Taking back my body

Michifan

About 5 years ago I started having increased anxiety and depression - seemingly caused by stress - but a doctor wanted to check my hormones and I was in the high 90s (which is really, really low). At the time I was 6'0 and weighed about 225. I had been running and finished a couple half and one full marathons - so while I wasn't thin, I was fit enough to run marathons.

Over the past few years, I got more sedentary and noticed some weight gain. But then the last few years I ballooned up to 305. My hormone levels were still low and I suspected that my body was turning the extra testosterone into estrogine (which was confirmed in a blood test).

I've always had a slow metabolism - it allowed me to do more strength training and endurance exercise when I was younger - but I didn't really respect how little I really needed to eat.

Anyway after topping 300, I decided that I was done gaining weight and I needed to drop to 185 as a goal. I cut my daily calories to 700 - which is primarily keeping my carbs to about 40 (mainly green vegetables), fat to 16 (mainly fish oils and natural fats) and my protein to about 105 (lean poultry & fish). I'm about 20 pounds down after a few weeks, my energy is amazing and I'm now up to 4.5 miles walking (20.5 minute pace) each day.

My wife is a dietician and I am working with my endocrinologist to make sure that I am not harming myself with this low calorie diet. I am kind of amazed how "easy" it is. I have a dull hunger - but no weakness, irritability or feel light headed. My blood pressure is well within normal and according to my fitbit scale, I'm losing fat and holding/increasing the lean weight. In fact it shows that I have 175 of lean mass - which I think is too high but its been consistent every single day.

My testosterone levels have shot up as my body is no longer storing them and now I'm getting a rush of hormones that were probably trapped in my body. I still don't know why my Testosterone was so low - and I'm hoping that my new endocrinologist will do something more than just throw more testosterone at me - because that didn't seem to solve any real problem.

Jim_Barteck

Andropause is a real thing, and it's likely that's the culprit behind your low testosterone. The fact is that *most* men over 40 have low testosterone because our bodies just don't produce the same amounts as we did when we were younger.

Low testosterone leads to depression, weight gain, loss of muscle mass, irritability, difficulty sleeping, etc. To make matters worse, obesity also causes a drop in testosterone, so there's often a vicious cycle of losing muscle mass and gaining weight causing obesity which causes a further drop in testosterone, rinse and repeat until you're running on empty.

The good news is that it can almost always be reversed/treated. The first step is the important one you're already taking: losing the weight. In addition to the various delivery methods of testosterone, there's also clomiphene. It was originally FDA approved as a fertility drug for women, but they subsequently found out it boosts testosterone in men without the potential side effects of testicle shrinkage and infertility which can accompany testosterone therapy.

Clomiphene, used in this manner, is considered "off-label," so your insurance company won't pay for it. However, it's available inexpensively at your local Wal-Mart pharmacy. Ask your endocrinologist about possibly using that instead of testosterone therapy if you're looking for an alternative.

(You can Google clomiphene to see the studies backing this up, print them and bring them into your doctor if he's not personally familiar with the alternative although it's been in use for more than a decade so s/he should be.)

Michifan

Thanks!

It's sad but I am almost hoping there was a small and easily removable tumor around the pituitary that is causing this. I listen to the radio and it seems everybody is slinging testosterone. It's frustrating when you are taking the maxium dosage your doctor is comfortable with (and I'm comfortable with) and getting above 200 was a highpoint.

The weight loss has caused it to increase quickly - but at some point I'll be back to the same weight I was when I was first diagnosed and I won't have the weight loss alone to keep my levels up.

I appreciate the comments.