I had a great reply.....and then my browser suddenly closed....

I believe I was within 10 of 700, don't remember if it was above or below. My body type when I was younger was mesomorph, well-defined muscles and large bones. When I was in my prime I weighed 165. I'm 5' on a good day. I was clinically obese, my measurements were 35-24-39, my thighs were 27" (a ***** to get a good pair of jeans, the waist was always at least 10" too big) I could bench 120 or 140. One day I tried to see how much I could push w/my legs (laying on my back, I don't remember which machine) I think I got to 340.

I was a rider, did eventing, jumping, etc. I would jump courses at my home barn, bareback, 4'6"-5'3", it's all in the legs lol

To this day I am still very firm in my thighs, calfs, arms, but my middle is squishy. Part of the problem I have is that my muscles contract but don't relax. My shoulders and neck are exceedingly firm, almost no give in them on a bad day. I think that's why they went the fibro route with my pain, since the pain is mostly in my muscles (and I still have a lot of them)

Hello artiemouse! I like that name too!

I was reading some of these posts from you and wonder....
Your profile says "female" and you have stated that you
have elevated testosterone?

Have you been evaluated for endocrine problems?
Two things come to mind for me..

1) PCOS polycystic ovary syndrome

2) congential adrenal hyperplasia

I assume you had a brain MRI and nothing showed up as an irregularity in the pituitary?

There are some things you can do to help your muscles out.
Sometimes it is just low magnesium levels, that cause that failure to relax. Many people in US are low in magnesium because they don't eat whole foods commonly which provide this electrolyte.

Here is my magnesium thread with more information:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread1138.html

There are advantages to elevated testosterone in females.
They include increased muscle strength, and stamina, improved bone density and a responsive libido.

But the downside can be facial hair, acne problems due to increased oil.
There is an over the counter supplement that can reduce the expression of excess androgens in females with PCOS...
It is called d-chiro inositol and it is used for improving fertility in women with elevated androgens. It can improve skin and reduce facial hair as well.

Let me know if you want to know more about this.

Yep, I finally had my dr do a FULL panel and they ran EVERYTHING. The only thing out of wack was the testosterone. Everything else was "fine" though I did have a high normal for my thyroid.

All my girl parts are good except for the vulvar vestibulitis (another crappy disease).

They checked my magnesium levels (everything was good), all my hormones are within standard, adrenals are good (I don't believe it, but tests don't lie)

I am a furry bastard, but I'm southern Italian and that's in my genes, laser hair removal is WONDERFUL!!!

I'm careful with my diet, organic most of the way, all my meat is free range, organic, grazers only eat grass and alfalfa, birds do the bird thing (no hormones, vegie diet), ... you know the drill

Thank you for all the suggestions. I have nagged my poor GP till she finally decided to get me a consult with a neurologist, only took about 3 visits and multiple phone calls in a 6 month period.

p.s. "artiemouse" comes from my middle name. my niece couldn't pronounce my middle name Artemis (which I use with family), and it came out as Artiemouse. It stuck