Quote: Originally Posted by hardasnails1973
I have notice several people in the past that had low dhea levels having normal e2 levels but when they started adding in dhea 50 mgs a day their estrodial level shut up the ass. If 7 keto gets the same benefits of dhea (as clained) with out the estrodial /androgen increase (we do not need the increase of T because we are on TRT). if these people did not have estrogen issue before then why not just use 7 keto instead of using dhea with more adex which may not even be needed in the first place? Does this make sense? If i can avoid an unnecessary drug that would take this estrogen issue out of the varialbe big time, plus if that DHEA is going to estrone and you have a screwed up down stream of metabolites to begin then you are adding more fuel to the fire.
The body makes more DHEA than any other hormone. However, its conversion to testosterone and estradiol can be a significant problem for some patients (though not all) when attempting to do hormone replacement therapy with DHEA.
Women, for example, very often can’t use high DHEA doses even if needed to obtain decent DHEA concentrations (e.g. past 12.5 mg a day of a good, active DHEA tablet). They may get acne and hair loss as side effects of the androgenic signaling of DHEA. Thus, I would use 7-KETO DHEA plus or minus a small amount of DHEA. Some men too readily convert testosterone to estradiol and thus may get excessive estradiol from DHEA.
7-KETO DHEA is a metabolite of DHEA which doesn’t further metabolize to testosterone and estradiol. But it has many of the non-reproductive hormone benefits of DHEA. It appears to improve cellular immune system activity, reduce diastolic blood pressure, reduce triglycerides, improve thyroid hormone signaling (such as by improve T3 levels), reduce insulin resistance, improve metabolic rate, reduction in sympathetic nervous system activity (i.e. reduction in stress), improvement in mood, potentially improvement in memory, etc.
Potential downsides include increasing IL-2 an inflammatory signal and immune system activity – but this I suppose is offset by decreases in inflammatory signaling by its other actions – otherwise excessive inflammatory processes would be a concern (e.g. exacerbation of arthritis, asthma, allergies, etc.). If anything, patients with inflammatory illnesses have already excessive immune system activity. If it isn’t compensated, a person’s inflammatory status needs to be monitored and compensated via other signaling systems or nutrition. Insomnia may occur if dosed at night – depending on the person. Increasing thyroid signaling excessively is also a problem if already on thyroid replacement. This can lead to palpitations, heart problems, and adrenal fatigue. Nutrition has to be optimized to help offset adverse effects.
Usually the best time for it is in the morning. Dosing is usually between 5-200 mg a day. The lower doses may be effective depending on the person. 7-KETO has a half-life of 2.2 hours. Thus in some people, twice a day dosing may be more beneficial.
7-KETO DHEA is a good alternative to DHEA particularly those sensitive to reproductive hormone conversions from DHEA. The dose has to be individualized by clinical effect since targetting by blood levels is not generally done. It can be combined with DHEA.
Cost and availability was a significant concern in the past. But more companies now produce it and the cost has become more reasonable.
Cheers.