Question for guys on trt long term

[Guided_by_Voices]

I think you may be onto something there regarding progesterone. Another clue is that many seem to report very high libido on some of the anabolics that have progesterone-like aspects. The DHT affects are well known, but progesterone could be the breakthrough for some people.

 

[fifty]

We’ll see on the progesterone. Many guys here on trt have sleep issues. Time will tell if they try it.

 

[xqfq]

I think you may be onto something there regarding progesterone. Another clue is that many seem to report very high libido on some of the anabolics that have progesterone-like aspects. The DHT affects are well known, but progesterone could be the breakthrough for some people.

That's an interesting point I hadn't considered! Trenbolone, which is the most notorious of anabolic steroids for insane libido, apparently binds to the progesterone receptor very strongly. I also notice lots of varicose veins on men who've used anabolic steroids heavily, which I suspect may be due to this progesterone receptor binding as well..or it could just be increased blood demand (or maybe both?)

Not to get too technical (!) and (to be honest, off topic) but -- I think it's difficult to draw analogies with anabolic steroids because it's not just a receptor activation causing the effect; the androgen, estrogen and progesterone receptors are nuclear receptors. This means it's possible that each steroid has different effects on downstream gene expression, irrespective of binding affinity. A good analogy to see how this works is DHT versus T. They both bind to the androgen receptor but exert different effects on genes. So I believe it's more than simple binding affinity and ratios when looking at these AAS / SARM effects. It's hard to say where e.g. Trenbolone gets its libido effect because of this -- could it be because it does something similar to DHT (libido?) on the androgen receptor, or because of something having to do with the progesterone receptor? Etc.

 

[luidox33]

Rabbit it seems like luck of the draw. Please understand I'm not doing terrible, really the area of libido and desire is where I'm Lacking and hopefully Defy can help me sort that out eventually.

Check your heart. Arteries. all that.

 

[Guided_by_Voices]

@xqfq ,

One of the things that clued me into progesterone is that I find low dose Chasteberry to be very pro-libido and I thought it was because of its prolactin-lowering affects, however someone on another thread clued me into its progesterone-like activity as well so that could have something to do with it.

Regarding, varicose veins, I'm not an expert on that but I don't think that's what you're seeing. I think true varicose veins are a pathologic pooling of blood, whereas extreme vascularity is more likely due to a combination of low body fat, the "dry" look that some compounds produce , a potentially pathologic increase in blood volume, and highly elastic vasculature (probably a good thing and something some report from Cialis). Something to consider.

Also, as Carl Lanore has pointed out, Finasteride apparently has a very close chemical structure to progesterone, so even if it benefits some people there could be severe downsides in some cases.