Progesterone Dose for Men

[Gman86]

I used this: Amazon.com

One pump, 20mg. Tried 2 at first then went to one but that didn’t help. I’ve heard it said progesterone on the skin gets metabolized very differently, which is why I had tried it in the past, and it was always a little calming.

20-24mg test-c daily, 380iu’s hcg 3x a week, no AI, 1 grain NDT and 50mcg T4 daily.

Progesterone on my scrotum had me feeling mostly the negative side effects of when I was on cortisol, only it took longer. Pregnenolone cream on my thighs had me feeling mostly the positive side effects of being on cortisol.

I’m not sure there’s much point in speculating what happens for some people vs others when they react to things. All of this stuff’s highly connected. Best to just focus on what works for some and doesn’t for others and give people levers to pull if they’re having issues.

I’ll be most interested in my free T3 numbers on my latest blood test, as historically I have done very poorly on thyroid meds of all kinds in a dose dependent manner despite having signs of low thyroid and lower end thyroid on blood tests. Always solves many issues at first, then my body downregulates something and it goes back to normal, then worse than I started. My free T and E2 skyrocket on T3 meds. Got SHBG on my latest test to see if it being low in response to the meds did that. Either way, progesterone on my scrotum made me angry and irritable over time. Pregnenolone on the thighs did not.

That’s interesting about ur free T going up in thyroid meds. Thyroid meds increased my SHBG a bunch. IIRC it went from mid 30’s to like low 60’s

Sorry if u already talked about this, but if u felt good on preg why are u not currently using it?

and when u say prog on the skin gets metabolized very differently, are u referring to prog getting metabolized differently on ur stomach compared to the scrotum, or are u saying any topical prog gets metabolized differently than say oral or injectable prog?

 

[Anonymon]

That’s interesting about ur free T going up in thyroid meds. Thyroid meds increased my SHBG a bunch. IIRC it went from mid 30’s to like low 60’s

Sorry if u already talked about this, but if u felt good on preg why are u not currently using it?

and when u say prog on the skin gets metabolized very differently, are u referring to prog getting metabolized differently on ur stomach compared to the scrotum, or are u saying any topical prog gets metabolized differently than say oral or injectable prog?

Sorry if I mispoke somewhere, I’m still on the 50mg pregnenolone cream in the morning on my thighs.

Regarding the metabolism of progesterone, someone a year or two ago recommended the cream to me as he was trying to get his levels up and deal with water retention from TRT, but said that the cream alone through the skin got metabolized into different things that could calm you but wouldn’t raise the levels he was looking for. How true that is I don’t know, but I did get very different results from putting it on my skin vs specifically my scrotum.

My theory about my odd reactions to thyroid meds is that something in or about me is continually downregulating my thyroid hormone conversion, so adding more onto it always helps initially until that causes further downregulation. The main issues I face actually get better at first when adding any thyroid med, then much worse after a week or so. Currently experimenting with moderately dosed rhodiola there. I’ve always taken rhodiola at 250mg, but taking more or a better brand characteristically helps me a lot, then can’t be tolerate because it ruins my sleep. This time I’m trying heavier sleep aids and such to see if I can make it work.

A physician I’ve worked with had similar issues as I do for different reasons, and after taking everything you could take, found the most success in MAO inhibitors and came off most everything else. Rhodiola works in part as an MAO A and B inhibitor, which may be the cause of the benefits I got from a more moderate dose of it, as well as the detriments of it ruining my already fragile sleep. It would also account for why I can make almost anything protocol change work in the short term but not long term, as pretty much anything stimulating will help in the short term (like say thyroid meds or progesterone) then cause downregulation or a return to baseline in the long term.

 

[DixieWrecked]

Did you think Pregnenolone was giving you almost a drug feeling keeping your mind too active at night?

Exactly. I could not turn my mind off or something. My mom is currently on it, I recommended it to her, and I can absolutely tell a difference in her when she is taking it. She is much more intense. Domineering. Type A. Confrontational. But she likes it because she feels it makes her think quickly. I was thinking last night I need to tell her to back off the dosage.

Btw on progesterone. In Addition to the glorious sleep, I have noticed that my joints are feeling alot better. Feels almost like nandrolone in that regard. My chronic shoulder pain feels way better.

Another observation is I look considerably leaner. I am guessing I have lost water weight. Carrying less water but having my joints feel better seem to be contradicting but both those things have happened over the last 3 weeks. Who knows, maybe because I am sleeping my whole body is improving.

 

[Smokin Joe]

After all the information here on progesterone I decided to give it a try. Bought the NOW brand and used it for 3 days maybe.
Better sleep but very irritable next day. So much so I'm stopping for a minute and going to pregnenolone crt.
I've read somewhere before that diosgenin from yam does not covert to progesterone but dhea.
I'm wondering if this is so as dhea makes very irritable for sure.
I'll download the links when I find them.

 

[Gman86]

Sorry if I mispoke somewhere, I’m still on the 50mg pregnenolone cream in the morning on my thighs.

Regarding the metabolism of progesterone, someone a year or two ago recommended the cream to me as he was trying to get his levels up and deal with water retention from TRT, but said that the cream alone through the skin got metabolized into different things that could calm you but wouldn’t raise the levels he was looking for. How true that is I don’t know, but I did get very different results from putting it on my skin vs specifically my scrotum.

My theory about my odd reactions to thyroid meds is that something in or about me is continually downregulating my thyroid hormone conversion, so adding more onto it always helps initially until that causes further downregulation. The main issues I face actually get better at first when adding any thyroid med, then much worse after a week or so. Currently experimenting with moderately dosed rhodiola there. I’ve always taken rhodiola at 250mg, but taking more or a better brand characteristically helps me a lot, then can’t be tolerate because it ruins my sleep. This time I’m trying heavier sleep aids and such to see if I can make it work.

A physician I’ve worked with had similar issues as I do for different reasons, and after taking everything you could take, found the most success in MAO inhibitors and came off most everything else. Rhodiola works in part as an MAO A and B inhibitor, which may be the cause of the benefits I got from a more moderate dose of it, as well as the detriments of it ruining my already fragile sleep. It would also account for why I can make almost anything protocol change work in the short term but not long term, as pretty much anything stimulating will help in the short term (like say thyroid meds or progesterone) then cause downregulation or a return to baseline in the long term.

That’s interesting that the guy said he couldn’t get his prog levels up while using the cream. U recently got labs done while still using prog cream, correct?

I had labs done twice while on injectable prog, once in 2mg and once on 1mg. Think levels came back at 1.6ng/ml on 2mg and 0.4ng/ml on 1mg. So I know injectable prog 100% raises prog levels np, clearly. So worst case if prog cream isn’t a reliable way to get prog levels up I can always revert back to the injectable form that I still have plenty of at the house

 

[Cataceous]

After all the information here on progesterone I decided to give it a try. Bought the NOW brand and used it for 3 days maybe.
Better sleep but very irritable next day. So much so I'm stopping for a minute and going to pregnenolone crt.
I've read somewhere before that diosgenin from yam does not covert to progesterone but dhea.
I'm wondering if this is so as dhea makes very irritable for sure.
I'll download the links when I find them.

If you're talking about this product then the yam origins don't matter–you're still getting bio-identical progesterone. However, there is a bunch of other stuff in it that's potentially not inert, such as saw palmetto. You can get progesterone in coconut oil, which works fine and doesn't have a load of other ingredients to worry about.

I see many of the "pump" products have 20 mg as the default dose. I'd rather see this at 5-10 mg, since 20 will be too much for some, and a low-and-slow approach is preferred.

 

[JA Battle]

I’ve been off progesterone cream on the scrotum for a few days now, and can say that the feelings of extreme irritability and agitation have subsided. I’d used it before on my general stomach and other skin and it was mostly calming. At least for me, progesterone down there didn’t go well. Didn’t feel much for my libido from it but I did feel like yelling at my cutest of all dogs for so much as her licking her lips. Still on progesterone cream though. Got labs this morning too so I’ll see where my levels are at within a week or two.

I’d say this is likely tied to progesterones effects on increasing allopregnenolone. The allopregnenolone increase will be much higher applying to scrotum. Allopregnenolone acts heavily on the gaba receptor in a U shaped curve. Too much or too little activation can cause serious irritability. We see this also in people that drink alcohol. Alcohol acts on the gaba receptor and at a certain point people can get agitated I’m guessing depending on what their existing gaba status is.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Got it.
I'm going to a straight USP Progesterone cream with no additives soon for a try.
Will post.

 

[Gianluca]

Exactly. I could not turn my mind off or something. My mom is currently on it, I recommended it to her, and I can absolutely tell a difference in her when she is taking it. She is much more intense. Domineering. Type A. Confrontational. But she likes it because she feels it makes her think quickly. I was thinking last night I need to tell her to back off the dosage.

Btw on progesterone. In Addition to the glorious sleep, I have noticed that my joints are feeling alot better. Feels almost like nandrolone in that regard. My chronic shoulder pain feels way better.

Another observation is I look considerably leaner. I am guessing I have lost water weight. Carrying less water but having my joints feel better seem to be contradicting but both those things have happened over the last 3 weeks. Who knows, maybe because I am sleeping my whole body is improving.

Interesting, I did notice my joints feeling more “lubricated” but with the Pregnenolone, with either the cream or capsule.

I tend to have same effect on the brain, if I take the Pregnenolone later in the day, sometime even if I take it in the am, actually.

 

[Gianluca]

I’d say this is likely tied to progesterones effects on increasing allopregnenolone. The allopregnenolone increase will be much higher applying to scrotum. Allopregnenolone acts heavily on the gaba receptor in a U shaped curve. Too much or too little activation can cause serious irritability. We see this also in people that drink alcohol. Alcohol acts on the gaba receptor and at a certain point people can get agitated I’m guessing depending on what their existing gaba status is.

If we apply the same outcome Pregnenolone cream has on downstream metabolites, I don’t think the Progesterone cream would convert so much into allopregnenolone, we need that first pass in the liver for that, unless Progesterone cream works differently

 

[Anonymon]

Whatever the reason, I’ve been off the scrotal progesterone cream for 3-5 days now and every day I’m a little less irritable. For reference, I’m usually the calmest person anyone’s ever met, so it’s very uncharacteristic of me to feel that way, particularly towards my dog, who is an angel.

 

[Smokin Joe]

I've reduced the dose back to 10mg from 20mg last night to see if it helps..
I am the same way a very fluid person.
But whike using progesterone at 20mg I'm very impatient and irritable.
My sleep is better though but no pop in libido yet

 

[Gman86]

I've reduced the dose back to 10mg from 20mg last night to see if it helps..
I am the same way a very fluid person.
But whike using progesterone at 20mg I'm very impatient and irritable.
My sleep is better though but no pop in libido yet

This is NOW’s brand of prog cream that ur applying to ur scrotum before bed, correct?

 

[Gman86]

Whatever the reason, I’ve been off the scrotal progesterone cream for 3-5 days now and every day I’m a little less irritable. For reference, I’m usually the calmest person anyone’s ever met, so it’s very uncharacteristic of me to feel that way, particularly towards my dog, who is an angel.

Did u have labs done recently while on this prog cream? I thought I remember u saying that u did

 

[Gman86]

Interesting, I did notice my joints feeling more “lubricated” but with the Pregnenolone, with either the cream or capsule.

I tend to have same effect on the brain, if I take the Pregnenolone later in the day, sometime even if I take it in the am, actually.

So taking the preg in the evening or at night doesn’t work well for u, u prefer to take it in the am?

 

[Smokin Joe]

It is the NOW brand. Figured I would use it until my other comes in.
It does help with sleep so pm is better.
No labs done for progesterone yet.
Was looking for the increase in libido reason for trying it.

 

[DixieWrecked]

This is totally anecdotal but I bought the Now brand after my last cream ran out because Now was cheaper. I can feel a difference between the two. Now makes me more irritable as well and I was speculating that the last few days. But hearing your report confirms what I had been feeling. There are alot of ingredients in it a bunch of whch are likely estrogenic. I'm going to switch back and hopefully shake that grumpiness. I was using life-flo profgestecare.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Got ya.
I'm glad that you mentioned Life-flo.
My wife has used it before several years ago but the pregnenolone. I forgot about it.
We'll ck it out.
Let us know how it turns out.

 

[Dicky]

If you're talking about this product then the yam origins don't matter–you're still getting bio-identical progesterone. However, there is a bunch of other stuff in it that's potentially not inert, such as saw palmetto. You can get progesterone in coconut oil, which works fine and doesn't have a load of other ingredients to worry about.

I see many of the "pump" products have 20 mg as the default dose. I'd rather see this at 5-10 mg, since 20 will be too much for some, and a low-and-slow approach is preferred.

20 MG wouldn't be too bad would it? One of the Defy providers told me that his default assumption for non scrotal application of testosterone cream is that you would absorb 10% of the dose. Some absorb more, some less. I would suppose that progesterone creams would have a similar absorption rate. If you wanted to further retard absorption you could probably apply it to rougher skin, such as the top side of the forearms. If the Defy guy is right and you applied the cream to weathered skin, you could probably see less than 2mg of absorption per pump.

 

[Cataceous]

20 MG wouldn't be too bad would it? ...

Probably no harm in the short term even if it's a bit much. But it's tricky to titrate downwards if you're getting 20 mg per pump. For me, 2 mg absorbed puts serum levels about 60% over the top of LabCorp's reference range. With the transdermal products I'd still rather see guys start at 10 mg and titrate upwards as needed.