DOES TAKING DHEA EFFECT ONE'S HPTA?

[JayLay777]

I went to a urologist today and he said taking DHEA can cause one to shut down their HPTA just like testosterone can. Do you think he is right? I have heard from others that DHEA has no effect on the HPTA like testosterone does. I hope that is not the case because I have been taking DHEA for several weeks now.

 

[HealthMan]

I went to a urologist today and he said taking DHEA can cause one to shut down their HPTA just like testosterone can. Do you think he is right? I have heard from others that DHEA has no effect on the HPTA like testosterone does. I hope that is not the case because I have been taking DHEA for several weeks now.

He is wrong

 

[Vince]

The trouble men have when taking DHEA and not on trt, it will convert some testosterone into estrogen. So DHEA where lower your testosterone and increase your estrogen. Men should not supplement with DHEA when not on testosterone.

 

[MarkM]

Like HealthMan stated, he is wrong.

 

[Vince]

Like HealthMan stated, he is wrong.

I agree that he's wrong but I sure wouldn't recommend a man to use DHEA if it's not on trt.

 

[lowe2sucks]

I thought we are taking dhea to backfill pathways that were supressed from trt to actually make body work in more natural way which i previously believed is impossible on trt since your hpta get completely shutdown so it can't use preg and dhea same way as in men non on trt... more and more I learn about these cutting edge protocols more I believe it's all bunch of crap.
dhea topical (life flo brand bought from amazon) damaged me A LOT though it gave me "euphoria" feeling for first weeks when I applied it. then it stopped giving that feeling to me and since than I feel like I am in withdrawal from drugs.
I don't know if dhea from pharmacy has same effect on your mood and health but I will never touch that poison again.
One of the reasons I stopped trt aside from not being able to afford defy because you are suppose to take bunch of these poisons if you are on testosterone.. not for me...

 

[Vince]

I thought we are taking dhea to backfill pathways that were supressed from trt to actually make body work in more natural way which i previously believed is impossible on trt since your hpta get completely shutdown so it can't use preg and dhea same way as in men non on trt... more and more I learn about these cutting edge protocols more I believe it's all bunch of crap.
dhea topical (life flo brand bought from amazon) damaged me A LOT though it gave me "euphoria" feeling for first weeks when I applied it. then it stopped giving that feeling to me and since than I feel like I am in withdrawal from drugs.
I don't know if dhea from pharmacy has same effect on your mood and health but I will never touch that poison again.

I was talking about if someone is not testosterone I'm guessing Jaylay isn't

 

[lowe2sucks]

JayLay if you don't mind me asking have you noticed any effects (negative or positve doesn't matter) from taking DHEA?

 

[JayLay777]

I actually have noticed both positive and negative to be honest. It seems like the first several days I start taking DHEA I notice an effect like its increasing my testosterone (more energy both physically and mentally, stamina, libido, strength). The longer I take it though those positive effects quickly fade and I feel like crap in about a week or two while taking DHEA. I actually found that taking it only two to three times per week seems to help me a lot instead of taking it everyday. I think taking it twice or three times a week is better than nothing. I actually confirmed on blood test it raised my DHEA-S 50 points higher from only taking it twice a week at 25mg! The key point though for me is the less DHEA I take the better. If I start taking it everyday I think it starts converting into too much E2 which explains why I feel like crap if i take it too much. I am also not on TRT and never was. That might change soon though.

 

[fifty]

5mg dhea twice per day sublingual raised my dhea 100pts. Most people who hate it take way too much for their body.
Taking 50mg dhea tabs can be like choosing a 350mg caffeine energy drink instead of a green tea.

 

[skycop00]

The trouble men have when taking DHEA and not on trt, it will convert some testosterone into estrogen. So DHEA where lower your testosterone and increase your estrogen. Men should not supplement with DHEA when not on testosterone.

Frankly I have several clients with LOW T and LOW E2. DHEA often makes a nice positive difference for them.

 

[MarkM]

Taking DHEA does not shut down the HPTA. DHEA is an upstream hormone and converts into both estrogen's and androgen's. It can have a tendency in men to have a higher affinity to convert to estrogen's than androgen's.

Some men say they can not take DHEA or very small amounts. I personally take 25 mg at night and have no ill side effects and it seems to help my sleep.

Some take Pregnenolone as well, which is an upsteam hormone to DHEA. It is considered the "Grandmother" of all hormones but it does not shut down the HPTA either. I take 50 mg of Pregnenolone a day.

Several doctors that participate on the weekly TRT Revolution podcast recommend taking 100 mg of Pregnenolone per day. Unlike you, I am on TRT.

 

[DragonBits]

When I was 43, which was 23 years ago, I used to take DHEA, and I got very high levels, 6672 ng/ml (800-5600).

It didn't seem to affect anything, testosterone or sleep. It might have raised my liver enzymes, what was the only change I saw. But I was probably taking too much.

 

[MarkM]

Do you remember what your dosing was at that time?

 

[DragonBits]

Do you remember what your dosing was at that time?

I think I was taking 50 mg a day. My TT at the time (23 years ago) was 376 ng/dl. Maybe I was taking DHEA for 3-4 months, But it was a long time ago, so I couldn’t swear to it.

I knew something was off about my hormones, I would sleep a lot in the afternoon, get tired, gain weight, but at the time had no idea what the problem was, and they told me 376 ng/dl was normal.

Recently I started taking DHEA 25 mg per day, in about 5 weeks it boosted my dhea from 95 ug/dl (30.9-295.6) > 450 ug/dl (30.9-295.6), my TT was 690 ng/dl.

HOWEVER, I also dose 500 IU of HCG twice a week, and I speculate that it was the HCG “backfilling” the pathways together with the DHEA that drove DHEA-S to 450 ug/dl.

It didn’t seem to do anything for sleep nor did it seem to increase E2, and liver enzymes were low. I can’t say it hurt anything, but I am not going to take DHEA ever again and I am thinking of stopping HCG for a month just to see what happens. Retest and see what my levels are.

The reason I tried DHEA is I sleep very, wake up often, now I suspect some sort of cortisol problem. GABA seems to help, but it's too early to really tell. (i haven't done a cortisol test.)