Progesterone Or Pregnenolone For Men?

[Vinero]

Good question. Still wondering about this

"Progesterone is an anti androgen,
and blocks testosterone's effects. When
testosterone is given to newborn or very
young rats, it sets up a male pattern of
hormone development, but if
progesterone is given at the same time,
that doesn't happen. Progesterone
prevents the differentiation away from
the basic female path into the male
specialization. Later in life, a deficiency
of progesterone in a woman can again
lead to masculinization of some features,
such as musculature and facial or body
hair. When progesterone is given to men
in large doses, it blocks various typically
male processes, such as growth of
whiskers. In the brain, it has a
protective function in both sexes." (Aging Ovaries, not the Eggs - Townsend Letter)

 

[smith]

"Progesterone is an anti androgen,
and blocks testosterone's effects. When
testosterone is given to newborn or very
young rats, it sets up a male pattern of
hormone development, but if
progesterone is given at the same time,
that doesn't happen. Progesterone
prevents the differentiation away from
the basic female path into the male
specialization. Later in life, a deficiency
of progesterone in a woman can again
lead to masculinization of some features,
such as musculature and facial or body
hair. When progesterone is given to men
in large doses, it blocks various typically
male processes, such as growth of
whiskers. In the brain, it has a
protective function in both sexes." (Aging Ovaries, not the Eggs - Townsend Letter)

Awesome, thanks. So I take it that the brain is only prone to feminization under the influence of progesterone in early development, while its 'gender' during maturity is protected

 

[Glassy]

It’s all in the dose man. Men need much less progesterone than Woman and are more susceptible to its affects just like woman are more susceptible to the effects of testosterone. There are many ways to control estrogen and I wouldn’t personally be using progesterone as the primary method. Pregnenalone would be a better option to try initially as it is a precursor to progesterone but again in combination with other things suggested here. Boiled mushrooms are also supposed to be a good Aromatase inhibitor.

I also believe that most of these methods all take time and rarely have an effect over days (more like weeks or even months). I am a little sceptical of people reporting immediate reductions or spikes in estrogen but maybe they are just more sensitive to their levels. Adding exogenous testosterone to the mix will raise your estrogen levels in the long run (through Aromatase) and reduce your natural testosterone production.

 

[marsaday]

Progesterone boosted my testosterone by 21% as have the blood data showing the effect.

The key is the amount you use. Small doses for a male. I use 3mg per day and sometimes 6mg a day. So very low levels, but it also improves thyroid uptake.

Compared to pregnenalone, progesterone wins hands down. I have used both and progesterone has kept working day in day out for 3 yrs now.

I will miss it out every so often and this improves its effects as well.

 

[Sobieski]

Progesterone boosted my testosterone by 21% as have the blood data showing the effect.

The key is the amount you use. Small doses for a male. I use 3mg per day and sometimes 6mg a day. So very low levels, but it also improves thyroid uptake.

Compared to pregnenalone, progesterone wins hands down. I have used both and progesterone has kept working day in day out for 3 yrs now.

I will miss it out every so often and this improves its effects as well.

I mentioned in another thread that I use small amounts of progesterone. Usually 3-6mg twice a week or so. Small amounts are definitely androgenic for me. Two days in a row is too much, and for me anything above 6mg in one go is generally too much.

 

[Peater Pan]

Progesterone boosted my testosterone by 21% as have the blood data showing the effect.

The key is the amount you use. Small doses for a male. I use 3mg per day and sometimes 6mg a day. So very low levels, but it also improves thyroid uptake.

Compared to pregnenalone, progesterone wins hands down. I have used both and progesterone has kept working day in day out for 3 yrs now.

I will miss it out every so often and this improves its effects as well.

Do you take DHEA as well?

 

[Peater Pan]

I mentioned in another thread that I use small amounts of progesterone. Usually 3-6mg twice a week or so. Small amounts are definitely androgenic for me. Two days in a row is too much, and for me anything above 6mg in one go is generally too much.

Oral or topical?

 

[marsaday]

no

 

[Jessie]

Pregnenolone is probably better. I remember someone asking Ray's advice for correcting androgen deficiency in males and he suggested a combination of pregnenolone with low dose DHEA. Additionally, pregnenolone mostly converts into progesterone, DHEA, and allpregnenolone. So it's not like you'd be missing out on progesterone. Also taking pregnenolone is less likely to be converted into aldosterone, because it's a MC inhibitor. But progesterone has a pathway to be converted into aldosterone. They also both antagonize estrogen, so there's no need to prioritize progesterone over pregnenolone, they both oppose estrogen.