Pregnenolone Deficiency on TRT

Ok finally got my results. To recap: I’m on 160mg of testosterone (80mg twice a week) and 6.25mg of aromasin a week along with 250iu HCG EOD. I took a week off of aromasin (due to running out and being out of town) prior to this blood test so e2 was slightly higher than normal. This is 2 weeks after starting 50mg of iodine and 200mcg of selenium a day. Main problem is intermittent brain fog and always mid day fatigue! I consistently need a nap daily for my brain to function normally at night. I’m in excellent shape and very muscular with low body fat and I eat a clean diet of whole foods and temperature seems to be extremely low so I’m suspecting it is a thyroid issue.

Temp this morning was: 97.7

GLUCOSE 87 65-99 (mg/dL)

UREA NITROGEN (BUN) 29 H 7-25 (mg/dL)
CREATININE 1.35 0.60-1.35 (mg/dL)

BUN/CREATININE RATIO 21 6-22 ((calc))
SODIUM 138 135-146 (mmol/L)
POTASSIUM 4.4 3.5-5.3 (mmol/L)
CHLORIDE 102 98-110 (mmol/L)
CARBON DIOXIDE 27 20-31 (mmol/L)
CALCIUM 9.7 8.6-10.3 (mg/dL)
PROTEIN, TOTAL 7.1 6.1-8.1 (g/dL)
ALBUMIN 4.8 3.6-5.1 (g/dL)
GLOBULIN 2.3 1.9-3.7 (g/dL (calc))
ALBUMIN/GLOBULIN RATIO 2.1 1.0-2.5 ((calc))
BILIRUBIN, TOTAL 1.7 H 0.2-1.2 (mg/dL)
ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE 53 40-115 (U/L)
AST 27 10-40 (U/L)
ALT 27 9-46 (U/L)

TESTOSTERONE, TOTAL, LC/MS/MS 1031 250-1100 (ng/dL)
FREE TESTOSTERONE 165.0 H 35.0-155.0 (pg/mL)

ALDOSTERONE, LC/MS/MS 9 ng/dL

DIHYDROTESTOSTERONE, LC/MS/MS 28 16-79 (ng/dL)

PREGNENOLONE, LC/MS/MS 23 22-237 (ng/dL)

TESTOSTERONE, FREE, LC/MS/MS 183.9 46.0-224.0 (pg/mL)

HS CRP 1.4 mg/L

HOMOCYSTEINE 6.3 <11.4 (umol/L)

VITAMIN D,25-OH,TOTAL,IA 60 30-100 (ng/mL)

TSH 3.53 0.40-4.50 (mIU/L)

T4, FREE 1.1 0.8-1.8 (ng/dL)

T3, FREE 2.6 2.3-4.2 (pg/mL)

FERRITIN 42 20-345 (ng/mL)

C-REACTIVE PROTEIN 0.13 <0.80 (mg/dL)

CORTISOL, TOTAL 7.6 mcg/dL

DHEA SULFATE 212 85-690 (mcg/dL)

PROGESTERONE <0.5 <1.4 (ng/mL)

ESTRADIOL 33 < OR = 39 (pg/mL)

KS Man: I have a great doc that is willing to listen and work with me to feel optimal. He gave me the option to take synthroid or armor thyroid (desiccated t3 and t4). Armor seems to be the best option to start so t4 doesn’t get turned into rt3 (especially because I usually run very high cortisol levels naturally). How long do you think I should run iodine to see if free t3 budges before giving the armor or synthroid a go?

I appreciate all of your feedback.

Hi Guys,

Any feedback on this? Thanks

Wait and see how temperatures are in two weeks of IR?

Cortisol should be “AM Cortisol” done at 8AM or 1 hour after waking. 7.6 at that time of day is way too low, my cut off is “10.0” Your first cortisol lab did look like a strong AM result.

“Armor seems to be the best option to start so t4 doesn’t get turned into rt3 (especially because I usually run very high cortisol levels naturally)”

Do not know what cortisol has to do with thyroid.

OTC progesterone cream can increase progesterone and progesterone–>cortisol in the adrenals.

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KS Man: Thanks for the insight.

I will update after two weeks of IR.

This test for cortisol was done mid day so I’m not worried about it. All of my am cortisol tests are always above the high range of normal.

RE Cortisol and Thyroid: I have read in several places that high cortisol can have a supressing effect on the thyroid hormones and can cause t4 to convert to rt3. Maybe this is not accurate?

Your last point said “OTC progesterone cream can increase progesterone and progesterone–>cortisol in the adrenals.”

Did you mean OTC pregnenolone cream?

Thanks again!

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OTC progesterone cream. Google “KAL progesterone”

But it seems that you do not need more cortisol.

I was reacting to>: “CORTISOL, TOTAL 7.6 mcg/dL”

Update on another set of bloods after using 50mg of pregnenolone a day for a week and a half. I felt ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE after implementing pregnenolone. It drove me into mania and I couldn’t sleep more than a couple hours a night while on it.

My progesterone was previously depleted and it came back at 1.4 (0-1.3)

Pregnenolone was previously 14 and came back at 91 (22-237)

t3 free: 2.7 (2.3-4.2)
t4 free: .9 (.8-1.8)
TSH 2.82 (.40-4.50)
E2: 27 (0-39) I’m not sure which dumbass doctor made this new reference range

I have been fighting a terrible brain fog issue and trying to figure out what it is. This sounds crazy but I honestly believe that higher doses of testosterone give me brain fog. I consistently feel better on the last day before my injection and feel a lot better since reducing my dosage from the 180-200mg a week I used to take. I’m going to reduce to 140 and see if that makes any difference.

Thyroid is borderline low so that could be it. I have an armour thyroid prescription at my house but am not going to use it until it’s a last resort.

Question: Could getting thyroid hormones in good range from medication affect pregnenolone and downstream hormones as well? I feel like my high cortisol can steal from pregnenolone, causing it to be extrmely low and that if my thyroid was in the top 1/3-1/4 quartile, my body wouldn’t find a reason to pump excessive cortisol. Just a theory but it makes sense (even though both are different pathways).

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Are these t3 and t4 values low enought to consider giving my armour thyroid a try? I feel terrible (bad brain fog and always tired mid day). Weird thing is, I always have incredible workouts but the rest of the time just feel aweful. This could be due to a cortisol spike during the workout that makes me feel better?

I would give the NDT a try. That T3 is pretty low IMO.

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Did you ever find a solution to your issues?

Asking because I recently started and hope brain fog and focus improve, but open to looking into other areas for improved overall health while supplementing hormones

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