Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) causing adrenal insufficiency?

[bigben34]

TRT causing adrenal insufficiency?

Do any of you (IMT included) have any links to any studies or endo journal entries showing a link between testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and the subsequent decline in adrenal output?? Thanks.

 

[DreDay187]

Acute adrenal crisis: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia

ADRENAL INSUFFICIENCY - Blog - Testosterone replacement & general men's health articles

 

[DreDay187]

Those should help,get you started but from what I've read of Dr. Crisler's work, he believes that inappropriate use of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) can cause issues but not appropriate use.

 

[bigben34]

Thank you but I'm specifically looking for studies linking the use of testosterone and adrenal insufficiency. I understand the basics of the adrenals and the endocrine system but I'm still wondering why DHEA and pregnenolone are so highly recommended when there is seemly little to no evidence on their effectiveness as a supplement.

 

[DreDay187]

Thank you but I'm specifically looking for studies linking the use of testosterone and adrenal insufficiency. I understand the basics of the adrenals and the endocrine system but I'm still wondering why DHEA and pregnenolone are so highly recommended when there is seemly little to no evidence on their effectiveness as a supplement.

Are you asking about dhea and pregnenolone in terms of effectiveness as remedies to adrenal insuffienciency or in general?

Is this what you're talking about:

Long-Term DHEA Replacement in Primary Adrenal Insufficiency: A Randomized, Controlled Trial

 

[bigben34]

Neither. I'm asking about testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) causing adrenal slow down or insufficiency. There are a ton of people that say that DHEA and pregnenolone are absolutely essential when on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). I'm specifically trying to find published evidence that the replacement of testosterone causes the output of adrenal hormones to slow or stop. My curiousity is simply in the fact that if testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) doesn't cause an adrenal problem then there is no evidence that suggests that supplementing DHEA and preg would be effective in an otherwise healthy person (no adrenal insufficiency). Now, if there is something out there that says that testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) effects the adrenal glands then I can see the use of supplementation...Hope that makes more sense.

 

[DreDay187]

Neither. I'm asking about testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) causing adrenal slow down or insufficiency. There are a ton of people that say that DHEA and pregnenolone are absolutely essential when on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). I'm specifically trying to find published evidence that the replacement of testosterone causes the output of adrenal hormones to slow or stop. My curiousity is simply in the fact that if testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) doesn't cause an adrenal problem then there is no evidence that suggests that supplementing DHEA and preg would be effective in an otherwise healthy person (no adrenal insufficiency). Now, if there is something out there that says that testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) effects the adrenal glands then I can see the use of supplementation...Hope that makes more sense.

No that makes a lot more sense to me now with that explanation. I'm not too familiar with this issue so take anything I say with a grain of salt. My reference to Dr. Crisler before might be relevant. He is of the opinion that piper testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) protocols will NOT cause adrenal issues. What he means by proper is anyone's guess since be didn't specify but I'm assuming reasonable serum testosterone levels are a big player in this. Meaning, its nice to have serum levels of 1500ng/dL + on a testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) protocol but the higher you push your levels, the more it will affect the adrenal glands. Again this is a guess on my part since he didn't exicitly specify what he meant. I know Halfwit on here is a testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) patient and supplements with dhea and pregnenolone, for what specific reasons I'm not sure. I know he is giving serious thought to using Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) and dropping dhea and pregnenolone from his protocol, again for reasons which escape me. IMT and Halfwit would be good sources of info on this matter. I will keep researching myself to see if I can find anything of use to you. Sorry I can't be of more help at the moment.

 

[bigben34]

No problem, I appreciate your replies..To dig a little deeper on the subject of HcG instead of supplementing with the two, the adrenal glands do have LH receptors and we know that Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) mimics the LH signal. That's where my knowledge drops off the cliff a little bit..to my understanding, LH certainly doesn't "control" the adrenals as it does natural test production..So I think another question is what function are the adrenals missing when they're not recieving LH anymore? I would assume there is a reason why the adrenals have LH receptors in the first place...Halfwit? Todd?

 

[DreDay187]

No problem, I appreciate your replies..To dig a little deeper on the subject of HcG instead of supplementing with the two, the adrenal glands do have LH receptors and we know that Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) mimics the LH signal. That's where my knowledge drops off the cliff a little bit..to my understanding, LH certainly doesn't "control" the adrenals as it does natural test production..So I think another question is what function are the adrenals missing when they're not recieving LH anymore? I would assume there is a reason why the adrenals have LH receptors in the first place...Halfwit? Todd?

I emailed your question to Austinite and this is the response i got from him and should be a good starting point to expand upon in research.

Sure. DHEA and PREG are necessary if you are not on hCG. Through backfilling pathways, hCG activates P450cc, in return, it***8217;s a precursor for DHEA, Pregnenolone, cortisol. So without hCG, you***8217;re dependent on cholesterol only for these productions.

Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) secretion test would identify adrenal insufficiency/Addison's disease. Also, you can look at 17OHP***8217;s response to ACTH.

the ACTH test will provide your serum cortisol in response to Cortrosyn, which is what is used to determine either primary or secondary deficiency. Primary would yield attention to your adrenal glands for lack of hormone production. Secondary would yield attention to the pituitary, which in this case, would not be signaling properly.

 

[IceDemon]

While I can't give any studies, I can give my personal results. I'm on 200mg of testosterone each week and my DHEA and IGF-1 is actually higher then normal in my blood tests. I also have higher cholesterol then normal to. These results were before taking Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) and after taking Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) while on TRT.

 

[DreDay187]

A PowerPoint given by Dr. Crisler

http://www.professionalmuscle.com/DheaPregMelatonin.ppt

 

[bigben34]

Good powerpoint...I saved that one.

 

[DreDay187]

Good powerpoint...I saved that one.

I'll let you know if I come across anything else that's pertinent.