Progesterone Dose for Men

[gerardo]

I have PMs ongoing with another member on this subject, so I'll just quote myself from them. The conversation is referring to ampules from AllDayChemist, but I'd do something similar with vials obtained domestically, except no need for filter needles.

"In more detail: I use a filter needle and luer-lock syringe to withdraw the progesterone from an opened ampule. I change to a regular needle and inject the progesterone into a new sterile vial. To the vial I add benzyl alcohol and grape seed oil to reduce the concentration from 100 mg/mL to 20 mg/mL. For administration I use 0.3 cc, 31 gauge, 5/16" insulin syringes."
...
"I bought the 2 mL ampules, which per mL are said to contain 100 mg progesterone, 200 mg benzyl alcohol, and ethyl oleate to complete the milliliter. If the contents of one ampule were transferred to a 10 mL sterile vial then you would add 1.54 mL of benzyl alcohol and 6.46 mL of grape seed oil to the vial to reduce the concentration to 20 mg/mL progesterone (10 mL total product with 200 mg progesterone and 2,000 mg benzyl alcohol). I don't know if the benzyl alcohol concentration really needs to be as high as in the original product. It's good practice to divide the results into a few vials so that you're not using any one vial for too long of a period, e.g. more than a couple months or so."

I mentioned possible suppliers of the ancillaries: Med Lab Supply, Tex Lab Supply

For uniformity you could buy and use ethyl oleate as the diluent. This is what I did originally. But then I decided I'd rather not be taking more EO than necessary, so I switched to grape seed oil, which seems to work just as well.

Cataceos. About dilution of medicines. Here I have hydrocortisone powder to dilute in water for injection. If I use bacteriostatic water to dilute the powder, could I apply subq and store the rest in the refrigerator? I have to take 30 mg a day of hydrocortisone. This topic is about progesterone, but I have this question or I can open a new topic. Thanks

 

[Cataceous]

Cataceos. About dilution of medicines. Here I have hydrocortisone powder to dilute in water for injection. If I use bacteriostatic water to dilute the powder, could I apply subq and store the rest in the refrigerator? I have to take 30 mg a day of hydrocortisone. This topic is about progesterone, but I have this question or I can open a new topic. Thanks

Is this a sterile powder intended for injections? If not is the purity sufficient and can you sterilize the end product? Water does not sound like a feasible solvent for hydrocortisone. The solubility is only 0.32 mg / mL.

 

[gerardo]

Is this a sterile powder intended for injections? If not is the purity sufficient and can you sterilize the end product? Water does not sound like a feasible solvent for hydrocortisone. The solubility is only 0.32 mg / mL.

Yes. It is a hydrocortisone sodium succinate, lyophilized buffered, which comes in an ampoule bottle and in the other ampoule comes water for injections (not bacteriostatic water)

 

[Dicky]

I have PMs ongoing with another member on this subject, so I'll just quote myself from them. The conversation is referring to ampules from AllDayChemist, but I'd do something similar with vials obtained domestically, except no need for filter needles.

"In more detail: I use a filter needle and luer-lock syringe to withdraw the progesterone from an opened ampule. I change to a regular needle and inject the progesterone into a new sterile vial. To the vial I add benzyl alcohol and grape seed oil to reduce the concentration from 100 mg/mL to 20 mg/mL. For administration I use 0.3 cc, 31 gauge, 5/16" insulin syringes."
...
"I bought the 2 mL ampules, which per mL are said to contain 100 mg progesterone, 200 mg benzyl alcohol, and ethyl oleate to complete the milliliter. If the contents of one ampule were transferred to a 10 mL sterile vial then you would add 1.54 mL of benzyl alcohol and 6.46 mL of grape seed oil to the vial to reduce the concentration to 20 mg/mL progesterone (10 mL total product with 200 mg progesterone and 2,000 mg benzyl alcohol). I don't know if the benzyl alcohol concentration really needs to be as high as in the original product. It's good practice to divide the results into a few vials so that you're not using any one vial for too long of a period, e.g. more than a couple months or so."

I mentioned possible suppliers of the ancillaries: Med Lab Supply, Tex Lab Supply

For uniformity you could buy and use ethyl oleate as the diluent. This is what I did originally. But then I decided I'd rather not be taking more EO than necessary, so I switched to grape seed oil, which seems to work just as well.

That's something else my friend. I'm a little in awe of your chemistry skills.

 

[gerardo]

Ya theoretically there’s a chance that what u experienced was the benefits of testosterone while concurrently still having some endogenous progesterone production, and then possibly things got worse once the test shut down ur testicles and therefore possibly shut down most of ur endogenous progesterone production. Here’s a few more quick vids on progesterone that I found interesting and that u might find helpful

..100 mg to 225 mg of progesterone per day !! Has anyone used a dosage of this video from Oliva?

 

[ivkonst2017]

Ya it’s so interesting how TRT can effect everyone differently.

Yep this is astonishing. For me TRT works only on sustanon, on the usually used single esters I feel like crap and have tried all types of protocols. Just being on a steady testosterone level with a long ester makes me feel really lethargic, apathehtic and way worse than pre TRT.

Luckily when I have started I was forced to use sustanon, although all doctors dislike it. If I havent tried it TRT would never work for me. On the long esters although I get the physical benefits as well, Im way worse than pre TRT.

Now discovered I supposedly have progesterone deficiency. Whether that has something to do with it...who knows

 

[Charliebizz]

Ya it’s so interesting how TRT can effect everyone differently. It’s literally been the best antidepressant imagineable for me. Legit not one negative thought ever gets into my mind ever. Not one depressed thought ever. Eternal optimist 24/7 since being on HRT. I hate that it can do this for me, yet have the complete opposite effect on depression for u. I wish it was as easy as u take testosterone, raise ur levels, and it has the exact same positive effects for every guy alive. I hate seeing guys struggle on HRT, and hate even more when they’re at their wits end and just want to give up on it. I’m sure u’ve exhausted every last thing u can think of to make HRT work for u, but if u ever wanted to trouble shoot and brainstorm together feel free to PM me

Yeah it's a mind f$#k for sure. I'm part of the low shbg crowd. But at least I have had some positives from trt. Others have almost none. I have a few more things to try. Progesterone while being on trt is one of them. I also want to get labs done never pulled prog while on trt. Last set of labs are almost perfect. My blood counts look great t and e look good only things that stand out is my dhea has dropped from close to 300 to 191. Andy ferritin has dropped from 157 to 51.

 

[Cataceous]

Yes. It is a hydrocortisone sodium succinate, lyophilized buffered, which comes in an ampoule bottle and in the other ampoule comes water for injections (not bacteriostatic water)

In this case what you're proposing would probably work. One unknown in cases like this is whether the benzyl alcohol can interact with the active ingredient. I'd at least do a web search to see if it's mentioned.

 

[Gman86]

Yeah it's a mind f$#k for sure. I'm part of the low shbg crowd. But at least I have had some positives from trt. Others have almost none. I have a few more things to try. Progesterone while being on trt is one of them. I also want to get labs done never pulled prog while on trt. Last set of labs are almost perfect. My blood counts look great t and e look good only things that stand out is my dhea has dropped from close to 300 to 191. Andy ferritin has dropped from 157 to 51.

Cortisol and DHEA have an inverse relationship. Ur DHEA could be decreasing because stress is increasing, but also DHEA seems to just be much lower in men as they get older. Have I tried supplementing with very low dose DHEA? That’s one supplement that seems to be extremely hit or miss for guys tho. Seems like most feel worse supplementing with it even when their levels are low. Ur level isn’t extremely low luckily. That’s a big decline in levels however.

As far as ur ferritin goes that drop may be a good thing. If u haven’t delved into Morley Robbins research definitely check him out. He’s the leading expert when it comes to iron and how it interacts in the body, imo. Here’s a set of videos he did on the strongsistas YouTube channel that were extremely informative. I highly recommend checking them out. Not saying it’s the answer to ur issues, but when it comes to the body u have to optimize every aspect of health, everything works synergistically together. So there’s a chance his info could make a huge difference for u. Long story short he recommends a ferritin between 20-50, but closer to 20. And according to him oral vitamin D supplementation does more harm than good. Not sure if he explains why in these videos, but he’s all over YouTube, and explains in depth why in plenty of other videos. Vitamin D should be made by ur skin via being exposed to sunlight, or through artificial UV-B bulbs

Do u take oral vitamin D? Do u supplement with magnesium?

 

[Charliebizz]

Cortisol and DHEA have an inverse relationship. Ur DHEA could be decreasing because stress is increasing, but also DHEA seems to just be much lower in men as they get older. Have I tried supplementing with very low dose DHEA? That’s one supplement that seems to be extremely hit or miss for guys tho. Seems like most feel worse supplementing with it even when their levels are low. Ur level isn’t extremely low luckily. That’s a big decline in levels however.

As far as ur ferritin goes that drop may be a good thing. If u haven’t delved into Morley Robbins research definitely check him out. He’s the leading expert when it comes to iron and how it interacts in the body, imo. Here’s a set of videos he did on the strongsistas YouTube channel that were extremely informative. I highly recommend checking them out. Not saying it’s the answer to ur issues, but when it comes to the body u have to optimize every aspect of health, everything works synergistically together. So there’s a chance his info could make a huge difference for u. Long story short he recommends a ferritin between 20-50, but closer to 20. And according to him oral vitamin D supplementation does more harm than good. Not sure if he explains why in these videos, but he’s all over YouTube, and explains in depth why in plenty of other videos. Vitamin D should be made by ur skin via being exposed to sunlight, or through artificial UV-B bulbs

Do u take oral vitamin D? Do u supplement with magnesium?

Another user posted this vid on ferritin also. Made me feel better about trt lowering it just hope it doesn't drop any lower then 50.

 

[Charliebizz]

Cortisol and DHEA have an inverse relationship. Ur DHEA could be decreasing because stress is increasing, but also DHEA seems to just be much lower in men as they get older. Have I tried supplementing with very low dose DHEA? That’s one supplement that seems to be extremely hit or miss for guys tho. Seems like most feel worse supplementing with it even when their levels are low. Ur level isn’t extremely low luckily. That’s a big decline in levels however.

As far as ur ferritin goes that drop may be a good thing. If u haven’t delved into Morley Robbins research definitely check him out. He’s the leading expert when it comes to iron and how it interacts in the body, imo. Here’s a set of videos he did on the strongsistas YouTube channel that were extremely informative. I highly recommend checking them out. Not saying it’s the answer to ur issues, but when it comes to the body u have to optimize every aspect of health, everything works synergistically together. So there’s a chance his info could make a huge difference for u. Long story short he recommends a ferritin between 20-50, but closer to 20. And according to him oral vitamin D supplementation does more harm than good. Not sure if he explains why in these videos, but he’s all over YouTube, and explains in depth why in plenty of other videos. Vitamin D should be made by ur skin via being exposed to sunlight, or through artificial UV-B bulbs

Do u take oral vitamin D? Do u supplement with magnesium?

I've supplemented mag and vit d never noticed a difference. My vit d does always come back low off of supplements.

 

[Gman86]

I've supplemented mag and vit d never noticed a difference. My vit d does always come back low off of supplements.

Ill definitely check that video out, thanks for posting it. Ya stay away from any synthetic/ oral forms of vitamin D. But make sure to get as much vitamin D as u can via sun on ur skin or from UV-B bulbs. Vitamin D is extremely important for way too many things to list. And always supplement with magnesium, if u aren’t currently. It’s one of the most important things anyone can do for their health. Checkout Morley robbins stuff on magnesium and/ or Dr. Carolyn Dean’s work on magnesium if u want to learn why it’s so important to supplement with it

 

[Wolverine]

I used to be a patient of Dr. Crisler (RIP) and he agreed with the long beard dude regarding how to bring up progesterone. He was against using straight progesterone and preferred preg to raise prog if HCG wasn't doing the trick.

Also, regarding DHEA and cortisol, my AM serum cortisol was always at the upper end. I took 25mg of DHEA daily and labs showed that it cut my cortisol level in almost half (almost too low), so I can attest that DHEA can bring your cortisol levels down.

 

[Gianluca]

I used to be a patient of Dr. Crisler (RIP) and he agreed with the long beard dude regarding how to bring up progesterone. He was against using straight progesterone and preferred preg to raise prog if HCG wasn't doing the trick.

Also, regarding DHEA and cortisol, my AM serum cortisol was always at the upper end. I took 25mg of DHEA daily and labs showed that it cut my cortisol level in almost half (almost too low), so I can attest that DHEA can bring your cortisol levels down.

good feedback about DHEA/Cortisol

 

[MarcoFL]

good feedback about DHEA/Cortisol

I think that is why they feel you should take DHEA later day to help lower cortisol for better sleep.

 

[gerardo]

In this case what you're proposing would probably work. One unknown in cases like this is whether the benzyl alcohol can interact with the active ingredient. I'd at least do a web search to see if it's mentioned.

Thanks. Do you know another safe way to dilute this hydrocortisone?

 

[gerardo]

Cortisol and DHEA have an inverse relationship. Ur DHEA could be decreasing because stress is increasing, but also DHEA seems to just be much lower in men as they get older. Have I tried supplementing with very low dose DHEA? That’s one supplement that seems to be extremely hit or miss for guys tho. Seems like most feel worse supplementing with it even when their levels are low. Ur level isn’t extremely low luckily. That’s a big decline in levels however.


Do u take oral vitamin D? Do u supplement with magnesium?

I've supplemented mag and vit d never noticed a difference. My vit d does always come back low off of supplements.

I used to be a patient of Dr. Crisler (RIP) and he agreed with the long beard dude regarding how to bring up progesterone. He was against using straight progesterone and preferred preg to raise prog if HCG wasn't doing the trick.

Also, regarding DHEA and cortisol, my AM serum cortisol was always at the upper end. I took 25mg of DHEA daily and labs showed that it cut my cortisol level in almost half (almost too low), so I can attest that DHEA can bring your cortisol levels down.

good feedback about DHEA/Cortisol

I think that is why they feel you should take DHEA later day to help lower cortisol for better sleep.

I have low cortisol and I am in a daily struggle. I don't get along with DHEA. Will my cortisol drop further with DHEA? Does TRT alone lower cortisol? For the body to make cortisol it needs progesterone and if TRT lowers progesterone, consequently cortisol would also lower.

 

[Charliebizz]

I used to be a patient of Dr. Crisler (RIP) and he agreed with the long beard dude regarding how to bring up progesterone. He was against using straight progesterone and preferred preg to raise prog if HCG wasn't doing the trick.

Also, regarding DHEA and cortisol, my AM serum cortisol was always at the upper end. I took 25mg of DHEA daily and labs showed that it cut my cortisol level in almost half (almost too low), so I can attest that DHEA can bring your cortisol levels down.

I was also a patient of Dr crisler. With all due respect he was off big time on progesterone even calling it a feminizing hormone. Progesterone alone even raisedy natural t levels 200 pts. I feel I didn't get the benefits most likely because of its effects on dht and e2 but not exactly sure.

 

[Gianluca]

I have low cortisol and I am in a daily struggle. I don't get along with DHEA. Will my cortisol drop further with DHEA? Does TRT alone lower cortisol? For the body to make cortisol it needs progesterone and if TRT lowers progesterone, consequently cortisol would also lower.

DHEA generally help people who have adrenal fatigue and lower cortisol, I’m one of those, it did help, but if you ask me if it increased my cortisol I wouldn’t know

 

[Charliebizz]

I have low cortisol and I am in a daily struggle. I don't get along with DHEA. Will my cortisol drop further with DHEA? Does TRT alone lower cortisol? For the body to make cortisol it needs progesterone and if TRT lowers progesterone, consequently cortisol would also lower.

That's the thing about hormone replacement. For some it can. Some it has no effect.

I have strange reactions to trt. Back 10 years ago when I tried trt first few times it would crush my cortisol confirmed by how I felt, blood Labs and saliva.this was on any dose off test cyp. Then I tried a low dose of ssri with test cyp off Dr Mariano's suggestion and I was able to tolerate trt much better. Then I switched to enathate and almost all side effects went away. I decided to get ride of the ssri and cortisol remained stable on the enathate. I have no idea how the ester could matter but it seems like it did