Topics

1

Testosterone, Hormones and General Men's Health / Became low SHBG

« on: July 20, 2019, 03:21:11 pm »

It doesn’t seem to be impacting things that much but I wonder if I am getting low sensitivity as a result of low SHBG.

I used to be normal SHBG around 25-30 but ever since my BF% went from 14 to 20% and I stopped cutting sugar, it seems like my SHBG has declined all the way to 15.

Is this kind of drop reversible just my losing body fat and cutting sugar again? It doesn’t seem to be genetic since I used to be fine before, even on TRT.

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Testosterone, Hormones and General Men's Health / Mid 20s hair thinning and TRT

« on: December 31, 2018, 11:31:55 pm »

My hair has started thinning

I have no idea how but just randomly started this year. Ive been on TRT on/off for years now and mostly on so can it still be because of TRT?

Would it have happened anyways despte TRT?

What are things I should check? Obviously ive been here long enough that stuff like Sp and Fin are never options. Even minoxidil i wouldnt touch. I don’t want to mess with anything chemical that affects neurosteroids for the sake of hair. I would rather be single my entire life cause of hair loss than get suicidal depression from Fin.

3

Testosterone, Hormones and General Men's Health / Low SHBG and sexual issues

« on: November 10, 2018, 09:12:26 pm »

Recently my SHBG has been low around 16-17. Mentally I feel alright with my T around 700 and E2 sensitivr at 40 ish but im wondering could this SHBG be a culprt in poor sensitivity?

I used to have my SHBG around 28.

I suspect that because I am having too much carbs/sugar since I recovered (lmao I know....) it tanked. Basically once I felt good I sort of went back to my previous lifestyle LOL. Aka not exercising as much and not caring as much about diet...

And I think it is biting me now. Its hard to get it up, I have low libido,and terrible sensitivity.

4

Testosterone, Hormones and General Men's Health / PAS--Post Arimidex/Aromasin Syndrome

« on: October 15, 2018, 06:44:37 pm »

Was just reading around  and saw some posts about it.

https://www.excelmale.com/community/threads/permanent-damage-from-estradiol-crash.14742/

Holy shit wow. And at one point in my journey I used AIs not even knowing about this stuff. I don't really need them though as I figured out a couple years ago somewhat high E2 didnt affect me. Seems extremely rare but apparantly possible...

5

Testosterone, Hormones and General Men's Health / Slightly high prolactin-- can it cause issues?

« on: September 02, 2018, 09:42:59 pm »

Generally I am doing well but sexually I notice loss of sensitivity and bad orgasms. Also ED.

My libido is also lower but its not the thing that is most impacted.

Anyways I have a Prolactin of around 20 on the 3-15 range. And yes I did the 48 hours no ejaculation, and fasting for 12 before.

My hormones are generally ok other than that. As in, I have been sexually fine with my current T, E2, DHT etc before. My prolactin used to be around 10. I have no idea what has made it come up so much in the past few months but I have been having issues since July. And had multiple tests done with the first being around 20 and most recent around 19.

Also sometimes I notice that I feel a bit flat after ejaculation. Its a very unnerving feeling like my emotions are numbed out and I am kinda apathetic. Its not a low mood, but its very disturbing. I hope I have not developed POIS or something. I am pretty scared after reading about it.

Anyways how can I fix it besides Dopamine Agonists? Of course I have been here long enough to know about things like Mucuna and Tyrosine but those haven't really worked for me for this.

6

Testosterone, Hormones and General Men's Health / Any advances in treatment of PFS? (Post Fin syndrome)

« on: July 10, 2018, 04:41:36 pm »

I don't have it myself but I am curious what the latest advances in treatment are. It seems to be quite an interesting condition from hell.

I know that Allopregnanolone as well as DHT get depleted with Fin. This affects the GABA system.

And people do sometimes find low T but if Allo/DHT are affected then how does HRT even help these people? Backfilling Preg doesn't necessarily go to Allo in the CNS where we need it (especially if theres something going on with 5-AR activity)

One thing I also recall reading is that microdose of SSRIs increases Allopregnanolone. Have docs been trying this? What about other depression based (rather than HRT) treatments like Ketamine--have people tried that out?

Do people also need to do psychiatric treatments?

Im curious especially what the Defy docs do nowadays for it.

I also recall reading that even stress alters 5AR activity in MDD, so that PFS may be some kind of artificial induced depression.

7

Testosterone, Hormones and General Men's Health / Hormones don't need to be perfect to feel good

« on: July 03, 2018, 03:29:39 am »

Just thought I would mention this.

I don't really know how things resolved (getting off benzos definitely helped but other than that).

I have high E2 in the 40s and still lowish cortisol at 12-13 (similar to when zi had symptoms) but I feel good mentally. Even if TRT is responsible for both.

BPC I think also had helped.

But otherwise I do think that hormones don't really need to be "perfect". At one point I did think high E2 (mid 40s) or lowish cort caused symptoms but doesn't seem to be the case now anyways for the most part. Without symptoms, no need to mess with AIs. I don't like the concept anyways cause I am not sure where else they lower E2 (CNS?) making some people not feel right

I do use the scrotal cream to bump DHT (which was lowish a long time ago) and I think DHT is underlooked/maybe can compensate for some other stuff.

Also my pregnenolone/progesterone were near the top of the range. DHEA around 400 as usual.

8

Testosterone, Hormones and General Men's Health / Sudden Sensitivity and Libido Loss

« on: June 19, 2018, 08:50:13 pm »

Haven't posted in a while mainly cause I am doing pretty well these days on TRT/HCG/Pregnenolone.

Maybe im just in a down period for a random reason but what could cause a sudden drop in penile sensitivity or libido?

I understand libido fluctuates etc but I am more concerned with the sensitivity issue.

Normally, its pretty sensitive down there. Last week it was fine and now this week suddenly as of a a few days ago I don't feel as sensitive down there and my libido is low too. Sex is kinda repulsive even...

My protocol is 20 mg subQ e3d, 20 mg Pregnenolone cream every day. As for HCG I use 150 IU 2-3x a week. I try to minimize HCG since I don't feel that great on it. Also at times I use "1 click" (dont remember amount) of T cream on my scrotum but this is like 2x a week.

Can "edging" (the practice of delaying orgasm) cause sensitivity issues? But that doesn't really explain lower libido...

I need to get labs soon too. I have been doing well so have not even bothered for a few months.

Im hoping this is just some down period that will pass....

Ironically my diet has kind of gone to shit since I felt good xD. I used to limit sugar but now I have too much sugar. Don't care what I eat. I was skinny before and gained a bunch of wait (but not much muscle lol).

9

Testosterone, Hormones and General Men's Health / Male Birth Control Pill--A Disaster?

« on: May 06, 2018, 03:23:23 am »

I saw this article just now so sorry if anybody posted this before. Haven't been on here as much.

http://www.businessinsider.com/male-birth-control-pill-lowers-testosterone-3-month-trial-2018-3

I bet theres going to be all kinds of problems with this....

10

Testosterone, Hormones and General Men's Health / Zinc and steroid hormone receptors

« on: October 14, 2017, 04:39:06 pm »

http://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/steroid-hormone-receptor

Notice where it talks about Zinc fingers. That essentially means these receptors which are proteins need Zinc to be in a stable conformation. If the conformation is off, the steroid hormones dont activate the receptor as well cause it doesnt work as well.

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Testosterone, Hormones and General Men's Health / CURE? Backfillng Theory: Timing * May* Matter With Pregnenolone!

« on: October 12, 2017, 05:27:31 pm »

Alright I think I am getting backfilling to work possibly. Idk if it will stick but I feel all the mental benefits of high hormones this week.

What I did was pretty much after getting up apply the Pregnenolone cream.

I was having depression 1 hr after waking possibly due to reduced cortisol awakening response. By applying preg earlier I have a theory that this might enhance the CAR and for me provide enough raw material (I am low chol) to convert properly to Allopregnanolone and cortisol some the 2 most potent anti stress neurosteeoids

12

Testosterone, Hormones and General Men's Health / Mentally aroused but not physically??

« on: October 09, 2017, 03:28:04 am »

Was at a party recently and saw a ton of hot girls in skimpy outfits. However, I noticed I would still have the urge to stare mentally but I got absolutely ZERO physical response!!!

It felt so weird. Even grinding or stuff didnt elicit a response/erection.

I have in general never experienced this problem.

But is this considered a situation where libido is OK but theres ED/sensitivity issue? And the last 2 things may be lowering libido?

13

Testosterone, Hormones and General Men's Health / Study: Claritin helped PSSD?

« on: October 08, 2017, 02:15:30 am »

Wasn't expecting to see this one--https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15913872

"OBJECTIVE:

To assess the impact of loratadine as an add-on treatment of erectile dysfunctions associated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
METHODS:

Nine patients diagnosed as major depressive disorder (MDD), with erectile dysfunction associated with the administration of SSRIs, completed a 2-week trial of loratadine in the dose of 10 mg/day. The International Index of Erectile Function Five (IIEF-5) was used as an assessment measure for diagnosing the presence and severity of erectile dysfunction. The 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) was administered for screening the potential impact of depressive symptoms.
RESULTS:

Baseline mean S.D.+/-IIEF-5 scores were 10.33+/-4.55 (range 5-20) and week 2 mean+/-S.D. IIEF-5 was 14.44+/-3.84 (range 10-22). Subjects had statistically significant improvement in their erectile functions on the IIEF-5 (t = -8.485; df = 8; p = 0.000) and 55% reported subjective improvement of the erectile function. No significant changes on HAM-D 17 scores were registered. Baseline mean S.D. scores were 13.66+/-2.29 (range 10-17) and week 2 mean S.D. was 13.11+/-1.96 (range 10-16) (t = 1.47; df = 8; p = 0.179).
CONCLUSION:

Our findings suggest the possible role of loratadine in the treatment of SSRI-associated sexual dysfunction. They are promising, but preliminary. Thus they should be replicated in a longer large-scale, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial."

There were some other studies indicating claritin can activate E2 receptors. Perhaps this is why improvement was seen?
If so, I wonder if this helps non-PSSD sufferers but its certainly weird considering claritin is an anti-histamine...

14

Testosterone, Hormones and General Men's Health / LDN antidepressant effect

« on: October 02, 2017, 05:30:14 pm »

Took 1 mg last night and it actually made me really sleepy (so no insomnia in my case) and great mood today!

Cannot rule out placebo or other random factors/fluctuations  so ill see how this goes over a week.


Also take a look at this:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/15456529/

"RESULTS: The chronic morphine administration (ip) resulted in a marked decrease in the brain concentrations of pregnenolone (PREG), progesterone (PROG), and pregenenolone sulfate (PREGS) in rats killed 6 h after the last treatment. In contrast, there were no significant effects of morphine dependence on the brain concentrations of allopregnanolone (AP), dihydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and dihydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS). Naloxone-induced withdrawal produced a significant increase in the concentrations of PREG, PROG, AP, DHEA, PREGS, and DHEAS as compared with the control group.

CONCLUSION: Morphine dependence and withdrawal affected the concentrations of neurosteroids in rat brain, which suggests that endogenous neurosteroids in brain might be related to the development of morphine dependence and withdrawal."

This is with naloxone and withdrawal but I wonder if LDN could have any effect on neurosteroid biosynthesis as well. The way I see it, any psychiatric or brain altering medication though probably can affect neurosteroids.

15

Testosterone, Hormones and General Men's Health / Can TRT lower brain neurosteroids?

« on: September 25, 2017, 02:31:43 pm »

Question inspired by this study: http://m.pnas.org/content/102/6/2135.full

They are saying that Test Prop lowered allopregnanolone in mice and that this was dealt with by adding the SSRI norfluoexitine in a *sub-mM* dosage. As as been shown in other studies, SSRIs have effects on neurosteroids.

Of course a lot of the smart docs nowadays use HCG and backfilling Pregnenolone though the big question is whether thats enough to replace allopregnanolone or whatever else im the brain.

Studies like this though indicate to me that this HPTA axis is far more than just Testosterone...