Testosterone treatment stopped my LAF

Men and women know that about 5 AM, men will often have spontaneous erections. These erections may be attributable to the peak in the diurnal testosterone levels at the same time. Testosterone is peak at about 5 AM and falls throughout the day to its lowest point at bedtime.

I also noticed that at 5 AM, I was nearly always in normal sinus rhythm, but that by 7 AM, I was back in LAF. I put the two notions together and came up with the hypothesis that maybe low testosterone throughout the remainer of the day was related to the occurrence of LAF.

I did a quick literature search and found support for my idea. I found an article (Clin. Cardiol. 32, 1, 43–46 (2009)) that showed that testosterone was low in men with LAF. Normal young men have on average a testosterone blood level of 550 ng/dl. The Clin Cardiol study group of older men with LAF had on average a testosterone level of 476 ng/dl compared with 514 ng/dl for controls (no LAF). My testosterone was 350 ng/dl and I had a raging case of LAF. Well, after experimenting a bit and ending up using 40 mg testosterone sublingually (20 mg in AM and 20 mg in PM) daily for a bit more than a month, my LAF appears to have stopped as witnessed by 4 EKGs with each about 4 days to a week apart. As far as I can determine, I have now been completely free of LAF for over a month. Who knows how long the beneficial effect of testosterone will last, but the effect is apparent to me. I do have more energy! Actually, I have a lot more energy. I also don't wake up to urinate nearly as often as I did when I had LAF.

I wonder if there are other men in this forum with LAF who also have low testosterone, and I wonder if they would respond to testosterone too.

The Clin Cardiol article was silent on women, and I have no idea if this would work on women too, but it might be worth an effort. I feel certain that the dose for women would be lower, but who knows.

If anyone tries this, please contact me. I will include your information in a little medical journal article about the matter. NOTE: There are no articles about using testosterone to treat LAF, so this will be the first one to do so. I will need your LAF diagnosis with no other heart problems, your initial (before supplementing) testosterone level, age, the daily dose of testosterone taken, the duration taken, the effect on LAF as determined by EKGs. The article will be meant as a hypothesis only, but will be based on case histories. My name is George Eby, and my phone number is Austin, Texas (512) 263-0805. My website is [george-eby-research.com] . I specialize in using natural treatments for disease, not drugs.

George: I have border line low testosterone and I am aware of the correlation between that and AF. However, I am also concern about prostate cancer risk. How do you weigh the two and how do you monitor your levels so you don't over do it?

Hello George,

I too had myself tested for low testosterone and it was found to be low. Unfortunately I still have regular afib episodes and actually slightly more after I started the Androgel treatment. However, the episodes seemed to be more mild.

--Shawn

I was told by an alternative md that one should take saw palmetto if one takes testosterone in order to offset the DHT

Forget saw palmetto it's minimal in lowering DHT if it works at all. What you need is Propecia or the more powerful Avodart to really supress DHT up to 97%. I/ve been on Avodart for hairloss since it's release nov 2002, Propecia before that since 98. Avodart and Propecia both prevent prostate cancer if taken before the cancer develops. It also elevates HDL and keeps healthy blood profiles.



Post Edited (02-22-10 19:23)

[www.hairloss-research.org]



Post Edited (02-22-10 19:41)

We now have two people that have completely stopped their LAF with 40 to 50 mg/ testosterone daily after about a month treatment. One also took DHEA. I think that the cancer risk comes from synthetic not natural testosterone. We used natural testosterone.

You will find these words in a Medscape article: "Furthermore, an increase in prostate cancer incidence coincides with a gradual decrease in testosterone levels with advancing age.' Think about it!!!! Testosterone doe not "cause" prostrate cancer, but it can speed growth of existing malignancy. Magnesium will do the same thing. Stop taking magnesium? Come on now!

Also, young, potent male athletes don't have a problem with testosterone, so why should us old guys?

Interesting discussion - do you need a doctor's prescription to buy natural testosterone ?



Jim in Oz

Updates


SERUM TESTOSTERONE “LOWER”IN MEN WITH BPH, HAIR LOSS –October 2001

As we previously reported, an age related decline in the testosterone to estrogen ratio in favor of estrogen has been shown to disrupt immune synchronization and increase the overall incidence of hair loss, prostate enlargement, and abdominal fat accumulation creating what is clinically termed the “estrogen syndrome”. It is well known that men with enlarged prostates are much more likely to have androgenetic alopecia, or MPB.



While finasteride (Propecia/Proscar) decreases serum DHT, it also is thought to increase estrogen which suggests that men over 35 may want to consider using it in conjunction with a systemic aromatase inhibitor such as Chrysin/Piperine (Super Miraforte), Arimidex, or stinging nettle extract, to maximize its hair growth effects and minimize potential side effects (that are listed in the PDR) such as Gynocaemastia (breast enlargement in males), sexual side effects, and an increase in fat deposition. These compounds have been reliably shown to increase testosterone and reduce excess estrogen, resulting in a youthful hormone profile that optimizes immune function and to some degree, body composition.

Those contemplating testosterone replacement therapy who are also concerned about hair loss would be advised to use testosterone only in conjunction with a 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor and, possibly and aromatase inhibitor as well.



Following are excerpts of abstracts after a basic review of the medical literature:





At the Veterans Administration in Los Angeles¹ they proved in men that no matter how low they made the testosterone levels fall it did not inhibit the prostate cancer growth.



At the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in London² doctors gave mice huge doses of testosterone and could not get their prostates to grow.



At the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond³ men were measured for serum testosterone levels and no difference could be found between prostate cancer patients and normals.



At the Harbor General Hospital in California it was shown that testosterone itself competes for binding in the prostate against DHT. When testosterone levels fall more DHT successfully binds thus causing dysfunction and DHT accumulation. A similar process is thought to occur in androgenetic alopecia.



At the Leeds Medical School in England human prostate BPH tissue was shown to be deficient in testosterone yet had excess DHT levels.



At the University of Innsbruck in Austria doctors found the lower the testosterone as men aged the higher the BPH,MPB and cancer, and individually higher testosterone levels were unrelated to disease.



Again at the Leeds Medical School in London the same doctors did another study and found men with individually higher androgen levels did not have higher rates of disease of the prostate. As men aged and their androgen levels fell BPH and cancer rates rose dramatically to parallel the change.



At the Institute of Endocrinology in Russia doctors found test animals with prostatitis have low levels of blood testosterone and androstenedione.



At the Bicetre Hospital in France researchers made the point in laboratory animals very clearly where testosterone supplementation kept the prostates small and youthful, while the untreated animals prostates grew with age.



At the Granada Medical Facility in Spain 104 men with BPH had lower testosterone levels compared to healthy men. Studies like this should leave no doubt in your mind that testosterone is your friend and low levels of it are pathological.



At the Tenous Cancer Research Institute in Wales researchers found low testosterone in prostate cancer patients using saliva testing.



At the Moscow Medical Institute in Russia doctors studied the hormone levels of men over 60 and found those with prostate cancer have much lower testosterone levels and higher estrogen levels giving a very low testosterone to estrogen ratio.



At the Landeskrankenanstalten Urology Clinic in Austria men with BPH or prostate cancer had no higher testosterone levels than healthy men.



At the Institute of Cancer Research in Norway doctors found that supplementing aged rats with testosterone reduced 5-alpha reductase activity and increased prostate enzyme activity generally leading to healthier functioning and metabolism.



At the Polish Urology Clinic in Bialystok15 doctors consistently found low testosterone in men with BPH and MPB.



At the Principe Hospital in Spain men with prostate cancer had low testosterone levels compared to healthy men as verified by both serum and saliva testing. Again at the Principe Hospital another study confirmed these findings with another group of men.



In China, 18 doctors studied men with BPH and MPB and found consistently low levels of testosterone generally.



A most important study done at the famous Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore19 men with BPH and prostate cancer were compared to healthy men and it was found testosterone levels were unrelated to progress or severity of the disease. This study was done by some of the foremost doctors in the country and published in the most important of all medical journals regarding prostate illness appropriately enough titled "Prostate". This study in itself completely disproves the "testosterone is bad for you" theory.



At the Karolinska Institute in Sweden20 another landmark study was done but this time with 2,400! men. The doctors found men with prostate cancer generally had lower testosterone levels than healthy men. Yet today doctors are still cutting off men's testicles and giving them toxic drugs to stop their testosterone production knowing this treatment never works.



At the University of Southern California in Los Angeles21 doctors studied 1,127 aged men from four distinct racial groups. They found the Asian men with the highest testosterone levels had the lowest levels of prostate illness while Caucasians with the lowest testosterone levels had the highest rates of BPH and cancer.



At the Ben May Cancer Research Institute22 in Chicago some very brilliant doctors studied human androgen dependent cancer cells in vitro and found that testosterone actually prevented tumor growth. They said androgen deprivation is clearly wrong and we should be studying androgen supplementation for treatment. Doctors like these are going to be responsible for putting reality into medicine instead of the current insanity of stopping testosterone production.



And yet another landmark study was done at the University of Utah in Salt Lake23 where doctors found the lower the testosterone level in men the larger the prostate volume as men age. Men with higher than normal testosterone levels did not suffer more BPH.



To show the value of testosterone supplementation generally researchers at the University of New Orleans24 found that 62 aged men given testosterone supplements had increased sexual interest, more sexual arousal, and better sexual enjoyment as well as improved mood. Studies are going to show more and more that men over 50 who retain youthful testosterone levels are going to be healthier and live longer and better lives.



At the University Medical Center in Norway25 239 men were tested for serum testosterone levels and they discovered higher levels had no relation at all to BPH or cancer of the prostate.



It is never talked about but it is important to raise androstenedione levels per se as well as testosterone. At Gumna University in Japan 26 androstenedione was found to be a strong 5-alpha reductase inhibitor.



At Leeds University in England5 human prostate tissue with BPH was found to be deficient in androstenedione.

At the University of Edinburgh in Scotland27 doctors demonstrated androstenedione was a powerful inhibitor of 5-alpha reductase activity in the human prostate and had clinical therapeutic potential.



At the University of Rochester in New York28 doctors found an analog of androstenedione called 5-androstenediol (commonly sold over-the-counter) had potential anti-cancer activity in human prostate cells. They concluded that the current theory of androgen blockage needs to be changed.



1. J. Urol. 99 (1968) p. 788-92 2. Gerontol. 14 (1968) p. 133-41 3. J. Lab. Clin. Med. 76 (1970) p. 530-6 4. J. Ster. Bio. 6 (1975), p. 1373-9 5. J. Endoc. 69 (1976) p. 15P 6. Prog. Clin. Biol. Res. 6 (1975) p. 143-58 7. J. Endoc. 71 (1976) p. 99-107 8. Probl. Endokrinol. 23 (1977) p. 111-4 9. Cancer Res. 38 (1978) p. 4126-34 10. Experientia 35 (1979) p. 844-5 11. J. Endoc. 83 (1979) p. 31P 12. Vestn. Akad. Med. Nauk USSR 3 (1980) p. 72-7 13. Klin. Exper. Urol. 4 (1982) p. 1930 14. J. Ster. Bio. 22 (1985) p. 521-8 15. Rocz. Akad. Med. Supl. 42 (1984) p. 177 16. Rev. Esp. Fisiol. 46 (1990) p. 63-8 17. Rev. Esp. Fisiol. 47 (1991) p. 161-6 18. Zhonghua Yixue Zazhi 73 (1993) p. 489-90 19. Prostate 27 (1995) p. 25-31 20. Brit. J. Urol. 77 (1996) p. 433-40 21. Cancer Epidem. Bio. Prev. 4 (1995) p. 735-41 22. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 93 (1996) p. 11802-7 23. J. Clin. Endoc. Metab. 82 (1997) p. 571-5 24. Hormone Behav. 31 (1997) p. 110-19 25. Cancer Epidem. Bio. Prev. 6 1997) p. 967-9 26. Endoc. Japan 19 (1972) p. 97-106 27. Steroids 52 (1988) p. 237-47 28. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 95 (1998) p. 11083-8


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Another link to low testosterone is through insulin resistance. Over 100 million Americans suffer from this condition. You can be tall or thin, short or fat or any combination and still have insulin resistance.

Among the many consequences of insulin resistance including sticky blood more likely to clot and increasing inflammation, raising oxidative stress and brain aging comes a finding relevant to low testosterone.

Insulin resistance causes sex hormone problems and can lead to infertility, hair growth where you don't want it, hair loss where you don't want it, acne, and mood disturbances... and low testosterone in men.

This is not a genetic defiect, an error in our development or a mistake by God; it is simply an outcome of the fact that we have strayed from eating in harmony with our genetic makeup.

Source:
UltraWellness
by Mark Hyman MD
Functional Medicine and UltraWellness - Solving the Epidemic of Chronic Disease
[www.ultrawellness.com]

George,

For your information my last testosterone reading (late 09) was 19mmol/L (range 10-30). I am 49 in a couple of weeks.

Mike F.

My acupuncturist also stresses testosterone. He asks me about the morning erection (negative for me) and needles me accordingly. He suggests I do testicle squeezes morning and night. 36 each. I have noticed some effect in terms of getting back to sleep on a bad night. Just fyi.

Thanks for this post,
John