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Can progesterone cream help me?

by Chris
(Norway)

Man 57 on trt for 4 years (since July 2019).
Take 10 mg micronized DHEA and 10 mg micronized Pregnenelone every day.
Take 60 mg test enth. e6d.
Last year in March I suddenly got bad insomnia and anxiety, upped my pregnenolone dose to 50 mg a day, stopped DHEA. After 2 days I was sleeping like a rock. After 6 months using 50 mg pregnenolone a day I got sleep issues again, not as bad as last time but usually woke up in the middle of the night unable to get back to sleep.
Lowered the pregnenolone dose to 10 mg a day and my sleep improved but not as good as before the last sleep issues started. Then this June I went on vacation on Cyprus and after 3 days there I slept like a rock! And it lasted for a couple of weeks after the vacation, but then my sleep issues returned. Why did I sleep like a baby when I was in Cyprus? Sun exposure?
Now I have had bad insomnia an a little aniexty for a couple of weeks and I’m exhausted, checked my serum levels for 17OH-pregnenolone, 17OH-DHEA, Progesterone and 17OH-Progesterone. DHEA was mid-range but the other tests was undetectable.
So, the situation is that I have undetectable serum levels of 17OH-Pregnenelone and Progesterone…
I got compounded progesterone cream 1.7% (17 mg pr. gram) at the pharmacy.

Should I try applying half a gram (one gram) twice a day to my inner thighs and do that for a week to see if there are any improvement in well being and sleep?

Chris.

Comments for Can progesterone cream help me?

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Aug 20, 2023
 Update
by: Anonymous

I applied the 1.7% Progesterone cream for 3 days, just a pea sized amount to my inner thigh every morning and evening. After 3 days my anxiety and insomnia is even worse, now I'm not functional at all, this is horrible!

Stopped the progesterone cream yesterday, and my short term plan is to let my testosterone levels drop by cutting my test dosage in half, that will hopefully kill my anxiety and let me sleep.

What kind of progesterone supplement should I use without too many side effects?
Do the fact that I don't produce any LH or FSH hormones affect how progesterone will affect me mentally?

I have also reached out for help to my medical institute, I need to be able to sleep and function.
Aug 22, 2023
 Update
by: Justine

Hello Chris,

Can we establish the reason you have been supplementing with testosterone, DHEA and Pregnenolone?

Supplementing with progesterone can initially cause adverse symptoms due to changes in hormonal balance and the effects each have on each other, but these calm down as balance returns, however I can sympathise that you went off it immediately due to suddenly feeling worse. I have a suspicion that using only progesterone would be the way to go and not supplementing with any of the others but I do not know enough about your reasons for supplementing in the first place. Wray never advocated supplementing with DHEA, pregnenolone or testosterone. She found it far safer and more effective to use progesterone.

Please take a look at this steroidogenic pathways chart for clarity on how the body converts cholesterol into the various steroid hormones.

If you can share more information on your reason for supplementing initially perhaps I can be of further help.

Warm regards,
Justine

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