oral DHEA causes depression

[CoastWatcher]

loss of all libedo, no morning wood. Burn thru a tissue box(crying) while watching The Voice on TV.

I am still not over the high E2. My PCP kind of freaked out over my current bloods and wants me to go to a urologist.
I forgt to tell him I was messing around with supplements on the side BIG mistake on my part NEVER again.



It probably doesn't help my prolactin is also ski high. I need to go research that and its side effects other than man boobs.

High prolactin *can* essentially eliminate libidinal response. It's not an exaggeration to say that it can render it non-existent at a certain level. That said, it can be dealt with, it's not a game-over result. Was there a specific test that triggered your urology referral? Your psa looks great.

 

[Vince Carter]

pre TRT when I knew I was having (undiagnosed) problems I was using 50-100mg daily, don't laugh, and it made me angry as hell, like extreme PMS, within an hour of taking it. I'd stop and two days later but on the other end of the miserable spectrum. Never tested anything when I would use it, and I was obviously OD'ing myself with it (ignorant) but it was a real bad thing me. Once I got in w.Dr Saya I used the micronized stuff but I never 'felt' anything @ 25mg/D so I just dropped it. My DHEA-S does otherwise test rather low if I'm not using it. I think it just complicated things so now I don't use it and I really don't comment on it rather than try to dissuade guys from taking it. We're all different.

 

[lowe2sucks]

I have to share my experience... as you know by my nickname here I had major estradiol crash because of anastrozole overdose when I was using "anabolics".
Like a month ago I stopped using pregnenolone cream and was using just DHEA cream and my trt protocol (40mgs twice weekly)... I started to feel way better, my depression went away, I started enjoying things again and didnt have low E sypmotms anymore so it helped big time!!! Then I decided to add pregnenolone again (in pill form OTC supplement) I took 30mgs a day for like 4-5 days and I started to feel low E symptoms again, felt terrible. I think DHEA does raise e2 but high e2 felt nearly not as bad as low e2 for me.. I was slightly more short tempered and emotional when somebody tryed me. I am very excited to see labs that I did on 20mg DHEA cream and 40mgs test twice weekly..

I do think DHEA can help you a lot on trt if you are one of guys who don't aromatase a lot.. but it needs to be low dose.. like 10mgs AM and PM

 

[FeelingLost]

High prolactin *can* essentially eliminate libidinal response. It's not an exaggeration to say that it can render it non-existent at a certain level. That said, it can be dealt with, it's not a game-over result. Was there a specific test that triggered your urology referral? Your psa looks great.

Is there anything over the counter I could use.

I believe what triggered my PCP was I was on the lightest of TRT treatments testim 50mg daily and nothing else. In 6 weeks all my numbers good and bad went sky high. that is what scared him.

 

[CoastWatcher]

Is there anything over the counter I could use.

I believe what triggered my PCP was I was on the lightest of TRT treatments testim 50mg daily and nothing else. In 6 weeks all my numbers good and bad went sky high. that is what scared him.

No, there is no OTC treatment for elevated prolactin. This is a solid thread on the pros and cons of treating elevated, and avoiding low, prolactin. See post number 14 for Dr. Saya's position and approach.

https://www.excelmale.com/forum/showthread.php?8883-Cabergoline-or-Not&highlight=Cabergoline+Saya

 

[lowe2sucks]

So I want to ask guys who used both TD DHEA and other delivery forms.. How do you guys respond to TD and oral? I was using TD DHEA on my previous protocol (have to say I felt quite gooood on my previous protocol) and when I ran out I noticed that I felt bad.. now Im on entirely different protocol (and using oral DHEA this time instead of TD) and having some problems I am thinking maybe the TD DHEA was doing someting for me that oral can't.. If anybody of you used/use both share if you had same reaction to them or maybe you prefer one over another. Thanks!

 

[cja]

curious on what everyone is calling "low DHEA" levels. for me personally without DHEA I average 125, this is within the range, but not by much 102 - 416 for my age (42). I take mine 25mg compounded by Hallandale at night, bout 2 hours before bed time. While i think I sleep better with it, I also tend to get a slight case of seborrheic dermatitis from it. Now I am not 100% sure DHEA is the cause, but DHEA seems to be linked to sebum production. To much sebum production can result in Rosacea and or seborrheic dermatitis. I have always had sensitive skin, but since starting TRT and actively taking my DHEA it has become less manageable. I have a appt with a dermatologist this Tuesday, will discuss possible DHEA relations to sebum production and Rosacea/seborrheic dermatitis with him.

 

[lowe2sucks]

I can say now for sure that TD DHEA for some reason works waayy better for me then oral.. I noticed I am fatigued and don't have well being feeling without TD DHEA (everytime I run out I notice it).
everybody who read about benefits of having DHEA in high end of range (youthfull levels) but havent experienced these positives with oral DHEA should try TD maybe this will work for you as it does for me

 

[canatct]

I can say now for sure that TD DHEA for some reason works waayy better for me then oral.. I noticed I am fatigued and don't have well being feeling without TD DHEA (everytime I run out I notice it).
everybody who read about benefits of having DHEA in high end of range (youthfull levels) but havent experienced these positives with oral DHEA should try TD maybe this will work for you as it does for me

Were you using prescribed or otc td dhea? My dhea tested low and I've tried several different oral capsules/tablets at strengths as low as 5mg/day and always end up with high e2 symptoms.

 

[Vince Carter]

I think that DHEA is similar to Anastrozole in what many guys report and how we say why are you taking Anastrozole or treating E and it's too many times because it's a number on a test on a piece of paper...that doesn't mean you need it or should supplement it and if you're having a negative response to it, just don't do it. Your body is telling you that you dont need it, inspite of the labs and the Dr's thinking you do.

At some point you have to stop and say, as I did, why am I so committed to taking something that makes me feel bad, or nothing at all?

 

[Test newb]

Bumping and old thread.

Just wanted to add my experience. I have been with Defy for about a year now. Much better than going to a T center! Anyway... when I first started their program I was prescribed:

Testosterone 80 every 3.5
HCG 500 every 3.5
DHEA 40mg daily

I didn't realize it at the time but looking back the DHEA sent me in to a really bad place with depression for at least a month. I assumed it was just switching from a weekly to a biweekly regime . After some time I leveled off and felt more normal. I ran out of DHEA sometime in December and just thought I would skip it since I was slightly out of range high on all my blood work. I felt great and didn't notice a difference really.
Fast forward to February and I got some refills and thought I would try the dhea again. WOW! It really put me in a dark dark place fast! 2 days @ 40mg. I can't believe I didn't notice it before, too many new things maybe. After two days of taking the DHEA I seriously felt like an emotional wreck! WITH LUCK, I quickly noticed what was happening and stopped. 48 hours later I feel awesome, but I feel like some people may not be so lucky.
I keep reading its good to take dhea but maybe the dose was too high? Should I try 5mg micronized? I never realized how powerful DHEA is before.

just wanted to share, other than that I feel great!

 

[Cataceous]

...
I keep reading its good to take dhea but maybe the dose was too high? Should I try 5mg micronized? I never realized how powerful DHEA is before.
...

Yours is a good cautionary tale. 40 mg does seem like a pretty large dose. I take 12.5 mg per day. How low was your serum DHEA-S before starting? I'd give Defy the benefit of the doubt and assume they were just trying to put you at high-normal.

 

[Test newb]

I think it was around 125ish, after I was taking 40mg I was a few points into the “high level “ 505 or so.

If I switched over to 5mg (trial ) should I dose it daily? Does you body still produce dhea? Does that get suppressed?

 

[Cataceous]

I think it was around 125ish, after I was taking 40mg I was a few points into the “high level “ 505 or so.

If I switched over to 5mg (trial ) should I dose it daily? Does you body still produce dhea? Does that get suppressed?

I think DHEA should be dosed at least daily, ideally twice daily. I don't have a definitive reference, but the general consensus is that DHEA supplementation does not affect natural production.

 

[Gman86]

I think it was around 125ish, after I was taking 40mg I was a few points into the “high level “ 505 or so.

If I switched over to 5mg (trial ) should I dose it daily? Does you body still produce dhea? Does that get suppressed?

Ya 5mg should be the perfect starting dose. I would personally try taking it everyday. I’m pretty sure taking it in the evening/ night is what most prefer. And from what Defy told me, it doesn’t suppress your natural DHEA, it just adds to whatever level you naturally are producing.

So I’ve done quite a bit of research on DHEA, and from my understanding, we should be taking around 15mg max per day. Obviously this must not be 100% fact, considering there’s guys here that are doing very well on higher doses. But from what I’ve read, there may not be an added benefit/ rise in levels after a certain dose. So theoretically, one may get the same levels of DHEA from 40mg, as they would 20mg, but with 40mg they get all the added side effects. Not sure if this is true, this is just what I’ve read. I also read that as long as you keep your dose around 15mg/ day, or under, that estrogen conversion shouldn’t be an issue. Here’s a pretty good video I saved a while back, that talks about DHEA, as well as a few other hormones. But I saved it because the stuff he said about DHEA was very interesting, imo.