WasHousebound
New member
Context: I'm on HRT (hormone replacement therapy) for the rest of my life due to complex health issues, and had a moderately low testosterone level when I started. I've gone from blacking out and using a cane, to functioning somewhat; and sometimes downright powerful.
One of my pharmacists told me that I should start taking Progesterone (cream) for a few reasons; and as always my answer is that I'd rather test than try something new. The saliva test does not require a prescription. For that matter, high doses of progesterone don't either. My progesterone was 52pg/ml, and the test reference was <92 for men, and 500-3000 on supplementation. Here's where it get strange:
* the first pharmacist said my result shows my level is low, and raising it would eliminate my auto-immune arthritis (just consider it excess inflammation for our purposes), and there is no such thing as too much.
* my primary doctor (who has MD and DO degrees) said it was fine, but prescribed me a low dose (5mg/day) at my request - which I since figured out is potentially placebo.
* my second doctor (also has MD and DO degrees) had absolutely no opinion
* I called my second compounding pharmacy, and they routinely prescribe men 10-20mg/day, and lately doctors prescribe quite a bit more. Said results of excess are tender nipples (on men) and excess tiredness.
Result: can't be sure of causation, but the inflammation is substantially reduced already in just a few weeks. Really strong erections (sorry I couldn't think of another way to explain that).
Different sources have completely contradictory information. Thus I'm asking here: for those injecting similar to me (up to 100mg/wk of testosterone cypionate); what is the effect of progesterone and at what dose?
most negative:
Livestrong only talks about how bad it is to have too much:
livestrong.com/article/290358-high-progesterone-levels-in-men/
most positive: (also a place to purchase it, I have no opinion on their product)
Dr Platt claims it to be a panacea, and there is no such thing as too much:
drplatt.com/natural_hormones/platt-pro-natural-progesterone.htm
(browse his whole website if inclined)
apparently balanced:
peaktestosterone.com/Progesterone_Men.aspx
NIH:
in non-scientific terms: "who the hell knows?"
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15669543
What I'm led to believe at the moment is that (for those who need it) it reduced conversion of injected testosterone to DHT and estrogen, reduces inflammation, reduces nor-adrenalin, and maybe some other useful effects. [effects that may be negative for other people, especially if not injecting testosterone] For me in particular, shutting off all my own body's production of absolutely everything is a good thing - I have complex auto-immune effects that are not fully understood, and shutting down organs shuts down the auto-immune problems and increases my vitality.
What I'm interested in is the effect on men such as myself who are on HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) for the rest of our lives; but also the experience of athletes on heavy steroid regimens. With so many contradictions it is hard to know who is right. Yet progesterone isn't regulated (for now) so it can be purchased at extremely high strength; it doesn't make sense that "there's no such thing as too much."
edit: I'm referring to cream, which some source said goes into the bloodstream immediately so to split the cream into three times a day. Hadn't heard of SR (slow release) capsules, but that certainly sounds like a balanced approach.
One of my pharmacists told me that I should start taking Progesterone (cream) for a few reasons; and as always my answer is that I'd rather test than try something new. The saliva test does not require a prescription. For that matter, high doses of progesterone don't either. My progesterone was 52pg/ml, and the test reference was <92 for men, and 500-3000 on supplementation. Here's where it get strange:
* the first pharmacist said my result shows my level is low, and raising it would eliminate my auto-immune arthritis (just consider it excess inflammation for our purposes), and there is no such thing as too much.
* my primary doctor (who has MD and DO degrees) said it was fine, but prescribed me a low dose (5mg/day) at my request - which I since figured out is potentially placebo.
* my second doctor (also has MD and DO degrees) had absolutely no opinion
* I called my second compounding pharmacy, and they routinely prescribe men 10-20mg/day, and lately doctors prescribe quite a bit more. Said results of excess are tender nipples (on men) and excess tiredness.
Result: can't be sure of causation, but the inflammation is substantially reduced already in just a few weeks. Really strong erections (sorry I couldn't think of another way to explain that).
Different sources have completely contradictory information. Thus I'm asking here: for those injecting similar to me (up to 100mg/wk of testosterone cypionate); what is the effect of progesterone and at what dose?
most negative:
Livestrong only talks about how bad it is to have too much:
livestrong.com/article/290358-high-progesterone-levels-in-men/
most positive: (also a place to purchase it, I have no opinion on their product)
Dr Platt claims it to be a panacea, and there is no such thing as too much:
drplatt.com/natural_hormones/platt-pro-natural-progesterone.htm
(browse his whole website if inclined)
apparently balanced:
peaktestosterone.com/Progesterone_Men.aspx
NIH:
in non-scientific terms: "who the hell knows?"
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15669543
What I'm led to believe at the moment is that (for those who need it) it reduced conversion of injected testosterone to DHT and estrogen, reduces inflammation, reduces nor-adrenalin, and maybe some other useful effects. [effects that may be negative for other people, especially if not injecting testosterone] For me in particular, shutting off all my own body's production of absolutely everything is a good thing - I have complex auto-immune effects that are not fully understood, and shutting down organs shuts down the auto-immune problems and increases my vitality.
What I'm interested in is the effect on men such as myself who are on HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) for the rest of our lives; but also the experience of athletes on heavy steroid regimens. With so many contradictions it is hard to know who is right. Yet progesterone isn't regulated (for now) so it can be purchased at extremely high strength; it doesn't make sense that "there's no such thing as too much."
edit: I'm referring to cream, which some source said goes into the bloodstream immediately so to split the cream into three times a day. Hadn't heard of SR (slow release) capsules, but that certainly sounds like a balanced approach.
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