DHEA is a precursor to T and estrogen, but since we are all on exogenous T, there’s really no benefit for that purpose. It’s the other things that DHEA contribute to that matter.
For me personally, I was prescribed DHEA because higher levels promote deeper sleep. Before I started taking it I couldn’t stay asleep for more than a few hours every night, even after trying every trick in the book (Melatonin, Tryptophan, timing the right amounts and types of carbs before bed, etc). Now I get 6-8 hours every night consistently.
It also helps to repair broken metabolism which in turn helps with weight regulation and fat burning (both benefits I needed because my metabolism was screwed from excessive dietary deficits).
There’s also some evidence for anti-aging properties. You’d have to read those studies and form your own opinions though.
have you seen an improvement in your metabolism from it? Any other improvements to note? Is what your taking actually taking pharmacuetical or just prescribed over the counter?
I have seen slight improvements in metabolism, though I can’t accredit it completely to the DHEA. I take metformin as well so I’m theorizing that it’s the combination of the two that is helping in that area. I sleep a TON better than I used to.
I have a prescription but I just buy the 50mg micronized OTC from Douglass Labs on Amazon. A lot cheaper.
She was getting a little back acne and so it was lowered. She was also worried about possibility of thinning hair with the numbers she had at 20mg. Actually after talking to her she does not see any difference in the way she feels at 10 v 20mg weekly. She does want to gain more muscle but Not sure that being on 10mg weekly will do that. Any thoughts?
Does having an IUD and being on HRT effect how or if the IUD does its job? I thought the IUD was to keep her hormone lvl so she never ovulates but if you over ride the IUD’s strength with HRT hormones could this allow her to ovulate?
My wife is with Defy and she supplements T/P/E if her T goes too high she gets mean and very short tempered. Defy keeps her TT ~140 in our case anything higher is not better.
Curious about IUD impacts also. My fiancé has had one for about 2 years and gained about 40lbs in the last year. Dieting and exercise doesn’t help. Libido is down as well. Local doc will only test TSH and b12. They said “hormones are never the problem with women”. Idiots.
Not sure with regard to IUD and testosterone affecting the mechanism of action of IUD. But an IUD can cause decreased libido in some females. That would be something to discuss with gynecologist. The complexity of female hormone is way more complex to manage that a males. I feel for women with these issues because its hard enough for us guys to get dialed in and stay there.
This is a mistake a lot of doctors seem to make, TSH correlates poorly with symptoms, seen a guy after starting TRT his TSH was 2.7 and “in range”, and his Free T3 was abnormally low. Sometimes T3 Uptake and TBG can be low and Free T3 midrange which mean you cannot use all the Free T3 making you symptomatic.
More often doctors do not want to piss off insurance companies or drain NHS resources. You’ve got an HMO and displaying no life threatening medical conditions, expect minimal testing.
Her TSH is around 0.9 but she has every symptom of hypothyroidism. Like literally every common one.
I’m going to start another thread on it later I guess. I’m trying to convince her to test free t3 and rt3 since the doc refuses to. Her insurance sucks so she ends up having to pay for the tests regardless.
When women do HRT they have to supplement all 3 primary sex hormones, Testosterone, Estrogen, Progesterone or they will just become dominant in the hormone they are supplementing.
Let’s say a woman takes just testosterone. T levels will normalize but then E1, E2, E3 and PGR will become suppressed and she will be testosterone dominant.
So regardless which one of the 3 primary sex hormones are low, all 3 need to be supplemented or you will not feel right.
IncreaseMyT uses a off shoot of the Wiley program they call SHOW (sex hormone optimization for women) which has worked really well over the last decade.
I don’t know, it is not really recommended to take T without E for women, there is no literature on it.
Clinical peer reviewed literature always includes estrogen. You could make an argument you don’t need PGR, but def need E. That would be like a man taking estrogen but not testosterone.
I would not consider 10mg/wk a small dose for women. She need to experiment just like we do and find what feels best. Remembering if she is injecting T cyp it take 40 days to reach steady state and all hell could break loose waiting for that steady state. Just like us and probably more our hormones are all over the place while our bodies try to reach homeostasis.
((( Number 1 ))) talk with each other and be aware things can get weird. Hold no grudges know this is part of the process. Once you both are tuned in you will look back at this time and laugh knowing you passed the test and life only gets better from here on out.
@dbossa looking for some input for my wife and her current protocol. Update: my wife saw the doc and she wanted her free T in the 15-20 range. Currently at 10.4. On 10mg T. Cypionate IM weekly. IShe wanted to increase her dose to 30mg of T weekly but my wife said at 20mg weekly she started getting acne. So they compromised and went from 10mg back up to 20mg weekly IM. It is a mix of half propionate and half cypionate. She said you will get a quick boost with propionate and as it is wearing off the cypionate will kick in. Also began spironolactone 100mg daily to keep any acne from occurring and to combat any increase in DHT. I know spironolactone works well as an anti -androgen. We use it a lot in dermatology for female hair thinning and acne and it works great. Just not sure if it will also negate some of the effects of T injection. T3 was in normal range and Vit D was also in range. Also began nature thyroid daily and D3. No progesterone unless she begins having hot flashes per doc.
Is this a legit protocol or does it seem a bit crazy?