Hey man, my pleasure. Keep in mind this is all highly individual so what worked for me might not work for you.
With DHEA-S there’s a question for me of whether it’s similar to Total T in the sense that you might have decent or even good levels of it but it doesn’t tell you how much active DHEA you have available.
After all DHEA-S acts as a reservoir similar to Total Testosterone.
All of that to say, I would go with symptoms more than lab numbers, up to a certain point of course. If you find yourself at 2x the top of the range it might be too high even if you feel good (although even that’s debatable), but basically just because your DHEA-S levels on labs might be acceptable (I’m not familiar with the range and units you posted, I’m assuming you’re not in/from the US) doesn’t mean TRT hasn’t negatively affected active DHEA concentrations and that you wouldn’t benefit from supplementation. Same for Pregnenolone.
For me, sublingual was too rough for Pregnenolone. The onset is really fast and a little overstimulating. It’s also in and out very quickly, meaning you get a huge spike and then a crash. Most of it also doesn’t convert to Preg-S, which you do want to some degree.
I dose oral micronized twice/day (5mg/day total, will try going up in the future but for now that’s what I can take for all benefits no negative side effects), and DHEA oral micronized twice/day also for a smoother ride (the half-life of oral Preg/DHEA is very short, of the order of a few hours). I do 20mg/day total for the DHEA.
The 1.7mg dosage and liquid formulation makes me think you’re using Idealabs StressNon from Haidut. I used that topically for a while with some good results but ended up liking oral better also for more precise dosing. I do trust he has good products though.
For oral micronized I use Nootropics Depot. It’s the only OTC supplement company I trust, and they’re one of the only ones (maybe the only one) who do legit third party testing.
Personally I would supplement both Preg and DHEA, but it depends on your individual homeostasis. Pregnenolone converts to Progesterone, which is anti-androgenic at higher levels; it blocks 5a-reductase enzymes from converting Testosterone to DHT. A lot of people don’t know that, but that’s why high levels of Progesterone are feminizing in a very real, biological way.
So in order to control the balance of different hormones and their effects, it makes sense to add metabolites at lower levels of the hormone cascade directly, for example adding DHT directly exogenously additionally to conversion from Testosterone in order to maximize androgenic effects and feelings of masculinity. Etc…
This is all stuff you have to experiment with. My last recommendation is make sure you only play with one variable at a time or you’ll have no idea what’s doing what. It’s complex enough as it is.
