My pregnenolone came back <10 = basically ZERO while blasting HCG. Is HCG actually doing anything for neurosteroids or are we totally wrong?

[Stoak]

I posted this in another thread about doing an HCG reset to restore libido. I think "common wisdom" seems to imply that HCG maintains some level of production of pregnenolone but this did not happen in my case despite using very large doses. I used 500HCG along with 50mg of test cyp e3.5d. Every 6 months I do a 3 week period where I run 1000iu HCG MWF while stopping T for those 3 weeks then I resume TRT. The ester probably never compoletely leaves my system but it fixes my libido issue if I have them. I thought initially it would be bc my neurosteroids were low but this doesn't seem to be it. My pregnenolone is ZERO. My DHEA-S is 318 which means that my adrenals are working. My libido is raging. So what exactly is HCG doing with regards to neurosteroids on TRT? Is it doing anything?


"So my labs are in. This is 15 days from my last test cyp shot of 50mg and 6 shots in of 1000iu HCG MWF. My libido was RAGING after being in the dumps.

Total T 352
Free T 127
E2 24

DHEA 318
Pregnenolone ZERO... did not even register on the lab test

SHBG 10

So obviously the libido restoration has NOTHING TO DO with my Pregnenolone levels based on these bloods. My DHEA is thst level no matter what and never really varies.

It seems the most important number in the entire chart is E2 24 which is roughly where I am during TRT anyways. Unless the labs can't measure something like ITT intratesticular testosterone and intratesticular estrogen if that is even a thing.

I have finished my HCG monotherapy and resumed TRT. One thing thst happened this time is I was getting some night sweats in week 3 and my small pre existing gyno seemed to be flaring. I also lost my morning wood in week 3. Zero. I am wondering if week 3 pushed me over the edge e2 wise while my twst was basically zero as the ester finally cleared. Going fwd I may try to just stay on test and run HCG 1000iu MWF and never come off the test. Or add the clomid alongside like Lipschultz suggests in the literature.

Also for reference on 50mg of test cyp and 500iu HCG e3.5d my total t is 700, free t 290, e2 25-30, SHBG low teens. I am really confused now.




Is it long term unhealthy to have Pregnenolone of zero? Or can we view it like LH and FSH being zero due to therapy?"

 

[Tylurnt]

Do you have symptoms of low pregnenolone?

 

[Keepfit1]

I posted this in another thread about doing an HCG reset to restore libido. I think "common wisdom" seems to imply that HCG maintains some level of production of pregnenolone but this did not happen in my case despite using very large doses. I used 500HCG along with 50mg of test cyp e3.5d. Every 6 months I do a 3 week period where I run 1000iu HCG MWF while stopping T for those 3 weeks then I resume TRT. The ester probably never compoletely leaves my system but it fixes my libido issue if I have them. I thought initially it would be bc my neurosteroids were low but this doesn't seem to be it. My pregnenolone is ZERO. My DHEA-S is 318 which means that my adrenals are working. My libido is raging. So what exactly is HCG doing with regards to neurosteroids on TRT? Is it doing anything?


"So my labs are in. This is 15 days from my last test cyp shot of 50mg and 6 shots in of 1000iu HCG MWF. My libido was RAGING after being in the dumps.

Total T 352
Free T 127
E2 24

DHEA 318
Pregnenolone ZERO... did not even register on the lab test

SHBG 10

So obviously the libido restoration has NOTHING TO DO with my Pregnenolone levels based on these bloods. My DHEA is thst level no matter what and never really varies.

It seems the most important number in the entire chart is E2 24 which is roughly where I am during TRT anyways. Unless the labs can't measure something like ITT intratesticular testosterone and intratesticular estrogen if that is even a thing.

I have finished my HCG monotherapy and resumed TRT. One thing thst happened this time is I was getting some night sweats in week 3 and my small pre existing gyno seemed to be flaring. I also lost my morning wood in week 3. Zero. I am wondering if week 3 pushed me over the edge e2 wise while my twst was basically zero as the ester finally cleared. Going fwd I may try to just stay on test and run HCG 1000iu MWF and never come off the test. Or add the clomid alongside like Lipschultz suggests in the literature.

Also for reference on 50mg of test cyp and 500iu HCG e3.5d my total t is 700, free t 290, e2 25-30, SHBG low teens. I am really confused now.




Is it long term unhealthy to have Pregnenolone of zero? Or can we view it like LH and FSH being zero due to therapy?"

For what it’s worth my hormone doc Preg always tests low, not sure about zero though

 

[Stoak]

Do you have symptoms of low pregnenolone?

I am not really sure what symptoms of low pregnenolone are. I am not sure anyone is. One thing I have heard is that it affects your appreciation of color.

To be honest, I am not sure what the symptoms of most hormones are and I think many are just reaching for straws in the dark.

The only real thing I know is that I have more muscle mass on TRT than I did without it. The entire "brain fog" thing is wildly subjective and probably made up by guys with OCD over this stuff. Libido is probably kind of in the same ballpark. E2 "symptoms" outside of true gyno probably the same. Trying to figure out what exactly low pregnenolone or low DHEA-S or progesterone does in terms of "symptoms" for a man who is injecting his sex hormones is probably another game of chasing one's tail in an OCD laden ring. I am of the belief that a man can feel good in a broad range of hormones.

I started this experiment with the assumption that my regular libido issues every 6-9 months wiere the result of neurosteroid depletion and my 3 week HCG reset which which brings things back immediately was the result of neurosteroid refilling which doesn't seem to be the case here. I am more confused now than before.

 

[Phil Goodman]

I am not really sure what symptoms of low pregnenolone are. I am not sure anyone is. One thing I have heard is that it affects your appreciation of color.

To be honest, I am not sure what the symptoms of most hormones are and I think many are just reaching for straws in the dark.

The only real thing I know is that I have more muscle mass on TRT than I did without it. The entire "brain fog" thing is wildly subjective and probably made up by guys with OCD over this stuff. Libido is probably kind of in the same ballpark. E2 "symptoms" outside of true gyno probably the same. Trying to figure out what exactly low pregnenolone or low DHEA-S or progesterone does in terms of "symptoms" for a man who is injecting his sex hormones is probably another game of chasing one's tail in an OCD laden ring. I am of the belief that a man can feel good in a broad range of hormones.

I started this experiment with the assumption that my regular libido issues every 6-9 months wiere the result of neurosteroid depletion and my 3 week HCG reset which which brings things back immediately was the result of neurosteroid refilling which doesn't seem to be the case here. I am more confused now than before.

Good experiment, and also good points about how hard it is to definitively attribute various effects to different hormones or other factors. There are so many variables among different people, and even tons of variables within an individual that anccurate attribution is very difficult.

For me, I can find something that works and feel great for a while… then out of the blue my sleep might suffer for a week or two, or my energy levels might take a hit for a while, even though I’ve done nothing different. I think that speaks to the fact that there are many things going on in our bodies all the time that we aren’t aware of. And I also think over-analyzing things can cause people to spin out and make adjustments when a better option would be to just wait and let the body get back into homeostasis. That being said, obviously there are times when changes are warranted, but it’s a balancing act.

With regard to pregnenolone, for me personally if I take it daily, without fail around the 5th day my libido and we’ll-being take a noticeable hit. And I’ve repeated the experiment numerous times so I feel confident in saying the pregnant is causing it. Not sure how that relates to you, but it could at least be possible that crashing your pregnenolone is contributing to your improvements on those fronts. Now, what detrimental impacts would that have, if any, aren’t really known and that would be harder to nail down, as you point out in your post.

 

[Nelson Vergel]

Pregnenolone ZERO... did not even register on the lab test

Did you use LC/MS assay?

Quest Diagnostics: Test Directory

testdirectory.questdiagnostics.com

 

[Stoak]

Did you use LC/MS assay?

Quest Diagnostics: Test Directory

testdirectory.questdiagnostics.com

Yes, from Labcorp.

 

[Tylurnt]

I am not really sure what symptoms of low pregnenolone are. I am not sure anyone is. One thing I have heard is that it affects your appreciation of color.

To be honest, I am not sure what the symptoms of most hormones are and I think many are just reaching for straws in the dark.

The only real thing I know is that I have more muscle mass on TRT than I did without it. The entire "brain fog" thing is wildly subjective and probably made up by guys with OCD over this stuff. Libido is probably kind of in the same ballpark. E2 "symptoms" outside of true gyno probably the same. Trying to figure out what exactly low pregnenolone or low DHEA-S or progesterone does in terms of "symptoms" for a man who is injecting his sex hormones is probably another game of chasing one's tail in an OCD laden ring. I am of the belief that a man can feel good in a broad range of hormones.

I started this experiment with the assumption that my regular libido issues every 6-9 months wiere the result of neurosteroid depletion and my 3 week HCG reset which which brings things back immediately was the result of neurosteroid refilling which doesn't seem to be the case here. I am more confused now than before.

I understand completely brother. Its very complex. So the only thing you struggle with on TRT is libido that the hcg cycle fixes?

 

[Stoak]

I understand completely brother. Its very complex. So the only thing you struggle with on TRT is libido that the hcg cycle fixes?

Pretty much although I had a rough go this cycle. I had night sweats and then restarted TRT and am off a bit.