Tried switching from ACTH to thyroid and having trouble

[kineticz]

Hi

I'm a newbie from the UK, just turning 26 on Monday.

I've suffered from hypogonadism (13.5 on a scale 9-28) and all the problems with adrenal fatigue/low cortisol. I have all the hallmarks of being an undermethylator and SAM-e has been a huge help.

Hope was restored when I first tried DHEA tablets but it boosted my already high ACTH and freed up all my limited testosterone leading to adrenal suppression and chronically low testosterone. It took me over a year to feel semi normal again. No test boosters worked.

In the last three months I came across theories regarding pregnenolone cream. I applied it, and everything improved, including cortisol and testosterone, but I hit a stalemate.

I came across literature stating that lowering estrogen and increasing progesterone and thyroid would be the optimum route. I have been using an aromatase inhibitor and it seems to increase tension in my neck and is an incredible strain on my adrenals. I read by a Dr that serotonin (estrogen's main neuro) promotes TRH, so why does Dr Ray Peat claim that serotonin is bad for metabolism?

I tried progesterone cream and besides the first application, it drastically dried my skin out, made me look 20 years older and very cranky.

I then tried vitamin A and it caused major hypothyroidism symptoms, which I later read was perhaps the wrong type of vitamin A.

Now pregnenolone cream just makes me spacey and aggressive, I read many of the symptoms of excess DHT relate to what I'm feeling but how is this possible? Or could it be excess cortisol shutting everything down?

Overall I have low E2, pregnenolone cream just seems to shut me down even more, and I've developed eye floaters, and pain around my liver. I read that E2 is necessary for a healthy liver so again I ask why Dr Peat is so anti-estrogen.

I've read that low E2 causes fatty liver, insulin resistance, depression, all of which I am now facing. I also get anxious which feels like high prolactin from the hypothyroidism.

Please help. I just don't know which way to turn. I've got hold of DHEA cream and it's the only thing working but it seems to be adrenaline energy. I used to have to turn to diet coke but even that now causes me to melt down and turn bright red.

Oh, and I've tried all the sugar malarky, but besides giving me a boost that lasts about 30 minutes, it's made me fatter.

I just can't seem to get the testes contributing their share.

Best regards
Dan

 

[kineticz]

I understand this situation is complex but basically I've been trying to get my thyroid to work with my gonads rather than relying on norepiphrene and ACTH to supply energy. Lowering estrogen has caused my metabolism to seemingly slow down to a halt, so I don't understand the logic behind Peat's E2 stigma.

Does anyone have experience or knowledge of fatty liver causes in relation to metabolism?

 

[natedawggh]

Hi Dan,

Sorry you're having troubles. Health can be a complicated issue.

All these things you know about yourself, "low E2, Hypothryroidism," are you speculating or have you confirmed test results with a doctor? If you have not gotten labs done, I highly recommend getting them done and then posting your results on this forum. It's not very helpful to speculate about specific levels of hormones in your body without knowing what actually is going on.

That being said, if you used a synthetic progesterone cream, that would cause problems and is not the same as a natural, paraben-free progesterone cream. That's why a lot of people use Progest-E, available online. it's cheap, powerful, and effective. I'm a 33 year old male and using it cleared up eczema and a chronic cough. It did not, however, help me lose weight and progesterone won't directly help you drop weight. It will however, help restore the proper function of your thyroid, brain, digestive tract, and liver, in addition to a healthy diet of proper carbohydrates and adequate protein.

Drinking diet soda is like putting water into a car's gasoline tank. There are no nutrients or fuel, and you're basically flooding your system. The carbonation in soda can be helpful, but drinking a natural soda with cane sugar will help raise your metabolism. Of course, if your body cannot burn sugar efficiently it will convert to fat, and that is why it's important to restore sugar metabolism the way Ray Peat recommends. Eventually you'll be able to direct sugar to be oxidized instead of converted into fat.

Pregnenolone is more helpful for men, and I take that with progesterone. Keeping the diet to milk with gelatin (to avoid overloading on tryptophan), oysters, shellfish, liver, fruit, potatoes, etc. can help restore health and avoiding the rancid polyunsaturated fats can have a very powerful effect within a few months.

I suggest reading as many papers of Ray Peat as you can, if you really wish to understand what is going on with your body.

 

[tara]

Hi,
I'm also curious about whether your descriptions of your health are based on measurements or hunches. Also whether you have any ideas about how you got into this state?
One pretty reliable way to get a body to dial down production of a bunch of hormones is by chronic undereating. I don't know if this is the case for you. The average weight-stable non-dieting man in early twenties eats about 3500 cal.
If you have had a period of low carb or low calorie dieting, then there would be a bit of repair and rebuilding to do. I don't know if it is possible to recover from that without gaining some fat, which may or not be temporary.
When you say 'you tried all the sugar malarky', did you check that you were covering other requirements - protein, minerals, vitamins - at the same time?
If you supplement hormones in a context of inadequate nutrition, there is a risk of the effects not being as favourable. For instance, revving up your metabolism while in protein or fuel deficit can cause increased stress in the system. If minerals and vitamins are not abundant, it can deepen deficiencies. I would focus on getting good nutrition going first, before adding in hormone supplemens if they are still needed.

I second natedawgh's suggestion to read Peat's writing and listen to his interviews.