Medical update content

So the Cliff Note's version of the Dr bloodwork report... My testosterone is a little low ("low-normal 370"), glucose (102) & TG (186)are slightly high. Her recommendation is to watch my carbs & sugars, increase exercise and lose 10#, which will supposedly raise the T and lower glucose.

I do watch my carbs, they look lovely on my plate at Skyline. Anyway, Kelly & I were discussing options. I plan to cut back/stop Gatorade daily, try options at Skyline, and watch the stuff I eat along with some cardio options like walking/hiking.

Some Facebook friends that are real life medical professionals have said the T is actually low and could be reasons for replacement therapy. "A low testosterone level is part of the normal aging process . a low carb diet and exercise is a good start , but you will likely need testosterone replacement therapy . . if you weighed 250 pounds I would say you're low testosterone level was because you were overweight , but we both know that's not the case"

Need to look up carbs and their glycemic index apparently, probably switch to unsweet tea. Ok fans, lay some ideas/options on me... (Me lose 10#? I've never had to lose weight in my life.)

Gold Star>Skyline

nicksta43 wrote: Gold Star>Skyline

SKYLINEFORTHEMUTHABERKINWIN

also...oh noes, I weigh right at 250 and have been diagnosed as low T...

Alas, I already know I have to lose weight. My Tips:

• Walk every morning - I have a treadmill, or the street out front works as well.
• Make skyline 4 - way bean @ home - use Dreamfields pasta...its a low glycemic pasta that keeps a lot of its carbs undigestable if you undercook it slightly. Available at Kroger. Or use spaghetti squash.
• Healthy Life bread - 5 grams of net carbs (total grams of carbs minus grams of fiber) - Also available at Kroger
• Tumaros brand tortillas - Same story - low net carbs - Yep, Kroger too...great for taco night, or I like some Chipotle chicken lunchmeat, lettuce, tomato, green pepper, shredded cheddar....delicious
• Snack a little bit all day on stuff like almonds, strawberries, lowfat cheese sticks etc...keeping yourself full makes it easier to pass up on the box of donuts in the breakroom at the office

I know someone who has lost a lot of weight this way. I have some cholesterol issues, so the lowcarb lifestyle is not the answer for me - sadly, portion control and activity level are, I have to do this the hard way

get you a script for Andro Gel apply it to you shoulders once a day and you will notice a difference in a couple of weeks, it's not addictive and has now effect on any internal organs and no side effects........

Eat healthier and lift weights. View food as fuel. Drink water. Spend the money you'd use on that expensive sounding food on a gym membership. At your weight, you'd probably see fast results from just eating less with moderate exercise.

If I had a dollar for every time I heard a problem with low T levels, I'd probably have a few dollars.

Maybe its right or maybe its wrong. The doc said my wife had low T, but now all the blood tests come back normal. We could have the problems ironed out a long time ago. Eat healthy. Sometimes what you crave is what you need, but nothing in excess.

Skyline? There's your problem.

They put CHEESE on chili. Blech. That's almost as bad as the time I got chili at the Tim Horton's just south of 270 and found a few pieces of banana in it.

Low T is awesome…everyone that has it drives around in cool old convertibles with cute girls; watch the commercials and learn.

nicksta43 wrote: Gold Star>Skyline

Skyline>Dixie Chili>Empress Chili>Camp Washington Chili>Gold Star if desperate... (FTFY)

Well if you like skyline's watered down tasteless meatlike substance I can be of no help to you

Actually I would kill for some skyline or goldstar or a udf or some Richards pizza steak hoagies. Sometimes I miss Ohio...

Have to love how a thread asking for medical advice turned into a chili restaurant debate.

I didn't get that much detail regarding numbers when I had (likely similar) bloodwork done a few months back, but the Dr came back with that my T numbers were low enough for my age that they suggested replacement therapy. Didn't say anything about changing diet or losing weight, even though I personally would like to lose about 15lbs.

I ended up going with the injectable kind, purely for cost reasons- I have a high-deductible insurance, and it was by far the cheapest (a reasonable supply, I think it was 3 months, was about $100 at Walgreens) since I don't get the really subsidized rates until the deductible is met. Downside is that I have to go in to the Dr's office every other week for the shot, but at least half the time they don't bother to charge me for the nurse visit and it only takes a few minutes.

We'll see just how effective it is from a medical standpoint when they do the blood tests again sometime in the next month. Anecdotally though? Unless they find that there's something seriously wrong being caused by them, I'll be keeping up with the shots for the foreseeable future...

skyline is nasty. I don't see how you yankees can eat it.

In reply to Ashyukun:

I called the Dr today to get a referral to an endocrinologist. Now I play the happy insurance waiting game. Hoping they cover it, I don't even remember what my deductible is. I realized I've never used health insurance other than a few prescriptions in my 46 years. Even my monthly chiro visit I pay out of pocket because Humana is shiny happy person.

You could call your insurance company and tell them what's going on, and who you're seeing for what, and they'll be able to tell you right then what your responsibility will be.

Not necessarily an actual dollar amount unless it's a flat dollar copay, but they'll tell you if it's going to be covered subject to your ded/OOP (Which is still covered, mind you) or if there's some other special circumstance.

You should probably call them anyways to make sure that the doctor you've been referred to is in-network.

Your doctor is considering 370 low? From what I have heard the acceptable range is between 250 and 800 depending on age and activity level.

Jerry wrote: In reply to Ashyukun: I called the Dr today to get a referral to an endocrinologist. Now I play the happy insurance waiting game. Hoping they cover it, I don't even remember what my deductible is. I realized I've never used health insurance other than a few prescriptions in my 46 years. Even my monthly chiro visit I pay out of pocket because Humana is shiny happy person.

my Mother's medicare advantage co. is quitting our county ... her pharmacist pleaded with us to not even consider Humana .. he said no one was able to get money out of them

In reply to Jarod:

And from what medical friends have told me my 370 is average for a 70yr old man. The results from the lab said 300-850, to me that 370 is pretty low for that scale.

Oh damn. I got tested and was in the 230s. I started on androgel, but all I did was fight of roid rage all day, so I refused treatment.

Jerry wrote: In reply to Ashyukun: I called the Dr today to get a referral to an endocrinologist. Now I play the happy insurance waiting game. Hoping they cover it, I don't even remember what my deductible is. I realized I've never used health insurance other than a few prescriptions in my 46 years. Even my monthly chiro visit I pay out of pocket because Humana is shiny happy person.

Pretty much everything I do that's non-catastrophic is out-of-pocket with the plan I picked. And I'm not complaining- it's free through my employer and I put money into the Health Savings Account pre-tax to pay for stuff. If I don't have any issues, I just accrue more money in the savings account. If I do, it so far has still worked out to be cheaper than paying for a traditional plan. I need to start pushing harder to have some of the stuff billed as 'preventative' though, since the insurance covers that at pretty much 100%- they paid for the sleep study to check if I had sleep apnea in its entirety. I approve of this approach- I'm sure heading off health issues before they BECOME issues costs them much more than treating them when they become a problem...

Will definitely be revisiting it though when we start trying to have kids though- that will likely hit the deductible pretty fast...

Jarod wrote: Oh damn. I got tested and was in the 230s. I started on androgel, but all I did was fight of roid rage all day, so I refused treatment.

I've not had any adverse side-effects that I can tell from the treatment over the last few months. Don't know whether that's more because of the different kind of delivery method (I'm getting injections) or just individual physiology. The GF was given the topical gel as part of a weight loss program a ways back since she had almost no T (even women need a bit) and had problems with her skin breaking out and warned me of that, but I've not had that problem either...