DHEA Dosing Protocol

[maxadvance]

I tried it years ago and I was dosing 50-100 mg a day and it just felt bad. Now I'm seeing protocols of 10-25mg per day by some and saying that it's perfect for them. Others saying that anything over 30mg a day is too much and kills any benefit it may provide at a lower dose. And others like Gene's NO stack saying men over 200lbs should do 100mg a day. I'm confused, real life successful protocols would be appreciated.

 

[sh1973]

When I take DHEA I can only tolerate 5mg per day. Anything over that causes severe headaches and fatigue.

 

[Cataceous]

Just test DHEA-S and use it as a guide, aiming for high-normal and/or best subjective results. I've found that inexpensive DHEA on Amazon is quite effective, and taking much more than 12.5 mg a day sends my DHEA-S over the top of the normal range.

 

[Gman86]

I haven’t personally take DHEA, but it’s definitely a fascinating subject to me, and I’d really like to know what the proper dosing should be. We see a ton of guys having trouble with DHEA supplementation. I wonder if it’s mostly due to the regular doses we see being way too much. I keep posting this video, but it’s because he explains really well why we should be dosing DHEA at much lower doses than the 25-50mg/ day that we’re used to seeing. I believe he recommends around 5-15mg/ day max.

Some guys might say that they need the higher doses to get their levels up, but it’s my understanding that DHEA might have no extra benefit past a certain dose. So basically, you might be using 50mg/ day to get your levels to say 500, but maybe it’s possible that using 10-15mg/ day would get you to the same level, and anything past this isn’t adding anymore to your total, but you may not know this due to going straight to a high dose from the beginning, and never trying the start low and go slow method. Thats just a possibility though, from what I’ve read and heard. It might not be accurate at all. I’ve personally never experimented with DHEA.

And I’ve also said it on another post, I do not trust OTC products to optimize hormone levels. The FDA regulations on supplements is absolutely atrocious. So I personally would only really put weight in anectodal stories of guys using prescription grade DHEA. No offense to anyone reporting their experience(s) using OTC DHEA. This is just my personal opinion, I’m sure many guys here would disagree with me, and I respect and understand that.

Then to complicate things even further, it probably makes a big difference, in regards to dosing and efficacy, whether you take it sublingually, orally or transdermally. From my understanding, sublingual administration might be the preferred route when it comes to DHEA. Again, I could be wrong on this though.

One big factor, to keep into consideration when it comes to DHEA, is that there is no negative feedback loop. So it only adds to whatever endogenous production you already have. So the start low and go slow method would be perfect for DHEA supplementation, imo. This cannot be done with testosterone, due to a small dose shutting down your natural levels, and the small amount of exogenous testosterone leaving you with lower levels of total testosterone than you had naturally.

 

[Sean Mosher]

I'm currently using 25mg per day sustained released taken in the morning.
I need to wait a few weeks more though before I do any bloodwork and also want to see how I'm feeling on it over time.

 

[Vince]

I use Jarrow brand of DHEA. I take 25 mg before bed, it keeps my levels in a high range.

DHEA - Sulfate 384.4 range 48.9 - 344.2

 

[Vince Carter]

If a guy insists on taking it, I suggest 5mg and titrate up judging tolerance.

To me DHEA needs to be treated the same way that we address AI use...it's a basic inclusion in TRT that really has little more than a number on a page to why it's pushed on guys. There's little difference in telling a guy to take 25-50mg per day or to take 1mg of Anastrozole per day...we react a certain to the AI but a more welcoming response to DHEA use.

 

[HealthMan]

I have tried as high as 100mg a day. But now i am taking 10mg a day (+10mg pregnenolone) for over 1 year. I feel like a million bucks but tough to say if DHEA has anything to do with it. At higher dosages (specially pregnenolone) gave anxiety and heart palpitations.
At this dosage my DHEA-S is in the high 300s

 

[Gman86]

I have tried as high as 100mg a day. But now i am taking 10mg a day (+10mg pregnenolone) for over 1 year. I feel like a million bucks but tough to say if DHEA has anything to do with it. At higher dosages (specially pregnenolone) gave anxiety and heart palpitations.
At this dosage my DHEA-S is in the high 300s

What forms of Dhea and pregnenolone are you using? Oral, sublingual? And what times do you take them? Glad you’re feeling so good! Sounds like with both Dhea and pregnenolone, starting low and going slow should be the standard protocol. Clearly you don’t need much of each to feel amazing, and I think this would be the case for more guys if they were willing to start low, and titrate up according to subjective benefits/ side effects. I’ve seen a lot of guys post about both, saying they’ve tried it at higher doses than 10mg, and reported quite a few side effects, and then will say “Dhea and pregnenolone just aren’t for me”. I’d really love to see if the success rate was increased by guys testing out lower doses.

 

[HealthMan]

What forms of Dhea and pregnenolone are you using? Oral, sublingual? And what times do you take them? Glad you’re feeling so good! Sounds like with both Dhea and pregnenolone, starting low and going slow should be the standard protocol. Clearly you don’t need much of each to feel amazing, and I think this would be the case for more guys if they were willing to start low, and titrate up according to subjective benefits/ side effects. I’ve seen a lot of guys post about both, saying they’ve tried it at higher doses than 10mg, and reported quite a few side effects, and then will say “Dhea and pregnenolone just aren’t for me”. I’d really love to see if the success rate was increased by guys testing out lower doses.

Oral before bed. Pure encapsulations.

 

[fifty]

10mg dhea 100mg test vs 25mg and 200mg. Everyone wants to start at the top when they probably should start at the bottom.

 

[Gman86]

10mg dhea 100mg test vs 25mg and 200mg. Everyone wants to start at the top when they probably should start at the bottom.

Yup, most people don’t have the patience to do this the right way. I should know, I’m one of them lol. We all want to feel better asap, so I don’t blame anyone for not starting with low doses. But it’s definriely the smarter way to do things.

 

[fifty]

My doc wants to press the dosages. I want to reduce and he suggests staying high. It's like the complete opposite of most docs. Probably a dream for some people but I'm trying to back it down slowly.

Rocking 1500+ and battling hematocrit is not always super fun.

Either way, I second the DHEA dosages. I roll with 5mg increments (usually 5mg or 10mg). Get 10mg douglas laboratories scored (splitable) sublingual tabs. That's what I used. Then you can break them in half with your fingers for 5mg or take a whole one at 10mg. Anything over 10mg/day gives me hair shedding and anxiety type effects.

 

[HealthMan]

Douglas Labs is also a great brand. When it comes to OTC hormones i only use Pure Encapsulations / Douglas Labs

 

[Deleted member 16042]

Douglas Labs is also a great brand. When it comes to OTC hormones i only use Pure Encapsulations / Douglas Labs

I too use Douglas Micronized. I tried a different OTC brand that gave me headaches. Douglas puts me right in range, and no side effects
.

 

[Will Brink]

I tried it years ago and I was dosing 50-100 mg a day and it just felt bad. Now I'm seeing protocols of 10-25mg per day by some and saying that it's perfect for them. Others saying that anything over 30mg a day is too much and kills any benefit it may provide at a lower dose. And others like Gene's NO stack saying men over 200lbs should do 100mg a day. I'm confused, real life successful protocols would be appreciated.

Protocol is, Like T, it's based on blood levels. DHEA does tend to drop after 40 ish like many hormones, but like other hormones, blood work is what decides to add it or not. Replacement for men is typically 25mg, but varies, just like other hormones. Randomly adding DHEA makes no sense at all.

 

[Will Brink]

10mg dhea 100mg test vs 25mg and 200mg. Everyone wants to start at the top when they probably should start at the bottom.

No, people should start, just like any hormone, because their blood levels are not in the healthy range. Full stop. Not sure why this hormone (really a pro hormone), is viewed any differently because it's OTC. There's no benefits keeping DHEA-s above the physiological ranges, and in some, may lead to elevated E2 and such.

 

[fifty]

My dhea hovers around 100 naturally. 5mg douglas labs sublingual before blood draw bumps me nearly 100pts. Random info.

 

[Gman86]

My dhea hovers around 100 naturally. 5mg douglas labs sublingual before blood draw bumps me nearly 100pts. Random info.

Random info yes, extremely useful info for others thinking about using DHEA, or having problems with higher dosages, equally YES.

 

[DragonBits]

I took 25 mgs DHEA which boosted my dhea from 95 to 450. Not sure what brand it was, currently I have natrol brand. BTW, my TT was 690, FT 20.7 and E2 sensitive 20.3, so DHEA didn't seem to have any effect on my blood level of E2.

I had stopped DHEA, took a prostate supplement which I think suppressed DHEA a bit, recent blood test my DHEA was 77. Even lower than before TRT.

I didn't feel any different either high or low DHEA, it may have longer term benefits.