I Can't Believe Some Doctors...

[H_T_]

I got into a pretty long argument with my doctor today. We were discussing my low T levels which he said we're "Normal" on the lower end. It being 140. I said aren't normal levels between 250_700? No, normal is between 175 and 781. He asks where I'm getting this information and are they medical professionals....anyway, it didn't go well and I basically told him that I could have all the test I want for the same price of my copays. Oh, no you don't want to do that...I just find it ridiculous that my very reasonable request to be at a range of around 300 was scoffed at....Why do you want it that high? Because I have no energy, spend most of my time sleeping when not working. Because I'm 30 lbs. heavier than I would ever be on steroids. Then he says, yes, you ARE heavy. I'm like, Wtf? I can get a script for test from him, but it's for 100mg/ month....don't see any advantage to that. Probably my biggest problem with the attitude here is the cloak and dagger approach to medical information. I mean, it's fucking webmd. Or any google search. Doctors, some, appear to have this egotism that goes along with their job. There was that line in that John Cusack movie......High Fidelity! Can't believe I remembered it.....anyway, they're unappreciated scholars who treat everyone else like shit because they don't know as much as they do. This is just my take on health care nowadays.....

 

[musclemom]

Regular doctors (family docs, GPs, PCPs, internists) are generally morons when it comes to hormones. My husband's T levels were around 250, his internist said "that's fine, still within normal, I'll prescribe an anti-depressant". I looked at his labs myself, said fuck that and found him a doctor who transitioned his practice to anti-aging (he is a board certified internist/cardiologist who is now in semi-retirement).

What you have to understand is that the way general practice physicians are trained is to look at numbers, AND JUST NUMBERS, and as long as your numbers fall WITHIN the normal RANGE then you're fine. They don't care how you feel. That is not how hormones work, particularly testosterone. A doctor that knows what they're doing ALWAYS wants testosterone solidly in the middle of the range, even the high end of normal is fine. There's a lot more that goes into it, one of the other things that's really important is what your free testosterone levels. But they really need to look at the big picture, prolactin, estrogen, progesterone, thyroid, the whole thing, and know what the inter-relationships of the various hormones mean for your well being.

So you need to find a different doctor to treat your hormones (a good one will also get a full thyroid panel and look at the other hormones I mentioned). You may have to pay cash. Insurance doesn't like to pay for this stuff, but it's literally a case of "you get what you pay for". Look for someone who advertises "anti-aging" or particularly BHRT if what your real goal is to feel "normal".

In the meantime, cut out carbs, research a ketogenic diet. That's how my hubby dropped 30 lbs that hung on even after getting his hormones in line.

 

[hurricane]

175 is to low.You can get trt for sure.Seek a new doctor.Dont pussyfoot around with this clown anymore

 

[H_T_]

My main pcp has through the years reached rock star status in the medical community. His dad was a doc for like 60 years and left him a booming practice and with the addition of medicaid money, he's got a basic empire in one 1500 sq. ft. building. He's head of the board of regional; he grew a goatee chews gum while talking to you and answers his phone while consulting you. Same guy has had me on xanax for 10 years and hydros for 5 and wants me off now, for fear that I'll become addicted. Too late, mofo. I had a near breakdown at the mention of it. I know I can request referrals through the insurance co., but I'm wondering if an endocrinologist would be allowed.

 

[polarbear1134]

http://i60.tinypic.com/nyy3p5.jpg

 

[polarbear1134]

As you can see above a level of 140 is below the 5th percentile for someone who is 55-59 (319) Get a new doc if he thinks 95% of people who are 55-59 should have double the amount of test you do.

 

[hurricane]

My main pcp has through the years reached rock star status in the medical community. His dad was a doc for like 60 years and left him a booming practice and with the addition of medicaid money, he's got a basic empire in one 1500 sq. ft. building. He's head of the board of regional; he grew a goatee chews gum while talking to you and answers his phone while consulting you. Same guy has had me on xanax for 10 years and hydros for 5 and wants me off now, for fear that I'll become addicted. Too late, mofo. I had a near breakdown at the mention of it. I know I can request referrals through the insurance co., but I'm wondering if an endocrinologist would be allowed.

None of that matters dude.Beliefs vary in his field on trt.You can get on it with those levels, you need to find another dr, if he is giving you a hard time, for this case atleast

 

[tnw886]

It can be very frustrating dealing with doctors on this. I was so overtrained for so long when I was competing at one point that my test dropped from the high 600's to the mid 200's. When I met with the doctor I got the standard "well you're withing normal" even though we had a well recorded history (always been totally clean by the way) and there were tons of other blood issues as a result of the overtraining. Not normal for a 24 year old (at the time). Unfortunately, I was unable to really do anything at the time because of how strictly we are regulated and tested. Still haven't fully recovered and it's been years. I'm pretty sure some of the damage I did to my endocrine system is irreversible. I'm hoping that maybe some HCG and a short cycle with support can help now that I can try that.

 

[ALIN]

I got into a pretty long argument with my doctor today. We were discussing my low T levels which he said we're "Normal" on the lower end. It being 140. I said aren't normal levels between 250_700? No, normal is between 175 and 781. He asks where I'm getting this information and are they medical professionals....anyway, it didn't go well and I basically told him that I could have all the test I want for the same price of my copays. Oh, no you don't want to do that...I just find it ridiculous that my very reasonable request to be at a range of around 300 was scoffed at....Why do you want it that high? Because I have no energy, spend most of my time sleeping when not working. Because I'm 30 lbs. heavier than I would ever be on steroids. Then he says, yes, you ARE heavy. I'm like, Wtf? I can get a script for test from him, but it's for 100mg/ month....don't see any advantage to that. Probably my biggest problem with the attitude here is the cloak and dagger approach to medical information. I mean, it's fucking webmd. Or any google search. Doctors, some, appear to have this egotism that goes along with their job. There was that line in that John Cusack movie......High Fidelity! Can't believe I remembered it.....anyway, they're unappreciated scholars who treat everyone else like shit because they don't know as much as they do. This is just my take on health care nowadays.....

I understand your frustration. Fact is MOST doctors are ignorant to the fact of prescribing proper TRT.
Try finding another doctor. Remember they work for you. 140ng/nl is LOW and you should qualify for TRT.

 

[hurricane]

It can be very frustrating dealing with doctors on this. I was so overtrained for so long when I was competing at one point that my test dropped from the high 600's to the mid 200's. When I met with the doctor I got the standard "well you're withing normal" even though we had a well recorded history (always been totally clean by the way) and there were tons of other blood issues as a result of the overtraining. Not normal for a 24 year old (at the time). Unfortunately, I was unable to really do anything at the time because of how strictly we are regulated and tested. Still haven't fully recovered and it's been years. I'm pretty sure some of the damage I did to my endocrine system is irreversible. I'm hoping that maybe some HCG and a short cycle with support can help now that I can try that.

how old are you now and have you got tested recently?