Been having numbness issues in my right arm and overall sheer exhaustion. Lots of heart issues in my family, so I decided to get checked out.

I am suffering from poor circulation, thick blood, and generally an unhealthy heart. I go in again tomorrow for more testing to see just how bad.


Doc says I must loose 65 pounds.


Luckily, the stuff I am going on should start giving me my energy back in short order.


Happy 30th birthday to me .


We all preach it, but take care of yourselves.

how much you weigh?  

good luck.  do it safe

I get the most positive feed back from people that follow these books.
New Atkins for a New You: The Ultimate Diet for Shedding Weight and Feeling Great Link

The Calorie Myth: How to Eat More, Exercise Less, Lose Weight, and Live Better Link

Good luck OP

I currently weight 260. 200 pounds was my football playing weight, but I was lifting at that point. Will see what I look like when I get to 200 and re-adjust goals from there.

What did you get to lose the weight?

Get tested for your Testosterone, estrogen, etc, levels.

Seriously. Even at age 30...

See the 166 page...

AFCOM TRT Thread...


Ask your doc abt it, I can already pretty much predict what he'll [most will] tell you [see topic ^^^ for countless examples  

Incl my own...  

But it might save your quality of life, or your life itself, to pursue it, with a competent doctor.


You can get a ton of help on the thread above, if you have issues re T.

You can also get testing done yourself, see PrivateMDlabs. Cost is abt $150 for a good blood workup, incl T and sensitive estrogen, and the results come straight to you -if you want.

Then you can take them to your doc for follow up as needed. No WebMD degree is needed to do this.  


However, your family doc may, ---like mine said to me a few months ago [after I've taken him LabCorp labwork for almost 2 years for me and my SO, and he goes over it thoroughly with us] ---that he thinks it is...

GET THIS---

UNETHICAL to order your own labwork.

UNETHICAL to take a positive and motivated interest in YOUR OWN health issues???

Don't think so Doc... Prolly shouldn't post my response to his allegation...  

Hell- it's legal in 47 or so states! But the med community I'm sure will lobby to get that changed... More POWER and CONTROL -for THEM... $$$$$$$$$$



Their God-Complex, never fails to rear its ugly head, sooner or later, it seems.

And damn, he's a GOOD doc who was great when I showed him LabCorp tests ~2 years ago, and walked out of his office ~15 minutes later with a script for self injection of T-C. IIRC.

Unfortunately, he refuses to do the current/traditional 'protocol' for my situation, so about a month later, I went to a Specialist in this field up the street, and he's handling things, very well.

First doc is still my primary care doc.


The results -incredible! One of about 5 or 6 highly life-changing events in my life.  

I am ever grateful to the Arfcom thread above, and indebted to the two aforementioned docs. And make no bones abt telling them so.


On a sour note -sadly, most men I've talked with abt this -except one friend who is being helped, have an irrational fear/rejection of even CONSIDERING getting tested.

Amazing stupidity of otherwise smart and highly competent folks...   With a multitude of irrational excuses/deflections from the subject. I just drop it, I figger if they want to lose significant quality of life, none of my biz.  

Adrenals are also not working well, but I will figure out how bad the Ticker is before Iworry about the T levels. Will discuss it ttomorrow, though.

You're approaching this potentially backwards...

Low T...

And high or low Estrogen...

Can CAUSE a bad ticker, and often does.

Don't rationalize away the testing.  

Do BOTH. The cost is essentially NOTHING to find out.

Also, any data, ask for a WRITTEN copy, for your records, dontcha know...

Life changing in what manner?

For my age [old, T production pretty much shut down]

High Motivation

Much lower tiredness...

Great memory...

Strength -stronger than ever in my life, I think...

Positive Attitude [shit, just read my posts

Good sleep, clearness of thinking...

Good relationships...

Don't sit in front of the flat screen vegetating away...

More youthful appearance, allergies gone  

Hustling...

Just abt everything.

Yes, and THAT!

Could see a difference in 3 days after starting injections, after 2 years, AMAZING  



HINT -Refuse the crèams... Have the reason at hand BEFORE they try to sell you on creams.  

Also COMPOUNDED stuff. Ridiculous, IMO, altho -been there done that...  


Keep it SIMPLE and QUANTIFIABLE ---frequent prescribed injections.

By yourself. The T is a CONTROLLED substance. It's not unheard of for something else to be inj by others and the T sold.

Cost is abt $50 for a 3 month supply of a 10ml vial of 200 mg/cc T-C from WalGreens, RiteAid, etc, with a GoodRX coupon.

GoodRX

Otherwise abt $125...  


[It isn't unheard of for 'clinics' to rip folks off to the tune of $500/month too...  



Read the link ^^^ I posted from the beginning. All 166 pages.

You might be surprised how many YOUNG men have T issues screwing up their lives. Again, plenty of young folks discussing their situations --And their SOLUTIONS-- in the topic above.


************  All this said, we all come to the end of the line some day. The point is, get there in the best fitness and form you can.





ETA, the COST for this -if you are a candidate, can be amazingly little.

Or can break your piggy bank -just depends how smart and careful you are. All the info is in the topic here ^^^.


Don't expect easy concise 5 minute answers there -there aren't any. Your homework will be arduous.



ETA2 ---You MUST find a good knowledgeable doctor, how is explained repeatedly in the referenced topic. Easy.

Thanks. Will see what the doc says, otherwise when i go fir a follow up with my primary doc, he will surely order the tests. My primary is a good guy, boarderline friend, and prepper.

Ha -that's what they ALL say...  

Don't count on it...

Don't believe anything they tell you abt T AND estrogen levels ---unless you have the hard copy of the tests. See the topic I referenced for the reasons why.  


But, sadly, I'll bet you fall into the same trap as the friends I mentioned abv. Hope you don't....


Please let us know what you find out.

Best of luck!  

A big problem with me is that I typically miss breakfast, have a snack for lunch (I work through lunch), and I have a big supper when I am done with work around 6:30.

 

Stress, stress, stress. Have been stressed out this summer, and has put on a lot of weight, despite being physically active every evening and weekend.


I have a food calorie calculator on my phone that will keep track of what I put in, and I am going on the Paleo plan.

EKG normal.

What most people seem to forget is that it's not calories per se that you need to control. You need to adapt your eating habits to the type of system you are. If your system is highly sensitive to carbs, then you shouldn't be eating a lot of carbs no matter how many calories you consume. There have been several physiology studies done indicating that getting your body to consume its fat stores rather than using simple sugars (which most carbs are) will improve you metabolism and energy levels. Some people are not sensitive to carbs at all. But, they may be sensitive to fat conversion, so for them a lower fat diet makes more sense. (Note that a low/no fat diet is stupid because your body needs some fats to operate properly.)

As the head of the American Society of Clinical Lipidologists (guys who study fats in the blood) said, "It's not really true that you are what you eat. Rather, you should eat what you are, which is, about 70% water, and the rest proteins and fat."

For myself, I'm sensitive to carbs. I'm really, really sensitive to potato starch (french fries, mashed potatoes, potato soup/salad, etc.). I usually gain at least a pound a day when I have potato stuff. If I stay away, I can usually lose or at least maintain my weight. Things like breads, crackers, pancakes/french toast, pasta, and others are so-called "empty" carbs because they don't provide much in the way of actual nutrients but DO get converted into simple sugars which means anything else you eat with it immediately gets converted into fat stores around your mid-section.

I second the suggestion to get your T and estradiol (sensitive assay is used for men) checked, even if you have to order the lab tests yourself. Once I found out my T was super low and I took action, my mental clarity returned, along with energy, libido, memory, and I've lost 35 pounds (although I still have another 30 or so to lose).

My wife and I have done very well with bullet proof coffee in the mornings. Fast and easy 300 cal per cup of fat and protien.

Read the Self Defense and Fitness forum. Plenty of folks right on this site that will help. Plenty that have gotten fit AND strong. Just takes work, like prepping.

Lift weights, eat clean. Not that hard of an equation but the execution is that hard until you get routine going. 3 compound lifts, minimum. Bench, Squat, Deadlift. Everything else is accessory work. Overhead press, clean and jerks, and snatch are great but make sure you have a trainer on the first few times, form is paramount on the latter two.

Ding! Ding! Ding! that's your problem right there. Forget about the mainstream media LIE about working out. Instead telling us the truth, that 90% of the JUNK sold in grocery stores is dangerous poison, we've always been told that its not the problem, that the problem is us because we dont work out enough... If I had a dollar for every person that told me they didnt understand why they were fat given how much they work out. Its got nothing to do with it. A plate full of bacon, burgers , muffind or even a hadnful of oreos that you can literally eat in less than 60 seconds can take anywhere from 5 to 10 hours to burn in the gym or doing moderate to intense phsicla activity. You simply cannot eat thinking that you will burn those calories. You'll never win that race because its MUCH easier to add them than to burn them, as the sayng goes you cant outrun a fork.
Forget about working out, forget about it. Right now you have to about a) drinking a LOT more water than you alreday do (this helps more than you can imagine, especialy with anxiety and stress eating, replace that with drinking water)  b) eating BETTER than you do now, a lot more fruits and vegetables c) Eating less as well. Its not just about couting calories, that will sure help you lose weight, but you also have to eat in a way that you dont pile up claories but you have optimal nutrition as well. With a plant based diet you will soon feel full and not as hungry as you did before. Naturally you end up losing weight and well, feeling much better in a surprisingly short period of time.
FerFAL

Actually, what isn't grown/raised at home is purchased in the organic section at the store .

 


Interesting side effect of going 100% organic is that we CANNOT go back. We tried to eat takeout pizza once (our used-to-be-favorite-restaurant), and we all spent the night fighting over the can and felt like crap for 3 days after. Same thing happened when the Mrs didn't have time to make potato salad and I bought some at the deli. Same thing that happened when we stopped at DQ for ice cream. Once you have been off the SAD diet and your system adjusts to real food, it flat out rejects the artificial stuff.




Oh, and my spell checker about crashed with you FerFal


 

I do believe the OP has been encouraged to head in the better direction with his health . good luck and best wishes to him.

To all you other blockheads out there--Overweight and family history of heart issues are huge red flags , do not ignore (likely while smoking a cigar and drinking a scotch).

Yes , you know somebody who lived like that and lived to 95 but there is a pretty solid chance you won't win that lottery.

Good health to all

I tend to have that effect on spell checkers.
FerFAL

You're approaching it backwards too.

Obesity can cause high estrogen/low T ... fat is an endocrine gland ...

Talked to my primary today.

I am on 5 different pills, got them this morning.


My new diet starts today, but I need to do some grocery shopping!

Let me guess...  

Beta blocker

Statin

ACE inhibitor

CoQ10

Aspirin 87 mg

Some sort of appetite suppressor or Prozac...  





Have you arranged to get your T, Estrogen, etc., evaluated??? What did your doc say when you asked?

You DID ask, didntcha?

Did, but yesterday the doc looked at me like .

 

When I actually see my primary again, we will get that testing done.

Predictable...

Hang in there `Rat; you're not alone (I'm batting right alongside `ya buddy).

Down 5 pounds today at weigh in.

Thats great!
What do you attribute it to?

Eating less overall, dramatically reduced carbs and sugar. On a high protein diet.

I'd look into serrapeptase, it's helped me dramatically.

Best of luck OP, damn 30 and having these problems.

WTF is "thick blood?"

That isnt a real disease.  Yes, you can have some disorders that can increase blood viscosity, but they have real names, not some hocum BS name.

Whatever the technical term, I am on blood thinners.

 

Yeah, it's not that easy especially when you test in the middle of that huge normal range. End of discussion. Luckily, there are free market ways, albeit grey or black markets, to acquire what one needs. Not that I'm suggesting or recommending that at all.

I will say a lot of my issues would (theoretically) be fixed by an introduction of an outside source of T. If only I had a scrip....

________diet= too hard.

Don't buy anything with more than one ingredient on the label=easy!

Don't be too quick to jump on the TRT bandwagon.  Get your other stuff in check first. TRT is like the roach motel- once you check in, you can't check out.  
Personally, I feel if you're "gettin' morning wood" you probably should skip TRT,

The best diet is the one you can live with, whether it is paleo, primal, atkins, calorie counting, or intermittent fasting.  You need to loose at a reasonable pace to retain as much lean mass as possible, no more than about 1% of your bodyweight per week.

Good luck!

I would ask... you seem set to do lots of research, half the folks here are shrieking about low T, but you can't be bothered to learn about something that could kill you?  

You talking baby aspirin or something stronger?

Metabolic Syndrom
Read up. Testosterone is one thing that helps with this. It's a SYNDROME.

So is a lack of reading comprehension and a stubborn Normalcy Bias.

Both can kill you, altho, most can't do anything abt them. As we see time after time.




Not so much different from the 300# lady in her HD electric scooter w/ a fancy onboard O2 system and pill dispenser, crowding folks out at the Wednesday afternoon buffet.

The good thing, she doesn't get to do it too long...  




The failure of inquisitiveness is a shining indicator of future success -or not.

There is an app you can get for the smartphone that will help you track this info as well. You can scan bar codes and it will tell you how many kcals are in the foods you are about to eat. I have a similar story as TJ's, but I cut out soda and started a martial arts class. In three months, I had went from being high risk obese to middle end of normal. Three months after that I was underweight and was told to start eating more kcals per day. I hope you get this figured out soon Ratty...

It was explained at the time what it is, but i wasnt taking notes, and i dont want to day the wong thing.

 

I am on something stronger than aspirin.

Time to update...


T level?

Normal, but low side of normal (forget the numbers, and I don't have them in front of me). We will be checking hormone levels again later, in about 6 months after I loose more weight.

 

Diet not going so well (I kind of have the kitchen tore up right now ), but the Mrs is doing her best. Only down about 10 pounds.


Blood work showing much better, and my BP is now excellent: 108/68.

Sounds good...

Op has there been any discussion of the pituitary?

10 pounds is far better than great.  After my stent (@43yo), I averaged a pound a week (some weeks 2 others none),  Took me about a year and a half, but I lost 75 lbs.  And taking my time and making it a lifestyle change, rather than a diet, has allowed me to have only gained about 5 back in the last 2 years (and I'm on the way back down because I'd like to lose 15).

I just wanted to say that you should learn to be happy with 1 lb per week, and I say that because there will come a time (several actually) when you stop losing weight for a month or more.  Plateaus are totally normal, but the biggest mistake people make is getting discouraged at that point.  When it happened to me, I tried to let it ride for a few weeks and just work on maintaining.  Once I was sure I could maintain it, I would look at what I was eating and how I was exercising and make some adjustments and start pushing myself again.

1st year checkup, they "let" me off the blood thinners and my cholesterol numbers went from barely bad to excellent (LDL cut in half).  2nd year I went off the cholesterol meds.  Now I'm on a heavy aspirin dose and a beta blocker (high heart rate issue).  Oh, in that first year I also went on a Auto-PAP for apnea, but by the time the 3 month trial period was done I'd lost 35 lbs since the sleep study, and was sleeping better without the Auto-PAP.

Anyway, good luck,  It sounds like you have the right attitude.  Stick with and keep reminding yourself of where you want to be.  I watched my dad go through his quad bypass at 52, and now that he's retired he is miserably "sustaining"...he lived with so much stress and didn't take care of himself/  Now I remind myself daily that if I make it to retirement age I don't want my living to be like that, sitting in a lazy boy watching TV all day.