Pregnenolone and DHEA.

[JewlzSanguine]

Hello everyone I have been taking 50 mg of pregnenolone orally for about a week now and it’s been going very well. I want to add in DHEA now but not sure how much to use. I don’t want to take over 10 mg of DHEA. Is 50 mg of pregnenolone and 5 mg of DHEA a good ratio?

 

[baccheion]

Hello everyone I have been taking 50 mg of pregnenolone orally for about a week now and it’s been going very well. I want to add in DHEA now but not sure how much to use. I don’t want to take over 10 mg of DHEA. Is 50 mg of pregnenolone and 5 mg of DHEA a good ratio?

DHEA should be based on labs. Start low and increase until sufficient. Sustained-release or topical is better to stem initial spike. If only taking a few milligrams (less than 5), no need to check via labs especially when sustained-release.

 

[Phosphor]

I'm also taking these two, but at 20mg pregnenolone I start simply not sleeping. I'd like to find 15 but all I find is 10 and 20 so I take 20 until the non-sleep kicks in and then I drop down to 10 for a day or two. DHEA I just raised to 20 from 10, and I'm taking it because my compounding pharmacy is apparently populated by people who cannot do it the same way twice and deny it could possibly be them. So I have to supplement with DHEA and figure it out every month which direction they messed up in. It has gone from extreme estrogen overload to extreme estrogen underload, all within two cycles of Rx.

 

[mostlylurking]

Hello everyone I have been taking 50 mg of pregnenolone orally for about a week now and it’s been going very well. I want to add in DHEA now but not sure how much to use. I don’t want to take over 10 mg of DHEA. Is 50 mg of pregnenolone and 5 mg of DHEA a good ratio?

If you research what Ray Peat himself has to say about the topic you'll find that he considers pregnenolone very safe to take and that DHEA is very tricky because it will convert to estrogen if you take too much and can cause liver damage. I followed Peat's advice and take a pretty large dose of pregnenolone each morning (always morning, not later in the day) and zero DHEA; this has normalized my DHEA levels safely. I've had the levels tested and the DHEA was right on the money (to the doctor's amazement). My estrogen is very low and the current doctor wants me to supplement it but I've declined. I'm 72 and female and pretty healthy.

here's Peat on DHEA:

View: https://youtu.be/foGr3zQM4lI?t=1513


You can find other Ray Peat interviews that address DHEA by using this link: Bioenergetic Search and search for DHEA.

 

[baccheion]

If you research what Ray Peat himself has to say about the topic you'll find that he considers pregnenolone very safe to take and that DHEA is very tricky because it will convert to estrogen if you take too much and can cause liver damage. I followed Peat's advice and take a pretty large dose of pregnenolone each morning (always morning, not later in the day) and zero DHEA; this has normalized my DHEA levels safely. I've had the levels tested and the DHEA was right on the money (to the doctor's amazement). My estrogen is very low and the current doctor wants me to supplement it but I've declined. I'm 72 and female and pretty healthy.

here's Peat on DHEA:

View: https://youtu.be/foGr3zQM4lI?t=1513


You can find other Ray Peat interviews that address DHEA by using this link: Bioenergetic Search and search for DHEA.

How old does the following tool say you look: Beauty calculator - Face score analysis test online

What about with pictures when a bit younger (ie, before pregnenolone)? Do you cycle? How long have you been taking?

 

[mostlylurking]

How old does the following tool say you look: Beauty calculator - Face score analysis test online

What about with pictures when a bit younger (ie, before pregnenolone)? Do you cycle? How long have you been taking?

It says I'm 52; I'm 72. Picture was a quick selfie with no makeup, I look terrible. I've got greying at the temples, my hair is brown, thick, healthy, and down to my shoulder blades. I wear it up. My skin is tanned and has not deteriorated except for some creases around my mouth and at the corners of my eyes. My endo studied my face in 2015 (at the beginning of the pregnenolone) and said my skin had not lost its elasticity yet. My rheumatoid arthritis (diagnosed late 2014) is gone; the joints are in good shape instead of so deteriorated that I needed stem cell surgery for one of my thumbs (2014); I did thyroid, pregnenolone, and progesterone instead of the surgery. I recently resolved my hip and back problems with a chiropractor and some exercises. I had been sitting at the computer too much.

I don't cycle; take everyday. I've been taking pregnenolone, progesterone for 7 years; thyroid for 45 years. The endo doubled the thyroid med dose and changed brands from Armour to Acella natural desiccated thyroid 7 years ago because I was in big trouble with rheumatoid arthritis. During the last 18 months, I've been high dosing thiamine which has made my need for thyroid less and my endo wants to lower the dose yet again which would put it at the level I was taking in 2014 when I developed the rheumatoid arthritis.

 

[baccheion]

It says I'm 52; I'm 72. Picture was a quick selfie with no makeup, I look terrible. I've got greying at the temples, my hair is brown, thick, healthy, and down to my shoulder blades. I wear it up. My skin is tanned and has not deteriorated except for some creases around my mouth and at the corners of my eyes. My endo studied my face in 2015 (at the beginning of the pregnenolone) and said my skin had not lost its elasticity yet. My rheumatoid arthritis (diagnosed late 2014) is gone; the joints are in good shape instead of so deteriorated that I needed stem cell surgery for one of my thumbs (2014); I did thyroid, pregnenolone, and progesterone instead of the surgery. I recently resolved my hip and back problems with a chiropractor and some exercises. I had been sitting at the computer too much.

I don't cycle; take everyday. I've been taking pregnenolone, progesterone for 7 years; thyroid for 45 years. The endo doubled the thyroid med dose and changed brands from Armour to Acella natural desiccated thyroid 7 years ago because I was in big trouble with rheumatoid arthritis. During the last 18 months, I've been high dosing thiamine which has made my need for thyroid less and my endo wants to lower the dose yet again which would put it at the level I was taking in 2014 when I developed the rheumatoid arthritis.

How much of each?

 

[mostlylurking]

How much of each?

1/2 teaspoon pregnenolone powder, about 20 mg progesterone mixed in vitamin E, 135mg prescription natural desiccated thyroid by Acella. I take 2 grams of thiamine hcl/day and will probably lower the thyroid down to 90mg sometime this year. This is what works for me. It will vary for other people.

 

[supercoolguy]

1/2 teaspoon pregnenolone powder, about 20 mg progesterone mixed in vitamin E, 135mg prescription natural desiccated thyroid by Acella. I take 2 grams of thiamine hcl/day and will probably lower the thyroid down to 90mg sometime this year. This is what works for me. It will vary for other people.

Its interesting how your able to gauge the anticipated reduction of one compound in relation to the other.
My biggest challenge! Taking one thing, then add another, then over time needs may change, and its hard to associate cause & effects.

 

[baccheion]

1/2 teaspoon pregnenolone powder, about 20 mg progesterone mixed in vitamin E, 135mg prescription natural desiccated thyroid by Acella. I take 2 grams of thiamine hcl/day and will probably lower the thyroid down to 90mg sometime this year. This is what works for me. It will vary for other people.

1/2 tsp is how many mg?

 

[mostlylurking]

Its interesting how your able to gauge the anticipated reduction of one compound in relation to the other.
My biggest challenge! Taking one thing, then add another, then over time needs may change, and its hard to associate cause & effects.

I've been really really sick a few times in my life. I was poisoned via organo-phosphate in 1993; I've had heavy metal poisoning mainly from mercury and lead; in 2014 I was injured via IV chelation for the lead poisoning because I was thiamine deficient at the time and wound up with rheumatoid arthritis; I was slammed in 2020 via Bactrim antibiotic which blocked my thiamine function and nearly killed me.

After being poisoned by the organo-phosphate Dursban Fire Ant poison in 1993, I got lucky and found myself (rolled up like an enchilada in a blanket with an IV stuck in my arm) at an orthomolecular doctor's clinic who specialized in detoxing people. I learned a lot during that time from him and others in his clinic. I cleaned up my diet, learned to avoid the middle of the grocery store and just shop around the outer walls, only eat organic, and if I couldn't pronounce an ingredient to not put the "food" in my mouth. I purged all body care products and ate very carefully because I was sensitive to a LOT of foods and pretty much all chemicals according to the ALCAT food and chemical sensitivity test. I had lost my short term memory and my vision was hindered with giant floaters and loss of peripheral vision. I went through over 120 EDTA chelation IVs and great handfuls of vitamins over a period of 3+ years. I recovered. I got my brain function back, I think teaching myself how to marble fabric and spending many hours just doing that made my brain rewire itself. Ray Peat talks about that concept. He's a big fan of doing creative artwork.

Here's a sample of someone else's hand marbled fabric (similar to my own):

I think these life experiences have taught me to pay attention to how I feel and to be able to track down what exactly is making me feel terrible and to take note if something makes me feel better.

I found Ray Peat in 2014 when I had been stricken with rheumatoid arthritis. Instead of believing the doctors and the occupational therapist who told me I would never recover and would end up totally incapacitated I decided to study Ray Peat's work and see if I couldn't get well instead. I tracked down an 84 year old endocrinologist who went along with my desire to get the correct dose of a thyroid medication that actually works. I followed Ray's advice on diet and supplements. I got well.

You're right about things changing as time passes. When I got slammed by the Bactrim I learned by trial that I had a major long term problem with thiamine. So I researched thiamine and learned by experimenting what dose of thiamine hcl I needed. It's helped me a lot.

 

[mostlylurking]

Its interesting how your able to gauge the anticipated reduction of one compound in relation to the other.

I don't know that I'm actually doing that. I've found what works for me. I have different reasons for doing each supplement I'm taking. Because I've been poisoned before I'm especially interested in any possible negative side effects a supplement might have. I try very hard to listen to my body.

 

[sunny]

I've been really really sick a few times in my life. I was poisoned via organo-phosphate in 1993; I've had heavy metal poisoning mainly from mercury and lead; in 2014 I was injured via IV chelation for the lead poisoning because I was thiamine deficient at the time and wound up with rheumatoid arthritis; I was slammed in 2020 via Bactrim antibiotic which blocked my thiamine function and nearly killed me.

After being poisoned by the organo-phosphate Dursban Fire Ant poison in 1993, I got lucky and found myself (rolled up like an enchilada in a blanket with an IV stuck in my arm) at an orthomolecular doctor's clinic who specialized in detoxing people. I learned a lot during that time from him and others in his clinic. I cleaned up my diet, learned to avoid the middle of the grocery store and just shop around the outer walls, only eat organic, and if I couldn't pronounce an ingredient to not put the "food" in my mouth. I purged all body care products and ate very carefully because I was sensitive to a LOT of foods and pretty much all chemicals according to the ALCAT food and chemical sensitivity test. I had lost my short term memory and my vision was hindered with giant floaters and loss of peripheral vision. I went through over 120 EDTA chelation IVs and great handfuls of vitamins over a period of 3+ years. I recovered. I got my brain function back, I think teaching myself how to marble fabric and spending many hours just doing that made my brain rewire itself. Ray Peat talks about that concept. He's a big fan of doing creative artwork.

Here's a sample of someone else's hand marbled fabric (similar to my own):

View attachment 37562

I think these life experiences have taught me to pay attention to how I feel and to be able to track down what exactly is making me feel terrible and to take note if something makes me feel better.

I found Ray Peat in 2014 when I had been stricken with rheumatoid arthritis. Instead of believing the doctors and the occupational therapist who told me I would never recover and would end up totally incapacitated I decided to study Ray Peat's work and see if I couldn't get well instead. I tracked down an 84 year old endocrinologist who went along with my desire to get the correct dose of a thyroid medication that actually works. I followed Ray's advice on diet and supplements. I got well.

You're right about things changing as time passes. When I got slammed by the Bactrim I learned by trial that I had a major long term problem with thiamine. So I researched thiamine and learned by experimenting what dose of thiamine hcl I needed. It's helped me a lot.

Wow, that fabric is really beautiful. If you don't mind my asking, how did you get the organophosphate poisoning from ant killer? I ask because I have a big nest of some kind ant in my yard that is not being taken care of with my usual boric acid in jam or peanut butter. I was looking to go the store bought chemical killer route.

 

[mostlylurking]

1/2 tsp is how many mg?

My 1/2 tsp of pregnenolone powder weighs 531mg.

 

[mostlylurking]

Wow, that fabric is really beautiful. If you don't mind my asking, how did you get the organophosphate poisoning from ant killer? I ask because I have a big nest of some kind ant in my yard that is not being taken care of with my usual boric acid in jam or peanut butter. I was looking to go the store bought chemical killer route.

They took Dursban off the market around 2000. Here's some info about it: Dursban 50W Specialty Insecticide, Corteva
"How Dursban 50W works, Dursban 50W specialty insecticide targets the nervous system of pests so they suspend normal behaviors such as feeding. More specifically, chlorpyrifos, the active ingredient in Dursban 50W, is an organophosphate that inhibits the activity of the nervous system enzyme acetylcholinesterase."

Be really careful about using insecticides.

They sell Sevin in a liquid that does kill fire ants. It is relatively safe (compared to Dursban!). Especially when I get my husband to deal with it instead of me. Years ago, Sevin was sold to use on vegetable gardens, within 3 days of harvesting. Not sure about those parameters today though.

My husband also cleans the shower and the oven. I just can't deal with the chemicals; my brain cuts out and I get really loopy.

 

[Peatness]

If you research what Ray Peat himself has to say about the topic you'll find that he considers pregnenolone very safe to take and that DHEA is very tricky because it will convert to estrogen if you take too much and can cause liver damage. I followed Peat's advice and take a pretty large dose of pregnenolone each morning (always morning, not later in the day) and zero DHEA; this has normalized my DHEA levels safely. I've had the levels tested and the DHEA was right on the money (to the doctor's amazement). My estrogen is very low and the current doctor wants me to supplement it but I've declined. I'm 72 and female and pretty healthy.

here's Peat on DHEA:

View: https://youtu.be/foGr3zQM4lI?t=1513


You can find other Ray Peat interviews that address DHEA by using this link: Bioenergetic Search and search for DHEA.

This is a very important post on DHEA thanks.

 

[mgrabs]

It says I'm 52; I'm 72. Picture was a quick selfie with no makeup, I look terrible. I've got greying at the temples, my hair is brown, thick, healthy, and down to my shoulder blades. I wear it up. My skin is tanned and has not deteriorated except for some creases around my mouth and at the corners of my eyes. My endo studied my face in 2015 (at the beginning of the pregnenolone) and said my skin had not lost its elasticity yet. My rheumatoid arthritis (diagnosed late 2014) is gone; the joints are in good shape instead of so deteriorated that I needed stem cell surgery for one of my thumbs (2014); I did thyroid, pregnenolone, and progesterone instead of the surgery. I recently resolved my hip and back problems with a chiropractor and some exercises. I had been sitting at the computer too much.

I don't cycle; take everyday. I've been taking pregnenolone, progesterone for 7 years; thyroid for 45 years. The endo doubled the thyroid med dose and changed brands from Armour to Acella natural desiccated thyroid 7 years ago because I was in big trouble with rheumatoid arthritis. During the last 18 months, I've been high dosing thiamine which has made my need for thyroid less and my endo wants to lower the dose yet again which would put it at the level I was taking in 2014 when I developed the rheumatoid arthritis.

What dose thyroid are you taking?

 

[mostlylurking]

What dose thyroid are you taking?

I take 135mg of NP Thyroid made by Acella (natural desiccated, prescription). The last blood tests showed my T3 high normal and my endo is happy and I'm happy so no need to lower it any more.

 

[mostlylurking]

I want to add a personal experience with taking high dose pregnenolone. I have reduced my dose of pregnenolone to 1/8 teas once in the morning (was taking 1/2 teas = 531mg). The reason I did that is that my cholesterol became alarmingly elevated and my endo (who I thought knew better) was threatening me with statins. So I lowered the dose of pregnenolone instead. On the next blood test (maybe 6 months later), my cholesterol had magically lowered to normal. That's the only change I made. So at least in my case, a high dose of pregnenolone (around 500mg) elevated cholesterol a lot.

 

[mgrabs]

I take 135mg of NP Thyroid made by Acella (natural desiccated, prescription). The last blood tests showed my T3 high normal and my endo is happy and I'm happy so no need to lower it any more.

Are you taking dhea and pregnenolone?