Interesting. I initially felt great on this combination, libido boost, mental clarity. I was also taking a few other supplements that have been shown lower estrogen, cortisol and prolactin. I think I might have overdone things. One of the most unusual and pleasant aspects I got from this combo was the relief from chronic foot pain which I had been experiencing for months, especially in the morning.
I think that this pain was largely correlated to thyroid function and since this combo acts very much like a thyroid mimic that might have been why I was seeing the relief from foot pain.
My question is,
If I were to increase my T3/t4 (currently on 6mcgT3 and 12mcgT4) dose instead of using this Andro/DHEA combo, do you think that would be a way to get the same metabolic benefit without the loss of libido?
I know that when the thyroid is functioning properly that androgens greatly increase but I feel that it would be more likely to be balanced then with Andro and Dhea as said combo pretty much stops estrogen in its tracks whereas Thyroid improves overall metabolism and one of the consequences of that is lower estrogen, but I would theorize that it will be more harmonious.
Ideally, if thyroid is working well there should be not much need for extra steroids unless cholesterol levels are low and do not rise even with eating the right foods. I don't know what the tradeoff would be if thyroid dose is increased and by how much the steroid dose can be decreased. Symptoms would be a pretty good guide. Physiological doses of DHEA are 10mg - 15mg daily so if thyroid is working fine and DHEA-S levels are above the 25% percentile of the range then DHEA dose can probably be dropped to just a few mg daily. Pregnenolone in 15mg doses daily is probably beneficial no matter how good the thyroid is. Ray said if thyroid is working well then steroids may not be needed but I have not seen a person (unless they are in their teens) that has such good functioning thyroid.