Pregnenalone Reaction?

[janiz73]

I'm a 41 year old female with a strong suspicion that I have hormonal imbalances. A month ago I purchased pregnenalone and took it while I was battling some hormone/adrenal issues. I don't recall feeling too much and my naturopath talked me out of using this supplement. Today I thought I'd pop a 30 mg and within 10 minutes I suddenly felt like I was under the influence of laughing gas, a little spaced out. I had to come lay down for a bit and I kept zoning out. I'm felt better after 20 min of rest, I feel very relaxed but sleepy. At the moment I have mid to high stress levels.

 

[j.]

What's your brand? Do you have the list of ingredients?

 

[aguilaroja]

As j. points out, it's hard to know about one event. Specifically, is this a bad effect of an extra ingredient, or an unexpected and possibly promising effect of improving metabolism?

Abundant metabolic energy is used in restorative rest. In some circumstances, pregnenolone (and progesterone, and thyroid, and other stuff) can be sedating, in a generally protective way. The stress hormones (adrenal, estrogen, etc) can be over-stimulating. When stress effects are rapidly relieved, sometimes a person moves quickly toward rest.

Occasionally, a person with quite depleted metabolism responds quickly to even brief boosts.

I don't know the naturopath's reasoning for the previous cautioning. The Peat-y view is concerned both about psychological stress and even more about physiological factors (darkness, protein deficiency, mineral deficiency, estrogen excess, PUFA, etc) in stress.

 

[janiz73]

I'm using Country Life. The ingredients are magnesium stearate, stearic acid and silica. I took these same pills about 6 weeks ago for a few days and didn't see this effect. I was taken off guard with this physiological response but once I normalized I did notice the muscle tightness I've been feeling in my arms and shoulders was greatly relieved. My body felt pleasantly relaxed and my muscles at ease. Now 5 hours later the tightness is back.

My naturopath did not want to start "messing around with my hormones" until we address heavy metal issues. I just had amalgams removed. She mentioned we need to clean that up first so that the heavy metals can be removed from the cell.

I should mention that I estimate that based on my cycle I'm peaking in progesterone so perhaps the 30 mgs was too much at one time.

Thanks for your input. I'm fairly new to all this.

 

[j.]

I don't know how to separate the effects of silica and pregnenolone. Supplements with silica, when I used it, made me have involuntary movements, for example.

I think I had a similar experience to yours when I took Carlson K2, which contains silica, especially this part:

a little spaced out. I had to come lay down for a bit and I kept zoning out.

Maybe persorption of silica occurred. In my world, silica is the single worst additive, at least of those I used.

 

[j.]

Some brands without silica, last time I checked, were Swanson 10 mg and 50 mg, and Life Extension 100 mg. Other doses, even of the same brand, sometimes have different ingredients.

 

[Mittir]

Here is a RP quote on mercury amalgam

I asked if I should remove my (nonexistent) amalgams and Peat said "No, it takes a lot of mercury to have a slight effect".-http://peatarian.com/22532/amalgams-and-mercury-poisoning

He also mentioned in interviews that cholesterol is protective against all kind of
poisons including mercury. You can easily increase your cholesterol level
by increasing fruit juice and or fructose intake.
He also recommends measuring total cholesterol before starting
thyroid supplement. If your thyroid is working properly you can increase
your own pregnenolone production by taking adequate vitamin A and having
good level of cholesterol. RP talked about heavy metal detox in
Josh Rubin's Q and A part 1 interview.( I cant find the link to that interview
,Josh Rubin's site gives a different interview ) He mentioned that iron and mercury
in reduced form are harmless and vitamin C from food can
help making mercury less toxic. But vitamin C with meal also increases
absorption of iron and possibly mercury. He does not recommend commercial vitamin C
because of possible contaminant in it. His focus is to energize cell and this will
keep stored heavy metal damage in check. He also recommends against using large dose anti-oxidant
to manage heavy metal toxicity because of possible pro-oxidant activity.

 

[readforjoy]

From what I've read, spaciness is caused by too high a dose at once of pregnenolone "due to temporary excess normalization of neurotransmitters." Supposedly, excess preg causes your neurotransmitters to be locked at your brain's optimum setpoint for around an hour which is how long it takes to metabolize the excess levels of preg. "During the period your preg is in excess, your neurotransmitters won't rise much above your brain's overall optimum, not even for transient reasons, and your neurotransmitters won't reduce by much below that optimum, not even for transient reasons. It's this lack of flexibility of your neurotransmitters which causes spaciness feelings, because your neurotransmitters do need to rise a little above optimum, and fall a little below optimum, at all times during the day."

I got this info from here: http://anabolicminds.com/forum/attachme ... c16%20.att

 

[Kray]

Here is a RP quote on mercury amalgam

I asked if I should remove my (nonexistent) amalgams and Peat said "No, it takes a lot of mercury to have a slight effect".-http://peatarian.com/22532/amalgams-and-mercury-poisoning

He also mentioned in interviews that cholesterol is protective against all kind of
poisons including mercury. You can easily increase your cholesterol level
by increasing fruit juice and or fructose intake.
He also recommends measuring total cholesterol before starting
thyroid supplement. If your thyroid is working properly you can increase
your own pregnenolone production by taking adequate vitamin A and having
good level of cholesterol. RP talked about heavy metal detox in
Josh Rubin's Q and A part 1 interview.( I cant find the link to that interview
,Josh Rubin's site gives a different interview ) He mentioned that iron and mercury
in reduced form are harmless and vitamin C from food can
help making mercury less toxic. But vitamin C with meal also increases
absorption of iron and possibly mercury. He does not recommend commercial vitamin C
because of possible contaminant in it. His focus is to energize cell and this will
keep stored heavy metal damage in check. He also recommends against using large dose anti-oxidant
to manage heavy metal toxicity because of possible pro-oxidant activity.

Do you happen to know if taking oral pregnenolone and progesterone are necessary if one's diet is high in cholesterol-rich foods along with a high blood cholesterol level? If this was my status, would supplementing cause any negative consequences?

 

[j.]

High cholesterol level usually indicates that cholesterol isn't converting in sufficient amounts to pregnenolone (and therefore progesterone) due to low T3. So I think that, in theory, you're exactly the kind of person who needs it.

 

[aguilaroja]

Do you happen to know if taking oral pregnenolone and progesterone are necessary if one's diet is high in cholesterol-rich foods along with a high blood cholesterol level? If this was my status, would supplementing cause any negative consequences?

To slightly footnote j's comment:
"High cholesterol level usually indicates that cholesterol isn't converting in sufficient amounts to pregnenolone (and therefore progesterone) due to low T3. So I think that, in theory, you're exactly the kind of person who needs it."
---

Blood tests are usually testing the serum "compartment". It's always a question how much the blood serum reflects what's in the cells, and which cells.

High blood cholesterol level suggests decent cholesterol intake. However, the question of how much (vital) cholesterol gets to the cells, and serves useful purpose remains open. As j. astutely points out, T3 and metabolic factors fill in the picture.

Lab data are an adjunct to signs and symptoms, instead of the other way around. Health care workers still say this, but seem to believe it less than before.

 

[Kray]

High cholesterol level usually indicates that cholesterol isn't converting in sufficient amounts to pregnenolone (and therefore progesterone) due to low T3. So I think that, in theory, you're exactly the kind of person who needs it.

I'm not sure of my T3 status, but I do take a thyroid glandular, and my temps/pulses are good. Can one assume from this everything is working efficiently?

So, let's assume my T3 levels are sufficient. Would I still need the pregnenolone and progesterone? Would adding more of either of these be counterproductive? Peat explains that one doesn't need to continue some of these hormones, not even thyroid, when diet is good, metabolism is good, etc. Do needs increase with age in general, (and in my case, menopause) even with a good diet? Do we ever "get there"? Are we able to reach a good functional status so that supplementing pregnenolone and other hormones are no longer necessary? Isn't this the goal ultimately? :?

 

[j.]

If the cholesterol precedes the hormones (pregnenolone/progesterone) and isn't converting, what precipitates conversion of cholesterol INTO pregnenolone and progesterone?

T3 and vitamin A are the ones Peat often mentions.

Some thyroid glandular makers remove T3 or T4 from their products before selling it. I use ERFA 30 mg, which has 18 mcg of T4 and 4 mcg of T3. That's the lowest dose I found in the market.

What's your brand?

 

[Kray]

If the cholesterol precedes the hormones (pregnenolone/progesterone) and isn't converting, what precipitates conversion of cholesterol INTO pregnenolone and progesterone?

T3 and vitamin A are the ones Peat often mentions.

Some thyroid glandular makers remove T3 or T4 from their products before selling it. I use ERFA 30 mg, which has 18 mcg of T4 and 4 mcg of T3. That's the lowest dose I found in the market.

What's your brand?

j- I don't know if you caught my response (above) while I was still editing, sorry if there is an overlap here.

Vitamin A is one of those things I can't quite put a finger on-- do I need to supplement, how much, what kind, overdosing it, etc. I do have a bit of liver weekly, and consume lots of dairy, butter. Is there any surefire way to tell if that still isn't enough? What would be some classic signs of low levels?

I don't take a prescription thyroid. I take a raw dessicated made by American Biologics. You can check out reviews about it at various websites that sell it. I wasn't willing to see a doctor or get my own Rx, so I settled for this. It has brought up my temps/pulse quite nicely over these past winter months. I take 1 tab/day in 2 divided doses. So far, so good, but it's only been about 3 weeks. I'll consider winding down when summer is finally here and I'm out more.
http://www.americanbiologics.com/glandu ... m-20.shtml

 

[j.]

I haven't been able to find how much T3 and T4 a pill of thyroid glandular has, so we don't know if you're getting more than trace amounts.

Regarding vitamin A, if you don't have symptoms of deficiency, my guess is that T3 would have a more significant impact in cholesterol conversion.

 

[Kray]

I haven't been able to find how much T3 and T4 a pill of thyroid glandular has, so we don't know if you're getting more than trace amounts.

Regarding vitamin A, if you don't have symptoms of deficiency, my guess is that T3 would have a more significant impact in cholesterol conversion.

And yet, wouldn't temps and pulse improvements to normal ranges be indicative enough, at least anecdotally, of T3 effects?

 

[j.]

Vitamin A is one of those things I can't quite put a finger on-- do I need to supplement, how much, what kind, overdosing it, etc.

This is just an idea. Maybe you can test without much risk adding a little bit of vitamin A. Half the RDA (5,000 IU) would be 2,500 IU daily. I think that amount is unlikely to cause damages. 1 drop of Nutrisorb A has 2,500 IU. So one could take that amount for a few days and see if one can notice any improvements, such as how the skin looks, the scalp. I put one drop in an empty gel cap, or a pregnenolone gel cap if I'm about to consume pregnenolone anyway. I don't like taking the drops directly, they taste bad.

 

[Kray]

Oh yes, I forgot to mention that I do have the Nutrisorb A. Half the time I put 3x more or so on my skin when I'm worried about internal effects. The other half of the time when I'm not worried about that, I take it internally 1-2 drops. How's that for science? :)

On another thread I read today, there was some discussion about skin issues and lack of B vitamins, esp B6. I'm going to look into that possibility as well. It makes sense that a lot of coffee along with other metabolic "uppers" may deplete and require more of the Bs. B6 certainly seems one of those that many find they don't get enough of with diet only, and which low doses can be directly related to skin issues.

 

[MyUsernameHere]

I use 100 mg LEF Pregnenolone for a few weeks and feel absolutely, and I mean absolutely nothing, if anything I think it increased my acne.

 

[j.]

I use 100 mg LEF Pregnenolone for a few weeks and feel absolutely, and I mean absolutely nothing, if anything I think it increased my acne.

Maybe you have good pregnenolone production already?