Stress profile and hormones

hi CS and others,

at age 39, i had my first ever bloodwork. Here is the result of my stress bloodwork.

im in taiwan so its in metric measurement. i apologize, not sure how to convert it. i was all over the web looking for a calculator and couldnt find one.

Pituitary Gonadotropin
ACTH 36.1 pg/ml (normal range 10 - 40) HIGH SIDE

Adrenocortex Stress
Cortisol 16.6 ug/dl (norm. range 7.32 - 17.1) HIGH SIDE

free Cortisol 10.9 nmo/L (norm. range 4.4 - 19.1)

DHEA 1.16 nmo/L (norm range 0.75 to 2.5) LOW

DHEA-S 1174 pg/ml (norm range 1303 - 3557) LOW

DHEA/Free Cortisol 0.1064 (norm. range 0.07 - 0.58)

secretory immunoglobulin A 318 ug/ml (norm range 31.8 - 265) HIGH

Pituitary Gonadotropin:
LH 9.10 mIU/ml (range 0.5 - 5.0) VERY HIGH
FSH 10.1 mIU/ml (range 0.5 - 5.0) VERY HIGH

Testis Hormones:
DHEA-S 1174 pg/ml (norm range 1303 - 3557) LOW

Testosterone 11.2 ng/ml (norm range 2.8 - 8. VERY HIGH

Free Testosterone 18.6 pg/ml (norm range 14 - 320) LOW SIDE

DHT 1123 pg/ml (norm range 300 - 990) VERY HIGH

SHBG 78.3 nmo/L (norm range 15 - 45) VERY HIGH

Estrodial E1 31.2 pg/ml (norm range 10 - 30) HIGH

Estrodial E2 16.6 pg/ml (norm range 12 - 24) low-middle range

I appreciate any feedback. Dr. recommends 15mg of DHEA. She says my Pituitary is being overworked because of low DHEA-S. She suspects my testosterone is off the charts because I work-out hard. I only do 25-30 min of INTENSE workout 4-5 times a week. Free Testosterone is in low-normal range. Cortisol seems to be on the high side, SHBG is OFF THE CHARTS high. DHT is on the high side. E1 Estrodial is on the HIGH SIDE.

Does high SHBG good for hair?
Does it look like increasing my DHEA will help hair as well?
How does High Testosterone, low FREE Testosterone, SHBG and high DHT all relate to each other?

Any feedback, advice and supplements recommendations would be SO MUCH appreciated! Thank you all

CS or anybody pleaze pleaze assist me with some info/assessment on my bloodwork?

I truly appreciate it

Oh man - have you research stages of adrenal fatigue?

I am familiar with saliva 4x testing, but yours is serum test for cortisol that may not give you a complete picture. 1 time serum level of cortisol usually is termed not sufficient to determine what is going on - you need the entire day cycle of cortisol to see if you are following the normal cicardin cycle and if not, how is the pattern deviating. Single serum test cannot give you that picture.

During early stages of AF, you have high cortisol and low DHEA. In my case I have low cortisol and low DHEA (later stages). In any event, if your DHEA is low -that means that adrenals are not able to cope with the situation and is under some stress. Remembering that adrenals produce both cortisol and DHEA.

So whatever you do, try to help support your adrenals during this crisis, do not let it slip into further issues. There have been few threads on this topic lately, read them here for some info on how to support the adrenals.

If you do take DHEA, keep an eye toward where it is metabolizing - it can go towards testosterone or estrogen. So be on the lookout. I would start small with DHEA, as little as 5mg or so - USP, sublingual or liquidi drops preferably.

RobHealthMan wrote:hi CS and others,

at age 39, i had my first ever bloodwork. Here is the result of my stress bloodwork.

im in Taiwan so its in metric measurement. i apologize, not sure how to convert it. i was all over the web looking for a calculator and couldnt find one.

Pituitary Gonadotropin
ACTH 36.1 pg/ml (normal range 10 - 40) HIGH SIDE

Adrenocortex Stress
Cortisol 16.6 ug/dl (norm. range 7.32 - 17.1) HIGH SIDE

free Cortisol 10.9 nmo/L (norm. range 4.4 - 19.1)

DHEA 1.16 nmo/L (norm range 0.75 to 2.5) LOW

DHEA-S 1174 pg/ml (norm range 1303 - 3557) LOW

DHEA/Free Cortisol 0.1064 (norm. range 0.07 - 0.58)

secretory immunoglobulin A 318 ug/ml (norm range 31.8 - 265) HIGH

Pituitary Gonadotropin:
LH 9.10 mIU/ml (range 0.5 - 5.0) VERY HIGH
FSH 10.1 mIU/ml (range 0.5 - 5.0) VERY HIGH

Testis Hormones:
DHEA-S 1174 pg/ml (norm range 1303 - 3557) LOW

Testosterone 11.2 ng/ml (norm range 2.8 - 8. VERY HIGH

Free Testosterone 18.6 pg/ml (norm range 14 - 320) LOW SIDE

DHT 1123 pg/ml (norm range 300 - 990) VERY HIGH

SHBG 78.3 nmo/L (norm range 15 - 45) VERY HIGH

Estrodial E1 31.2 pg/ml (norm range 10 - 30) HIGH

Estrodial E2 16.6 pg/ml (norm range 12 - 24) low-middle range

I appreciate any feedback. Dr. recommends 15mg of DHEA. She says my Pituitary is being overworked because of low DHEA-S. She suspects my testosterone is off the charts because I work-out hard. I only do 25-30 min of INTENSE workout 4-5 times a week. Free Testosterone is in low-normal range. Cortisol seems to be on the high side, SHBG is OFF THE CHARTS high. DHT is on the high side. E1 Estrodial is on the HIGH SIDE.

Does high SHBG good for hair?
Does it look like increasing my DHEA will help hair as well?
How does High Testosterone, low FREE Testosterone, SHBG andig hh DHT all relate to each other?

Any feedback, advice and supplements recommendations would be SO MUCH appreciated! Thank you all

I agree with lund on the DHEA dosage, 5 mg is probably the maximum you should take. After a while you might not need to take it. 15 mg is a bit much for 39 years-old.

Cortisol is best taken four different times of the day. The most important is your morning and evening cortisol levels, but four different measures throughout the day are used to see if it is working normally. Hopefully having higher am cortisol than your evening levels.

If you can reduce estrogen, that will reduce SHBG levels, and that should help reduce DHT also.

I'm not sure why everyone here recommends such low DHEA.. im 25 y/o and have been taking 25-50mg for over a year and i still cant get my DHEAS up to top range.

But CS is right, whenever my E2 (estraidol drops) my SHBG always drops.. they always seem to follow each other.

" If DHEA is low, magnesium is low. They go together."

http://www.life-enthusiast.com/twilight/research_dhea.htm



A quote from the book Magnesium for Life

"Dr. Norm Shealy, who has tested the transdermal/topical method against oral
and intravenous applications, asserts that only through the transdermal form are
DHEA levels raised."

jdp710 wrote:" If DHEA is low, magnesium is low. They go together."

http://www.life-enthusiast.com/twilight/research_dhea.htm



A quote from the book Magnesium for Life

"Dr. Norm Shealy, who has tested the transdermal/topical method against oral
and intravenous applications, asserts that only through the transdermal form are
DHEA levels raised."

Thanks for that!

Guys! CS! love you all. thanks brothers!

What supplements can I take to lower E1 and E2 Estrogen?

I'm currently taking magnesium for everything else and hope it naturally raises DHEA

i tried magnesium oil and it didnt raise my DHEAS levels that high
my magnesium levels were in fairly good range the last time i tested it and i still need some dhea to keep them in at levels.

DHEA - Does not negatively affect hair in men. May help prevent hair loss by offsetting the binding of DHT to follicles. The product is a Disaster for women with hair loss. DHEA causes hair loss in women much like DHT in Men. DHEA discriminates against women.

http://www.hairloss-research.org/steroids.html

There is a relationship to cortisol and DHEA - both coming from the adrenals. You should research as to how these 2 hormones relate. You also should find out your salivary cortisol levels throughout the day to determine if you need to increase cortisol or reduce cortisol (if you are at extreme levels - additionally your cortisol rythm may be upside down as well...you should really find out about this).

The question you have to ask is why DHEA is low? perhaps adrenals insufficiency? - if so, what about the other hormones in the pathway - namely cortisol/aldosterone? are these off as well? I know you have checked the serum cortisol, but it does not tell us the whole day worth - may be you were stressed at the time of the test and hence the cortisol levels came out high, we do not know...

if you assume you adrenal cortex is not producing the needed hormones (DHEA, cortisol, Aldosterone,etc) then you need to do something there to support the adrenals while you supplement the defficient hormone. In other words do not just add what is missing, try to help the adrenals so it can recover together as well. very important if you are in the early stages, if you let it slip - it will get more difficult....

And again if you go the DHEA route, get USP grade liquid drops - stated to work the best...

DHEA pathways

blackjack wrote:

DHEA - Does not negatively affect hair in men. May help prevent hair loss by offsetting the binding of DHT to follicles. The product is a Disaster for women with hair loss. DHEA causes hair loss in women much like DHT in Men. DHEA discriminates against women.

http://www.hairloss-research.org/steroids.html

thanks Blackjack! So many conflicting information on dhea in relation to hair loss!

hmmmm 5 mg of DHEA might be the ticket here!

lund wrote:There is a relationship to cortisol and DHEA - both coming from the adrenals. You should research as to how these 2 hormones relate. You also should find out your salivary cortisol levels throughout the day to determine if you need to increase cortisol or reduce cortisol (if you are at extreme levels - additionally your cortisol rythm may be upside down as well...you should really find out about this).

The question you have to ask is why DHEA is low? perhaps adrenals insufficiency? - if so, what about the other hormones in the pathway - namely cortisol/aldosterone? are these off as well? I know you have checked the serum cortisol, but it does not tell us the whole day worth - may be you were stressed at the time of the test and hence the cortisol levels came out high, we do not know...

if you assume you adrenal cortex is not producing the needed hormones (DHEA, cortisol, Aldosterone,etc) then you need to do something there to support the adrenals while you supplement the defficient hormone. In other words do not just add what is missing, try to help the adrenals so it can recover together as well. very important if you are in the early stages, if you let it slip - it will get more difficult....

And again if you go the DHEA route, get USP grade liquid drops - stated to work the best...

Thanks Lund! That makes sense to address the Adrenals rather than just adding more DHEA. Infact you are correct! I just researched a bit and Adrenal is responsible for cortisol and DHEA. My DHEA is normal range LOW side and DHEA-S is below normal range LOW.

What do you recommend as a supplement to support Adrenal function?

blackjack wrote:I'm not sure why everyone here recommends such low DHEA.. im 25 y/o and have been taking 25-50mg for over a year and i still cant get my DHEAS up to top range.

But CS is right, whenever my E2 (estraidol drops) my SHBG always drops.. they always seem to follow each other.

Hi blackjack,

I assume you taking DHEA hasn't negatively affected your hair?

thank you!

so far it hasnt effected my hair

There a number of protocols for supporting adrenals. One of the things to find out where the problem is? are you producing more cortisol or less or is it normal?

If you have a lot of stress in your system (early stages of AF) then you need to get the stress out of the system (perhaps scale back on your workout routine?), make dietary changes so that you are not further stressing your fight-or-flight system. Then you seek support from the sups.

From lab testing I am in later stages, not the beginning - so none of the supps, herbs, adaptogens, even glandular worked for me. Admittingly I only tried it for the short term. So I am now on very little Hydrocortisone to get my adrenals some rest with the hope that they may be able to recover later.

Read and read some more on how to support the adrenals.

1. Vitmain C. Pantethine, b6 (others)
2. Adaptogens (ginseng, ashwaghandha, rhodiola, schishandra, nettle)
3. Glandulars (entire adrenals)
4. Adrenal Cortex Extract (just the cortex gland)
5. Isocort (has some herbs + adrenal cortex extract)
6. Hydrocortisone - to help bring in cortisol in your system, suppress ACTH so adrenals can get some rest.
7. DHEA - if you are low there
8. Sea Salt water if you are low on aldosterone (dizziness, low BP, etc)
9. Licorice - if you want to keep the cortisol you have in the system.. Generally if you are low in cortisol, this may help

If you are low in adrenals, most likely you may be hypothyroid as well. So you need to worry about it at some point in time - in order to recover adrenals, you will need to bring thyroid online and supported as well - that is perhaps another whole thread. However; once the adrenals are supported and well, you may be able to benefit from Iodine/tyrosine/selenium combination - but your adrenals must be in good health before you embark on that path (in my opinion).

Start with one or 2 items from the list and see how it goes.

BTW, what symptoms do you have? how are your basal temperatues?

blackjack wrote:i tried magnesium oil and it didnt raise my DHEAS levels that high
my magnesium levels were in fairly good range the last time i tested it and i still need some dhea to keep them in at levels.

I'm curious.

Which brand of magnesium oil did you use?

How many sprays?

How many times per week and for how long did you use the magnesium oil?

How long did you keep the magnesium oil on for?

Where did you apply the magnesium oil?

Thanks, I appreciate it.

BTW, I know a lot like to do tests for X deficiency. However, in this case, magnesium is one where a blood test is nearly worthless.

A quote

"So when a hospital test shows a magnesium deficiency, then it's likely to already be severe and dangerous- with up to 99% of the body's magnesium having already been depleted."

http://www.naturalnews.com/026775_magnesium_hospital_blood.html

i got both Ancient minerals and Ocean minerals mangesium oil from magneticclay.com
each 64oz. so i used a total of 1 gallon.

i applied it to my whole body and bathed it in, did foot baths.
i dont remember how much i applied, but sometimes enough to cover my body.. I guess i eventually stopped because it burned the heck out of my skin. I eventually just switch to oral Magnesium Gylicate.

it did increase my magnesium levels, but not really my DHEAS level. my magnesium levels were way below range, now there in good range. but my dheas stayed the same.

i didnt do regular serum testing. I did intracellular testing via Spectracell labs which is suppose to be highly accurate.

You have to remember, i have a lot of other hormone issues going on which have a big impact on my DHEAS levels.. In someone who has a good thyroid and adrenals are completely shot, magnesium oil would be a good choice

thank you lund for this.

it seems my adrenals/pituitary are overworked but they are overworked to produce cortisol and not enough dhea.

my SHBG is extremely high and my testosterone is extremely high as well.
free testosterone is in normal range but LOW side of normal range.
DHT is HIGH.

I just got back my thyroid results and my thyroid is fine. t3/t4 ratio is about 8 to 1 and TSH in normal range low side.

i have to figure out how to
lower my E2
lower DHT
lower SHBG
increase DHEA-S

thanks again!

lund wrote:There a number of protocols for supporting adrenals. One of the things to find out where the problem is? are you producing more cortisol or less or is it normal?

If you have a lot of stress in your system (early stages of AF) then you need to get the stress out of the system (perhaps scale back on your workout routine?), make dietary changes so that you are not further stressing your fight-or-flight system. Then you seek support from the sups.

From lab testing I am in later stages, not the beginning - so none of the supps, herbs, adaptogens, even glandular worked for me. Admittingly I only tried it for the short term. So I am now on very little Hydrocortisone to get my adrenals some rest with the hope that they may be able to recover later.

Read and read some more on how to support the adrenals.

1. Vitmain C. Pantethine, b6 (others)
2. Adaptogens (ginseng, ashwaghandha, rhodiola, schishandra, nettle)
3. Glandulars (entire adrenals)
4. Adrenal Cortex Extract (just the cortex gland)
5. Isocort (has some herbs + adrenal cortex extract)
6. Hydrocortisone - to help bring in cortisol in your system, suppress ACTH so adrenals can get some rest.
7. DHEA - if you are low there
8. Sea Salt water if you are low on aldosterone (dizziness, low BP, etc)
9. Licorice - if you want to keep the cortisol you have in the system.. Generally if you are low in cortisol, this may help

If you are low in adrenals, most likely you may be hypothyroid as well. So you need to worry about it at some point in time - in order to recover adrenals, you will need to bring thyroid online and supported as well - that is perhaps another whole thread. However; once the adrenals are supported and well, you may be able to benefit from Iodine/tyrosine/selenium combination - but your adrenals must be in good health before you embark on that path (in my opinion).

Start with one or 2 items from the list and see how it goes.

BTW, what symptoms do you have? how are your basal temperatues?

can you post your thyroid results

Yep post your Thyroid results - you need Free T4, T3, reverse T3 besides TSH to see what is going on. The FT3 to FT4 ratio should be in the 20's not 8....

What are your basal temps?

If you are high in cortisol and low in DHEA, it is the first stages of AF - hopefully that is obvious. You MUST neuter your cortisol trigger. In some ways DHEA counters cortisol (read up on that) - but you should focus on why you have low DHEA to begin with? feeding it more DHEA is not the full answer (in my opinion), you can feed DHEA, but try to fix the reason behind the deficiency as well....

blackjack wrote:can you post your thyroid results

hi blackjack,
here is my thyroid results:

3 [ 甲狀腺功能檢查(Thyroid Function Exam.) ] 單位 參考值 098.11.26
4 三碘甲狀腺素(T3) ng╱mL 0.8～2.0 1.1
5 甲狀腺素(T4) ng╱mL 47～114 84.1
6 游離甲狀腺素(Free T4) ng╱dL 0.7～1.48 1.17
7 甲狀腺促素(TSH) mIU╱L 0.2～3.2 0.8

sorry for the chinese! im in taiwan right now

makes no sense. sorryy