction, so you basically end up chasing your own tail (as lot of people do).
patience is your friend, especially now that you're on a right track.

[ToniBR]

Dexamethasone is a dangerous stuff, sometimes some endos use it to test adrenal function, in normal patients it causes supression of adrenals (similar like when adding testosterone) with people with hyperplasia it does not (as its secretion is basically out of control of pituary)... And when these dexamethasone test are carried usually people feel very ill, sometimes they faint... So, definitely you dont want to mess with that,
as for gyno as I said earlier- your E2 is too high and thats main reason, and your hulks adrenals do play role in that (high aromatisation) also progesterone can raise prolactin that can cause bit more sensitivity and even milk execretion; only permanant solution there is surgery, really.
In mean time you may need to control E2, maybe even prolactin- but it needs to be done with cooperation with your doctor, otherwise it can alter blood results, misguide everyone and point all research in wrong direction, so you basically end up chasing your own tail (as lot of people do).
patience is your friend, especially now that you're on a right track.

Sorry, my cellphone posted the same response twice and I could not see your last post. Do you mean that adding testosterone can actually lower my adrenals output?

Well, I won't be stupid to try to reverse my gyno with drugs. Been there, done that and only ended up worse. My prolactin is actually in the lower end, which actually surprised me. Maybe that's why I still have some libido?

I get to tell you, man, I'm really scared. Those studies finding overexpressed androgen receptors in people with PFS makes me wonder... Can I have that from two pills? Could the past use os steroids helped with that? Is there a way out? I don't understand much about this receptors thing. Just want to be healthy again and enjoy the little things in life. Sometimes I think that if I ever recover life will be like being on a very potent happyness drug. Sorry about the emotional post, it's been very hard to me. Thanks for the support.

[Jelisej]

"Do you mean that adding testosterone can actually lower my adrenals output? "
Actually, I did not express myself well, I edited that text.

"I get to tell you, man, I'm really scared. Those studies finding overexpressed androgen receptors in people with PFS makes me wonder... Can I have that from two pills? Could the past use os steroids helped with that? Is there a way out? I don't understand much about this receptors thing."

Cannot give you defintive and answer to that, probably no one can, but past is a past- you need to deal with present problems, and once you solved them you'll be better off that's for sure- how much no one knows
but I beleive once you fix present problems you'll be good enough

As for receptors- in reality no one knows that much about it, when scientists do research they use some specific equipment and do measurement in voltage (AFAIK)- so most of talk of recpetors is just a guessing game or sometimes even loads of rubbish
just deal with basics and you'll be good enough, leave science to scientists