What role does adrenal glands play in converting t into dht

[tmckenzie]

Been a while since posting. I have just about given up on trt. I could drink it and it would not work. Numbers increase but no benefits at all. I think my last endo appt I figured out something. Along with studying. But please correct me if I am off. I am no text book case. I have no pituitary and a recent scan showed no adrenals . I replace cortisol with prednisone. I ask the endo who knows sqaut. If no adrenals at all could be why trt won't work? I began to read as I have read before that dht converted from t is what gives you the benefits. I read a study on conversion and it said a lot of conversion is done by the adrenal glands. Make sense? Endo is clueless, I have no gh and high igf levels but have several factors that cause high igf. But no symptoms of high levels. But lots of low gh symptoms. He would not give me hgh. With no way to make it, it should read 0 and does.

 

[Deleted member 16042]

I thought Testosterone is converted to DHT far down the steroid cascade by 5a reductase produced in gonads, prostate, nerves, skin and other organs, but not specifically adrenals. Do you have alink for that study? I'm pretty certain this isn't really an adrenal thing directly. Seems the adrenal relationship is more on the progesterone side of the steroid cascade. I'd like to know if my understanding is off.

Curious, if your pituitary is gone aren't all three axes HPG (gonadal) HPT (thyroid) and HPA (Adrenal) all in need of exogenous replacement? And on top of that the GH issue... Doesn't seem an isolated DHT issue. An awful lot that could be out of balance.

Do you have low DHT? tested?

 

[lowe2sucks]

you can ask your doc to try testosterone gel or cream instead of injections and apply it to scrotum.. it will definitely raise your dehydrotestosterone.. are you sure that your problem is low dht? if it's not low then don't do gel scrotum thing as too high dht can cause some problems too but it's better then too low that's for sure

 

[Deleted member 16042]

Another general thought, Testosterone vs cortisol, basically an antagonistic relationship, and it exogenous cortisol replacement exceeds T replacement, sure could interfere with effectiveness of T.

Not up on how prednisone functions as replacement. I though the norm was hydrocortisone as replacement. How do the different replacement options compare?

 

[ratbag]

I think you hit the nail on the head when you said Endo... these MD's are not experts on TRT or HRT. I'm panhypopituitary as well and it took a longtime with a HRT specialist to figure it out.. years! So the best advise we can give is to see a specialist that you know is good like our sponsor Defy. Then you'll be able to eliminate all the BS and get on with your life. I went thru the same crap with my endo, he was never able to diagnose me or treat me. I went to him for years... it took that long for me to self educate and realise I had to move on to someone who knew what was up. It's the smartest thing I ever did.