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Testosterone, My Testosterone
Saw a patient yesterday that I had recently started on testosterone cream for HSDD (Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder, otherwise known as “Not now, not ever, if it were up to me”).
As I poured over the usual labs I ordered – TSH, fT3, fT4, rT3, free and total testosterone – I was delighted to see that her previously low free T3, the active form of thyroid hormone, rose into my optimal range. Reverse T3, which converts from T4 (inactive thyroid hormone) and blocks the thyroid receptor particularly when you’re stressed, declined (and that’s a good thing!).
I just love it when that happens.
Here’s the elegant part: I hadn’t changed her thyroid meds. Testosterone optimized her fT3/rT3 ratio. I imagine, if your DHEAS is low for your age, that taking small doses of DHEA probably optimizes fT3 but I haven’t seen data proving that.
Keep in mind (as many of my Polycystic Ovarian followers know only too well) that you need to find the sweet spot with both testosterone and thyroid hormone: not too much and not too little. Too much causes rather unfortunate features such as rogue hairs, head hair loss, acne, clitoromegaly (clitoris increases in size), voice deepening and such.
We don’t want that.
We want both free testosterone and free T3 in the top half of the normal range for your lab. Let’s manifest that for you in 2011.
By Dr. Sara Gottfried
—
Gottfried Center
for Integrative Medicine
Sara Gottfried, MD
300 Lakeside Dr, Suite 202
Oakland, CA 94612
510.893.3907
www.GottfriedCenter.com
Tags: finding the sweet spot, HSDD hypoactive sexual desire disorder, polycystic ovaries, testosterone, testosterone and thyroid hormone, Testosterone My Testosterone, thyroid in range with symptoms, thyroid medication's impact on thyroid medications, written by Dr. Sara Gottfried
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I was just not too long ago identified as having Pseudohypoparathyroidism but for the longest time frame medical professionals informed my family that I had Pseduopseudohypoparathyroidism. I don’t really fully grasp any of this. Does this mean I’ll have kidney problems? All the websites I’ve seen just say the same medical jargon over and over. I’m so lost! Just what is the big difference? Can any person guide me determine what’s going on? Thanks to anybody who could help!