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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by MrBrice on December 28, 2005, at 23:31:36
hi,
i assumed there was something wrong with my hormone function, since i'm 20 years old, depressed and have baby-smooth face etc.
now i did a test and my testosterone levelks were 6000 so that was normal, but my FSH is only 1.5!!!! seen that young men in puberty should have 5 or more, this is very alarming no????
now my psydoc says it's the testosterone we have to look at, but none the less my FSH is problematic no???
should i go see another docter???
brice
Posted by Larry Hoover on December 28, 2005, at 23:31:36
In reply to Very low FSH but normal testosterone...WTF???, posted by MrBrice on December 28, 2005, at 7:20:38
> hi,
Brice, this is a problem each time you post, so I bring it up again. There is not enough information provided by you for others to help you find the answer you are seeking. These questions I ask are necessary for understanding what you are dealing with.
> i assumed there was something wrong with my hormone function, since i'm 20 years old, depressed and have baby-smooth face etc.
Do you mean no beard?
> now i did a test and my testosterone levelks were 6000 so that was normal,When you report blood test results, the normal range will vary somewhat with the method used by the laboratory that did the analysis. You need to also report the lab's normal range. And, the units. In North America, it is usual to report testosterone as ng/dl, and that value you report would be way too high (700 is upper limit, in North America).....with units included, the appropriate conversions can be made. I'm assuming ng/l, in your case, but??
> but my FSH is only 1.5!!!! seen that young men in puberty should have 5 or more, this is very alarming no????
Same issues. The units. Normal range. If I assume mIU/ml, then yes, that is a very low value, and completely out of normal range for a young man. However, you don't say if that value was from blood drawn before you started on testosterone supplementation, or after. That is a very important piece of information, for interpreting your results. If after, it could be you are simply using too much testosterone. If before, that is a serious deviation from normal.
> now my psydoc says it's the testosterone we have to look at, but none the less my FSH is problematic no???
With an abnormal FSH, you also have to look at LH. And, considering the expanding nature of the apparent problem, I would want to see estradiol, DHEA, and DHEA-S, as well. A thyroid panel wouldn't be out of the question, either.
> should i go see another docter???
>
> briceYes, probably. (It depends on when you had blood drawn for FSH, and what earlier values were, before you used Androgel, etc.) This is (probably) an endocrine gland problem, not a psychiatric issue. You appear to have a hormone problem, which has possible psychiatric symptoms. An endocrinologist is the kind of doctor to see for this. There are a number of possible explanations for the tests being abnormal.
If you had supplied better information, I could have given you a very clear explanation of your results. But I had to guess about a lot of things, so I end up saying "probably".
Lar
Posted by MrBrice on December 28, 2005, at 23:31:36
In reply to Re: Very low FSH but normal testosterone...WTF??? » MrBrice, posted by Larry Hoover on December 28, 2005, at 9:00:20
Hey larry,
here's the test results: (they are taken BEFORE any hormone medication)
FSH 1.6 IU/l
LH 4.3 IU/L (pretty normal i think)
oestradiol 19.5 pg/ml
progesteron 0.98 ng/ml
prolactine 12.8 ng/ml
DHEAS 377.4 mcg/dl
Total testosteron 6373 pg/ml
free testosterone 125.7 pg/mlfrom what i know of endicronology, i'd say everything looks pretty normal except for the FSH right? my psydoc says my FSH is indeed very low, but it's nothing to worry about cause my LH, testosterone etc look normal...
I'm quite shure tough my problem IS hormone situated, cause the testosterone i've been taking really works (tough i couldn't tell him that, cause it wastn't prescribed by him...).I have indeed no beard at all, where every guy in my year is parading with his moustache. Also the other secundary genital marks (dunno the english word) are abscent.
everything marks out to hormones, and still my docter ignores them because of the results...
what should i do? would an endo-doc say the same as my psy??
Posted by Larry Hoover on December 28, 2005, at 23:31:36
In reply to Re: Very low FSH but normal testosterone...WTF???, posted by MrBrice on December 28, 2005, at 11:06:20
> Hey larry,
>
> here's the test results: (they are taken BEFORE any hormone medication)Okay.
>
> FSH 1.6 IU/lHere's one of the things you're going to run into, is differences in interpretation of what is a normal level. Accounting for differences in units, I found two different "normal range" value sets for men. One showed 1.5 - 12.4 IU/L as normal, whereas another showed 5.0 - 20.0 IU/L as normal.
The normal range might reflect the way the lab did the assessment, which is why I mentioned the lab normal range values in my last response. It is therefore possible that different methods might account for the different normal range values. It should say on your lab report what the normal values for that method are.
I would interpret your FSH as abnormally low (partly because you are young), but that is still dependent on the method used by the lab.
> LH 4.3 IU/L (pretty normal i think)
The values I find for LH are also in two sets. The first set has 7.0 - 24.0 IU/L as normal, and the other has 1.0 - 9.0 IU/L as normal. Again, it could be a method issue. Your value looks abnormally low, in one set, but quite normal, in the other.
> oestradiol 19.5 pg/ml
> progesteron 0.98 ng/mlThis value is borderline high (maximum 1.0 ng/ml). Zero is the low end limit, so this may be of some significance, also.
> prolactine 12.8 ng/ml
> DHEAS 377.4 mcg/dl
> Total testosteron 6373 pg/ml
> free testosterone 125.7 pg/ml
>
> from what i know of endicronology, i'd say everything looks pretty normal except for the FSH right?Depending on the normal ranges used by your lab, your LH might be off, and also progesterone.
> my psydoc says my FSH is indeed very low, but it's nothing to worry about cause my LH, testosterone etc look normal...
> I'm quite shure tough my problem IS hormone situated, cause the testosterone i've been taking really works (tough i couldn't tell him that, cause it wastn't prescribed by him...).That makes it a challenge. Your testosterone was normal before you took it, though.
> I have indeed no beard at all, where every guy in my year is parading with his moustache. Also the other secundary genital marks (dunno the english word) are abscent.
"Secondary sexual characteristics" is the term used.
The absence of secondary sexual characteristics is entirely consistent with the pattern of low testosterone, low FSH, and low LH. It would indicate a hypopituitary disorder. It could also be an enzyme disorder, though. Your body might not utilize testosterone normally, which would account for all these signs.
> everything marks out to hormones, and still my docter ignores them because of the results...
> what should i do? would an endo-doc say the same as my psy??Because the secondary sexual characteristics (hair pattern) are not normal for an adult male, and you have what are probably out of range low pituitary hormones (FSH and LH), I'd be strongly leaning towards a pituitary problem. And that's the field of the endocrinologist. I can't say if the endo will decide to treat you with hormones, or not. But I think you should see an endocrinologist to determine if your pituitary function is normal. He's also know all about the proper blood test for that enzyme deficiency, if that's what you are dealing with. So, I think you should see the specialist.
Good luck,
Lar
Posted by MrBrice on December 29, 2005, at 5:42:42
In reply to Re: Very low FSH but normal testosterone...WTF??? » MrBrice, posted by Larry Hoover on December 28, 2005, at 12:01:52
Hey larry,
i'm gonna make an appointment with an endo soon.
meanwhile, do you think it would be foolish to keep taking my androgel? I have no acne, maybe it's not very bad for me at all.
offcourse i'd like to keep on taking it...brice
Posted by Larry Hoover on December 29, 2005, at 7:17:46
In reply to Re: Very low FSH but normal testosterone...WTF???, posted by MrBrice on December 29, 2005, at 5:42:42
> Hey larry,
>
> i'm gonna make an appointment with an endo soon.
>
> meanwhile, do you think it would be foolish to keep taking my androgel? I have no acne, maybe it's not very bad for me at all.
> offcourse i'd like to keep on taking it...
>
> briceAsk the endo to comment when you make the appointment. They might want you to go off it, so that they see the "real" Brice.
I think they'd probably insist on that, when I think about it.
You can certainly mention the effect when you're talking about your medical history.
Lar
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