I Replace All My Hormones. Here Is What I Learned

[thingsvarious]

I want to share my journey with hormone replacement because I believe it might be useful to others.

Beacuse hormones are extensively talked about here on RPF, I do think that others might benefit from some of the stuff I learned along my way.

I am a medical student in my last year. I replace all of my hormones. I have been doing this for some years now.


What I take. But what works for me might not work for others.

• TRT: Test Cyp (50mg subQ 2x/week), HcG (250iu subQ 2x/week),
  
  
• cortisol: cortisone acetate (20mg/d HC equivalent) (split into 4 daily doses)
  
  
• thyroid: 1.25 grains NDT + 6.25mcg T3 (a few hours later in the day)
  
  
• GH: 0.5iu genotropin pfizer (aiming for IGF1 of 250) prebed
  
  
• fludrocortisone 01.mg/d morning
  
  
• melatonin: 0.25mg sublingual prebed
  

Everyone is different, but the target range I aim for is in the upper tertile of the youthful reference range. Just falling somewhere within the reference range is not “optimal”. The reference range covers 95% of the population. Certainly more than 5% of the population have hormones bad enough to warrant intervention.

This is how I look now vs. then. Before and after 4 years of replacing my hormones. - Imgur.

I am aware that this is rather uncharted territory, esp. in a DIY kind of way. As a medical student in my last year I am well aware of the risks. But to me the cost-benefit analysis is a no-brainer. If I had to, I would sign a contract to rather live 10 more years with my new vitality and then die instead of living to one hundred with the dreadful state I was in before.

I do extensive blood tests (complete hormone panel, metabolic health, general health) around every 3-4 months. I would´t dare doing anything (not even starting) without it.

Other stuff I do: keto/paleo, HIIT, weekly rapamycin, a bunch of supplements (all of them together less worth than a slight alteration in hormones), some exercise every day, sleep around 6h (wake up refreshed without alarm -before HRT I needed 8+).

After years of studying, researching, experimenting, testing I did a writeup about some stuff I have learned along the way.

My goal with all my writing is to point people into the right direction to remove biological shackles allowing them become the best version of themselves and live life fully.


Had I known what I know now, it would have saved me lots of time, money, happiness, effort, researching, experimenting. And suffering. I hope some of you find value in it . Enjoy.


How To Fix Your Hormones: The Ultimate Guide


I am open for any feedback and criticism.

I am sure some of you are quite knowledgable and experienced and might give valuable feedback/criticism and point out blind spots or other stuff I didn´t think about. What are your thoughts on all this? As I am in my mid twenties, do you think this is sustainable for decades?
For questions/feedback you don´t want to post here my email: [email protected]

 

[baccheion]

Should've just reached for truly pastured organic raw egg yolks and some electrolyte'd water. However many dozen to get calories without gaining and however much water (with a calcium-sodium bias) to maintain alkaline PRAL score and sufficient hydration.

 

[Nakedmolerat]

Your post says that "dermal T is awful for DHT". Why is that?

 

[Barry]

I eat a very high carb, very low fat diet. And at 52, my energy and cognition are pretty good. high fat diets don't work for me. also there is little mention of progesterone/pregnenolone, which seems like a major mistake to me. also no mention of methylene blue. I just skimmed the link, and it seems like you put a lot of research into your views, but just based on my experience I think fat based diets are a major mistake.

 

[MrGilbert]

What issues were you having that made you decide to go down this route?

 

[CLASH]

Interesting experiment your running on yourself, thanks for sharing. A few questions:

1) Low carb had been shown in many anecdotal reports and some research to lower androgens and lower thyroid hormones. Do you think low carb may be a culprit in your initial low androgens and thyroid hormones? Cant you just keep androgens, thyroid and igf-1 high with adequate carb, fat and protein consumption respectively?

2) I can understand HCG with the Test, but are fludrocortisone, cortisone, and hgh neccessary? These are all adaptive hormones with associations to quite a few disease states. I know your dosing to physiologic levels but would it not be better to let these run in the lower end of the ranges? Also is the melatonin even neccesary? Have these hormones made any significant difference, or can the benefits be achieved with just Test, thyroid, and maybe HCG?

3) Its nice that your dosing in physiologic ranges, I think that makes the most sense for most people. I see far too many people playing with supraphysiologic doses. Do you think it would be better to dose the hormones according to circadian rhythm and on a more consistent basis? Obviously there is the convenience factor, so that aside, from a purely physiologic basis would dosing Test daily at around 7-10mg in the morning with a dose of cortisone be better than dosing test 2x/ week and cortisone 4x/day?

 

[thingsvarious]

Interesting experiment your running on yourself, thanks for sharing. A few questions:

1) Low carb had been shown in many anecdotal reports and some research to lower androgens and lower thyroid hormones. Do you think low carb may be a culprit in your initial low androgens and thyroid hormones? Cant you just keep androgens, thyroid and igf-1 high with adequate carb, fat and protein consumption respectively?

2) I can understand HCG with the Test, but are fludrocortisone, cortisone, and hgh neccessary? These are all adaptive hormones with associations to quite a few disease states. I know your dosing to physiologic levels but would it not be better to let these run in the lower end of the ranges? Also is the melatonin even neccesary? Have these hormones made any significant difference, or can the benefits be achieved with just Test, thyroid, and maybe HCG?

3) Its nice that your dosing in physiologic ranges, I think that makes the most sense for most people. I see far too many people playing with supraphysiologic doses. Do you think it would be better to dose the hormones according to circadian rhythm and on a more consistent basis? Obviously there is the convenience factor, so that aside, from a purely physiologic basis would dosing Test daily at around 7-10mg in the morning with a dose of cortisone be better than dosing test 2x/ week and cortisone 4x/day?

Great questions.

1) No. I was on a rather low fat diet before. You are certainly right that adequate hormonal balance requires all macronutrients (incl. some insulin signalling), but that certainly was not the issue for me. Also, my levels were far too low (below reference range) to have been caused by diet. After all we are mammals, which are quite resilient from a physiological point of view. A young body should be able to deal with some fluctuations/shortages without hormones dropping to that low levels (unless you are anorectic/starving for long periods of time)

2) I chose to replace everything. As I am of the opinion that once we hit 35 or so, multiple hormone replacement gives more than it takes (risks/sides/costs/nuisances vs. benefits), so I just decided to screw it and replace hormones starting at 23-24. A very tough decision that cost me lots of agony, but I am sooo glad I did. But whether I can keep this up for decades I don´t know, but I can´t see how I can not. I wrote a guide about how to replace each individual hormone. If you are interested, I hit some changes I observed in myself. Yes, all of them are necessary for "optimal". Your physiology simply doesn´t work if one of these big four hypothalamic hormones is severely low. And I disagree that they cause disease states. The poison is in the dosage.

3) I completely agree. Yes, optimal would be microdosing all the time, but that is just a hassle and nuisance. The only hormone I take multiple times is cortisol (and a second small dose of NDT). However I look forward to the day I can prescribe myself extended-release hydrocortisone :). From a purely physiological perspective cortisol should be dosed 10x/d (or more) and test daily, but from a practical/convenience perspective I think the inconvenience outweighs the SMALL benefits. Test Cyp has a half-life of 4-6 days or so, so I think 2x/week is adequate. In fact, in endocrinology they often do 1x every TWO weeks (SMFH).

 

[BigYellowLemon]

Did you have low cortisol beforehand or normal levels? What made you want to use it?

 

[thingsvarious]

Did you have low cortisol beforehand or normal levels? What made you want to use it?

See here.
How To Replace Cortisol & Adrenals. An Ultimate Guide.

 

[LeeLemonoil]

Thanks for the posts and sharing your experiences and insights here @thingsvarious

I will take my time to read all you’ve provided with your links.

Questions unrelated to the actual topic, if you please:

1.)
Are some of your fellow students aware of what you do? How is the response?

2.)
Some professors and lecturers aware? Or is that difficult territory?

3.)
In general, along your fellow senior med-students, how widespread are similar, advanced self-experiments and medication with these very restricted substances like hormones, steroids and stuff like Rapamycin? (Restricted meaning access very limited to non-professionals)

4.)
Kind of you to share it at the RPF. It’s a good place for some feedback. Have you been here before or read Peat‘s original writings?

Thanks a lot. You’ll have a blast once you’re a certified MD and get to prescribe yourself all kinds of things. Leads me to

5.)
Already a specialization in mind?

 

[thingsvarious]

Thanks for the posts and sharing your experiences and insights here @thingsvarious

I will take my time to read all you’ve provided with your links.

Questions unrelated to the actual topic, if you please:

1.)
Are some of your fellow students aware of what you do? How is the response?

2.)
Some professors and lecturers aware? Or is that difficult territory?

3.)
In general, along your fellow senior med-students, how widespread are similar, advanced self-experiments and medication with these very restricted substances like hormones, steroids and stuff like Rapamycin? (Restricted meaning access very limited to non-professionals)

4.)
Kind of you to share it at the RPF. It’s a good place for some feedback. Have you been here before or read Peat‘s original writings?

Thanks a lot. You’ll have a blast once you’re a certified MD and get to prescribe yourself all kinds of things. Leads me to

5.)
Already a specialization in mind?

1) yes my best friends are. some of them actually do similar things.
2) no.
3) they are pretty widespread, although mostly done in secret. Lots and lots of doctors "self-medicate" quite aggressively
4) some.
5) something similar to what peter attia does

Cheers

 

[LeeLemonoil]

Cheers and thanks. I’m a vet and Medicare myself too, but not with hormones. Albeit a few years older than you and from another country. I have doctor friends but they are not so openly admitting to self-medicating though there are indications. Completely clueless about what the kids at university do theses days. Therefore the curiosity.

 

[LeeLemonoil]

Also, I highly recommend looking into info provided on Aspirin here on RPF. This should be a staple for anybody seeking improved health, especially also hormonal, neurosteroidal/mental - and increasing life and healthspan

Other Peaty favorites overlooked by comventional medicine are the memantine relatives and methylene blue and the advancements thereof

A Thread that might interest you here since you take Rapamycin. Also Metformin? That one is viewed critically here:

Human Age Reversed By 2.5 Years By Combo Of Metformin, DHEA And GH

 

[koreus]

Do you ever worry about the impact of a lifetime of daily injections?

 

[GorillaHead]

How is your hair before and after?

 

[tankasnowgod]

2) I chose to replace everything.

Except you didn't, and you really didn't attempt to. Initially, you were taking dutasteride to suppress DHT. So, you certainly weren't replacing that hormone. Also, there are numerous other hormones from pregnenolone, progesterone, DHEA, adrenaline, allopregnanolone, PTH, prolactin, estrogen, TSH, and more that you didn't replace, either. Of that list and DHT, there are at least seven available for replacement, so you at least chose not to replace seven of them.

 

[thingsvarious]

Do you ever worry about the impact of a lifetime of daily injections?

No, a nuisance but a tiny tradeoff.

 

[thingsvarious]

How is your hair before and after?

Neither body hair nor head hair has changed. Slightly more beard.

 

[thingsvarious]

Except you didn't, and you really didn't attempt to. Initially, you were taking dutasteride to suppress DHT. So, you certainly weren't replacing that hormone. Also, there are numerous other hormones from pregnenolone, progesterone, DHEA, adrenaline, allopregnanolone, PTH, prolactin, estrogen, TSH, and more that you didn't replace, either. Of that list and DHT, there are at least seven available for replacement, so you at least chose not to replace seven of them.

I am talking about hypothalamic target hormones.
-thyroid hormones (no need for TSH)
-sex hormones (Testosterone automatically aromatizes into E2)
-adrenaline is not a "hormone" but more of a neurotransmitter released into the blood
-allopregnanolone is a neurosteroid (I do replace pregnenolone). Progesterone and pregnenolone are high because of the HcG I inject, so I do "replace" these
-why would I replace prolactin? My prolactin is normal.
-DHT is in the middle of the range.

 

[joshquintanilla]

Keto doctor taking growth hormone vs me eating a Ray Peat inspired diet.



Looking great man, Hope there are no negative consequences down the road