Blood Test - Help! Low Testosterone, High IGF1

[allen_australia]

Can someone please give me some advice re my hairloss/blood test. I had a huge blood test done last week, most things were in the normal range, iron was in the lower range of normal, however these were the main results (I'm 30 years old by the way) :

Vitamin B12 : 845 pm/L (normal range 150 - 800)
Oest-17 Beta : 108 pmol/L (normal range 70 - 280)
Testosterone : 11.5 nmol/L (normal range 12 - 36)
Free Testosterone : 42.6 pmol/L (normal range 34.5 - 98 )
SHBG : 22 nmol/L
DHEAS : 5.3 umol/L (normal range 5.1 - 8.6)
FAI : 52.3 % (normal range 24 - 120)
Insulin Growth Factor 1 : 376 ng/mL (normal range 115 - 307)
Thyroid Function : 1.8 mU/L (normal range 0.1 - 6.3)

As you can see, my Testosterone is below the accepted range, my Insulin Growth Factor 1 is way above the accepted range. I've been shedding seriously for the last 6 months. Any advice please? Every day I take:

Probiotic/Acidophilus x 1
Root Food x 2
Fish Oil/Evening Primrose Oil x 6
Spruce Lignans x 1
Mega Green Tea Extract x 1
Taurine 1g x 1
Whey Protein Shake

Every 2nd day I laser my crown/vertex for 10-15 minutes.

Thanks, any insight will be appreciated.

 

[docj077]

Your lab values actually aren't that bad. The lab that did your tests will have a set concentration interval for each hormone for a person your age.

If the low total testosterone concerned your physician, then I'm sure that he or she will contact you. I doubt that they will, because your level of free testosterone is normal.

The increased IGF-1 is most likely coming from your whey protein shake.

 

[Guest]

Is increasing your IGF-1 by drinking protein shakes bad for hair?

 

[allen_australia]

Thanks so much for your thoughtful reply.

I've read a lot about the incidence of high IGF-1 blood levels in those with vertex/crown balding...which is where mine is and why I'm concerned.

I've also just now been reading about Whey Protein increasing IGF-1 serum levels by at least 10% because dairy IGF and human IGF are exactly the same. Exactly. f***.

I'm going to drop this and any trace of dairy in my diet from this point on. Still concerned about my shedding though. Can't just be down to IGF-1.

Thanks again docj.

Is there any way to raise testosterone without raising DHT? If anyone else has any observations about my results that would be great.

 

[mikemass]

I noticed you are taking "Spruce Lignans." I confess I don't know exactly what that is, but there are studies indicating that flax seed lignans can lower testosterone / increase estrogen. That might be something to investigate. I found the information by searching pubmed.gov.

There are certainly ways to increase testosterone, but I don't know of any that would not also increase DHT.

Best of luck,

Mike

 

[Whyatt]

There are certainly ways to increase testosterone, but I don't know of any that would not also increase DHT

I've heard about this drug....finas...something...I think it works just like that! :hairy:

 

[allen_australia]

finasteride reduces dht, but it doesn't increase testosterone. does it?

 

[phish]

jayman read this http://www.hairlosshelp.com/html/zincoxide2.cfm

This is very interesting and good news since it has been theorized in a published paper that increasing IGF levels may stimulate hair growth. In the paper titled Insulin-like growth factor 1 and hair growth it was suggested based on research that IGF-1 may be able to stimulate the proliferation of hair follicle cells through cellular signaling pathways of its receptors. The authors looked at existing research that had shown that local infusion of IGF-1 into sheep has been reported to be capable of stimulating protein synthesis in the skin and may also increase the production of wool keratin. Also recently, transgenic mice overexpressing IGF-1 in the skin have been shown to have earlier hair follicle development than controls. The authors went on to suggest that studies should be done on IGF-1 and hair growth.

so for your answer no whey protein is not bad and do not stop taking it because its health benefits are far superior to any supplement out there.

im curious what bryan has to say about igf-1 and hair growth or loss

 

[phish]

i also found this

The fact is, there isn’t much research on this subject yet, and what
there is, is conflicting. Some studies point to IGF-1 and hair
growth, others claim that elevated levels point to hair loss. Based
on the reading I did today, the best I can say is to discuss the
matter in depth with your physician and be certain that your IGF-1
levels are within the recommended target range. The literature I read
today suggests that hair loss doesn’t become a big problem until you
go outside of that range (usually by going way over). IGF-1 is
necessary for healthy skin and hair, but like everything else,
probably won’t help in large amounts.