NOT ASKING FOR MEDICAL ADVICE! Instead on what to do with this endocrinologist situation because I am TOTALLY lost on how to approach this. I believe I've taken the "Correct" path and now I'm at the point where either I "keep going and ignore my painful swelling feet for another year or more"… or ask.
I'm a Canadian and had my endocrinologist and my appointment a few weeks ago left me feeling uneasy and I have lost confidence.
No changes to prescription. Hormone panel only involved TSH and total testosterone.
Not to mention it's hard for me to ignore because my feet are swollen so bad for well over a year now and it hurts to even walk. I can't even put on normal shoes… I can't even put it out of my mind.
——— If more details are helpful:
I'll keep it to the main points:
0: I have endocrinologist prescribed TRT 100mg/wk. (I'm an older man past my prime. I'm not here to play games or gimmicks. Career driven/focused and far from seeking validation from social media for a body I will never have.)
1: I have clinically proven low testosterone, I had 4 bloodworks done across the span of 2 years before I was put on TRT 1.5 years ago. (So this has been an ongoing thing for nearly 4 years).
2: After being put on TRT I've been left untested for prolonged periods of time. I finally had bloodwork done about a month ago. I've been feeling like I've been flying blind.
3: My bloodwork the endocrinologist ordered was missing massive amounts of hormonal information. The only information collected on hormones is TSH and total testosterone.
I have no insight into estrogen (very relevant next point), SHBG, free testosterone or anything else.
4: My feet have been swollen for over a year. This explicitly started after I began TRT. I can barely fit my feet into shoes and I walk around like a clown in giant oversized crocs for over a year now.
My GP has sent me to cardiologists, for echocardiograms and the works. So far no indication of heart failure or stroke or the like. Though I absolutely do have elevated heart rate as well as slightly above normal (not medically relevant threshold) blood pressure… as well as I do have a delay in my heart's conduction my family doctor told me I do need to watch out for.
5: I've learned this can be related to estrogen through talking to friends because well I of course talk to people on a regular basis and obviously a lot of men are on TRT and have stories to say.
So I'm totally in the dark on estrogen. Totally in the dark on my hormone levels and I'm here with a foot problem.
Also my GP is unwilling to test any of this even though I did bring it up.
6: So right now I am still on the exact same dosing and exact same dosing schedule nothing changed. And I'm very very very unhappy at the idea that I'm going to go ANOTHER YEAR with feet that can't fit into shoes.
Not to mention if my feet are swelling I have to beg the question of WHAT ELSE is going on that I DON'T see…