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I have felt embarrassed to speak up about this because libido seems to be the first thing people think about and right now that is the least of my worries. My mind is there, my body...well not right now.
I just found out that my body is not producing enough testosterone. my last 2 totals have been 79 and this month 30. The minimum normal range is 241. All my other numbers are anywhere from half to a third of the lowest normal values. Anyone have any experience with this?
I have a lot of upcoming tests to determine the cause. It seems to have made my pain condition much worse and I am very fatigued all the time (initially it was thought it was from the meds, now not so sure). My migraines have been steadily increasing to average 3 or 4 a week. It's also seems to have made me more susceptible to infection, especially this past year.
I just found out that my body is not producing enough testosterone. my last 2 totals have been 79 and this month 30. The minimum normal range is 241. All my other numbers are anywhere from half to a third of the lowest normal values. Anyone have any experience with this?
I have a lot of upcoming tests to determine the cause. It seems to have made my pain condition much worse and I am very fatigued all the time (initially it was thought it was from the meds, now not so sure). My migraines have been steadily increasing to average 3 or 4 a week. It's also seems to have made me more susceptible to infection, especially this past year.
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Norfolk
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Re: Question, anyone have any experience with low hormone levels?
Mon, March 28, 2005 - 1:59 PMWell some of the meds might be contributing to this. Expecially if you are on combos of stuff. The pain meds they first put me on dropped my libito like a stone and packed on 50 lbs of weight to boot. -
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Re: Question, anyone have any experience with low hormone levels?
Mon, March 28, 2005 - 10:59 PMoh honey, that would make sense in terms of fatigue and migraines! with testosterone, i'm on the low-end of normal for women, and i know this contributes to both of those for me.
has any dr. spoken to you about t. gel/patches? they really work for a lot of people, men *and* women. unfortunately for me, for some *damned damned* reason, they *increase* my migraines
:( grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr .......
nothing to be embarrassed about though scott - just good you found out! -
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Re: Question, anyone have any experience with low hormone levels?
Tue, March 29, 2005 - 1:04 PMWhat do the doctors want to do about this drop in your hormones? There are hormone therapies, test. and est. that are remarkably effective if the right formula is used. Many people go for testosterone injections, they last about 2 months from what I understand. Migraines are a common side effect of hormonal inbalances and therapies, I could not take brith control pills, the shot, or patches for this reason. It took a while to fugure out what was wrong, my libido WAS gone, not that anyone would have noticed, because I was a flaming bitch all the time..... Certainly nothing to be embarrassed about, I have taken so many meds that affected my libido, mostly decreasing it, I had been lucky that most of it was temporary, until a few months ago.. I was taking an antidepressant with "mild" sexual side effects.. and although it has been months since I took it, I have no desire, whatsoever. This has caused numerous problems in my relationship, and I feel terrible that I am not as receptive to my partners' advances, as I was once the driving force behind our sexuality. These things however are not our fault, and the inconsiderate soul who tries to judge or thinks less of you for it, is a fool. -
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Re: Question, anyone have any experience with low hormone levels?
Thu, March 31, 2005 - 5:50 PMwell...sadly, my body is incerdibly sensitive to changes in hormone imbalances, so, whenever my period comes, my pain skyrockets for a couple days before hand, and during, and after...i can't take chemical birth control unless i wanna keal over and die.
when i was fifteen a doctor was dub enough(and i was too) to prescribe depo-prevera, four month birth control in a shot, which, made me bleed for four months straight, made me so weak i dropped out of school cause i just couldn't get out of bed, and when i finally got a decent doctor, the only thing that helped me stop bleeding?
was estrogen... estrogen is stored in body fat, and i have none. well, now i have bit more thna i used to, but if i lose a few pounds, my period still gets all out of whack... anyhow, back ot my story . i had the worst documented side effects from depo to date, and had a medical paper written about me, the same time as one was being written about my mother and her trials and tribulations with hormone imbalance, migrains, ibs, and interstitial cystitis. we're a family of freaks i guess. freaks with no body fat.
before you start taking the patch, try taking natural supplements and see if they raise your testosterone levels signifigantly, and also try taking natural libido enhancers(i hate taking more chemicals than i need to and will always try natural stuff before asking for a new scrip) see if it helps, then ask your doctor...
anyhow...i hope it helps...
be well.
kit -
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Re: Question, anyone have any experience with low hormone levels?
Thu, March 31, 2005 - 6:25 PMthanks kit....damn what an experience you had, so sorry.....
yeah i'm not really crazy about the patch, can supplements really bring it up that much??? for now i am not taking anything until they discover what caused it to be so low in the first place.
this week 6 migraines in the last 7 days, all really bad and throwing up. i am getting a lot grief at the job so i've been going in (usually throwing up there). plus the pain has been a lot worse. i'm not using my cane at work because of the same grief and i am paying for it. damn doctors just dick around with the results (it's not them that's hurting)....... sorry bad day -
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Unsu...
Re: Question, anyone have any experience with low hormone levels?
Sun, April 10, 2005 - 1:02 PMThere's an interesting article in the Fibro tribe about someone with CFIDS asking for special accomodations due to this disability. Hey, they have to provide them...and if they don't, they'll have to pay. Don't make your health that much worse by thinking you have to fit into their schedule, or not use the pain. Use the ADA for your benefit. I hate to stress that I'm disabled, especially because I look great, and half the time feel relatively okay. But, from now on I am going to use the Disabilities Act to get what I need so that I can go to school. Honda had to give someone $500,000 for not doing everything they could to accomodate this guy with CFIDS. Hell yeah, they can fire me...I'll take the money;)
Sorry if this sounds like a rant; I'm just in `activist' mode today, and encouraged by the article I read.
H
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Unsu...
Re: Question, anyone have any experience with low hormone levels?
Thu, March 31, 2005 - 7:32 PMKit -
I have the same problem with things being way out of control the closer to my period I get. I have been useless the last few days. My PMS feels like it starts ten days after my period. The last two months have been hell with extreme breast pain. I try to take a lot of calcium, flax seed oil and valerian root and skullcap as both of those calm the nervous system down. they seem to help me a little with the pain.
I am going to go back on the pill because my PMS and horrible menstrual pain were more manageable on it. I hope it will calm down the PM flare ups as well. I wonder if certain hormone levels trigger inflammation. I am sure they do. Or is it prostoglandins building up and circulating around that do it.
Who knows...I just know there has to be a correlation. Most women with bad PMS hurt all over or ache or feel fatigued as is. -
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Re: Question, anyone have any experience with low hormone levels?
Sun, April 3, 2005 - 10:26 AMi wonder if there are any doctors doing studies in our areas about hormone levels and chronic pain levels, because yes, surely, there is a major correlation... the last few days before my period i can barely sit down... and during my period my pain gets better and better till i can manage it again... but some times...like the last two days...i can't tell what the hell the trigger is... it just hits me...and i'm useless... can't sit...can't stand... can't hardly walk, or wear pants... and my friends are pissed at me cause i keep breaking plans cause i can't deal with "going for coffee" if i can't sir for ten minutes... i love it how supportive/understanding my circle of friends are... i love it.
oy...listen to my general level of apathy today...
dharmabox- fuck it- no one at work can blame you/give you greif for getting headaches- that's ridiculous...or for using a cane...how can that be fair? it's ludicrous.. you deserve more respect. migraines are horrendous, and any one with a heart should understand that. and as for supplements bringing up hormone levels.well..i dunno if it'll be a miracle..but it will help...look at your diet to...if you eat a lot of squash(high in estrogen) cut it out... things like that will make a big difference, and may help you avoid going on the patch.
i'm gonna pick up some flax seed oil, valerian root and skull cap today...if i can afford it...(feh) and i'm also gonna do something a little more proacvtive, like go join a yoga class, and see if i can deal with it. (there goes my money...)
i wish us all to have a better week. -
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Re: Question, anyone have any experience with low hormone levels?
Sun, April 3, 2005 - 12:54 PMsorry to chime in here with another "hear hear!" i just came through another of my own 10 days of pms hell, and subsequent flare-ups. it was one of the worst in a loooong time, and triggered a deep depression (mostly about pain, which then went deeper into the "i'm a huge free-flying spirit of endless energy and joy sadistically trapped in this torture chamber of a body" - you know, *that* kind of depression!)
anyway, re: supplements for hormonal stuff - i take black cohosh nightly. it's a *highly* effective/well-researched and documented herb that's been used in europe for decades, and only recently approved in the u.s. (of course the pharm. companies are in on it now, vying with the herbalists who've been producing it for years). it really helps with night sweats and breast tenderness (as long as i take it every night exc. when bleeding).
i also take med-high amounts of magnesium daily, which helps somewhat with the migraines and muscle pain.
and i'm trying flax oil, fish oil, and turmeric (curcumin) daily now too, but don't have a sense of effectiveness yet.
i know people have varying results, but i always like to recommend what has clearly helped me, and try what others recommend to me. -
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Re: Question, anyone have any experience with low hormone levels?
Sun, April 3, 2005 - 1:42 PMangel- thanks alot...
for all your input- and sharing..
i haven;t caught it- what is it you sufer from? and forgive my ignorance- but does black cohosh give the same results as blue cohosh(bleeding, getting rid of unwanted pregnancy) or is it mild- cause i'd try it in a heart beat if it is...
my last period was two weeks late, and when it finally came, the cramps were so bad i thought i was gonna die- on the floor vomiting, near to passing out from pain.... and i can't take the pill cause my body is too sensitive to hormone changes...so i just get to deal with irregular periods and bad cramps eery month, but this last one was unreal...
anyhow- flax seed oil is on the grocery list...as is magnesium...
tanks all... -
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This is the maximum depth. Additional responses will not be threaded.Unsu...
Re: Question, anyone have any experience with low hormone levels?
Sun, April 3, 2005 - 1:56 PMwow. I was wondering if there is a corelatioin, that the sicker you get or the longer you tolerate with some form of chronic pain, the worse the PMS and menstrual pain gets. I am having a very bad time today. In bed with a heating bad and my lap top for now. Not only do I have cramps, but I have *sharp* pains that feel like stomach pains and feel faint and really week and shakey it hurts so much. The last couple of months as well, my breasts have just been killing me, inspite of cutting way down on caffiene. I also have gotten to the point where a week before my period, I have been having sharp pains in my head, behind my eyes, to the pint where it hurts to close them to try to sleep at night. It's out of control! Thanks for letting me rant about that.
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This is the maximum depth. Additional responses will not be threaded.
Re: Question, anyone have any experience with low hormone levels?
Sun, April 3, 2005 - 7:52 PMhey kit, black cohosh is a different herb from blue - and it's super mild, very safe, no noticeable effects (like the sedation of valerian or skullcap for instance). it's one that takes a number of weeks to kick in, and it's subtle, but if it works, it's obvious after a couple of times through pms. -
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Re: Question, anyone have any experience with low hormone levels?
Sun, April 3, 2005 - 9:53 PMgood to know, good to know..
thanks angel. -
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Re: Question, anyone have any experience with low hormone levels?
Mon, April 4, 2005 - 7:31 AMmy pleasure.
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Unsu...
Re: Question, anyone have any experience with low hormone levels?
Sun, April 10, 2005 - 12:54 PMEven as a woman I was tested for Testosterone, and was way out of the range. I was put on a topic T cream that went directly into my blood stream. I was hoping to have some amazing sex drive after that, and while the extra T did make me feel more grounded, I was also angry. Not angry, raging. Oh, and still no sex drive.
It's pretty easy to get it to a normal level again, whatever the cause.
H -
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Re: Question, anyone have any experience with low hormone levels?
Sun, April 10, 2005 - 1:31 PMquirky hari:
>> It's pretty easy to get it to a normal level again, whatever the cause. <<
sorry, i'm a little confused as you mentioned the cream made you raging, but then said it was pretty easy to get the hormone to a normal level? could you explain more how to do so?
thanks!
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Re: Question, anyone have any experience with low hormone levels?
Fri, September 12, 2008 - 4:08 AMMy T is low too but taking replacement T didn't seem to help much. Still haven't figured out what to do. K.
