Chemman's log

[chemman]

I'v already talked about my experiences with Dr. Mariano. Yes I'v only been with him for 5 months and yes I'm not 100%, but if I did not move forward any more which I doubt i would not be angry.

To see how far Mariano has brought me from what i once was is amazing considering I'v seen 6 other docs who just seemed to make matters worse. I'm young like Chemman and after reading a lot of his posts I'v been through most of it. I should not even complain. Me not being 100% is just feeling a little off somedays.

Befor all my shit life was good i was in great shape and things were looking up. Everything changed in one night. After making some bad decisions and taking some stupid OTC workout supplement i had svtanywhere from 250-320 bpm for two days. long story short i had wolff parkinson white syndrome and had a emergency cardiac ablation.

A couple of weeks went by everything was fine and then i had a major shutdown. My heart seemed to skip thousands of times a day. the Cardiologist said it was all normal. It was not for me. I lost 25lbs in one month. i becoame so fatigued everyday that it hurt to walk. i would sleep 20 hours a feel like I never slept. My joints hurt. Everytime i moved my joint and sturnum would crack. My body pretty much wasted away.

Doctor after doctor all blew me off saying it's all in your head. My anxiety became so bad i could not do normal things. i did not even want to leave my house. i was in a constant brain fog and my life was falling apart. During this time i left school to move home. Finally one of my doctors found somewhat of a low testosterone and put me on trt. it helped, but like many it was definately not my only problem.

Parents made me go back to school this last fall and things just fell apart. i became deeply depressed becouse i could not do half the things i used to. I love working out and it hurt me to even try. I finally knew I could not live like this anymore and was sick of living like this for a year. i felt like i was just spinning my wheels with the othwer docs.

Dr. mariano was the best choice i have ever made when it comes to a doctor. Within four months my fatique, brainfog and joint pain is completely gone. I rarely ever have anxiety or feel depressed. I now can work out a feel good once again. i feel like i keep on getting better each week. I should not weven complain about not being 100%. i am so much more farthur forward than I was in the nightmare. Mariano will run many tests and it will cost you, but i rather have quality of life than to live like i did this past year.

Sorry for the long post but i just wanted to let you know.

Damn your story sounds similar. I am curious as to what additional treatments you required beyond TRT. Does it include cortisol?

I am considering flying to see Mariano. But first I have to give it one more shot with local doctors. But I am in a tough spot. I don't feel well enough to keep working but my job, but if I quit I will be without health insurance for a while, which is a scary proposition for me right now in my current state.

Fuck it really does come down to money doesn't it. How much does Mariano charge?

 

[extrm112]

Damn your story sounds similar. I am curious as to what additional treatments you required beyond TRT. Does it include cortisol?

I am considering flying to see Mariano. But first I have to give it one more shot with local doctors. But I am in a tough spot. I don't feel well enough to keep working but my job, but if I quit I will be without health insurance for a while, which is a scary proposition for me right now in my current state.

Fuck it really does come down to money doesn't it. How much does Mariano charge?

My cortisol is high, but has come down in these last four months. He really looks at nutrition and overall function of your body. He's big in thyroid and metabolism. He got me off trt and now is working on my thyroid and body temp. I was like you and tried to give all my locaal docs a chance but with minimal results.

You won't regret seeing Mariano. He is completely different than any other doc i'v seen.

your 2 hour consult in his office is $500 and after that your hour phone consults are $250. Mariano does not really have any overhead so they don't bill insurance. My parents send in my bills and insurance takes care of most of it.

I feel you on the job.. I had to leave my job and school. It sucks man, but there is hope. See mariano and do whats best for your health.

 

[sako]

Chem,

If you are gonna shell out money to see a specialist, I have heard that Mariano is the best. Hands down.

To use an analogy: Crisler is like community college. Mariano is like Harvard.

And you've seen both of them? how exactly are you even able to make this statement?

 

[sako]

My cortisol is high, but has come down in these last four months. He really looks at nutrition and overall function of your body. He's big in thyroid and metabolism. He got me off trt and now is working on my thyroid and body temp. I was like you and tried to give all my locaal docs a chance but with minimal results.

You won't regret seeing Mariano. He is completely different than any other doc i'v seen.

your 2 hour consult in his office is $500 and after that your hour phone consults are $250. Mariano does not really have any overhead so they don't bill insurance. My parents send in my bills and insurance takes care of most of it.

I feel you on the job.. I had to leave my job and school. It sucks man, but there is hope. See mariano and do whats best for your health.

Can you post exactly what he had you do?? and what supps / meds / lifestyle choices he has you on?

It would be interesting to know

 

[CubbieBlue]

Can you post exactly what he had you do?? and what supps / meds / lifestyle choices he has you on?

It would be interesting to know

EXTRM112,

You are the one person who I was referring to who has had a great experience with Mariano. I am glad you have had such a good experience and that your issues have been taken care of. However, it seems like he is treating you how he treats everyone: gives them a new (mostly paleo) diet, puts them on some supplements, and spends some time listening to them.

Like Sako, can you convince me that he doing more than just telling you to eat better and relax? What sort of treatment has he offered you?

Thank you.

 

[extrm112]

EXTRM112,

You are the one person who I was referring to who has had a great experience with Mariano. I am glad you have had such a good experience and that your issues have been taken care of. However, it seems like he is treating you how he treats everyone: gives them a new (mostly paleo) diet, puts them on some supplements, and spends some time listening to them.

Like Sako, can you convince me that he doing more than just telling you to eat better and relax? What sort of treatment has he offered you?

Thank you.

Yes he has changed my lifestyle with diet , and has put me on supplements for deficiencies. An example: I'm on Iodoral, my Iodine levels were well below normal. All Mariano is doing is supporting my body and helping it function optimally. Most doctors would have never dug that deep to even find these deficiencies.

I have also been on Nolvadex for restart and a short period of Armour thyroid.

Mariano tells me a lot of his patience are college students who pretty much with an improper lifstyle for many years come to him not functioning and a little help with lifestyle changes like diet goes a long way.

I never had a horrible lifestyle ,but it could have always been better.

 

[sako]

any chance you can make a detailed post with everything he has you doing and all his advice/recommendations? It would really help i think

 

[CubbieBlue]

Yes he has changed my lifestyle with diet , and has put me on supplements for deficiencies. An example: I'm on Iodoral, my Iodine levels were well below normal. All Mariano is doing is supporting my body and helping it function optimally. Most doctors would have never dug that deep to even find these deficiencies.

I have also been on Nolvadex for restart and a short period of Armour thyroid.

Mariano tells me a lot of his patience are college students who pretty much with an improper lifstyle for many years come to him not functioning and a little help with lifestyle changes like diet goes a long way.

I never had a horrible lifestyle ,but it could have always been better.

What was his restart protocol?

(Also I concur with Sako)

 

[Tyler81]

What I don't understand is why guys (who have sub par T levels) are so obsessed with restarts?

From my understanding, restarts don't normally hold. And in my experience, restarts don't hold. I tried a "restart" with clomid and it held for about 3 months before my levels went back to exactly what they were before. My low T seems to be my default genetic baseline level.

I have a feeling that unless your low levels are due to something situational like stress, restarts don't stick.

Just my 2cents (take everything I say with a grain of salt)

 

[chemman]

Let's mark it in the books: I felt fucking just fine today, for the first time in a long long time. Happy, fearless, and confident. Thank god.

Must be the increase in T dose catching up to me. Or the plant-based Omega 3,6,9 blend I took last night, or cortisol finally coming up [was able to fast today]. Who knows, but today I am happy to be alive.

Joint still hurt... but I will find a solution to that as well.

 

[chemman]

Welp, more problems have come up since the last post. The sore joints turned into a major arthritic flare from head to toe. I have had my diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis confirmed by 3 rheumatologists now.

Front- line NSAID treatment didn't help enough and it really messes up my GI tract, so I was put on Humira shots 40mg every 2 weeks. After 6 shots, I am pretty close top being in remission.

But the adrenal symptoms STILL linger, although are improved now that my inflammation levels are down, which makes sense. Less inflammation = less demand for cortisol.

My Am cortisol levels kept coming in at 12 or 11 ug/dL, which is not very high considering the amount of inflammation and stress i have been experiencing.

I was given a low-dose ACTH stim test and the results certainly confirm my suspicions.

Baseline cortisol: 3.7 [3.7 - 22.0]
Baseline ACTH: Somewhere around 10, I think.
DHEA-S: 270 [211-500]

30 minute cortisol: 12

60 minute cortisol: 6

That baseline is the lowest I have ever displayed. 15 months ago it was 19.

My guess is that my immune system is doing nasty things to my body, including destroying my HPA axis. Or maybe all my arthritis was just from low cortisol?

I have a script for 10,5 or 10,5,5 cortef based on these results, but I am going to hold off until I get a second opinion next week from a doc who appears well-versed and published in adrenal disorders. I am under low-stress right now and feel decent, besides some anxiety/de-realization type feelings and mild to moderate fatigue.

 

[chemman]

Welp, more problems have come up since the last post. The sore joints turned into a major arthritic flare from head to toe. I have had my diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis confirmed by 3 rheumatologists now.

Front- line NSAID treatment didn't help enough and it really messes up my GI tract, so I was put on Humira shots 40mg every 2 weeks. After 6 shots, I am pretty close top being in remission.

But the adrenal symptoms STILL linger, although are improved now that my inflammation levels are down, which makes sense. Less inflammation = less demand for cortisol.

My Am cortisol levels kept coming in at 12 or 11 ug/dL, which is not very high considering the amount of inflammation and stress i have been experiencing.

I was given a low-dose ACTH stim test and the results certainly confirm my suspicions.

Baseline cortisol: 3.7 [3.7 - 22.0]
Baseline ACTH: Somewhere around 10, I think.
DHEA-S: 270 [211-500]

30 minute cortisol: 12

60 minute cortisol: 6

That baseline is the lowest I have ever displayed. 15 months ago it was 19.

My guess is that my immune system is doing nasty things to my body, including destroying my HPA axis. Or maybe all my arthritis was just from low cortisol?

I have a script for 10,5 or 10,5,5 cortef based on these results, but I am going to hold off until I get a second opinion next week from a doc who appears well-versed and published in adrenal disorders. I am under low-stress on vacation right now and feel decent, besides some anxiety/de-realization type feelings and mild to moderate fatigue.

 

[chemman]

Welp, more problems have come up since the last post. The sore joints turned into a major arthritic flare from head to toe. I have had my diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis confirmed by 3 rheumatologists now.

Front- line NSAID treatment didn't help enough and it really messes up my GI tract, so I was put on Humira shots 40mg every 2 weeks. After 6 shots, I am pretty close top being in remission.

But the adrenal symptoms STILL linger, although are improved now that my inflammation levels are down, which makes sense. Less inflammation = less demand for cortisol.

My Am cortisol levels kept coming in at 12 or 11 ug/dL, which is not very high considering the amount of inflammation and stress i have been experiencing.

I was given a low-dose ACTH stim test and the results certainly confirm my suspicions.

Baseline cortisol: 3.7 [3.7 - 22.0]
Baseline ACTH: Somewhere around 10, I think.
DHEA-S: 270 [211-500]

30 minute cortisol: 12

60 minute cortisol: 6

That baseline is the lowest I have ever displayed. 15 months ago it was 19.

My guess is that my immune system is doing nasty things to my body, including destroying my HPA axis. Or maybe all my arthritis was just from low cortisol?

I have a script for 10,5 or 10,5,5 cortef based on these results, but I am going to hold off until I get a second opinion next week from a doc who appears well-versed and published in adrenal disorders. I am under low-stress on vacation right now and feel decent, besides some anxiety/de-realization type feelings and mild to moderate fatigue.

 

[spstriken]

what tests did you performed for ankylosing spondylitis?
I think you are not alone. Every body who is secondary hypogonodal has one kind or the other kind of auto immune disorder. Vasectomized guys are one example.

 

[chemman]

what tests did you performed for ankylosing spondylitis?
I think you are not alone. Every body who is secondary hypogonodal has one kind or the other kind of auto immune disorder. Vasectomized guys are one example.

Ankylosing spondylitis [AS] is a diagnosis made based upon symptoms, imaging, and bloodwork. Symptoms would be lower back pain, SI joint pain [this is the hallmark of the disease], peripheral joint pain [I have a lot of this in my case], swollen joints, fatigue, malaise, uveitis, iritis.

As far as bloodwork goes, a good rheumatologist will check you for ANA, Rheumatoid factor, HLA-B27, ESR, C-reactive protein, and CMP, CBC. There might be others in addition to what I listed. HLA-B27 positivity is tightly associated with ankylosing pondylitis, meaning that if you have symptoms and are HLA-B27+, then you probably have the disease. I am HLA-B27+. Roughly 90% of AS patients are HLA-B27+ and about 10% of people with HLA-B27 will develop AS.

I am nearly 100% sure that my hypogonadism was a result of inflammation. Inflammatory cytokines are known to wreak havoc on the HPTA. There are theories out there that this is actually how diabetics end up with hypogonadism.

Testosterone has a mild anti-inflammatory effect.

 

[spstriken]

yes I agree. inflammation is the main cause for most of us hypogonadal males but not body knows how to control these cytokines 100%. I realised this fact about more than a year ago and made some posts in propeciahelp.com and in musclechatroom but may blew out my theory.
I dont know about your case but for most fin and saw palmetto users looks like problem starts from brain.

 

[spstriken]

I want to add one more observation. vasectomized males(not all) also undergo the same issues of low testosterone. their T drops after the operation. I think the get inflammation and then anti bodies and then nasty inflammation (cytokines) shut down their hpta.

have you made such an observation?
did any vasectomized male got well after using TRT only?
I have seen few where they are struggling with their TRT the same way as people doing after using finasteride.

 

[hardasnails1973]

I want to add one more observation. vasectomized males(not all) also undergo the same issues of low testosterone. their T drops after the operation. I think the get inflammation and then anti bodies and then nasty inflammation (cytokines) shut down their hpta.

have you made such an observation?
did any vasectomized male got well after using TRT only?
I have seen few where they are struggling with their TRT the same way as people doing after using finasteride.

Low dosage of dexamethalone may help with inflammation or even LDN has been shown to help autoimmune disorders.

Need to focus on the immune system. I have been suggesting to medical professional when consulting using LDN between 1-3 mgs daily for many different autoimmune disorders. DO you research. To kill inflammation one of the drugs I used back in the day for bodybuilding is now being used to deal with inflammatory conditions, Ketofen. There are very few Dr's who even know of these treatments

Vinces low dose naltrexone and AS (Ankylosing spondilitis) blog

 

[spstriken]

Low dosage of dexamethalone may help with inflammation or even LDN has been shown to help autoimmune disorders.

Need to focus on the immune system. I have been suggesting to medical professional when consulting using LDN between 1-3 mgs daily for many different autoimmune disorders. DO you research. To kill inflammation one of the drugs I used back in the day for bodybuilding is now being used to deal with inflammatory conditions, Ketofen. There are very few Dr's who even know of these treatments

Vinces low dose naltrexone and AS (Ankylosing spondilitis) blog

have you treated any one with what you are suggesting ?
could you please give any example?
I think once you get auto immune then it is very hard to get undercontrol. if it is that is easy then why not people can treat rheumatoid arthritis or sclerosis?

 

[spstriken]

Hi chemman

do you have any of the following

1- vision problem , double vision in one eye?
2-change in your urination habit. do you urinate more often and feel urgencey espcially during night?
3-slurred speech.