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[joziel]

Has anyone else experienced other family members somehow getting contaminated with gel? I've heard about this occasionally but didn't really pay it much attention because I don't really have much contact with my partner these days. (We are still friends but physically everything is over between us    and he works away a lot.)

For Xmas, I bought him a Randox 'Male Hormones' finger **** test. He was working away, came home and was home for 3 days (nothing physical between us) and then did the test.

It has come back with estradiol at 310pmol(!!!). I told him it's a level many women on HRT would be happy with!!! It was higher than I had been, on 4 pumps of gel!!!!!!

So we're now not sure if 1) he has something physical going on, if 2) his finger (only) was contaminated - or if 3) he's absorbing my gel. Despite zero physical contact. We do share a bed, but he stays on his side and I stay on mine... He was away from home from 2nd-17th January. He tested morning of 20th and immediately went to work away from home again. So any contamination would only be based on him being home 3 days.

I've sent him to get a venous test at the GP to see if that confirms serum levels, or if maybe just a finger of his was contaminated. (Hopefully it was just a finger, from touching something like my bath towel??)

If his bloods confirm this level of estradiol, what do we do??? (As a first step?!) Should I switch totally to patches? (I'm currently on 200mcg patches plus 6 pumps of gel.) Or should he go and get lots more tests, to see if he has something going on to cause this? 

[CLKD]

Probably the 'test' is designed to panic men; without his levels being tested prior to using it you may never know.

Gel can be transferred to pets for example.  Unlikely if you aren't physical in any way. 

Has he noted any particular bodily/mood changes in the last few years? 

[Kathleen]

Hello joziel

I understand that finger **** tests can be unreliable so a venous blood test is a good idea. If the number is still high I expect his GP will want to investigate.

Can you think of anyway that he could have been exposed to oestrogen gel?

If I were you I wouldn't change my regime just yet ( you have worked so hard to get where you are) and wait and see what the blood test reveals.

Wishing you well and take care.


K.

[joziel]

Thanks folks, yes I will wait to see what his venous test shows.

I just didn't know what the next step should be, if that also comes back high.... ?

[CLKD]

What were U thinking that tests would show, why buy the kit?

Your OH needs to be guided by the GP ......... this is about his results, not your HRT.

[bombsh3ll]

I think there probably is some potential for transfer if sharing a bed, even without any physical intimacy.

I doubt it has ever been looked into in any clinical study, and at the doses most women use it wouldn't matter if the man took the full dose anyway, but certainly I was very paranoid about transfer via surfaces or towels etc when my teenage son was using topical minoxidil, and he barely spends 5 minutes in the same room as me.

That said there could be many reasons for your husband's results. Does he take any medication at all, either prescription or OTC? Many commonly used drugs even regular paracetamol can impair hepatic clearance of estrogen. So can alcohol.

Assuming his result is genuine, the only way you can determine whether your gel is somehow getting into his system is to test him after spending a few days apart or in separate beds if you can.

Does he have any symptoms, such as man boobs or his personality getting a bit nicer and doing more of the washing and hoovering?

[joziel]

LOL I wish it had created more washing and hoovering LOL

I would say he has low libido - at least, I don't see any of it(!) and I'm pretty sure he's not having an affair either (although we are apart enough that would be easy enough). He has gained a lot of weight recently but we'd assumed that was just not looking after himself, eating too much whilst travelling and that kind of thing. (I kind of thought he would have low T which is why I got him the test. But his total T was actually slightly in the high zone and his free T was comfortably just over halfway in the green zone. So that doesn't seem to be the problem.)

He does not take any meds at all and has no health conditions. He doesn't drink much either.

That's a good idea, to test after a few days apart but I'm not sure how to coordinate that. He'd have to coordinate getting home from being away, with a blood test at the GP - which might be difficult. We also have a small house with only one bedroom/bed in it. Bloods at the GP should show if this is actually in his blood stream or just on a the finger he pricked for the test.

[bombsh3ll]

If he has high testosterone and especially if he is a bit overweight there is probably quite a bit of aromatisation of testosterone to estradiol.

Hopefully his venous test will come back normal.

Just a thought but if you both have the same surname and are at the same GP practice, I would maybe not have him mention anything about your estrogen gel transferring onto him.

Probably better to just say it was a general well man check and came back high, in order not to potentially jeopardize your prescription.

[joziel]

Yes, I wondered about the conversion thing. We'll see. I'm a bit shocked at how much weight he's put on, he used to be extremely fit and kayak many times a week long distance. Now his Apple Watch says he has Low cardiovascular fitness (mine says I have High  ) and he's put on a ton. He has been working in cities with amazing food, like Paris and Rome, and I think he may have overindulged and lost track...

We don't have the same surname but we are at the same GP practice with the same address. My GP has been great so far, and not quibbled about my Newson dr's prescriptions. I think I would discuss with my Newson dr in the first instance...

If he does come back high again, I think the first thing to do with my prescription though, would be to switch me to all patches... Currently on 200mcg patches and 6 pumps of gel, so that would be 350mcg patches.    I don't mind this because I absolutely hate putting 6 pumps of freezing gel on my legs at night and waiting for it to dry, it's just... whether I can absorb that much from one delivery method. My Newson dr said often women absorb better if they combine 2 methods on higher doses and I couldn't absorb more than 6 pumps of gel (tried 12 and had the same E level).

[CLKD]

If U aren't in bodily contact how can gel become transferred?

As for the weight issue, I had The Talk with DH 2 years ago. Now he keeps an eye on the scales and what we eat [he's the Chef tha knows  ] - we don't cut much out but eat less.

Over the last 30 years we've been drawn into quick supermarket shopping followed by ultra processed foods. Our Mums cooked from scratch and DH has in the main done the same.

The way to confront your OH is by asking him to share what he eats in the posh places: how much is freshly prepared ......   does he eat alone or is he with work mates?   Is there alcohol involved, which is where DH puts his weight on 

[joziel]

Not much alcohol when away from home but probably more than when at home (none).

Gel can be transferred from bed linen (I do roll onto his side of the bed at night when he's away, especially when I get a hot flash...), toilet seats, towels, me touching my body where I've put it and then touching a commonly touched item (light switches) etc. It's a well known phenomenon. I still would be incredibly surprised given how little contact we have, that this is due to me - unless he got a tiny bit on his finger only rather than systemically and that affected his result (like women getting results in the 2000s if they do finger pricks after using a hand to spread gel).

Anyway, we just have to rule it out before he can go get further tests and things I guess../

He's in London at the moment and coming back on Saturday and I just had the brainwave of an idea that he should go to a Randox clinic for a venous draw before he comes back. He's been away for 2 weeks so any results now can't be due to me....

[bombsh3ll]

Do pop back and let us know whether or not it appears to be related to your gel.

This is something that has never been looked into scientifically, and potentially relevant to a lot of people, even though most women are on doses too low for any transfer to be clinically significant.

[CLKD]

   It's a well known phenomenon. 

I would be asking Dr Currie and Dr Louise about how risky gel actually might be, is there any info in the leaflet in the box?

Do let us know.  MayB U could both be part of a Study?

When I had radiation treatment I was told to keep away from the elderly and small children.  And nope, I didnt' 'glow in the dark' 

[joziel]

He's booked for bloods on Friday morning before he leaves London. We'll see what they say....

I don't think he can have absorbed much systemically - I reckon it was either a smidge on his finger which contaminated the sample or he really goes have high E (maybe due to converting his T).

I'll let you know....

[joziel]

Okay, update...

He re-tested with a venous draw after we had been apart for 2 weeks.

His E was 75pmol, which was back down in the male range. And his free and total T were slightly into the high range. As it's only very slightly into the high range, I'm thinking it's not an issue....??

Anyways - it seems that either he had a bit on his finger somehow when he tested OR he absorbed systemically in the 2 days we were together before he tested with the finger prick test last time.

So I don't know if we've really solved much except that he - himself - doesn't have intrinsically high E and doesn't need further investigations. I guess we next need to test after we've been together a few weeks but with a Tasso or venous draw to see if he's absorbing systemically from me.