Very Strange Blood Test Results

[Julie Marie]

I called my doctor today to see how the blood test results turned out. He said my testosterone dropped from 362 to 38 but my estradiol levels DROPPED from 57 to 24. Is this possible?

I went from having nothing in the way of breasts to being a small B cup. My skin has softened noticeably. Body hair has diminished and scalp hair has thickened. I can see changes in my face too. And when I walked into my doctor's office he told me he almost didn't recognize me I had changed so much.

I'm a bit baffled. I'm thinking a typo or something. How could my estradiol level drop when all these changes have taken place? Has anyone ever heard of anything like this?

[Melissa]

Yes.  Somebody on another forum had very rapid changes which actually started occuring prior to HRT.  Estragen levels dropped as well and doctors are still baffled.  I believe you already join that forum too.

Melissa

[Julie Marie]

Yes.  Somebody on another forum had very rapid changes which actually started occuring prior to HRT.  Estragen levels dropped as well and doctors are still baffled.  I believe you already join that forum too.

Melissa

Melissa, I haven't seen anything like that. Were you thinking Beginning Life? because that's the only other forum I have joined recently.

What baffles me is when I first started HRT, my doctor, who is the favorite of both TSs and professionals alike in the community here, put me on the same "starter formula" he has used countless times. After two months my estradiol level went from 54 to 57. He asked me all sorts of questions that would indicate my body was absorbing the estradiol but my answers and his examination said nothing was happening.  He upped the estradiol levels and still nothing.  When I went to transdermals I started to see results.

I've been on transdermals for about a year. I've had all the results one would expect from HRT. In fact for my age it's better than most. You can't grow boobs without estradiol (am I wrong?) so there must be a good amount in my system. I have classically feminine nipples and areola. Only estrogen can do this.

What I'm worried about is if there's something in my system masking the results. If there is something like this going on and my doctor keeps upping the dose of the injections I could end up dead.

I'm a very logical person. If things don't make sense I question them. When the orals weren't working it was on my insistence that I go to transdermals. They worked beautifully!  But not on paper.  Strange, very strange. I start injections next week. If the numbers are still low I'll have to insist on another method of determining estradiol levels in the system.

Whatever happens I won't let him keep increasing the doseage so he can see the right numbers. But this thing really bothers me. What is going on here?

[Melissa]

Melissa, I haven't seen anything like that. Were you thinking Beginning Life? because that's the only other forum I have joined recently.

Yeah, that's the one.  I just didn't mention the name, because I didn't want to break Rule #1 here:

1. Do not advertise other chats/sites in public or private on this site without explicit permission.

However, as my doctor would say, it doesn't matter what the paper says if you're getting the results you want.

Melissa

[Susan]

Yeah, that's the one.  I just didn't mention the name, because I didn't want to break Rule #1 here:

However, as my doctor would say, it doesn't matter what the paper says if you're getting the results you want.

Melissa

Mentioning the name wouldn't in it's self violate rule 1, just a FYI.

[stephanie_craxford]

I called my doctor today to see how the blood test results turned out. He said my testosterone dropped from 362 to 38 but my estradiol levels DROPPED from 57 to 24. Is this possible?

I went from having nothing in the way of breasts to being a small B cup. My skin has softened noticeably. Body hair has diminished and scalp hair has thickened. I can see changes in my face too. And when I walked into my doctor's office he told me he almost didn't recognize me I had changed so much.

I'm a bit baffled. I'm thinking a typo or something. How could my estradiol level drop when all these changes have taken place? Has anyone ever heard of anything like this?

I think that your levels are approaching what is considered normal for a female.  I believe that the normal range for female free/bio available testosterone is between 25 and 35, right now mine is 36.  And as far as your estro levels go it is also normal for a females levels to fluctuate such as during menstruation.  You didn't mention if your Dr in an endo, if they are then I would trust their judgement, if they're not then why not see an endo to chat about the levels, and maybe get a better understanding of what is happening and get some recommendations.

Just my thoughts.

Steph

[Julie Marie]

I think that your levels are approaching what is considered normal for a female.  I believe that the normal range for female free/bio available testosterone is between 25 and 35, right now mine is 36.  And as far as your estro levels go it is also normal for a females levels to fluctuate such as during menstruation.  You didn't mention if your Dr in an endo, if they are then I would trust their judgement, if they're not then why not see an endo to chat about the levels, and maybe get a better understanding of what is happening and get some recommendations.

Just my thoughts.

Steph

He said my testosterone level was right where I want to be so that's good. The blood test results I have give normal levels adjacent to your test result level. Adult males should have testosterone levels between 241 and 827. Adult females should be 20-76. For estradiol, males should be 13-54. Female ranges are Follicular Phase: 11-212; Mid Cycle: 18-240; Luteal Phase < or = to 247; Post-Menapausal: < or = to 27. Since we don't go through cycles I think our ideal range is somewhere in the mid 200's. I'll have to ask him when I see him Thursday.

When I was in his office he told me that spiro doesn't lower testosterone, estradiol does. He's the most widely respected HRT doctor in the Chicagoland area. Girls who have gone to other doctors (all of them endos) find out about him and switch. He gives seminars and usually packs the room both with TG and professionals alike. So I have to put some credibility in what he says. He's been doing this for over 20 years but he is baffled about my estradiol levels. He said he's never seen anything like this.

When I had that small increase when on orals he just upped the doseage. That still didn't work. But I have always had problems with oral meds that I take for extended periods, as if I build up an immunity. That's why I was pushing transdermals. What worried me was his comment that even transdermals aren't working despite the physical changes he witnessed.

Maybe the lab screwed up and this is just a typo. If not, and there's something in my system masking the real levels, then it could be a problem if he focuses only on the lab results when determining what doseage to administer for the injections. That's what worries me the most.

[Kate]

When I was in his office he told me that spiro doesn't lower testosterone, estradiol does.

What part does spiro play in the m2f HRT then? I thought it was used to block T production and reception?

[Melissa]

What part does spiro play in the m2f HRT then? I thought it was used to block T production and reception?

Maybe spiro does just that Kate, but the estrogen lowers the current levels.  I hadn't heard that either.

Melissa

[tinkerbell]

When I was in his office he told me that spiro doesn't lower testosterone, estradiol does.

What part does spiro play in the m2f HRT then? I thought it was used to block T production and reception?

Spironolactone reduces testosterone but does not block it completely.  There's more about this in our wiki:

https://www.susans.org/wiki/Antiandrogen


tinkerbell

[Julie Marie]

How's this for a theory explaining what's happening?

First, my body isn't producing estradiol as well on it's own because of the HRT. Then my body is absorbing the estradiol from the transdermal patches and using it up or converting it to something that isn't being tested, like estrone.

I recently read that and it makes some sense to me.