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Type 2 Diabetes
T2 and Erectile Dysfunction - Metformin, sulfonylurea, diet, testosterone
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<blockquote data-quote="mm93fm" data-source="post: 2199926" data-attributes="member: 514091"><p>Dear Jay,</p><p></p><p>Just saw your post, and I can't comment on those articles but I'm happy to share my experiences.</p><p></p><p>I was diagnosed with T2DM in April 2019. My HbA1c was 6.8% (51mmol), my weight was 85kg, I was living a high-stress life (my choice!) and stress-eating anything and everything. It has taken me a good 6 months of diet, exercise, intermittently taking metformin and a statin, and intermittent fasting to get the HbA1c down to 5.9% and the weight down to 71kg. Waiting for next HbA1c result tomorrow.</p><p></p><p>I can relate a lot to what you are experiencing. You are not alone. Grey hairs - I'd say I'm 45-50% grey now, age 45 years. I lost most of my head hairs in my 20s / 30s. A lot less energy. Often I just can't be bothered with the various issues in my life, and I have to focus on what's most important, which is not a bad thing actually.</p><p></p><p>In terms of ED, I have noticed since 2012 that (1) everything seems smaller down there?! and (2) I have lost interest and ability in flirting, (3) the machinery still seems to work fine though, when needed. I went to see a urologist back then in 2012. My testosterone was borderline low but nothing to worry about. He said it was probably just stress, new job, etc. and I didn't think further about it.</p><p></p><p>Now looking back, I recognise several things:</p><p></p><p>1) I had impaired glucose control going back to 2004 at least when I had one random blood sugar level of 13.5 but subsequent testing "ruled out" DM as my fasting sugar was 6.1 and my HbA1c was 6.2% (44.3). In 2012 I had abnormal liver function tests (ALT 94), high cholesterol (7.4), normal fasting blood sugar. This was all put down to "fatty liver" and stress, and neither my GP nor I took it seriously.</p><p></p><p>2) I feel and look old. A lot older than the 45 which I am. Because of the intentional weight loss I feel and look fragile. I am putting some of this down to "andropause", which is like menopause but for men. It is not a well-recognised situation but you should Google it as it may explain what's happening. I am taking calcium and vitamin D supplements daily to prevent osteoporosis. I take a multi-vitamin every day, as well as iron tablets, as I want to optimise whatever I can and not worry about whether I'm anaemic or low in selenium or whatever. I don't want to go on testosterone supplements as that shuts down your body's natural production and you become dependent on supplementation. I have a friend with DM in a similar situation who tried testosterone supplements. He said he felt amazing for the first month (like a teenager!) but after that his body got used to it and he was back to baseline. I focus on the positives eg. reduced risk of prostate cancer and heart attacks! As long as I can carry on living, working and thinking, I can deal with the rest.</p><p></p><p>4) Some of my ED-like symptoms may be explained by the DM affecting how sex hormones are produced, transported, stored, and used by the body. The liver has a huge role to play in this, and if the liver is upset enough to affect my cholesterol metabolism and liver function tests, it may explain my testosterone issues too. I'd say I feel 50% better having lost weight, having brought my HbA1c down, and my liver function has normalised. I have not been able to control stress though. I am hoping to get down to 65kg and HbA1c of 5.5% but I've reached a reasonable plateau and it's very difficult to change a lifetime of bad choices. If I ever reach those targets (65kg and HbA1c 5.0-5.5) and come off metformin and the statin, then I will have eliminated the role of DM in my symptoms.</p><p></p><p>I'm not sure if any of this answers your questions but just intended to say that what you are experiencing is actually quite common but men don't talk about these things unfortunately.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="mm93fm, post: 2199926, member: 514091"] Dear Jay, Just saw your post, and I can't comment on those articles but I'm happy to share my experiences. I was diagnosed with T2DM in April 2019. My HbA1c was 6.8% (51mmol), my weight was 85kg, I was living a high-stress life (my choice!) and stress-eating anything and everything. It has taken me a good 6 months of diet, exercise, intermittently taking metformin and a statin, and intermittent fasting to get the HbA1c down to 5.9% and the weight down to 71kg. Waiting for next HbA1c result tomorrow. I can relate a lot to what you are experiencing. You are not alone. Grey hairs - I'd say I'm 45-50% grey now, age 45 years. I lost most of my head hairs in my 20s / 30s. A lot less energy. Often I just can't be bothered with the various issues in my life, and I have to focus on what's most important, which is not a bad thing actually. In terms of ED, I have noticed since 2012 that (1) everything seems smaller down there?! and (2) I have lost interest and ability in flirting, (3) the machinery still seems to work fine though, when needed. I went to see a urologist back then in 2012. My testosterone was borderline low but nothing to worry about. He said it was probably just stress, new job, etc. and I didn't think further about it. Now looking back, I recognise several things: 1) I had impaired glucose control going back to 2004 at least when I had one random blood sugar level of 13.5 but subsequent testing "ruled out" DM as my fasting sugar was 6.1 and my HbA1c was 6.2% (44.3). In 2012 I had abnormal liver function tests (ALT 94), high cholesterol (7.4), normal fasting blood sugar. This was all put down to "fatty liver" and stress, and neither my GP nor I took it seriously. 2) I feel and look old. A lot older than the 45 which I am. Because of the intentional weight loss I feel and look fragile. I am putting some of this down to "andropause", which is like menopause but for men. It is not a well-recognised situation but you should Google it as it may explain what's happening. I am taking calcium and vitamin D supplements daily to prevent osteoporosis. I take a multi-vitamin every day, as well as iron tablets, as I want to optimise whatever I can and not worry about whether I'm anaemic or low in selenium or whatever. I don't want to go on testosterone supplements as that shuts down your body's natural production and you become dependent on supplementation. I have a friend with DM in a similar situation who tried testosterone supplements. He said he felt amazing for the first month (like a teenager!) but after that his body got used to it and he was back to baseline. I focus on the positives eg. reduced risk of prostate cancer and heart attacks! As long as I can carry on living, working and thinking, I can deal with the rest. 4) Some of my ED-like symptoms may be explained by the DM affecting how sex hormones are produced, transported, stored, and used by the body. The liver has a huge role to play in this, and if the liver is upset enough to affect my cholesterol metabolism and liver function tests, it may explain my testosterone issues too. I'd say I feel 50% better having lost weight, having brought my HbA1c down, and my liver function has normalised. I have not been able to control stress though. I am hoping to get down to 65kg and HbA1c of 5.5% but I've reached a reasonable plateau and it's very difficult to change a lifetime of bad choices. If I ever reach those targets (65kg and HbA1c 5.0-5.5) and come off metformin and the statin, then I will have eliminated the role of DM in my symptoms. I'm not sure if any of this answers your questions but just intended to say that what you are experiencing is actually quite common but men don't talk about these things unfortunately. [/QUOTE]
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