Men's Health Community: Support Group

Bald and Free Day

Depending on which calendar you look at, October 7 or October 14 is Bald and Free Day! Is hair...

Posted by Caprice_WebMD_Staff

7 Replies | Reply | Watch This Discussion Report This | Share this:Bald and Free Day Depending on which calendar you look at, October 7 or October 14 is Bald and Free Day! Is hair...

Annual physical and genital exam

I just had my first annual physical with a new internist (my former one died last year). He has an...

Posted by David_Johns

1 Reply | Reply | Watch This Discussion Report This | Share this:Annual physical and genital exam I just had my first annual physical with a new internist (my former one died last year). He has an...

testosterone testing

Is there a preferred time of day to have a sample taken for testosterone testing. I am concerned that I may have...

Posted by jeff65

1 Reply | Reply | Watch This Discussion Report This | Share this:testosterone testing Is there a preferred time of day to have a sample taken for testosterone testing. I am concerned that I may have...

Most Embarrassing Body Problems

WebMD has this great slideshow: Embarrassing Male Body Problems Which got me wondering what...

Posted by Caprice_WebMD_Staff

4 Replies | Reply | Watch This Discussion Report This | Share this:Most Embarrassing Body Problems WebMD has this great slideshow: Embarrassing Male Body Problems Which got me wondering what...

Dull Ache in Right Lower Back???

55 YO male. Very active, very healthy. Recently retired in March. For the past month or so I've noticed a...

Posted by Sonatina222

3 Replies | Reply | Watch This Discussion Report This | Share this:Dull Ache in Right Lower Back??? 55 YO male. Very active, very healthy. Recently retired in March. For the past month or so I've noticed a...

PSA score escalation

I have been on pellet Bio-identicle HRT for approx 2.5 years. My recent PSA blood results received this...

Posted by Patrickbb

3 Replies | Reply | Watch This Discussion Report This | Share this:PSA score escalation I have been on pellet Bio-identicle HRT for approx 2.5 years. My recent PSA blood results received this...

Includes Expert Content

why not avoid enlarged prostate surgery?

why not avoid enlarged prostate surgery?my doctor says my bladder may not spring back after surgery so why...

Posted by johnlock

4 Replies | Reply | Watch This Discussion Report This | Share this:why not avoid enlarged prostate surgery? why not avoid enlarged prostate surgery?my doctor says my bladder may not spring back after surgery so why...

Includes Expert Content

varicocele surgery

had surgery 2yrs ago testicle is less than half of other one will it grow to its original size again its...

Posted by itecaynot

2 Replies | Reply | Watch This Discussion Report This | Share this:varicocele surgery had surgery 2yrs ago testicle is less than half of other one will it grow to its original size again its...

Do You Have Any Tattoos?

Tattoos have become so much more commonplace than they were in the past. You're just as likely to...

Posted by Caprice_WebMD_Staff

19 Replies | Reply | Watch This Discussion Report This | Share this:Do You Have Any Tattoos? Tattoos have become so much more commonplace than they were in the past. You're just as likely to...

Being a Man

Being a man in this day and age is not an easy task, I write this from a females point of view (my point of...

Posted by An_248039

1 Reply | Reply | Watch This Discussion Report This | Share this:Being a Man Being a man in this day and age is not an easy task, I write this from a females point of view (my point of...

Long Story, But I'll Try And Make It Short

I am a 28 year old career firefighter of 8 years. Until recently, the only medication I've taken has been...

Posted by fireman1128

I am a 28 year old career firefighter of 8 years. Until recently, the only medication I've taken has been allergy shots. About 3 months ago I was studying for a new certification but was unable to concentrate and retain the information. I went to my family dr. to try to get prescribed adderall for the few months I was in this class. That was the beginning of the snowball effect.

I took an ADD test and come to find out, I actually have ADHD. He did some extensive blood work and asked me a few hundred questions that I answered all honestly. So here is my new list of diagnosis':

Sleep Apnea
ADHD
Low Testosterone (209)
Vitamin D Deficiency (he said I pretty much have none, I'm not vegan)
Bad Allergies
85% Hearing Loss Left Ear (above average hearing in right ear)
Degenerative Disc Disease

New Medications (he said he will be adding testosterone later)
Vyvanse 50mg (daily)
Lexapro 10mg (daily)
Flonase (daily)
Allergy Shots (every other day)
Vitamin D 50,000mg (weekly)
Centrum For Men Vitamin (daily)

I am still in shock of all my test results and new medication list. My wife would tell you I'm the kind of guy who won't even take advil when I have a headache because I want to be tough. Now I carry a bad of medicine with me to the station every third day.

I'm not really surprised by my low testosterone level. For about the last year or two, my sex drive has plummeted. It has taken a toll on my marraige. We have two girls, a 5 year old and a 20 month old. My wife thinks that I'm unhappy with her and doesn't believe me when I tell her she's beautiful. She was actually happy with my test results and can't wait till I get back to my old self (with the help of my new meds and the Good Lord, I can't wait either).

I am exhausted all the time and my dr. said that was due to my low t and sleep apnea. I will be taking my sleep study this week and I hope CPAP helps me as good as everyone makes it out to be. No matter how much sleep I get, I always wake up tired and usually stay tired throughout the day. Caffeine helped in the past, but not anymore. I'm ashamed to say, but I'll drink 2-3 cups of coffee and 2-3 Monsters a day.

I've been taking my Vyvanse for about 2 months (started at 40mg, went to 50mg a week ago) and it helps but for only about the first 4 hours. I take it with food at around 7am. My dr. told me the benefits would be better after I get on my CPAP machine. He said that my body is always in a state of exhaustion and without quality sleep, nothing would get me to 100%.

This had all been a lot to take in. But I guess deep down, I knew that there were some things wrong in my body (especially in the past year or two).

Any comments would be greatly appreciated. I'm throwing this out there to see if anyone has been diagnosed the same and to get opinions to see if I'm on the right track of treatment. My dr. says in a month or two, I should feel like a brand new man. Lord willing.

Me
28 Year Old - Male
5' 8"
220 lbs
Big Build
Dip Snuff (I know I should quit)
Alcohol every now and again

Past Surgeries
Tonsillectomy (1992)
Discectomy (2002 / L5-S1)
Appendectomy (2004)

Family History
Sleep Apnea (mother, grandfather-mothers side)
ADHD (mother)
Allergies (whole family)
Pituitary Tumur (brother at age 12)View Thread

Posted by fireman1128

Take the Poll

There is a 4000 character max. Should I have went ahead and used the remaining 789 characters?

5 Replies | Reply | Watch This Discussion Report This | Share this:Long Story, But I'll Try And Make It Short I am a 28 year old career firefighter of 8 years. Until recently, the only medication I've taken has been...

hernia abd diabetes.

m 65 years old, have diabetes since 13 years,and am on medication only.i have hernia on the navel .when i...

Posted by An_247959

0 Replies | Reply | Watch This Discussion Report This | Share this:hernia abd diabetes. m 65 years old, have diabetes since 13 years,and am on medication only.i have hernia on the navel .when i...

Waking up with high blood pressure

My father is 63 years old and he has high blood pressure and he suffers from Hypothyroidism. He takes below...

Posted by An_247723

1 Reply | Reply | Watch This Discussion Report This | Share this:Waking up with high blood pressure My father is 63 years old and he has high blood pressure and he suffers from Hypothyroidism. He takes below...

DIfferent Pains and Disturbances.

Yesterday evening, I had experienced severe heart palpitations that lasted for 10 minutes straight, and I...

Posted by Gerald_III

1 Reply | Reply | Watch This Discussion Report This | Share this:DIfferent Pains and Disturbances. Yesterday evening, I had experienced severe heart palpitations that lasted for 10 minutes straight, and I...

Stomach pains

Just recently i've almost lost my appetite completely. In my upper abdomen there is a constant dull pain. The...

Posted by jeremwar

0 Replies | Reply | Watch This Discussion Report This | Share this:Stomach pains Just recently i've almost lost my appetite completely. In my upper abdomen there is a constant dull pain. The...

Bulging discs - Pain in lower left back - Tight le...

I have well over a year history of this persistent pain in my lower left back. I'm 29 years old and I'm...

Posted by love2feelgood

I have well over a year history of this persistent pain in my lower left back. I'm 29 years old and I'm active. I'm 6'1" and 180 lbs. I exercise regularly and have always had good posture.

I have been diagnosed with degenerative and bulging L1/2 discs. I have recently received an epidural injection, which has relieved pain around the spine. The pain that I have been experiencing every day for well over a year still persists.

The pain (more like an ache) is always on the left side

I can go to sleep with very little pain, but then wake up a few hours later with that area aching. I will then likely wake up several times after that with the same ache. This happens frequently.

It seems there's less chance of it aching when I keep my body as straight as possible while sleeping. It seems to ache more when my legs curl.

I can gain relief when I massage or press hard on the psoas and other hip flexors.

Stretching the leg muscles seems to help - and I've definitely gained more flexibility over the weeks I've been doing this - but it doesn't provide any long term or permanent relief.

The center of my back generally only hurts when it's hunched forward for a bit, otherwise it's relatively pain free.

It seems the pain/aching in my lower left back is somehow associated with tight or short muscles. I'm wondering how the bulging discs would cause this and if I can find permanent relief in this area.

I've had an MRI and have been seen by an orthopedic doctor, an osteopathic doctor (epidural injection), two physical therapists and even a chiropractor. None of them have provided sustained relief and the physical therapy might have only made things worse.

Any ideas? 4 to 5 hours of sleep with intermittent pain every night for the past year has been quite unpleasant. I need to find a fix. I've accepted the degenerative and bulging discs for what they are. What I desire is to remedy this aching in the lower left back that seems to be attributed to tight or short muscles.

Thanks!View Thread

Posted by love2feelgood

2 Replies | Reply | Watch This Discussion Report This | Share this:Bulging discs - Pain in lower left back - Tight leg muscles ??? I have well over a year history of this persistent pain in my lower left back. I'm 29 years old and I'm...

Thyroid Problem, Underactive Hypothyroid on Levoth...

Thanks for helping me out to begin.... To start I am a 24yo Caucasian Male. My doctor had told me my thyroid...

Posted by Ayuda01

1 Reply | Reply | Watch This Discussion Report This | Share this:Thyroid Problem, Underactive Hypothyroid on Levothyroxine Synthyroid Thanks for helping me out to begin.... To start I am a 24yo Caucasian Male. My doctor had told me my thyroid...

Gender Differences

Thanks to Rickone for making me think about this topic. This could be fun... Over the decades,...

Posted by Caprice_WebMD_Staff

1 Reply | Reply | Watch This Discussion Report This | Share this:Gender Differences Thanks to Rickone for making me think about this topic. This could be fun... Over the decades,...

psa level

In december 2011 my psa level was 1.5 but my testorsterone level was low. around 300. So my urologist put me...

Posted by An_247784

1 Reply | Reply | Watch This Discussion Report This | Share this:psa level In december 2011 my psa level was 1.5 but my testorsterone level was low. around 300. So my urologist put me...

Edema in feet and ankles

I am a 26 yr old male in FL. I am experiencing swelling in my feet and ankles. I have lost 29lbs in 2 months...

Posted by becker1014

0 Replies | Reply | Watch This Discussion Report This | Share this:Edema in feet and ankles I am a 26 yr old male in FL. I am experiencing swelling in my feet and ankles. I have lost 29lbs in 2 months...

chronic pain in the ribs

my dad is 69yrs old, and he lives in Nigeria with limited access to a doctor. He complained to me that he has...

Posted by An_247674

0 Replies | Reply | Watch This Discussion Report This | Share this:chronic pain in the ribs my dad is 69yrs old, and he lives in Nigeria with limited access to a doctor. He complained to me that he has...

Not recieving my newsletters

I know, this is probably not the right place for this. However, since i do not know whichwhere to ask, i...

Posted by DfromSpencer

Take the Poll

Does this happen to you? Fail to get your newsletters each day? Or, not get any at all?

5 Replies | Reply | Watch This Discussion Report This | Share this:Not recieving my newsletters I know, this is probably not the right place for this. However, since i do not know whichwhere to ask, i...

Guy Movies

I've known plenty of men who liked 'chick flicks' and many women who are into action. So I don't...

Posted by Caprice_WebMD_Staff

5 Replies | Reply | Watch This Discussion Report This | Share this:Guy Movies I've known plenty of men who liked 'chick flicks' and many women who are into action. So I don't...

Breathing, weakness, heart, head issues not sure w...

Hello, I have been having issues for the past year to two years. I haven't done as much as I probably should...

Posted by Scottsx2

Hello, I have been having issues for the past year to two years. I haven't done as much as I probably should about this issue but I would like to start being more proactive now because it might be getting worse. Let me tell the story first.
Not to long ago probably around 3 school semesters ago during the winter I was on my way to school and all the sudden started in my experience felt like I was having a heart attack. My legs went numb and I felt strange all over. My chest was uncomfortable and it is extremely hard to describe the sitution perfectly. The best way to describe the issues are a massive sense of weakness. This went on for a while I had visitited the cardiologist, had many tests done at the hospital but they couldn't find anything serious. That was back then but I haven't had anything recent sinse.
My current issues:
Head starts to feel strained and almost like a very strange headache nothing I have ever had in my life before.
Chest starts to feel weak and my breathing becomes a little awkward.
My legs feel numb
My heart starts to beat either strangely or extremely fast and I then start feeling very uncomfortable.
Now some things to note: Ever since I started college I started becoming very lazy. In high school I played a lot of sports and kept in pretty decent shape. Now since college I went into computer science and I have been on computers and becoming out of shape for around 3 years now maybe pushing 4. For the past year and a half to 2 years I have noticed strange feelings in my legs. I have been getting stretch like marks behind my kneecaps and sometimes they look very awful and scary. I can feel the weakness back there and I know its definatly not good. I also noticed strange spiderlike looking marks going all the way up my upper thy around the groind pretty much the chubby fat part of the leg. I know this is probably because of me not getting much exercise in a while. I would really like to get back into it but since this problem things have only been going down hill for me.
I would also like to note that sleeping has become very hard. I hardly feel like sleeping. I almost feel like I lost the sense of feeling tired most of the time. Back in high school my body felt great. I loved coming home after a workout or practice. Now I normally feel very weak and all around bad. So this leads me to staying up late on the computer more. Sometimes I even stay up to 6am and beyond because I can't fall asleep. I know this has caused me a lot of issues to with real life obligations. Several times i have pulled a all nighter so to speak or close to it and gone to work or school or something else with less than 4 or 5 hours of sleep. But what really concerns me is the select times I have experienced something that has been extremely bad. On a few occasions I have had severe episodes which are out right debilitating. It starts with the head. I have this strain that goes through my head. It feels like the veins by my temples are pulsating out of my head. I had a headache sensation. My heart and chest feel weak and sometimes my heart randomly beats extemely fast causing me to experience great distress. I feel so uncomfortable I try and walk it off and drink lots of water but it barely helps. I try to take a shower and go to sleep but it becomes very difficult. Eventually I eat something, drink a lot of water and keep trying to relax and wait it out and after a long time luckily I fall asleep.
I have no idea what to do and these episodes come randomly (the really bad ones) but other than the bad episodes I get minor ones in comparison which cause similar symptoms but stick more with the heart racing and extreme sense of weakness.View Thread

Posted by Scottsx2

2 Replies | Reply | Watch This Discussion Report This | Share this:Breathing, weakness, heart, head issues not sure what to do Hello, I have been having issues for the past year to two years. I haven't done as much as I probably should...

Need advice

HI, I've have red patchy places across my mid to upper abdomen for almost 2 years now. For awhile the only...

Posted by An_247573

1 Reply | Reply | Watch This Discussion Report This | Share this:Need advice HI, I've have red patchy places across my mid to upper abdomen for almost 2 years now. For awhile the only...

Ejaculation during DRE/Prostate exam

Hi All, I recently had to go in for my first physical in over 10 years. I'm 28, male, caucasion and straight....

Posted by An_247495

4 Replies | Reply | Watch This Discussion Report This | Share this:Ejaculation during DRE/Prostate exam Hi All, I recently had to go in for my first physical in over 10 years. I'm 28, male, caucasion and straight....

Includes Expert Content

I am 28, athletic, why is my testosterone 285?

Since December 15th of last year my sex drive has been about half of normal. It's not just that I don't...

Posted by Noblenutria

6 Replies | Reply | Watch This Discussion Report This | Share this:I am 28, athletic, why is my testosterone 285? Since December 15th of last year my sex drive has been about half of normal. It's not just that I don't...

What is the cause?

Im having a numbness in the back&&sides of my head.headaches,dizziness,lightheadness,blurred...

Posted by An_247450

2 Replies | Reply | Watch This Discussion Report This | Share this:What is the cause? Im having a numbness in the back&&sides of my head.headaches,dizziness,lightheadness,blurred...

stomach cramps. yellow loose stool after anal sex

hello im a 32 year old gay male, very healthy, excerise, eat very well. Friday night (4days ago) i had anal...

Posted by jwc1980

2 Replies | Reply | Watch This Discussion Report This | Share this:stomach cramps. yellow loose stool after anal sex hello im a 32 year old gay male, very healthy, excerise, eat very well. Friday night (4days ago) i had anal...