Can Pregnenolone be effective via capsules/tablets?

[cc120]

Thinking of trying to increase testosterone in order to to have more energy. The testosterone creams for women are pricey, so was considering Pregnenolone cream, but then saw that it also came in capsules/tablets form and wondered if the body could assimilate it in that form?

[posthinking01]

Hi there - I have low testosterone and muscle weakness and have tried testosterone gel and it just blew my head off and my hubby's - made me too aggressive no matter how little I put on - at first I was using one for women and then because there wasn't enough call for it over the years the company stopped making it and women now have to use the men's version which is awful.

I have been using Pregnenalone cream <Admin removed name of supplier as they supply prescription only items without prescription> - they do tablets as well but they can put your blood pressure up -so be careful - I have found the cream best to start with and then you can go to capsules later if it suits but minimum dose they use is 50mg which is about right any lower than that wouldn't work.

DHEA makes testosterone and the same company can supply this - you might find that better for testosterone. DHEA makes cortisol - testosterone and some oestrogen.

Preg - makes all of the above but also progesterone which is needed for the thyroid in some instances.

The products come in from the USA so allow for a bit of delay in delivery. Both DHEA and Preg are needed by the adrenal glands - it supplies cortisol which will help you with any deficiency you may have because you take thyroid hormone. Just be aware that DHEA can cause some side effects - but these are more cosmetic and if you stop taking them they go away almost immediately - you can check out yourself but I have found it a good product - I then moved on the Preg- do not take both at the same time though.

I started with 10mg of DHEA at first - never take anything like this at a heavy mg until your body gets used to it. These products enabled me to get my steroid dose down to 5 mg which shows it does supply cortisol to the adrenal gland as I am a diagnosed adrenal insufficiency patient. It works. What you will get is more energy - hope this helps - please ask anything else if you need to know.

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to posthinking01]

Be aware that DHEA is a controlled drug in the UK and getting it without prescription (regardless of what supplement companies say) will get you the same fines and so on as any other class C drug - to import from another country you need a Home Office Licence. Search for Dehydroepiandrosterone in gov.uk/government/publicati...

[posthinking01 in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Hi I can't see it on the list

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to posthinking01]

Use search in your browser. It is listed by brand name Prasterone (Dehydroepiandrosterone DHEA).

[posthinking01 in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

That product is a vaginal insert product not an oral medication.

[humanbean in reply to posthinking01]

It doesn't make any difference. DHEA is a controlled drug in any form. The reason for this is that it has been classed by the government as an anabolic steroid. And all anabolic steroids are controlled drugs.

[posthinking01 in reply to humanbean]

Good job I get it on prescription then. Can we close this now.

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to posthinking01]

It applies to all DHEA, as you'll be told by customs if they happen to open an imported package containing it. It was widely reported in the media when it was added, as athletes had been allegedly using to improve performance. Testosterone is also a controlled class C drug (anabolic steroid).

[Angel_of_the_North]

I didn't find OTC pregnenolone cream very effective - you can't tell what it will turn into. I get DHEA (and oestrogen and progesterone) on prescription as I couldn't get on with testosterone (immediate 'roid rage).

[posthinking01 in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Can you tell me who prescribes for you - not the name but private or NHS Endo

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to posthinking01]

Private

[Elaeagnus in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

I generally think if you have thyroid issues, you're looking at one aspect of hormone issues over the whole spectrum of female hormones.

As we all know, mainstream western medicine evolved to cater males; women are considered as "littler men" but our systems are not generally well studied or trialled on women when new medications are tested.

It's extremely sad that he NHS abandoned women, who had to research and seek out endocrinologists, privately. . . our body must be far more complex than males, who knows? ?

Enough said..

Angel_of_the_North, have you been on internal DHEA if you don't mind me asking this? May I also congratulate for being on the DHEA hormone script?

I could appreciate extra effort and time spent to get where you are at.

In my CCG area, DHEA (internal) is "BLACKLISTED". I added the cap as in "emphasis/expression of shock". My NHS GP will not be allowed to prescribe it. (I looked into this).

There should be dermal DHEA (either cream or patch) on the NHS, much like HRT patch in my honest opinion. How would they expect older women to go weaker and weaker; expect us to believe this is part of "normal ageing"?

I have not decided if I would try to locate a sympathetic endocrinologist for DHEA "tablets". But I admit that I am definitely heading that way... or live as a hermit.

There are reasons as to why these hormones are strictly "regulated" but lack of energy has been a major problem for me and for so many women after a certain age bracket. Yes, thyroid is in the picture, but that's not all the story.

For women, who have longstanding thyroid issues, it rarely convinces me if "thyroid goes wrong and take extra thyroid meds and all would be fine" as we grow older. In my case, it started off with thyroid and honestly, I believed that was it for a number of years, but it seems other hormone issues were merely hidden in hindsight.

Does Thyroid UK have a list of sympathetic endocrinologists with sufficient expertise in DHEA? DHEA is like a cousin of thyroid problems. It would be useful if we knew how to get around these problems for DHEA newbies. . .

Going back to the OT, that is a good question. I prefer not to have tablets myself but if that's what NHS GP would consider prescribing, that would be the reason. If there's DHEA transdermal patch, it would be "extremely helpful" (but probably it does not exist). As for Preg, I didn't have much luck. I trialled many years ago, privately. I also feel that buying off internet has downs. When the health situ isn't too great, ordering online becomes riskier, something I would not want to go down. But I fully respect people if they wanted to do so. It's something I can no longer do.

[cc120 in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Question from Elaeagnus to Angel_of_the_North, have you been on internal DHEA if you don't mind me asking this? May I also congratulate for being on the DHEA hormone script?

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to cc120]

My DHEA is a sublingual lozenge. Been prescribed since 2010, I think.