Approaching Mid 40's And The Wheels Starting To Fall Off?

[Peater]

It is due mostly to estrogen. In women it manifests as PCOS. A decent AI combined with some anti-cortisol precursors usually can take care of these issues but thyroid function should also be monitored as it plays a big factor in gonadal synthesis. Not much T can be synthesized in gonads without enough T3 in the blood. In addition, TSH directly inhibits gonadal function so keeping it below 1 is another factor in improving endogenous androgen synthesis.

Thanks mate

 

[TheBeard]

The low T but decent muscles, combined with body hairiness and belly fat creeping up on you suggest low gonadal function and adrenal hyperactivity. This can be maintained for a few more years but once DHEA starts to steeply drop (as it does for most people after 40), unless cortisol/estrogen are brought under control the muscles will melt and all that remains is fat. I have quite a few friends that went through this period of intense "athleticism" where they kept pushing themselves quite a bit and it seemed to work initially as their muscles seemed OK and they were keeping their BMI close to where the doctor wanted it. However, without an exception, they all hit a wall around 45 and when they got their steroids tested, T was in the hypogonadal range, DHEA was below the lower range, cortisol was at the very top of normal or above, and some of them had high prolactin too. TRT is an option but the safer and more physiological approach seems to be to combine an AI with a precursor like pregnenolone/DHEA or progesterone/DHEA. The AI will take care of estrogen and the pregnenolone/progesterone/DHEA will oppose cortisol. Thyroid function is also important as it's what determines how well gonads will work. Letrozole and anastrozole are not good AI in my opinion. Steroidal ones such as exemestane, formestane, and atamestane are safer and they have steroidal effects of their own that at least partially fill in for T.

Would you say that hormone supplementation can be beneficial in times of poor health as it alleviates the body from the effort of producing hormones, so that the body can dedicate itself to healing?

 

[Peater]

Would you say that hormone supplementation can be beneficial in times of poor health as it alleviates the body from the effort of producing hormones, so that the body can dedicate itself to healing?

I'm sure I read somewhere on here that the Leydig cells can benefit from T supplementation

At a guess I would say as long as it's not an over-stimulating supraphysiological dose, it could help?

 

[Iron Man]

The low T but decent muscles, combined with body hairiness and belly fat creeping up on you suggest low gonadal function and adrenal hyperactivity. This can be maintained for a few more years but once DHEA starts to steeply drop (as it does for most people after 40), unless cortisol/estrogen are brought under control the muscles will melt and all that remains is fat. I have quite a few friends that went through this period of intense "athleticism" where they kept pushing themselves quite a bit and it seemed to work initially as their muscles seemed OK and they were keeping their BMI close to where the doctor wanted it. However, without an exception, they all hit a wall around 45 and when they got their steroids tested, T was in the hypogonadal range, DHEA was below the lower range, cortisol was at the very top of normal or above, and some of them had high prolactin too. TRT is an option but the safer and more physiological approach seems to be to combine an AI with a precursor like pregnenolone/DHEA or progesterone/DHEA. The AI will take care of estrogen and the pregnenolone/progesterone/DHEA will oppose cortisol. Thyroid function is also important as it's what determines how well gonads will work. Letrozole and anastrozole are not good AI in my opinion. Steroidal ones such as exemestane, formestane, and atamestane are safer and they have steroidal effects of their own that at least partially fill in for T.

Thanks for chiming in @haidut , much appreciated. Here are some older lab results of mine...

TSH - 0.5 mIU/L ( Reference range - 0.3 - 3.5 )
Free T4 - 14.9 pmol/L ( Reference range - 9.0 - 19.0 )
Prolactin - 110 mIU/L ( Reference range - less than 500 )
ALP - 60 U/L ( Reference Range - 35 - 110 )
AST - 40 U/L ( Reference Range - 10 - 40 )
ALT - 66 U/L ( Reference Range - 5 - 40 )
GGT - 33 U/L ( Reference Range - 5 - 40 )
LDH - 193 U/L ( Reference Range - 120 - 250 )

I think that the Doc (and I'm not very switched on with medical terminology) explained that i make testosterone ok in man land, but there maybe something somewhere else going a bit haywire? Like a signalling issue?
When I read your post, it definitely resonated and I thought oh no...
I am taking 5mg of Dhea and I do have some Pregnenolone (10mg), as well as natural progesterone cream, but I'm confused on how to take this stuff.
With AI's I only know about these from bodybuilding circles and have no idea about how to implement these either. Getting my hands on things like AI's and testosterone is pretty difficult for me without a Doctor involved. I'm keen to get on board with something, because I don't want the wheels to fall off.

 

[Iron Man]

I'm sure I read somewhere on here that the Leydig cells can benefit from T supplementation

At a guess I would say as long as it's not an over-stimulating supraphysiological dose, it could help?

That's great and all, but where and how do you get your hands on T when your Doc is not convinced and won't prescribe it?

 

[tankasnowgod]

Hans posted this in another thread, but here is a study where men on an AI gained more muscle and lost more fat than a group of men that were on TRT- Error - Cookies Turned Off

I know a lot of these studies use Letro, but I think Exemestane is better for the reasons Haidut mentioned.

As for Testosterone..... I don't know what country you are in, but if you are in the US, it's a controlled substance. Schedule III, which puts it in the same category as Ketamine. So getting it without a doctors prescription could be a federal felony, and selling in this manner would put someone at even higher risk. Letrozole and Exemestane are not on the schedule.

 

[Iron Man]

Hans posted this in another thread, but here is a study where men on an AI gained more muscle and lost more fat than a group of men that were on TRT- Error - Cookies Turned Off

I know a lot of these studies use Letro, but I think Exemestane is better for the reasons Haidut mentioned.

As for Testosterone..... I don't know what country you are in, but if you are in the US, it's a controlled substance. Schedule III, which puts it in the same category as Ketamine. So getting it without a doctors prescription could be a federal felony, and selling in this manner would put someone at even higher risk. Letrozole and Exemestane are not on the schedule.

I need scripts or Dr's notes on any of the stuff that is being discussed here. I can purchase Pregnenolone, DHEA and Natural Progesterone cream ok and can attempt to get my hands on the other stuff, but are there any other options?

 

[Markus]

I am taking 5mg of Dhea and I do have some Pregnenolone (10mg), as well as natural progesterone cream, but I'm confused on how to take this stuff.

Like I mentioned before, I take 10 mg of pregnenolone and 5 mg of DHEA split into two doses morning and afternoon. On top of that you can add some progesterone in the evening a couple of hours before bed if you have a hard time sleeping.

 

[Iron Man]

Like I mentioned before, I take 10 mg of pregnenolone and 5 mg of DHEA split into two doses morning and afternoon. On top of that you can add some progesterone in the evening a couple of hours before bed if you have a hard time sleeping.

With the progesterone, is this natural progesterone cream?

 

[Iron Man]

Are there any legit / proven natural aromotase inhibitors out there?

 

[Runenight201]

Are there any legit / proven natural aromotase inhibitors out there?

A proper diet that avoids the catabolic hormone cascade is as natural as it gets. Then you won’t need to play around with all sorts of drugs

 

[Adrienlcrx]

At the moment Do you always use TUDCA with success @Markus ?

 

[Markus]

With the progesterone, is this natural progesterone cream?

No, I personally use BioMatrix Progesterone drops: Pro-Adapt. I also use their DHEA and pregnenolone.

 

[Markus]

Are there any legit / proven natural aromotase inhibitors out there?

Citrus fruits, cruciferous vegetables, mushrooms, pomegranate and zinc to name a few.

 

[Iron Man]

I read up a little on the anabolic men site about natural supplement estrogen blockers. Are these legit? Is there any scientific evidence on these?

 

[Iron Man]

After reading up here and looking at other sites such as anabolic men, I'm planning on the following protocol -

Natural Progesterone cream in the morning
5mg Dhea in the morning
10mg Pregnenolone at night
25mg Zinc at night

I'm already taking A, D3 and Magnesium. Sounds like I need to add B vitamins, 2g Taurine and E.
Can anyone critique?

 

[Iron Man]

One other thing I forgot to mention was in addition to gaining hair on my stomach, my arm hairs have gone white. Crazy...

 

[Markus]

After reading up here and looking at other sites such as anabolic men, I'm planning on the following protocol -

Natural Progesterone cream in the morning
5mg Dhea in the morning
10mg Pregnenolone at night
25mg Zinc at night

I'm already taking A, D3 and Magnesium. Sounds like I need to add B vitamins, 2g Taurine and E.
Can anyone critique?

I would switch the pregnenolone and progesterone but that's just me.

 

[Iron Man]

I would switch the pregnenolone and progesterone but that's just me.

As in taking Progesterone at night and Pregnenolone in the morning? If so, wouldn't this result in taking DHEA and Pregnenolone at the same time? Also, I thought taking zinc was best if taken at same time as Pregnenolone?

 

[ecstatichamster]

As in taking Progesterone at night and Pregnenolone in the morning? If so, wouldn't this result in taking DHEA and Pregnenolone at the same time?

I take it all at once. No problems.