This Weeks Appointment
Friday, July 30, 2010 at 8:09AM In an attempt to not fall too far behind I wanted to give you the skinny (or fatty) on my recent Endo appointment.
For those who don’t remember, and maybe just for word count sake (j/k), I had an endo who was a good guy but really was not to swift when it came to type 1’s. Especially fat type 1’s. So I found a new doc that I am digging big time.
The only tough part is that he wants me to see him every 2 weeks until he sees numbers that he likes. He helped me get in to see a CDE. He ordered some lab work. He seems to know a lot about technology and even helped me get upgraded to the new Revel pump. Cool dude indeed.
So I went in this week for my visit and I was curious to see the results of the blood draw last week, and the embarrassing urinalysis. After being weighed (worst part of every visit) I went into a room and waiting for the doc. My blood pressure was still a little high even though he upped my dosage of Lisinopril last time. We may need to try something different but he will see how my BP is next visit.
My nurse took my pump and downloaded all the readings into the PC so the Doc could look at the readouts. When he came in he wanted to change some basal rates in the evening and through the night. He was about to take my pump and do it and said, “Wait, you know how to do this stuff right?” I said yes of course and he watched me put all the info in. That was cool.
He pulled out my lab results and said that my cholesterol was quote “beautiful” so I gave a quick fist pump to Lipitor. It’s nice when drugs work the way you want them too.
“Everything looks good here except for your testosterone levels are low.”
“How low?”
“Well high is 800 and the low is 250. You are at 243. I want to have you do another blood test and we will see where you are at when you come back in two weeks.”
“Sounds good to me.”
Honestly though, after a few google searches it’s surprising what out of wack testerone will do to a guy and a girl! Read up.
In men, the test may be ordered when infertility is suspected or if the patient has a decreased sex drive or erectile dysfunction, all of which can result from low testosterone levels. Some other symptoms include lack of beard and body hair, decreased muscle mass, and development of breast tissue.
In females, testosterone testing may be done if a patient has irregular or no menstrual periods, is having difficulty getting pregnant, or appears to have masculine features, such as facial and body hair, male pattern baldness, and a low voice. Testosterone levels can rise because of tumors that develop in either the ovary or adrenal gland or because of other conditions, such as polycystic ovarian syndrome.
Testosterone level huh? The first thing I question is my inability to grow a beard. Maybe that’s why? And my lack of muscles. That’s probably because I don’t exercise. But what about these man boobs? Moobs? Those would be from too much bacon I am sure.
For guys talking about ED and decreased sex drive can be so embarrassing that even mentioning it to your doctor feels like you have something to be ashamed of. There is a lot of stuff going on inside our bodies and a lot of stuff that can go wrong. This is why finding a thorough doctor is such a blessing. Who knows how long I have had this issue and who knows what could have been helped had it been at the correct level.
He did say that weight gain is a symptom and that increasing your testosterone can help some of the drugs I am taking work better. Cool.
All and all it’s about what you know and when you know something you are on the road to being able to do something about it!
I hope this post wasn’t too TMI.
Reader Comments (8)
Wow. So what happens if your T levels are still low? Will they give you some kind of treatment?
Will we soon be faced with a new Ninjabetic, all beefy and hardcore and hairy?
I am SO very happy that you have such a thorogh doctor!!! :-) TMI or not, I'm glad they care enough to run the needed tests to keep you healthy, not just minimize insurance expense! Thanks for sharing.
It's so great your doc checked for testosterone levels! I wonder if he suspected they were low because of whatever symptoms you'd given him? Or just routinely checks? How cool if increasing testosterone helps you become healthier. (It should probably be routinely done for all men, really...)
Glad you found a doctor you like. I'm still seeing an endo I don't like at all. (Okay, I kinda hate him.) But switching endos is such a pain in the toosh, I'm just postponing it. It IS fun to write blog posts complaining about him, though, and having the d-mob back me up in mutual derision. Almost makes staying worthwhile...
Thank you for speaking up about the testosterone thing. I've heard that can be an issue as T1 men get older...
Thanks George, for educating us on testosterone. I never knew much about it, or what it does, other than the goofy stuff you might hear in jokes and on TV, etc.
I really like this doctor's group for you, seems like they are really trying to help, rather than just "process" you through their billing system. That's a great thing!
I'm so glad you found a new endo that is giving you the care you deserve. I actually have to see a new endo in September since the one I've been seeing for 11 years is leaving the practice. I hope I'm as lucky as you!
I hope all turns out okay with your testosterone. And Jacquie's comment made me LOL
I am so glad you have this new DOC!!! I am glad he is testing everything and making sure you are ok. Kudos, on educating us on T-levels and great job on your cholesterol.
Thanks for this post, George - I'm glad your doc is one of the sharp ones and that you were willing to put this out there. I've had that on my mind, as well, and with your post I'm going to make sure my Endo (a female who hasn't specifically pointed those issues out to me) can have a discussion with me about it on the next visit. Good luck on your end!