What's The Best Neurosteroid For Confidence, Anxiolysis, And Socializiation?

What neurosteroid is best for me?

  • 5a-dhp

  • Pregnenolone

  • Pregnenolone w/ low dose DHEA

  • Pregnenolone w/ progesterone

  • DHEA (w/ an AI?)

  • Androsterone

  • Other


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Constatine

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This might work if you're underfed, but overweight people easily get large amounts of endotoxin from consuming high amounts of carbs and fats at once, probably due to their microbiota being out of wack. different advice applies to different people, I wish people weren't so quick to recommend what worked for them without taking the individual's unique state into account.
Yes good point. If one is overweight the first thing they should do is reclaim their mircobiome. A variety of polyphenol rich foods would be beneficial. Green tea, turmeric, grapes (especially the skin), yerba mate, olives, blueberries, and many other such things have been shown to improve gut flora composition. Endotoxin is obviously very anti androgenic and estrogenic.
 

Vinero

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Yes good point. If one is overweight the first thing they should do is reclaim their mircobiome. A variety of polyphenol rich foods would be beneficial. Green tea, turmeric, grapes (especially the skin), yerba mate, olives, blueberries, and many other such things have been shown to improve gut flora composition. Endotoxin is obviously very anti androgenic and estrogenic.
Cocoa is also very rich in polyphenols.
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/omcl/2012/906252/
 
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KyleKingsly

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Wow, this thread got more popular than I expected! I do appreciate the lifestyle advice related to addictive behaviors, good diet, working out, etc. I think my dopamine receptors are somewhat down regulated right now thanks to some years of indulging in unhealthy addictions, so I am working hard on breaking those behaviors (have already been improving).

However, I really want to focus this thread on neurosteroids as much as possible. I'm working on and think I understand all the lifestyle y'all are advocating fairly well, sure I could improve in certain ways but I think I understand the basic theory fairly well.

What I don't think I understand as well are the neurosteroids and which would be best for a young guy like me that's interested in becoming better at consistently being assertive, confident, and social. Right now, all of those are a big struggle for and I think neurosteroids could be a very beneficial piece of my journey towards improvement.

I'm not planning to become overly reliant on them or to think of them as a magic bullet, but I do want some input into which ones would be best for me. I'm very wary of anything that could increase estrogen excessively or downregulate my natural production of T and DHT. That's why I was thinking 5a-dhp would be best, because it doesn't seem to do any of that.

However, that might be not be sustainable for regular use and so I'm looking for the right higher molecule - I still think pregnenolone seems to be the safest and best option for me, along with maybe a low dose of DHEA and a weak AI like DIM. A lot of you seem to like progesterone but I've heard that can be feminizing and increase estrogen easily (more so than DHEA?) so I'm very wary of it, despite the potential benefits.

DHT itself might be the best option for regular use but I don't know any of anywhere to find it at a decent price (I think it's somewhat illegal to buy in the US?)
 

raypeatclips

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Wow, this thread got more popular than I expected! I do appreciate the lifestyle advice related to addictive behaviors, good diet, working out, etc. I think my dopamine receptors are somewhat down regulated right now thanks to some years of indulging in unhealthy addictions, so I am working hard on breaking those behaviors (have already been improving).

However, I really want to focus this thread on neurosteroids as much as possible. I'm working on and think I understand all the lifestyle y'all are advocating fairly well, sure I could improve in certain ways but I think I understand the basic theory fairly well.

What I don't think I understand as well are the neurosteroids and which would be best for a young guy like me that's interested in becoming better at consistently being assertive, confident, and social. Right now, all of those are a big struggle for and I think neurosteroids could be a very beneficial piece of my journey towards improvement.

I'm not planning to become overly reliant on them or to think of them as a magic bullet, but I do want some input into which ones would be best for me. I'm very wary of anything that could increase estrogen excessively or downregulate my natural production of T and DHT. That's why I was thinking 5a-dhp would be best, because it doesn't seem to do any of that.

However, that might be not be sustainable for regular use and so I'm looking for the right higher molecule - I still think pregnenolone seems to be the safest and best option for me, along with maybe a low dose of DHEA and a weak AI like DIM. A lot of you seem to like progesterone but I've heard that can be feminizing and increase estrogen easily (more so than DHEA?) so I'm very wary of it, despite the potential benefits.

DHT itself might be the best option for regular use but I don't know any of anywhere to find it at a decent price (I think it's somewhat illegal to buy in the US?)

Weight training increases DHT I believe.
 

cyclops

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A lot of you seem to like progesterone but I've heard that can be feminizing and increase estrogen easily (more so than DHEA?)

I thought the main thing progesterone does is reduce estrogen, but I could be misunderstanding that. It seems like more people on here have reported DHEA raising estrogen though.
 

Vinero

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I thought the main thing progesterone does is reduce estrogen, but I could be misunderstanding that. It seems like more people on here have reported DHEA raising estrogen though.
Progesterone does a lot more than only reduce estrogen.
For example, progesterone is a very important brain hormone.
It is called a neurosteroid, which means steroid for the brain.
Taking progesterone improves mood, memory and learning.
Ray Peat says that progesterone is the main hormone of adaptation and resistance to stress.
 

cyclops

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Progesterone does a lot more than only reduce estrogen.
For example, progesterone is a very important brain hormone.
It is called a neurosteroid, which means steroid for the brain.
Taking progesterone improves mood, memory and learning.
Ray Peat says that progesterone is the main hormone of adaptation and resistance to stress.

Yea I've always been a bit confused about progesterone because Peat talks so highly about it and takes it and it has all these great properties you mentioned. BUT at the same time it is sometimes called a female hormone and men are cautioned to be careful with it because it can be feminizing. Some men seem to take it and have success and others won't. I been doing 3mg a day...not really sure if its helping or hurting, but I was to take advantage of the pros without the cons.
 
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KyleKingsly

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Well reducing estrogen sounds great to me! Pretty sure I tend to have higher serotonin and prolactin levels and these are def linked to higher estrogen. Would love to increase my T and DHT while lowering E. I'm incredibly confused about progesterone, because everyone seems to be saying it isn't good for guys and has all these feminizing effects, yet it also has great confidence boosting effects (which I tend to associate with T/DHT).

I'm assuming pretty much everyone voting for "other" is voting for progesterone (I forgot to make it an option) but is it actually a good sustainable option for guys or not??

Edit: Ok I just looked over this thread and it seems that as I had suspected, it's better to use pregnenolone to get progesterone as necessary for males.

Haidut on this matter, from that thread:
I don't really take progesterone unless I am experimenting with something. For me, oral or dermal pregnenolone raises progesterone several fold so in my case Peat seems to be right about pregnenolone - it is a safer source of progesterone synthesis in men. For me, pregnenolone provides the checks and balances on DHEA so that it does not get out of control. Again, matches with what Peat said from your quote earlier in the thread.

So it appears that pregnenolone with very low dose DHEA (probably 5 mg for me) is the best option for me, after 5a-dhp, which I still consider the best.
 
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LUH 3417

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Yea I've always been a bit confused about progesterone because Peat talks so highly about it and takes it and it has all these great properties you mentioned. BUT at the same time it is sometimes called a female hormone and men are cautioned to be careful with it because it can be feminizing. Some men seem to take it and have success and others won't. I been doing 3mg a day...not really sure if its helping or hurting, but I was to take advantage of the pros without the cons.
well peat was also born in a time where men were "more manly" so i think it really depends on what you are working with
 
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Progesterone numbs my ****, makes me moody and prone to crying to music and movies... I'd almost say it has more of an estrogenic effect than estrogen itself. I don't buy these theoretical things at all. I've tried both Progest-E and progestene and both do the same way.
 

cyclops

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Progesterone numbs my ****, makes me moody and prone to crying to music and movies... I'd almost say it has more of an estrogenic effect than estrogen itself. I don't buy these theoretical things at all. I've tried both Progest-E and progestene and both do the same way.

How much were you taking though?
 

cyclops

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I don't recall the progest-e dosage, but for progestene, it was 1-2 drops on each wrist. 4-6 mg.

I think progest-e is the same dose as progestene (3mg per drop). So you weren't taking allot. But were you taking anything else, like dht, preg, dhea?
 
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Progesterone numbs my ****, makes me moody and prone to crying to music and movies... I'd almost say it has more of an estrogenic effect than estrogen itself. I don't buy these theoretical things at all. I've tried both Progest-E and progestene and both do the same way.

I tend to view Estrogen as a stimulant hormone that makes me irritable and prone to confrontation, tends to increase body tension for me too. What you listed sounds Progestogenic to me. I view the proneness to crying as a good thing. Think about kids, they cry all the time and their metabolism is probably at their best. I do think not balancing Progesterone with Androgens and Thyroid function is not optimal though ,too much Progesterone makes me relaxed but libido and motivation tends to die down, which can be a good thing at times and not at other times.
 
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KyleKingsly

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I'm pretty sure I have high estrogen because being high body tension sounds like me, as does proneness to crying (not really legit crying but lately I seem to tear up a bit for no reason, it's really annoying). So I'm very interested in 5a-dhp to hopefully lower it some while boosting DHT and T.

Like I said, direct progesterone supplementation doesn't seem to be the best option for men as far as I can see, though it can be helpful to boost progesterone a little through the downstream effects of other steroids.

Right now I'm leaning towards getting gonadin to use more regularly than 5a-dhp, since it's been described as an improved version of androsterone. However, I'm still a little conflicted in choosing between gonadin, pasterone, stressnon, or possibly even R-andro from ironmaglabs (supposed to be much better than IdeaLabs androsterone). I'm not sure how my DHEA levels are so I do think gonadin would be best for me but I'm still fairly new to all these steroids and supplements.
 

DaveFoster

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What's wrong with indulging in pleasant foods or activities? There's a reason why your body craves certain foods or activities, they reduce stress or are fun.
Activities which stimulate dopamine are good, as opposed to activities which stimulate serotonin.
I don't find sugar or frequent snacking rewarding at all. I've got a bottle of coke in front me right now and have no interest in drinking it.
Sugar is only addictive if you have restricted it in the past, your body wants it badly at this point.
Dr. Peat has mentioned that cravings for high-fat foods correspond with a higher metabolic rate, and that sugar cravings appear in hypothyroidism.
 

sladerunner69

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Dr. Peat has mentioned that cravings for high-fat foods correspond with a higher metabolic rate, and that sugar cravings appear in hypothyroidism.

Craving fat to draw the body back into a hypothyroid state? Or to begin packing on fat for hibernating during a long winter?
 

DaveFoster

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Craving fat to draw the body back into a hypothyroid state? Or to begin packing on fat for hibernating during a long winter?
Higher caloric needs probably.
 

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