47 replies to this topic

[Thingsvarious]

Time and time again I see in patients who trial a low-dose HC protocol:

 

1. For some, the HC does nothing. Even 20-30mg per day, they do not feel anything. When these patients stop, they again, feel nothing. All their low-cortisol symptoms persist and HC does not help their symptomatology.

 

2. For some people, doses as little as 5mg make a world of a difference and they feel "alive", have more energy, no brain fog, increased emotions, etc.  

[Knowbody]

Could this be attributed to too few receptors?

If I recall correctly, hormone doctor Thierry Hertoghe has said that daylight increases the amount of cortisol receptors. I do know someone who does not respond well to his prescribed HC therapy. Also, stopping made no difference. But bright daylight makes a huge difference for him. And he says getting out of bed in the morning while it is still dark is quite horrendous.

[Thingsvarious]

Could this be attributed to too few receptors?

If I recall correctly, hormone doctor Thierry Hertoghe has said that daylight increases the amount of cortisol receptors. I do know someone who does not respond well to his prescribed HC therapy. Also, stopping made no difference. But bright daylight makes a huge difference for him. And he says getting out of bed in the morning while it is still dark is quite horrendous.

 

It is not so much about cortisol (or other hormones) but also about neurotransmitters, which many people in the hormone area seem to deeply neglect

[Thingsvarious]

It is not so much about cortisol (or other hormones) but also about neurotransmitters, which many people in the hormone area seem to deeply neglect

For clarification, by "neurotransmitters" I mostly mean the monoaminergic tranmitters noradrenaline, dopamine, serotonin

[Thingsvarious]

To the people (ab)using high doses of cortisol: For many that believe they have "low cortisol", the low cortisol is not your problem, but you chase the elevation of glutamate and noradrenaline that the cortisol gives you. Yes, you can use more cortisol, however, be aware that then you are not simply replacing a cortisol deficiency but abusing it as a stimulant (and cortisol is pretty much the most dangerous stimulant there is). You would be much better off trying noradrenergic drugs (e.g. bupropion) and see whether that helps.

[Knowbody]

Thank you for your advice!

[Thingsvarious]

However, Testing for cortisol is very hard.
I usually use a combination of

• -24h urine test
• DHEAS (to gauge the effects of adrenal suppression)
• circadian variation in body temperature
• heart rate
• signs and symptoms

I share more about it in my article on cortisol here

[Paravani]

Now I have been off all the hormones for some time (the last I stopped was thyroid). LH and TSH are normal again, IGF-1 slightly elevated and cortisol at the 60th percentile. So, whatever the cause, it seems that I have more than recovered from 2 years of complete hormone replacement. Though, I used a special protocol to wean off involving some neuropharmaceuticals to kickstart things again.

 

However, if I again in the future need to hop back on hormone treatment, I am willing to do so as the benefits can be life-changing

 

WHICH  neuropharmaceuticals, please?

[Thingsvarious]

WHICH  neuropharmaceuticals, please?

I describe it in detail in my new article The Simulated Refeed

[albedo]

@Thingsvarious, if you wish to contribute to a little discussion on DHEA and related. You seem on top of these issues.

https://www.longecit...-2022/?p=918734

[albedo]

How about to supplement with say 25mg of DHEA when your DHEA-S level in blood are very low and which other additional hormones you would gauge for men over 60 after say 3-6 weeks of supplementation (T, DHT, E2, IGF-1 , ...)? Thank you.

[Thingsvarious]

How about to supplement with say 25mg of DHEA when your DHEA-S level in blood are very low and which other additional hormones you would gauge for men over 60 after say 3-6 weeks of supplementation (T, DHT, E2, IGF-1 , ...)? Thank you.

 

• Supplementing with DHEA is quite a low-risk thing to do. However, results are very subtle.
• Hard to say, depends on your current health state, your medical history, and your goals. I suggest you reach out via email (hormetheus@hormetheus.com)

[jimtom]

Great guide thanks for sharing! jim tom

[Joseph62]

Hey has anyone tried the Vigrx Plus tablet as an alternative for herbal medications to boost testosterone and improve male health function? I need genuine reviews from people regarding this.

[albedo]

Anyone here with some knowledge on (male) hormones balancing impacting sleep disorders? Interested to personal experiences and/or clinical trials. Thanks.

[Rocket]

No talk of clomid? Clomid consistently increases my T levels and it lasts for a while when you stop. Clomid and low dose adex or tamox for the win.

But nothing beats good old fashioned steroids used wisely with precautions like hcg and adex.

[albedo]

I have been posting on hormones on several places in this Forum. Cannot resist to include this interesting hypothesis here (despite all claims the authors make wrt association vs causation, cross sectional vs longitudinal, etc ...) and sorry to jump immediately only to the conclusions:

 

Kusters CDJ, Paul KC, Lu AT, et al. Higher testosterone and testosterone/estradiol ratio in men are associated with decreased Pheno-/GrimAge and DNA-methylation based PAI1. GeroScience. Published online June 27, 2023.

https://link.springe...357-023-00832-3

 

Conclusion
A higher testosterone and a higher TE ratio, among
men are associated with a decreased epigenetic age
acceleration, suggesting a potential protective effect of
testosterone. In addition, we found a strong effect of testosterone
and TE ratio on the DNAm PAI1 concentration
among men, and between SHBG and DNAm PAI1
concentration independent of sex, suggesting that both
SHBG and testosterone, as well as the TE ratio (testosterone
and TE ratio among men only) is associated with
DNAm PAI1. As DNAm PAI1 has previously been
associated with better cardiovascular health, this study
indicates that testosterone may be associated with better
cardiovascular health and overall mortality among men.

 Screenshot 2023-11-10 115532.png   407.58KB   0 downloads
 

[Branislav]

How did you find out about your cortisol problems when you first found out? I mean which test did you do? 24hour one or awakening response or ACTH stimulation? Thanks in advance, Im a medical student in my 3rd year :D