Mid-life crisis man seeking guidance

[profwormbog]

Greetings! The title is actually a joke -- given my family history, I am likely way past the middle. I am new to the forum and have been trying to absorb as much info as possible and slowly adjusting my regimen for the past month. Below are my recent labs (hormone and lipid). Am waiting on additional test results for DHT and Estrogens but expect the E to be high since Prolactin is high, though sexual activity the night before the early AM fasting labs could have affected. We'll see... My progesterone was also high per the referred range, so have cut my pregnenolone dose in half for the time-being (50 mg to 25 mg daily). For the past few weeks, have been taking 2-3 drops Andro + 4-5 drops Pansterone daily.

Male, 46 yo, 6'4", 205 lbs. Borderline hypertension (120/85). Cardio 3x per week (treadmill), crunches and dumbbells 2-3x per week, Am slowly transitioning to a Peaty diet. Have cut out most meat and starch; added dairy, coffee, carrot salad, OJ+baking soda or magnesium carbonate. Have worked up to three large cups of coffee per day with 1% milk and sugar. I take theanine to help with caffeine tolerance. Also recently upped my Taurine from 2g to 4g/d and added Thiamine. Not happy with my Thyroid results. In March 2020, my TSH was 0.77 and has almost tripled in less than two years. Pretty sure my diet at that time was pretty PUFA-heavy. Bought some TyroMax but am reluctant to start taking Thyroid before trying other methods first. My Triglycerides are terrible, but were much worse (~300) three months ago so I think my cholesterol is headed in the right direction. My last CMP was in March. Had breakthrough COVID a month ago with mild cold-like symptoms that persisted for a few weeks. Took a cheap antibody test recently out of curiosity...needless to say, I won't be getting any booster.

LH 6.1 mIU/mL [1.7-8.6]
FSH 3.0 mIU/mL [1.5-12.4]
Testosterone 548 ng/dL [264-916]
Free Testosterone(Direct) 14.6 pg/mL [6.8-21.5]
Hemoglobin A1c 5.3 % [4.8-5.6]
T4,Free 1.21 ng/dL [0.82-1.77]
T3,Free 3.5 pg/mL [2.1-4.2]
TPOAb 27 IU/mL [<40]
DHEA-Sulfate 368.0 ug/dL [71.6-375.4]
Cortisol 9.0 ug/dL [6.2 - 19.4]
TSH 1.960 uIU/mL [0.450-4.500]
Prolactin 15.7 ng/mL [4.0-15.2]
Estradiol 15.7 pg/mL [7.6-42.6]
Prostate Specific Ag 0.8 ng/mL [0.0-4.0]
Insulin-Like Growth Factor 194 ng/mL [81-263]
Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy 56.9 ng/mL [30.0-100.0]
Growth Hormone, Serum 0.1 ng/mL [0.0-10.0]
Progesterone 0.6 ng/mL [0.0-0.5]
Insulin 9.5 uIU/mL [2.6-24.9]

Cholesterol 234 mg/dL [0-200]
LDL 154 mg/dL [0-100]
TRIG 174 mg/dL [0-150]
AHDL 45 mg/dL [40-60]
non-HDL Chol 189 mg/dL [0-130]
hs-CRP 0.5 mg/L [<=3]

Thanks for reading. Any guidance or suggestions are more than welcome.

 

[bk_]

Greetings! The title is actually a joke -- given my family history, I am likely way past the middle. I am new to the forum and have been trying to absorb as much info as possible and slowly adjusting my regimen for the past month. Below are my recent labs (hormone and lipid). Am waiting on additional test results for DHT and Estrogens but expect the E to be high since Prolactin is high, though sexual activity the night before the early AM fasting labs could have affected. We'll see... My progesterone was also high per the referred range, so have cut my pregnenolone dose in half for the time-being (50 mg to 25 mg daily). For the past few weeks, have been taking 2-3 drops Andro + 4-5 drops Pansterone daily.

Male, 46 yo, 6'4", 205 lbs. Borderline hypertension (120/85). Cardio 3x per week (treadmill), crunches and dumbbells 2-3x per week, Am slowly transitioning to a Peaty diet. Have cut out most meat and starch; added dairy, coffee, carrot salad, OJ+baking soda or magnesium carbonate. Have worked up to three large cups of coffee per day with 1% milk and sugar. I take theanine to help with caffeine tolerance. Also recently upped my Taurine from 2g to 4g/d and added Thiamine. Not happy with my Thyroid results. In March 2020, my TSH was 0.77 and has almost tripled in less than two years. Pretty sure my diet at that time was pretty PUFA-heavy. Bought some TyroMax but am reluctant to start taking Thyroid before trying other methods first. My Triglycerides are terrible, but were much worse (~300) three months ago so I think my cholesterol is headed in the right direction. My last CMP was in March. Had breakthrough COVID a month ago with mild cold-like symptoms that persisted for a few weeks. Took a cheap antibody test recently out of curiosity...needless to say, I won't be getting any booster.

LH 6.1 mIU/mL [1.7-8.6]
FSH 3.0 mIU/mL [1.5-12.4]
Testosterone 548 ng/dL [264-916]
Free Testosterone(Direct) 14.6 pg/mL [6.8-21.5]
Hemoglobin A1c 5.3 % [4.8-5.6]
T4,Free 1.21 ng/dL [0.82-1.77]
T3,Free 3.5 pg/mL [2.1-4.2]
TPOAb 27 IU/mL [<40]
DHEA-Sulfate 368.0 ug/dL [71.6-375.4]
Cortisol 9.0 ug/dL [6.2 - 19.4]
TSH 1.960 uIU/mL [0.450-4.500]
Prolactin 15.7 ng/mL [4.0-15.2]
Estradiol 15.7 pg/mL [7.6-42.6]
Prostate Specific Ag 0.8 ng/mL [0.0-4.0]
Insulin-Like Growth Factor 194 ng/mL [81-263]
Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy 56.9 ng/mL [30.0-100.0]
Growth Hormone, Serum 0.1 ng/mL [0.0-10.0]
Progesterone 0.6 ng/mL [0.0-0.5]
Insulin 9.5 uIU/mL [2.6-24.9]

Cholesterol 234 mg/dL [0-200]
LDL 154 mg/dL [0-100]
TRIG 174 mg/dL [0-150]
AHDL 45 mg/dL [40-60]
non-HDL Chol 189 mg/dL [0-130]
hs-CRP 0.5 mg/L [<=3]

Thanks for reading. Any guidance or suggestions are more than welcome.

One word of advice is too many drastic changes, even if it is perceived as good, can be unhealthy. Just take things slowly, one step at a time, and keep logs to monitor your progress to identify what works.

As an aside your prolactin appears to be unusually high, addressing this should help with a multitude of other areas such as testosterone.

 

[profwormbog]

One word of advice is too many drastic changes, even if it is perceived as good, can be unhealthy. Just take things slowly, one step at a time, and keep logs to monitor your progress to identify what works.

As an aside your prolactin appears to be unusually high, addressing this should help with a multitude of other areas such as testosterone.

Thanks for your reply. I think I read that the high prolactin may have been situational (sex the night before my early AM labs) since estrogens weren't that high. I am getting some of these tested again in a few weeks. Overall, am feeling better. I think using red light really helped.

 

[danishstargazer]

Pretty sure that Dr Peat likes a higher progesterone to estrogen ratio than what is showing up in your labs. I don't know what the ideal is for men but your estrogen level ( which is higher than mine currently ) maybe could use either pregnenolone, iodine , or something like DIM ( but Peat doesnt like it ) .

 

[profwormbog]

Pretty sure that Dr Peat likes a higher progesterone to estrogen ratio than what is showing up in your labs. I don't know what the ideal is for men but your estrogen level ( which is higher than mine currently ) maybe could use either pregnenolone, iodine , or something like DIM ( but Peat doesnt like it ) .

Thanks! Not sure either about Total Estrogen levels. For men, is that just E1 and E2 (Estrone and Estradiol)? I forgot to add my other test results since my initial post (below). As for the preg, upped it back to 50-60 mg/day and do 5 mg Progesterone 3-4 nights/week. Started doing one drop of Lugol's per day in juice. Metergoline has really helped with SSRI withdrawal (Cypro didn't work well for me). Serotonin and Aldosterone levels are definitely on my list next round of labs.

Dihydrotestosterone 53 ng/dL [30-85]
Pregnenolone (MS) 78 ng/dL [<151]
Androstenedione (LCMS) 76 ng/dL [27-152]
Estrogens (Total) 68 pg/mL [56-213]

 

[Doc Sandoz]

Why do you think 120/85 is "borderline" hypertension? Sounds like you've taken to heart the nonsense doctors peddle to get people hooked on "anti-hypertensive" drugs which have myriad long term side effects.

 

[AspiringSage]

Over all your numbers look pretty good with only a few points of concern to my non medical provider eyes. How do you feel? Physically? Well-being? Motivationally?

Your high prolactin is noteworthy and you might feel better with a slightly higher estrogen to testosterone ratio (lower E to a given T). I have also recently learned, on these forums, that TSH itself is inflammatory and that suppressing it may improve well being.

You could suppress TSH with low doses of T3. Personally, I am hesitant to use anything with T4 as I have concerns around T4 gradually increasing reverse T3. My understanding is that this phenomenon is less of an issue with T3 only supplementation. With respect to estrogen, there is some discussion of the ideal ratio of estrogen to testosterone rather than simply considering absolute values. While your mid/high normal LH is awesome for T production and sex drive. LH is a sort of a proto estrogen. Anyone who has injected HCG (an LH analog) can tell you from experience that LH is estrogenic. My point is not that you need to suppress your LH (it’s great) rather that your effective estrogen number may be higher than you’d think.

Prolactin could be suppressed with B6 as a first line treatment or low intermittent doses of cabergoline as harsher a second line treatment. There are several methods to suppress estrogen that are widely discussed on this forum. They seem to range from asprin to exemestane.

My lab ferret has successfully decreased his prolactin with a combo of B6 and intermittent/occasionally low doses of cabergoline. And has done well on the estrogen front with asprin and occasional exemestane.

I’d strongly recommend that you increase your weight lifting regime. Tons of widely documented health benefits. Keep us posted on your numbers. And consider sharing more about how you feel as this can be nearly as valuable as test results.