chronos

[chronos]

Hi,

I’m a 29 year old (well almost 30 ;)) woman with autoimmune hypopituitarism. I was DX’d by my endo about a year and a half ago.

I currently take pred/HC combo, natural thyroid extract/synthyroid combo, florinef, DHEA, oestradiol, progesterone (duphaston), testosterone, HGH and a host of vitamins and supplements.

I am a PhD student studying to be a researcher in animal nutrition and physiology. I have found this a massive challenge and often question my abilities, particularly during periods of hormone imbalance. Despite this, I am determined to achieve my dreams.

I find hormone interactions absolutely fascinating AND frustrating at the same time.

I look forward to learning more about them through this site.

Thanks doc 🙂

[pmgamer18]

Welcome it’s great to see you found this forum it’s great I am also Hypopituitary but do to a head injury. I pray you do good it took me 23 yrs. to figure this out I as told I have low testosterone and was only treated for this my labs always showed low normal levels on the rest of the hormones but the Dr.’s I seen saw labs in the range and over looked it as a problem. Now for the last 4 yrs I have been treating all my low hormones. Testosterone, Cortisol, Thyroid, Aldosterone, Renin and Iron or low Ferritin leaves.

You are so lucky to find out what is wrong and not have to go yrs not feeling well. Keep at you are way a head of the game. I just had open heart by pass sugary last Nov. and was out cold for 17 weeks I come home last Feb. and am now just starting to walk on my own. A funny thing happened after the sugary I don’t have low Aldosterone and Renin levels anymore and don’t need to take Florinef any more.

Before I went in for my first sugary I have 5 of them I told them to Red Line my chart so they would give me a big dam big shot of Medrol so I would not go into Adrenal Crisis.
If I had not done this I would not be here now.

I have worked as a mod. for STTM’s web site for men’s thyroid and Hypopituitay problems and now that the forums are closed I am a mod at realthyroidhelp.com. I just can’t see people going through all the crap I did.

If you have not seen this link do read it and take action.
http://www.cushings-help.com/911.htm

[chronos]

Thanks Phil,

I’m glad it didn’t take 23 years to DX me; I don’t think I would have lasted that long. It still did take some time — 10 years — but it was the year or 2 leading up to DX that were really unbearable. Prior to DX, the numerous doctors I went to told me I was stressed or depressed, despite some rather alarming symptoms. In desperation I went to a psychologist — really, I thought I was losing my marbles. At one stage I didn’t sleep for a week. The psychologist put me on antidepressants and I had an extremely negative response. After about 7 consults, I told him I hadn’t menstruated for 7 years; he immediately picked-up the phone and arranged for me to see an endocrinologist. I just can’t understand why none of the countless number of doctors I saw didn’t do that in the first place. The symptoms were obvious.

Thank you for the link. I have a solucortef kit and medic alert bracelet, so hopefully I’m covered. Also, I noticed the warning about growth hormone treatment. HGH was on the last of my replacement hormones. Despite this, I still had to temporarily increase my cortisol dose. I found dosing the HGH twice daily (2/3 before bed and 1/3 at 3:30am) really helps. I now take my prednisalone at 3:30am too, so I don’t feel so terrible when I wake-up. I also went hyperthyroid and had to reduce the thyroid extract. Then I went hypo and had to add synthyroid. In addition, I had to start supplementing magnesium. So much fun — sarcasm :). Why aren’t you taking HGH? – especially since have a heart condition?

Thanks again 🙂

[DrMariano2]

@chronos 308 wrote:

I am a PhD student studying to be a researcher in animal nutrition and physiology. I have found this a massive challenge and often question my abilities, particularly during periods of hormone imbalance. Despite this, I am determined to achieve my dreams.

I find hormone interactions absolutely fascinating AND frustrating at the same time.

I look forward to learning more about them through this site.

Thanks doc 🙂

Once I realized that cells and their intercellular signaling systems (e.g. neurotransmitters, hormones, etc.) are arranged as a fluid circuit, everything became a lot easier to understand. The circuits are analogous to electronic circuits, except electronic circuits only have electrons as the only signal, which depends on a timer and voltage gauge to determine what information it transmits. Humans (and other multicellular animals) use thousands of signals that course through fluids (such as blood vessels and lymphatic ducts, and interstitial spaces, etc.) to allow cells to communicate with one another in order to process information and to coordinate their behaviors for the sake of survival. Each signal can trigger numerous different activities. The sum of the signals will determine the direction in cellular behavior to occur. Hormones, neurotransmitters, cytokines, eicosanoids, etc. are all signals. Some have to interact with one another – since some are active enzymes – to create other signals. But the point of signaling is to trigger a behavioral response in the target cell.

I am happy with what you can learn from this site. My own education is enhanced greatly by the questions that are posed by others.

Welcome, Chronos!

[pmgamer18]

I have found that my Growth Hormones when I started on treating all my hormones my levels of GH come back up after all my hormones got leveled. Testing my IGF-1 came way back up after Heart Sugary. My Heart Dr. told me I might need HGH before the sugary but like I said my levels came back up. I am lucky to have my Heart Dr. he was an Endo treating people with pituitary and hormone problems in Italy. When he come to the USA there was not much of a need for a Dr. in this area so he became a Heart Dr. So now I have two dam good Dr.’s up on my Pituitary Problems.

The Heart Dr. did tell me when hormones are off the GH takes a hit trying to give the body balance. So when every thing gets balanced GH goes back up.

Dr. M thanks to you for all the help you have given us men over the yrs no other Dr. has done this in such depth as you do.

[chronos]

Thanks doc for the great analogy :). I find it much easier to visualize things. It is all very complex and I suppose I’ll never stop learning.

Phil, That’s really interesting about the IGF-1. My IGF-1 decreased after getting all other hormones optimized. But, in reality, I’m not sure if I’m GH deficient since my IGF-1 was low-normal. If you’re deficient in 2-3 pituitary hormones, you have a 90-95% likelihood of being GH deficient, so my thinking is that the odds are well against me.

The GH caused massive hormonal shifts. First, I had to reduce thyroid extract (armour equiv.), then I had to increase cortisol and move my first dose to a couple of hours before waking, then I had to add synthyroid, then after reducing DHEA (I was taking 30mg which is quite high for a woman) I found I was able to decrease my cortisol back to my original dose. 😮 I’ve gone from 4 grains of thyroid extract to 1.5grs + 50mg synthyroid. I still get brain fog, but don’t feel as hypoT as I did before taking GH.

[pmgamer18]

Chronos I hear you about adjusting meds I think I finely have mine working great I also take meds 2 to 3 hrs. before I get up. I take my Testosterone or HCG shots with my Cortef and Armour.

My GH is just below mid range for my age 65 yet some Dr.’s feel you need levels of a younger person. I just don’t want to go on this unless I have to, just to many problems that can happen on HGH.

[chronos]

Yes, I take my cortisol, thyroid, DHEA and 1/3 dose HGH a couple of hours before rising. It’s made a massive difference to how I feel.

By problems with HGH, do you mean problems with balancing other hormones, or something else?

[wondering]

check the ingredients of your DHEA pill. Some use a calcium-like substance as filler. If taken at the same time as your Armour, it could impede absorption. I take my HC and Armour the instant I wake up, but wait a half hour to take my DHEA with breakfast.

@chronos 399 wrote:

Yes, I take my cortisol, thyroid, DHEA and 1/3 dose HGH a couple of hours before rising. It’s made a massive difference to how I feel.

By problems with HGH, do you mean problems with balancing other hormones, or something else?

[chronos]

Thanks wondering… I was aware of that, but didn’t think it mattered if I took thyroid extract at higher quantities. You wouldn’t happen to know if it ‘preferentially’ blocks T3 for T4, or vice versa?

[pmgamer18]

The problems I am talking about are the sides it one it going to have them it’s me. But my Heart Dr. keeps telling me if levels don’t stay up he is putting me on HGH. He says low levels are bad on the heart.
@chronos 399 wrote:

Yes, I take my cortisol, thyroid, DHEA and 1/3 dose HGH a couple of hours before rising. It’s made a massive difference to how I feel.

By problems with HGH, do you mean problems with balancing other hormones, or something else?

[chronos]

I read that hypopits have a substantially higher risk of cardiovascular diseases and this is attributed to low growth hormone… so your Heart Dr. probably has good reason to be concerned. HGH replacement knocked me around quite a bit as well, taking it twice daily helped a lot. I think that the circardian spikes, which differs between males and females, have an important function. I suppose you can’t have everything.

[pmgamer18]

I hear yea GH at lower levels is very bad and it’s hard to get Dr.’s to treat this in most people. And it’s covered by most heath care plains if the Dr. proves you are not taking this for anti-aging. In my case it’s hard to tell why I had blockages in my heart vessels and when they tried to get them open they could not get past the blockages. So they did bypass surgery. When they cut out the bad spot they told my wife it was calcified and very old the just could not understand how I lived like this the artery feeding my heart the 3rd. bad one was a birth defect they left this one alone.

As of now I am having a very hard time with building my muscles back up they get very sore and hurt after doing anything. Yesterday I drained my Spa and as I was pulling the hose to fill it I found I could not do this to week and I hurt my chest muscles trying. It’s my chest muscles the were pulled over my ribs to hold them together I don’t have a sternum. So I am thinking HGH might help with my muscles coming back I lost so much being out cold 17 weeks and off my Testosterone meds.

[Author]

Posts