Blood work help - Suffering from ED and no libido

[Nole98]

Over labor day my libido crashed to zero. This coincided with ED. A week later I had a barebones hormone test done - Estradiol 37 pg/ml, Prolactin 11.3 ng/ml, Testosterone 724 ng/dl, and SHBG 60.5 nmol/L. I started trying different Test/libido supplements over the next several weeks. I did experience varying degrees of improvement, but it was always fleeting. Finally, I went to an endocrinologist last week. I got some more bloodwork done.

Total testosterone 735 ng/dL
Free testosterone 104 pg/ml
TSH 2.53 uIU.mL
Free T4 0.83 ng/dL
Thyroid Perox AutoAb < 40
DHEA Sulfate 219 ug / dL
Cortisol AM 16.4 ug/dL
Prolactin 7.3 ng/mL
DHT 49 ng/dL
Estradiol 53 pg/mL
FSH 7.9 miU/mL
LH 6.2 mIU/mL.

The endo said that my estradiol level was just above normal which is likely caused by the high SHBG result from the test that I ordered. They had no endocrine cause for my symptoms. I find this hard to believe given my symptoms. Additional context…after the libido crash I started hitting the weights, doing HIIT and taking creatine. I feel strong, and I’m sleeping better than I have in awhile. I would sincerely appreciate alternative hypotheses to that of the endocrinologist.

 

[scoobydoo]

Have you tried dopamine boosting compounds or lowering estrogen? Some people are very sensitive to estrogen and even slight elevations cause cause limp ****
I have found that to be true for myself

 

[Nole98]

Have you tried dopamine boosting compounds or lowering estrogen? Some people are very sensitive to estrogen and even slight elevations cause cause limp ****
I have found that to be true for myself

I haven't. What dopamine boosting compounds do you suggest? How do I lower estrogen?

 

[scoobydoo]

I haven't. What dopamine boosting compounds do you suggest? How do I lower estrogen?

I would suggest looking around the forum but Haidut from idealabs makes some great supplements for both

 

[Rafe]

Your endo didn’t take the 2.53 TSH as anything significant because it’s within the average range for the general population today. The lab ranges he’s looking at tell him that.

Rafe rafing:
The view that prevails here is one that RP borrowed from Broda Barnes, a late 20thc doctor who found that the cause of a lot of degenerative disease was low thyroid function, causing low metabolic rate, lower core body temps, lower pulse rates.

It was Barnes’ idea that the general population was becoming more hypothyroid as time passed & it was handed down from generation to generation after the 1940s. He thought this was happening because antibiotics came into use then. The result of that was that people who otherwise would have been vulnerable to diseases that would have killed them, like TB, lived to reproduce.

He thought low temps, low metabolic rate caused a person to be more vulnerable to disease, biological destabilization, & death.

Rafe rafing less:
Anyway, most people in this forum would say symptoms like that would improve a lot with a change to a higher carb diet to stimulate thyroid production. If diet alone couldn’t do that then some people take thyroid supplements. It’s a journey. Some cool self-discovery. In the process you become more autonomous & you change your mind along the way.

Take a look at some of the RP food threads.

RP’s view has been that TSH should be lower than 1.0 as long as you feel good. I don’t know why I’m surprised anymore that RP is right. Every time I try something it works.

 

[Rafe]

Broda Barnes was right. Well, 150 yrs I don’t know. But temps going down is a thing:

Are Human Body Temperatures Cooling Down?

A new study finds that they have dropped, on average, over the past century and a half

www.scientificamerican.com

 

[Vanset]

did the libido crash coincide with something specific? a dietary change etc? it's weird for your libido to suddenly crash over one day period. you should think deeply about that day. what you did, ate and so on.

 

[Vanset]

also high shbg is protective against estradiol.

 

[Nole98]

did the libido crash coincide with something specific? a dietary change etc ?

It did! I tried to go vegan. I read that vegan diets can cause a spike to shbg, so I immediately stopped. Now, I eat whole foods - lots of leafy greens (up to a pound in the Vitamix), salmon, eggs, blueberries/ bananas, and whole grains in moderation.

 

[Nole98]

Broda Barnes was right. Well, 150 yrs I don’t know. But temps going down is a thing:

Are Human Body Temperatures Cooling Down?

A new study finds that they have dropped, on average, over the past century and a half

www.scientificamerican.com

This is interesting because my hands and feet get cold regularly. My t4 is so close to the lower limit that I hypothesize some mild form of hypothyroidism.

 

[Vanset]

also how are you feeling in general? energy? mental clarity? you said you sleep well

 

[Nole98]

also how are you feeling in general? energy? mental clarity? you said you sleep well

My energy levels are good. I get strange fleeting pains in my testicles. I had an ultrasound performed, and the urologist cleared me of anything serious such as cancer. At times I'm not as mentally quick, but I also stopped consuming caffeine. The improvement in my sleep (more than 6hrs/night) coincided with eliminating caffeine, so for now I'm going to stay away from coffee despite missing it.

 

[Vanset]

It did! I tried to go vegan. I read that vegan diets can cause a spike to shbg, so I immediately stopped. Now, I eat whole foods - lots of leafy greens (up to a pound in the Vitamix), salmon, eggs, blueberries/ bananas, and whole grains in moderation.

how long were you vegan before you started experiencing these symptoms? i doubt it's the shbg, but a vegan diet can be deficient in many thing and if you decide to go for something like that u need to track your nutrient intake via apps like cronometer.

depending on what your individual body requires and is used to, you may gave gone too low on protein or zinc. those are imo the most common deficiencies

 

[Nole98]

how long were you vegan before you started experiencing these symptoms? i doubt it's the shbg, but a vegan diet can be deficient in many thing and if you decide to go for something like that u need to track your nutrient intake via apps like cronometer.

depending on what your individual body requires and is used to, you may gave gone too low on protein or zinc. those are imo the most common deficiencies

It was 2 to 3 weeks at most because I stopped once I got those first test results back.

 

[Vanset]

what did you eat when you went vegan? did you track what u ate? it might be as simple as a bad reaction to a food u were eating. have u tried supplementing zinc?

 

[Nole98]

what did you eat when you went vegan? did you track what u ate? it might be as simple as a bad reaction to a food u were eating. have u tried supplementing zinc?

Yes, I take zinc picolinate 15mg every day. And, I stopped going vegan almost 2 months ago.

 

[Vanset]

Yes, I take zinc picolinate 15mg every day. And, I stopped going vegan almost 2 months ago.

in general a vegan diet is not optimal.

shbg is a market for insulin sensitivity/fasting insulin levels and liver health. it goes down with increased weight and liver secretion of shbg is impaired in fatty liver. you will improve your insulin sensitivity on a vegan diet a your fasting insulin devels will drop so your liver will secrete more shbg. still, this alone is not good enough argument for the diet.

 

[Vanset]

also tsh of 2.5 is on the higher end on normal, at least by the standards of people on this forum and by the standards of ray. did u eat significant amounts of raw greens on your vegan diet? like kale, bok choy etc?

 

[Nole98]

also tsh of 2.5 is on the higher end on normal, at least by the standards of people on this forum and by the standards of ray. did u eat significant amounts of raw greens on your vegan diet? like kale, bok choy etc?

Lots of broccoli and kale.

 

[Vanset]

Lots of broccoli and kale.

dont east them raw. cook them. those are very strong goitrogens, which interfere with your thyroid function in various way. try dropping them completely for now and see how you feel and if u don't want to do that then at least cook them. 15-20 min of boiling is enough.