ELEVATED ESTROGEN IN MALE

[johngamer7]

hi.i'm 22 male and i have been working out since i was 15.before that i used to be overweight.that changed dramatically and i ended up being a fitness freak!anyway.i always wondered why i couldn't gain lean muscle mass even though my nutrition was that of a bodybuilder.and i could never get rid of the extra far around my waist and hips.i started to investigate whether there is something wrong or not.at some point i stumbled upon estradiol and estrogen.i had an estradiol level of 85 and an estrone level of 256 with upper limit of 50 and 155 respectively.my testosterone levels were normal.total t 9.5 and free 24 with upper limits of 12 and 50 respectively.!my platelets were lower than normal but never below 100k.also, red blood cell count were most times higher that normal even though i have anemia(MCV<80).i had a ct done and ultrasounds. they showed enlarged spleen (13cm) and slightly bigger liver.it also showed a 1.5cm epididymal cyst on the right testicle and a small varicocele on the right testicle.ct showed schmorl nodes and indications of Scheuermann's disease.(don't know if the last have anything to do with the above). my urologist told me that i should do a sperm count test to see if a problem is being caused by that, but also told me that the varicocele could be cause by non-urological reasons.so he recommended as well as my endo to do a ct scan.my endo told my that elevated estrogen could be caused by an aromatase excess in my body or excessive aromatase expression since ct of the adrenals and thyroid came clean.i believe that the source of my problems is the excess estrogen.i haven't asked my endo yet but should i try something like aromasin?(even though i'm a little afraid it will kill my hair).oh, i forgot to mention that i had varicocele and removed it when i was 10, and some tests i did then showed that i had a level of estradiol of 115 back then. please, any advice/opinion would be appreciated.THANK YOU!!!

[Elaine Brown, MD]

Hi!
There are some hereditary conditions in which males have elevated estradiol levels.  Also some endocrine syndromes.  MOST of the time, the excess estrogen is produced in excess adipose tissue.  Usually estrogen is converted into testosterone, but in some cases, this fails to happen. This is the type of case in which something like Aromasin might help.
I would certainly proceed with caution and under the supervision of an endocrinologist if I were going to recommend anything like that to a patient,
Good luck!
Dr B

[johngamer7]

Thank you so much for the answer!do you happen to know which hereditary conditions are responsible for elevated estrogen?also, can excess adipose tissue can cause such problem?i'm not that fat.it's the distribution of my fat that i'm complaining about...also if that was the case, all overweight people would have elevated estrogen!
regards