Day -28 -- So-So medical tests

Since I “published” the good results, I guess I’ll state the not so great ones too. First off, nothing critical. Actually, all of the results are intertwined.

As a starting point, I don’t sleep much. Haven’t for as long as I can remember. For me, if I got 4 hours of sleep in a night, I’d be quite happy. Even then, it would likely be in 1 or 1 1/2 hour increments, with an hour or two between each. Most nights it usually 2 to 3 hours of sleep, at best, and frequently I watch the clock flip through every hour until it is time to get up. I often get out of bed, and just wander about the house doing this or that for a few hours, just to make the time go by. — This is all related to the fact I can’t shut down my brain which is rethinking everything from the past, and imagining variations of the future, and working on problems / solutions that don’t even matter.

Anyway, I had tests for Cortisol, DHEA-S, Free Testosterone, among other things.

My Cortisol level for Morning, Noon, and Evening was basically in range. But at night — too high. Here is what they wrote, ““““Cortisol is within expected range throughout most of the day but rises to a high level at night. High night cortisol indicates some form of adrenal stressor (emotional/physical-surgery, injury or disease causing inflammation/dietary-starvation/low blood glucose from dysglycemia/microbial-bacterial, fungal, or viral infections). Acute effects of a high cortisol are usually associated with agitation-irritability, anxiety, and sleep disturbances. However, when the stressor has been chronic over a prolonged period of time (months/years) this leads to conditions such as weight gain in the waist, muscle and bone loss, depression, and immune suppression.“““““

So, the Cortisol level makes me fat and not sleep — but wait, this will loop back.

Next is the low DHEA-S — they wrote ““““DHEA-S is a hormone found in the adrenal glands and is important for overall hormone health in a number of ways. DHEA-S works to make other hormones, such as estrogen in women and testosterone in men.““““““

Thus, DHEA-S is a precursor of Testosterone. Low DHEA-S, likely means low “T”. *****Cortisol and DHEA typically have an inverse relationship.***** and, of course ******A fast metabolism depends on a high level of DHEA. So, if you have a low level of DHEA, you will have a slower metabolism. This means you won’t be able to burn calories as quickly, causing your excess calories to get stored as fat on your body. Then you will gain weight unexpectedly while still eating the same diet.******

Onto Free Testosterone level — which is low ****Testosterone helps regulate bone and muscle mass, fat distribution, libido, and hair growth and loss in both men and women.*****

This is from an article published on low T levels —

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Getting good sleep is just as important for your health as diet and exercise. It may also have major effects on your testosterone levels. The ideal amount of sleep varies from person to person, but one study found that sleeping only 5 hours per night was linked to a 15% reduction in testosterone levels.

One long-term study observed that those who slept only four hours per night had borderline deficient levels.

Other long-term studies support this. One study calculated that for every additional hour of sleep you get, testosterone levels rise 15% higher, on average.

Although some people seem to do fine with less sleep, research suggests around 7–10 hours of sleep per night is best for long-term health and your testosterone.

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So what does that all say? High Cortisol level prevents sleep. My “T” level is low because I don’t sleep enough, and if I could increase the sleep, it would rise and Cortisol level would lower.

I have trouble losing weight because of the low DHEA-S and ”T” levels, and because I’m obese, I have a higher Cortisol level, which increases weight.

Yeah, that all helps…. Um, who does it help?

What is the solution? That may be a supplement or two. DHEA-S is available. And per write-up “““In individuals with very low DHEAS (< 2 ng/ml), DHEA supplementation in the 5-25 mg dosing range usually raises DHEAS to levels seen in mid-life.“““

If I can raise the DHEA-S, that might increase the free “T” level, and thus lower weight, decreasing Cortisol. (Not working for a living “may” lower stress and Cortisol too).. D-aspartic acid is also supposed to help boost low testosterone levels. In theory, the lower Cortisol may help with the sleeping, which will help all of the above.

That’s the direction I’m going to try.

Oh, you might be asking why not attack the inability to sleep. I tried that with doctor drugs years ago. I got the same results from them, as I do from melatonin, or Valerian root (smelly socks tablets) or the stuff in Aleve PM/NyQuil/etc.

The first night, it works somewhat. After tossing/turning for a couple of hours, I’ll fall asleep for 2 or 3 straight, and may even get another 1 or 2 later in the night/morning. That ain’t too bad for me. But the next night, I’ll flop around a bunch longer and feel a lot of anxiety — but still get 2 or 3 hours of sleep. By the 3rd night, you may as well have given me a jar of instant espresso. I am jittery all night and won’t sleep at all. — I can’t even stay in the bed because I’m so wide awake. Horrible nights….

No, it is not sleep apnea — you have to fall asleep to wake up!!! RLS (restless leg syndrome) and/or periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD) don’t help. I’ve read that approx 75% of adults with ADD suffer from insomnia, and many enjoy RLS/PLMD too. I really am hoping that I can find my own circadian rhythm (24 hour sleep cycle) once I am not employed, and can get 5-7 hours of sleep daily.

That’s the goal. I’ll update when it either works, or is a complete failure..

Until then,

Enjoy Life