My PCP is concerned I might be using a form of testosterone and my torso feels like pins and needles. Is it polycythemia?

[bigtom343]

So I ran my 1st cycle this summer. (250test c 125 primo, 2-4 iu GH). I started having pain in my side about a month ago around the time I stopped. I took a couple weeks off then took raloxifene eod. I had my PCP visit and thought my pain on my side might be shingles so I did my blood test and my iron was high so I donated a pint the next day. It took about a week for my PCP to read my labs and she sent me a message to come in and do more labs. So I did that yesterday and my iron went down. My side still hurts. I was happy with the results of my first cycle but this has me skeptical of the future. Any one have any experience with polycythemia?

 

[DugPrime]

Chest pain? Go see a cardiologist asap.

 

[bigtom343]

Chest pain? Go see a cardiologist asap.

It’s more like my skin on my side right below my armpit and my back is supersensitive.

 

[MyNameIsJeff]

You have very mild secondary polycythemia from AAS use. Your HCT is not elevated enough for it to be of concern. See e.g.:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=359ts44R05M&ab_channel=ManMedicine


Your local pain and hypersensitivity are unlikely to be related to your elevated HCT.

A negative antibody test is not enough to rule out postherpetic neuralgia. It should still be high on the list of potential causes. Another avenue to pursue may be cervical radiculopathy.

 

[bigtom343]

You have very mild secondary polycythemia from AAS use. Your HCT is not elevated enough for it to be of concern. See e.g.:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=359ts44R05M&ab_channel=ManMedicine


Your local pain and hypersensitivity are unlikely to be related to your elevated HCT.

A negative antibody test is not enough to rule out postherpetic neuralgia. It should still be high on the list of potential causes. Another avenue to pursue may be cervical radiculopathy.

Thanks man, I had a feeling the physicians assistant was being naieve. I had been meaning to give blood for a while and when I finally did it dropped right back into the safe zone. See the day before I had my 6month visit with my PCP I went into a rural community health center and a NP who looked had seen it all told me she believed it was the less common kind of shingles that don’t have a rash. At least the young PCP gave me some Neurontin on my visit. It’s getting better but it still sucks. And I also get a free blood cancer test.

 

[bigtom343]

You have very mild secondary polycythemia from AAS use. Your HCT is not elevated enough for it to be of concern. See e.g.:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=359ts44R05M&ab_channel=ManMedicine


Your local pain and hypersensitivity are unlikely to be related to your elevated HCT.

A negative antibody test is not enough to rule out postherpetic neuralgia. It should still be high on the list of potential causes. Another avenue to pursue may be cervical radiculopathy.

Thanks man, I had a feeling the physicians assistant was being naieve. I had been meaning to give blood for a while and when I finally did it dropped right back into the safe zone. See the day before I had my 6month visit with my PCP I went into a rural community health center and a NP who looked had seen it all told me she believed it was the less common kind of shingles that don’t have a rash. At least the young PCP gave me some Neurontin on my visit. It’s getting better but it still sucks. On the bright side I get a free blood cancer test and no need for GLP-1 when you have shingles.

 

[UncleBuns]

Your blood levels look fine. Slightly raised H+H is not a big deal.

Have you looked into shingles and dermatomes? On your torso shingles generally effects a "strip" of your skin running horizontal and usually on one side of you torso. Can be in multiple dermatomes or just 1. I had shingles on my torso and had no rash or pustules. The skin looked normal but it was very painful. Felt like a 2nd degree burn and even my shirt touching the ar a hurt a lot. Lasted for weeks and slowly went away. Is the pain on in your skin or deeper in your body?

 

[bigtom343]

Your blood levels look fine. Slightly raised H+H is not a big deal.

Have you looked into shingles and dermatomes? On your torso shingles generally effects a "strip" of your skin running horizontal and usually on one side of you torso. Can be in multiple dermatomes or just 1. I had shingles on my torso and had no rash or pustules. The skin looked normal but it was very painful. Felt like a 2nd degree burn and even my shirt touching the ar a hurt a lot. Lasted for weeks and slowly went away. Is the pain on in your skin or deeper in your body?

It feels like it’s on the skin or just under the skin. Just like sunburn. And yeah it seems to flare up in upper and lower bands. It can go across my chest/belly to the other side under my right arm. The pain stated out about two months ago just in my side about 8 inches below my armpit. I went to a dermatologist around that time and showed her where the pain was and said she didn't see anything unusual of course ( but at the time I thought the pain was a mole under my shoulder that was causing it, and the dermatologist was mainly focused on cutting general worts off my shaft during the visit.) It really flared up a couple of weeks ago and now it’s slowly going down but it sucks feeling sunburnt every day.

 

[Liter O' Test]

do you drink enough water? do you live somewhere with high elevation?
250 test 4iu hgh 125 primo... come on
did you do a PCT?
ralox for pct or gyno?

 

[bigtom343]

do you drink enough water? do you live somewhere with high elevation?
250 test 4iu hgh 125 primo... come on
did you do a PCT?
ralox for pct or gyno?

I took some SERM about two weeks after my last shot. I seem to have lost some water retention and I shed about 10 lbs. No more SERM. This is my 1st time so I’m trying to be conservative with everything. I wasn’t trying to get super jacked in a couple of month so I’m happy with the results. Sometimes during this baby cycle my nipples would feel a little chafed and I thought Maybe that was a little bit of gyno. I guess my question for you would be does shingles feel the same as gyno?

 

[Liter O' Test]

. I wasn’t trying to get super jacked in a couple of month

you took steroids and shut down your natural hormones to not get "super jacked"

I guess my question for you would be does shingles feel the same as gyno?

usually old people get shingles. maybe you have gyno and shingles.

regardless, you should get bloodwork at somepoint and check your natural total testosterone levels. if you dont want to just throw money away thats the only test you need.

maybe your gear triggered some sort of immune reaction is all I can think of, but it doesnt really make sense because it should be near the site of injection.

probably completely unrelated considering your cycle was so mild. in the future i reccomend you only use steroids if you are committed to being jacked and do blast n' cruise rather than PCTing everytime.

also again, its surprising your blood looks like this considering your mild cycle, i think you are dehydrated

 

[BuildABro]

Sounds like this is something that needs to be take up with either the PCP or a perhaps a specialist referral. Not much help we can really offer you here other than pure speculation.

My PCP would probably string me up by the balls at this point if she could. She knows damn well what I am up to, as my fluctuating numbers over the last 2 years make pretty apparent, so when she confronted me I admitted it. I also was candid with her in saying I have no intentions of stopping. What is she really going to do? Have me arrested? Doctor patient privilege.

Though I can say that now our relationship is much better since we are actually having reciprocal communication based upon the facts at hand. She can't treat me if she does not know the extent of what is going on, and I can't get effective care by continuing to lie to her. So I am glad all of our cards are on the table. In this little po duck that I call home I am probably the first anabolic steroid user she has ever even seen in clinical practice, and I get the impression she finds treating me intellectually interesting.

 

[Liter O' Test]

Sounds like this is something that needs to be take up with either the PCP or a perhaps a specialist referral. Not much help we can really offer you here other than pure speculation.

My PCP would probably string me up by the balls at this point if she could. She knows damn well what I am up to, as my fluctuating numbers over the last 2 years make pretty apparent, so when she confronted me I admitted it. I also was candid with her in saying I have no intentions of stopping. What is she really going to do? Have me arrested? Doctor patient privilege.

Though I can say that now our relationship is much better since we are actually having reciprocal communication based upon the facts at hand. She can't treat me if she does not know the extent of what is going on, and I can't get effective care by continuing to lie to her. So I am glad all of our cards are on the table. In this little po duck that I call home I am probably the first anabolic steroid user she has ever even seen in clinical practice, and I get the impression she finds treating me intellectually interesting.

thats good. but generally i do not recommend people disclose steroid use, because doctors have no idea about them and most peoples problems are not caused by steroid use. you could have a broken leg and they will blame the gear lol

 

[UncleBuns]

Doesn

do you drink enough water? do you live somewhere with high elevation?
250 test 4iu hgh 125 primo... come on
did you do a PCT?
ralox for pct or gyno?

Doesn't sound like it has anything to do with your cycle. Likely just random chance.