18 replies to this topic

[starr]

I tried out 5 mgs of pregnenolone for a few days and it definitely made me feel 'off.' I can only describe it as weird and kind of agitated but not particularly energetic. I did not feel an ounce smarter either. My lab values are above range for pregnenolone naturally but I've read that even if levels are healthy it won't do any harm to take it. It was also recommended for me to take since I'm low in other hormones. I'm surprised I felt different on such a low dose. Much lower than the 50mgs that was recommended to me. I wonder what it was converting to or if it could have even converted to much of anything in a few days.

[Brainbox]

It might be effective for older individuals who lack a healthy level. I'm somewhere in-between regarding age. I took it for a short period of time a few years ago. I get massive acne and skin rash when taking it, which also lasted a long time after I did stop taking it. Already at quantities of 5 mg or less.

This stuff is not for everybody.

[zoolander]

I get good results from pregnenolone. I wouldn't recommend long term supplementation with pregnenolone though

Starr what is your age? Sex? History of anxiety?

[starr]

31, female. I guess I have a history of anxiety. I can be kind of 'high strung' and problems tend to keep me up at night though I've been much better about not letting that happen.

[mrak1979]

What are the benefits of pregnenolone?

[systemicanomaly]

31, female. I guess I have a history of anxiety. I can be kind of 'high strung' and problems tend to keep me up at night though I've been much better about not letting that happen.

At 31, I would't expect your Preg levels to be very low. How is your DHEA-s level? Which other hormone levels are low? Is it progesterone or is it some of the hormones that are downstream from Preg and DHEA?

Perhaps you might try just taking the Preg 3x per week. Or alternate the Preg with a low level dosage of 7-Keto DHEA if some of your steroid hormone levels are low.

[systemicanomaly]

What are the benefits of pregnenolone?

Try this link for info on Preg:

http://www.vrp.com/a...rp.css&p=no&s=0

[starr]

31, female. I guess I have a history of anxiety. I can be kind of 'high strung' and problems tend to keep me up at night though I've been much better about not letting that happen.

At 31, I would't expect your Preg levels to be very low. How is your DHEA-s level? Which other hormone levels are low? Is it progesterone or is it some of the hormones that are downstream from Preg and DHEA?

Perhaps you might try just taking the Preg 3x per week. Or alternate the Preg with a low level dosage of 7-Keto DHEA if some of your steroid hormone levels are low.

My pregnenolone was 163, that's not so bad. DHEA-S was 174, down from 212 a couple months before. I think DHEA is volitile and I had only slept about 4 hours before my test. My total estrogen is at the bottom of the range: 129 pg/mL. Progesterone is low/average:10 pg/mL and I took my test on the correct day of my monthly cycle. A few months ago my total cholesterol was really low at 135 but I got it up to 174 and raised my HDL from 53 to 65 but it didn't seem to help me produce more hormones like I thought it would. Most of all I'd like to raise the estrogen and progesterone. I don't know how to do that without actually taking those hormones.

I don't know if I want to take the pregnenolone at all again because I just didn't like the feeling and my personality was a little different on it (that was noticed by others too). After all I had read I didn't expect that because it's supposed to be used to convert to other needed hormones and if not, it would just be 'discarded.' I picked up some DHEA (10mg) and I'll start on that next week after I test my natural levels again. I tried 7-keto a few years ago and it also made me feel a little odd. It was actually marketed as a diet pill (I forget the name of it). I discontinued it after a week.

[FunkOdyssey]

After all I had read I didn't expect that because it's supposed to be used to convert to other needed hormones and if not, it would just be 'discarded.'

With a healthy pregnenolone level like yours, I would definitely not recommend supplementation. Pregnenolone has not been very well studied -- many endocrinologists are not even aware that it has any function besides acting as a precursor for other hormones. The idea that it is used to convert to other hormones only as needed, and the rest will be harmlessly discarded, sounds like irresponsible advice from marketers of pregnenolone supplements. There is really no telling how much will convert to progesterone or DHEA, and downstream metabolites.

DHEA levels fluctuate rapidly, but DHEA-S levels are far more stable. It is unlikely that your lack of sleep before the test affected the results.

[scottl]

But there is a chart referred to as the stero-genosis chart that shows the relationship all adrenal hormones have to one another. Pregnenalone is usually taken by women while DHEA is usually taken by men. This chart can help you see that preg will likely convert into hormones that women need whereas the DHEA into hormones like testosterone.

"Pregnenalone is usually taken by women while DHEA is usually taken by men"


I do not have the info in front on me, but I do not believe this is correct. Where is the world did you read that?

[FunkOdyssey]

I agree with Scott, that is not an accurate generalization to make. Men and women supplement with either hormone when appropriate.

[sdxl]

I took pregnenolone a few years ago, 30 mg a day. Didn't notice anything good or bad.

[starr]

You should consider that statement about how it will be used for hormones you are low in and how preg will not do any harm. They both can't be true at the same time.

It was suggested to me by a LE doctor (not my own) that I take 50mgs of preg but I wasn't comfortable with that so I started with 5mg sublingual and I'm glad I did. I actually did read one 'article' about too much preg being harmful in high doses by Dr. Ray Sahelian and he sells it. A LEF article says: Physicians have recommended hormone-replacement therapy to older individuals for many years. Usually, however, the hormones replaced are the end-product hormones: testosterone or estrogen. Recent research suggests that there may be another way. By providing your body with the mother of hormones—pregnenolone—you can let your body decide through its various feedback mechanisms which hormones it needs. If more DHEA is required, the supplemental pregnenolone will be converted to this hormone, and if estrogen or testosterone is in short supply, the pregnenolone molecule will be altered to produce the optimal amount. If your physiological requirement is a combination of hormones, this, too, can be achieved.

If preg gets converted to what you're low in (what you need) that would imply less harm. Yes, it sounds ideal (and I'm not sure it was working out that way in my case) but I think the concept checks.

You should really know exactly what hormones you might be low in and how your estrogen and progesterone levels are at. Women even in their 30s can develop an estrogen dominace and will usually need progesterone.  But that is a generalization. You really should know what hormones you may need and go from there.

I do know what I need: DHEA, Estrogen and Progesterone (to balance the aquired higher estrogen levels). I think being at the very bottom of the Estrogen range is not healthy at my age.

[scottl]

Sahelian is VERY conservative on doses and not representative of...dosing many of us here would agree with. Not that you should start high, by all means start slow and work up, just don't rely on him as gospel. MOnitor your hormones pre and post taking supplemental hormones.

[scottl]

For the love of god please do not reference things of this sort:

"I said that "Pregnenalone is usually taken by women while DHEA is usually taken by men." I was making an observation based on how these two products are sold in a health food stores, for one thing. Usually, under men's health section there will be DHEA and in the women's section there will be progesterone and preg. These two hormones are marketed it to different grougs, I think."

OK here:

http://www.womentowo...licpathways.jpg




I can see why people would market it that way, but preg itself has action, and the theory is that your body converts preg or DHEA into what it needs. In reality is pays to be safe, and monitor bloodwork before/after.

Edited by scottl, 16 June 2006 - 02:19 PM.

[scottl]

NB the eye wants to follow things in a top to bottom manner in that chart, but obvously that has nothing to do with the pathways and how things actually work in the body.

[starr]

I do know what I need: DHEA, Estrogen and Progesterone (to balance the aquired higher estrogen levels). I think being at the very bottom of the Estrogen range is not healthy at my age.

I think you could have also taken DHEA which is exactly what your body needs. Preg can be converted into DHEA or some other hormone like progesterone or estrogen. But, taking preg is not the only choice. If you need DHEA I don't know why your doctor recommended preg instead of DHEA.

Because I need all 3 hormones, not just DHEA.

I said that "Pregnenalone is usually taken by women while DHEA is usually taken by men." I was making an observation based on how these two products are sold in a health food stores, for one thing. Usually, under men's health section there will be DHEA and in the women's section there will be progesterone and preg. These two hormones are marketed it to different grougs, I think.

Again, DHEA is usually considered a better choice for men and preg for women because women need less DHEA. It has to do with how each hormone cascades into other hormones. DHEA is more likely, I beleive, to cascade into testosterone than say estrogen for example. Preg can cascade into DHEA or, I think, progesterone. Preg can take a different path than DHEA which is what some women may want. But men are usually looking for testosterone and not progesterone or estrogen.

Another possibility for the OP is to use natural progesterone cream because your progesterone levels are low. Low progesterone means you are estrogen dominant (regardless of how low your estrogen levels are). John Lee, MD has been advocating the use of natural progesterone to women who are estrogen dominant (even in their thirties) for years.

Of course if your hormones are not balanced you could have a nutritional problem. Supplementing some vitamin b6, zinc and magnesium can help to balance your hormones. Being estrogen dominant means you could be high in copper. When estrogen goes up in the body it causes an increase in ceruloplasmin, which puts copper into your bloodstream. High copper levels will definitely cause anxiety and even fears. Taking a magnesium supplement (with the vitamin b6) can also help reduce anxiety.

I do take b6, zinc and magnesium. My doctor said that I wouldn't be considered estrogen dominant because my level is so low. A few more points down and I'm below the lab reference range. It's certainly not out of proportion to my progesterone according to more than one doctor. Of course I would like to raise levels in proportion. Being this low in estrogen at my age is not desireable, I promise you.