The value of a good long term relationship with a therapist

[formflier]

For several years now I have been seeing a PhD level therapist for help/guidance/counseling.  Great relationship.


Well...things have been really off with me for the last few months and finally I got a lab test that shows "low T"  Low testosterone.  So primary care wanted to send me to endocrinology. 

They said they would get to me in September or October...aaaargggggg!

Pretty sure I made that exact noise when venting to my P.  She kinda chuckled and said.."would you like me to call someone and get you in sooner".  Turns out she has an endocrinologist that is a colleague and they refer patients back and forth all the time.

So...she texts, the very next day I get an email from this doctor saying labs are ordered and a virtual visit has been set up for a couple weeks out.

I had the virtual visit today and we have a plan in place to start dealing with this.

If I did NOT have these professional contacts in place, it would have taken me a long time to get into see someone...all the while things are haywire.

So..yet another reason to keep and maintain a good long term relationship with a therapist.

Best,

FF

[GaGrl]

And another reason to have an internist who regularly orders full blood profiles!

Those low T levels can mess up both men and women.

[B53]

I hope they figure it out and you feel better soon!

You will be in my thoughts and prayers!

[formflier]

And another reason to have an internist who regularly orders full blood profiles!

Those low T levels can mess up both men and women.

Yes..and "full blood profiles" means so much different..to different people. 

I'm kinda ticked that apparently...I have never had a "t" measurement before.  You would think with all the VA and military and and and...sigh.  Yeah...ticked about it.

Best,

FF

[Sluggo]

FF, 

I was drinking about 4 Diet Cokes a day and still could not stay up. A friend of mine suggested I have my testosterone checked. I did and I was very low and now Insurance covers my treatments.  I started taking testosterone injections about 8 weeks ago and feel so much different and better.  I now could easily go with or without caffeine now during the day. 

Sluggo

[formflier]

We might want to start a testosterone thread here or somewhere else.

For me...the operating theory based on test results is that I have low "luteinizing hormone", which apparently is the signal from the pituitary to the testes to make testosterone.

Most likely it is a result of massive stress after stress.  We are going to do a MRI to rule out a tumor up there somewhere in my head...but based on our first doc visit, she thinks it is incredibly unlikely...and is kinda doing it to help me relax/feel better.

So...I have at least one more lab to draw to confirm low T again and then I'm going to start taking a drug to hopefully cause me to give off more LH...which should boost my testosterone and the the old FF is back to brand new.

I should get another lab drawn tomorrow.  Let it "cook" for a few days in the lab and then the doc should give me clearance to start taking that drug.  Sounds like it could be several weeks to a month to see results.

How long after taking the shots until your started to feel better?

Best,

FF

[GaGrl]

I want to follow this as my DH has some readings that are worrisome. He had malaria and dysentery in the  early 1970s prior to returning to the U.S. from SE Asia.

Not sure what else might be going on...

[Sluggo]

Glad you got good people working with you. 

My LH was normal range... so that is why they decided to shots.  I go weekly and getting blood work done about every 6-8 weeks.  Once they find the correct dosage to keep the testosterone levels where they want them, then I can go to a home-based injections or continue going to the center for injections.

I was feeling better after about 10 days.  I even noticed when going to the gym I had much more energy for workouts. 

Sluggo

[formflier]

I want to follow this as my DH has some readings that are worrisome. He had malaria and dysentery in the  early 1970s prior to returning to the U.S. from SE Asia.

Not sure what else might be going on...

Like him..I have some known wildcards rummage around in my system. 

During a deployment to central america there was a particularly bad outbreak of some sort of parasitic/gastrointestinal..."something".  To my knowledge it was never figured out but it ran the same course in everyone.  We didn't all show up at the same time (roughly a week apart)..but everyone followed the same course, just delayed a week.  I was about mid pack.

Pretty much imagine you believing that your insides were going to come out...and you pretty much have the symptoms down.

Some of the earlier guys and gals actually had samples sent of to "tropical disease centers" trying to figure out what the heck it was..again, nobody ever heard.

Maybe three rounds of antibiotics  and a bland diet and lots of fluid for a long time sort of resolved it.  Sort of.

The VA calls it IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) but I suspect it is tied to this and several other more minor intestinal things I had during service.

I do lots of probiotics, yougurt and all that, yet I still have  inexplicable bowel stuff that seems random.

I'm a "foodie"..love to eat!  Bring on the spice..whatever, I'm up for it.  So exact same meal will work fine a few times and then "blam"..out of nowhere it won't.  Bland grilled chicken will work fine...then out of nowhere...boom.

Frustrating.

Best,

FF

[formflier]

I was feeling better after about 10 days.  I even noticed when going to the gym I had much more energy for workouts. 

 

Dude..that's awesome!

So...this Dr is an endocrinologist and I really like her.  She seems to blend "common sense" with medical.  And asks "what is the body telling you"?

Well..she said that the brain is pretty smart and even when your body is "normal" there can be reasons LH is low.  She said think about this.  If you have sustained stress over a long period and it doesn't resolve (stress is supposed to be "periodic")...then you brain knows "this is not a situation to be having children"...so it "dials back" the production of testosterone...

Kinda makes sense to me.

Stress went to next level with dementia diagnosis in Mom (and her denial).  Then trying to navigate the first illness and then the next and the next, while playing by "dementia rules" has been out of this world.

And as you guys know..my stress levels were up there even before dementia in Mom.

Anyway...tomorrow is biopsy for Mom and we should know more about this growth in her throat. 

She has been cleared for physical therapy for her hip and back.

And I have no idea what I'm going to do/recommend for cataracts..basically kicking this down the road into fall.

Then yesterday she had a headache and likely took some tylenol although she couldn't tell me how much, the paper she had times written down on was nonsensical (time is one of the places dementia shows up, she couldn't figure out maximum of 2 pills in 6 hours...at least that is my best guess)

So I made sure I or grandkids were in the house all day in the off chance she really had over medicated with tylenol.

Oh..and of course I removed all the tylenol from the house and need to think more about this after the biopsy.  Could this really be where I take over medication?  (nope...no stress here...move along please)

Best,

FF

[GaGrl]

I took over meds for my mom when she came home from rehab. She had been on a steady med regimen that just required putting everything in a weekly Morning --Midday--Evening pill box. Mom was cognitively clear except for slight short-term memory loss, so she was on top of what she was taking.

Rehab sent her home with scads of new meds that she had never taken before. OMG, I couldn't believe the amount of drugs she had been given! I got on the phone with her PCP and her cardiologist, and we got her into a new regimen. She was bedbound at that point, so I did all meds and monitored anything like Tylenol.

It's a pain, but it's definitely something to watch our for...you will need to take it on at some point, just maybe not immediately.

I get the stress. I have a persistent spot in my midsection that I'm afraid might be a stomach ulcer.

[formflier]

I get the stress. I have a persistent spot in my midsection that I'm afraid might be a stomach ulcer.

Not sure if I said it earlier...but I've been worried that some kind of tumor was pressing on the pituitary and causing low LH...

Initially the doc said that if she couldn't get the levels adjusted in several months, we would "consider" an MRI/other investigation.

I told her that I really would rather know sooner rather than later if there was something else and how could we "rule out" a tumor.  She immediately said no problem and ordered an MRI.  Hopefully can get that done within the week.

I gave me last (for now) blood sample this morning and I think after a couple of days I'll get an email from the doc saying to commence taking these pills to increase LH.

Oh..back to med management.  The recurring drugs Mom takes she seems to manage fine and I go behind her a count them every few days...she is spot on.  It's the "as needed" things that seem to be throwing her off.

Best,

FF