Low DHT

[mxman420]

Hey all,
Been off TRT for about 7 months. Finances were tight. Git back on and had a basic blood panel before starting again.
My test almost doubled but my DHT is uber low.
What could cause this and how is it treated?
Testosterone, Serum 299 ng/dL
Free Testosterone 8.4 pg/mL
Dihydrotestosterone 23 ng/dL
Estradiol, Sensitive 16.0 pg/mL

 

[Systemlord]

DHT is converted from testosterone, back when I was doing 50mg twice weekly I had really bad acne, switching to a 20mg EOD protocol got rid of the ache.

The takeaway is large injections, more DHT conversion at least for myself. If this method fails there is always DHT creams.

 

[Vince Carter]

Not DHT cream per se, but Test cream applied to the scrotum results in DHT conversion.

 

[DragonBits]

Not DHT cream per se, but Test cream applied to the scrotum results in DHT conversion.

Test cream applied to any skin results in DHT conversion.

Test cream applied to scrotum results in a much higher level of testosterone absorption, is DHT just following this or is the conversion even high?

In other words, if you get a serum increase of testosterone that doubles your current baseline level when applied to your scrotum does your DHT follow the conversion ratio you got when the cream was applied to your shoulder or does is conversion even higher? (It may seem DHT is at a higher rate BUT testosterone absorption is also higher, maybe DHT is just following the testos.)

 

[madman]

Test cream applied to any skin results in DHT conversion.

Test cream applied to scrotum results in a much higher level of testosterone absorption, is DHT just following this or is the conversion even high?

In other words, if you get a serum increase of testosterone that doubles your current baseline level when applied to your scrotum does your DHT follow the conversion ratio you got when the cream was applied to your shoulder or does is conversion even higher? (It may seem DHT is at a higher rate BUT testosterone absorption is also higher, maybe DHT is just following the testos.)

In general transdermals will cause a higher conversion of T----->DHT compared to injectable due to a high degree of 5-alpha reductase activity in the skin.

Scrotal skin is denser in 5-alpha reductase enzyme resulting in increased conversion of T----->DHT.

Testosterone cream applied to the scrotum has 5-8x greater absorption compared to gel/cream applied to the body (shoulders/arms/chest/inner thighs).

One can achieve high levels of testosterone using a lower volume of cream when applied to scrotum (due to increased absorption) as oppose to the gel/cream when applied to the body (shoulders /arms/chest/inner thighs) which requires a larger volume of the cream/gel over a larger surface area in order to achieve a high level of testosterone.

Both methods can result in one achieving high testosterone levels although with scrotal application it is more effective compared to standard body application.

 

[madman]

The skin metabolizes testosterone to DHT by 5a-reductase, and the greatest 5a-reductase activity is found in genital skin.