I replace ALL my hormones. This brought me back to life. But is it sustainable for decades?

[thingsvarious]

From

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Would be quite interesting to know. However, I do not believe that cortisol is the solution to long-COVID because tens of thousands of these patients are already on steroids (e.g. prednisone) and they are still affected by long-COVID symptomatology

 

[SWAlexander]

I do not believe that cortisol is the solution to long-COVID

I never asked if Cortisol could help LC.
I know long-term high cortisol levels can damage the immune-system.

 

[thingsvarious]

I never asked if Cortisol could help LC.
I know long-term high cortisol levels can damage the immune-system.

Cortisol and the immune-system is actually a U-shaped curve and very low cortisol is just as damaging.

This is an excerpt of an article I wrote on my blog: Here

"The effects of cortisol are complex and follow a U-shape curve. Cortisol is needed for adequate hematopoiesis. Therefore, with low levels of cortisol patients are often pancytopenic. Furthermore, at normal levels, cortisol enhances the proliferation and function of mature immune cells. However, at supraphysiological levels, cortisol is one of the most powerful immunosuppressant molecules known to mankind. Its evolutionary purpose is to act as a “natural” brake to a (potentially) overreacting immune system in times of danger."

 

[SWAlexander]

Cortisol and the immune-system is actually a U-shaped curve and very low cortisol is just as damaging.

This is an excerpt of an article I wrote on my blog: Here

"The effects of cortisol are complex and follow a U-shape curve. Cortisol is needed for adequate hematopoiesis. Therefore, with low levels of cortisol patients are often pancytopenic. Furthermore, at normal levels, cortisol enhances the proliferation and function of mature immune cells. However, at supraphysiological levels, cortisol is one of the most powerful immunosuppressant molecules known to mankind. Its evolutionary purpose is to act as a “natural” brake to a (potentially) overreacting immune system in times of danger."

Thank you very much. In your blog, you describe all my symptoms to the point, especially the low sugar and being unable to sweat. I have one question; my doctor switched me from cortisol to hydrocortisone 15mg in the morning and 5 mg at noon, after the ACTH test. What would you say is the difference? By 3 pm I have no more energy, lots of brain fog and feel hungry.
I would appreciate your answer.

 

[thingsvarious]

Thank you very much. In your blog, you describe all my symptoms to the point, especially the low sugar and being unable to sweat. I have one question; my doctor switched me from cortisol to hydrocortisone 15mg in the morning and 5 mg at noon, after the ACTH test. What would you say is the difference? By 3 pm I have no more energy, lots of brain fog and feel hungry.
I would appreciate your answer.
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If 20mg of cortisol is leaving you with "hypocortisolemic" symptoms by 3pm, I´d say low cortisol is not your problem, but you chase the elevation of glutamate and noradrenaline that the cortisol gives you. Yes, you can use more cortisol, however, be aware that then you are not simply replacing a cortisol deficiency but abusing it as a stimulant (and cortisol is pretty much the most dangerous stimulant there is). You would be much better off trying noradrenergic drugs (e.g. bupropion) and see whether that helps.

 

[SWAlexander]

If 20mg of cortisol is leaving you with "hypocortisolemic" symptoms by 3pm, I´d say low cortisol is not your problem, but you chase the elevation of glutamate and noradrenaline that the cortisol gives you. Yes, you can use more cortisol, however, be aware that then you are not simply replacing a cortisol deficiency but abusing it as a stimulant (and cortisol is pretty much the most dangerous stimulant there is). You would be much better off trying noradrenergic drugs (e.g. bupropion) and see whether that helps.

Thanks. I had 1993 -98 Bupropion / Wellbutrin. Too many side effects: Headache, fast heartbeat, trouble sleeping, nausea and dizziness,

 

[Sicktoolong]

In my opinion CFS is often (not always obviously) multiple hormone deficiency (esp. adrenals, perihperal thyroid sensitivity).

I am a medical student in my last year. I replace ALL of my hormones. my energy levels went from the 5th percentile to the 95th percentile.

In early twenties my life was starting to go down the gutter. My life started to fall apart in every domain. I felt like shit. It took me forever to wake up. Freezing all the time. No inner peace. My mind was always racing, nonetheless I was lethargic all day, every day. Everything was drudgery and required a ton of self-discipline. Loads of coffee and painful cold showers were required to get me through life. Each night I was grateful that another day was over. I was just trying to get by. At best.


I started multiple hormone replacement. Whereas before my life was a nightmare, it has been a dream ever since. I have been doing this for some years now.

My question. As I am in my mid twenties, do you think this is sustainable for decades? Will my lifespan increase or decrease because of it?

What I take. But what works for me might not work for others.

I personally need/choose to optimize all hormones but often for many people it is just ONE hormone that is imbalanced/deficient and replacing that is sufficient
Everyone is different, but the target range I aim for is in the upper tertile of the youthful reference range. Just falling somewhere within the reference range is not “optimal”. The reference range covers 95% of the population. Certainly more than 5% of the population have hormones bad enough to warrant intervention.

• TRT: Test Cyp (50mg subQ 2x/week), HcG (250iu subQ 2x/week), anastrozole (0.25mg 1x/week), dutasteride 0.5mg 1x/week (as my androgens are high I don´t need the DHT).
• cortisol: cortisone acetate (20mg/d HC equivalent) (split into 4 daily doses)
• thyroid: 1.25 grains NDT + 6.25mcg T3 (a few hours later in the day)
• GH: 0.5iu genotropin pfizer (aiming for IGF1 of 250) prebed
• fludrocortisone 01.mg/d morning
• melatonin: 0.25mg sublingual prebed

Other stuff I do: keto/paleo, HIIT, weekly rapamycin, a bunch of supplements (all of them together less worth than a slight alteration in hormones), some exercise every day, sleep around 6h (wake up refreshed without alarm -before HRT I needed 8+).

Before hormone replacement I was trying out every nootropic under the sun (modafinil, caffeine, shitty racetams, small doses of MTP, ephedrine). Now I don´t need any (sometimes a little nicotine gum while studying). My cognition is now almost always sharp, no brain fog, great energy, motivated. The combo of good sleep + cardio + keto + good hormones is much healthier and more sustainable than any stims/nootropics. Too bad that so many people focus just on supps and nootropics.

I do everyhing mostly myself because many (not all) endocrinologists are shit. Once I found what works, taking all these hormones takes less than 5min per day and no thought whatsoever. Tiny price for a huge prize.
You can´t outdrug/outbiohack/outlifestyle a bad hormonal profile.

If you are interested I wrote about my experience here.

I also wrote a guide the other day on how I´d go about replacing multiple hormones. It took 1000s of hours to figure out. Hopefully some of you will find value in it.. Here.

Many of you guys will say that I am screwing myself. Well, to them I say that I am aware that this is uncharted territory. I am aware of the risks. But to me the cost-benefit analysis is a no-brainer. If I had to, I would sign a contract to rather live 10 more years with my new vitality and then die instead of living to one hundred with the dreadful state I was in before. Life is about filling time and not passing it.

My goal: to find a great balance between performance/wellbeing and health/longevity.

Why do I post all this?
1) Trying to provide value: Because it does just cost me a little time but perhaps can help others out a lot. Had I known what I know now, it would have saved me lots of money, happiness, effort, researching, experimenting. And suffering
2) Trying to get feedback/criticism/blind spots. I am sure some of you are quite knowledgable and experienced and might give valuable feedback/criticism and point out stuff I didn´t think about. Also as this is rather uncharted territory, do you think this is sustainable for decades? Will my healthspan increase or decrease because of it?

What does this mean for you? Hormones have an INSANE connection to energy levels. Just falling into the normal range is not enoguh. Unfortunately they are VERY neglected. If you have been fatigued for a long time it might be worth looking into your hormones. ANY hormone deficiency (GH/IGF1, sex hormones, thyroid, cortisol) will cause brain fog, subpar cognition, lethargy, anhedonia, low motivation, low mood, fatigue

Again: I personally need/choose to optimize all hormones but often for many people it is just ONE hormone that is imbalanced/deficient and replacing that is sufficient

I was put on prednisone many years ago. It ruined my immune system. First I got melanoma. Then, incompetent T cells, CD8s. Now I have an IGA subset 1 and 2 deficiency. I take 6 mg naltrexone for that. now. It works.

 

[thingsvarious]

I was put on prednisone many years ago. It ruined my immune system. First I got melanoma. Then, incompetent T cells, CD8s. Now I have an IGA subset 1 and 2 deficiency. I take 6 mg naltrexone for that. now. It works.

Naltrexone is also super interesting.


I have personally experimented with LDN (1mg per day), though I did stop after three days, because it resulted in a complete blunting of my hedonic tone (as I have basically blocked part of my endogenous reward response). I was making out with a girl I was freshly in love with and felt nothing. I felt like a psychopath. One of the scariest experiences in my life. However, anecdotally, many others have great success with it.

 

[SWAlexander]

I felt like a psychopath.

I´m not surprised.
What is LDN and how does it work?
LDN increases the release of Opioid Growth Factor (OGF) which works powerfully to reduce inflammation, auto-immune responses and tumor cell growth. LDN reduces inflammatory immune cell signaling via Toll-like Receptor-4.
https://www.centralcompounding.com/ldn.php

 

[SWAlexander]

Hormones change: I found an explanation for why I love sunshine and hate winter darkness.
ACTH and other hormones: I have a missing genetic marker POMC in gene 2 and all other genes not functioning properly.

Proopiomelanocortin
POMC is cut (cleaved) to give rise to multiple peptide hormones. Each of these peptides is packaged in large dense-core vesicles that are released from the cells by exocytosis in response to appropriate stimulation:

• α-MSH produced by neurons in the ventromedial nucleus has important roles in the regulation of appetite (POMC neuron stimulation results in satiety.[6]) and sexual behavior, while α-MSH secreted from the intermediate lobe of the pituitary regulates the movement of melanin produced from melanocytes in skin.
• ACTH is a peptide hormone that regulates the secretion of mainly glucocorticoids from the cells of the zona fasciculata of the adrenal cortex. ACTH can also regulate secretion of gonadocorticoids from the cells of the zona reticularis since they also express ACTH receptors.
• β-Endorphin and [Met]enkephalin are endogenous opioid peptides with widespread actions in the brain.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proopiomelanocortin

 

[thingsvarious]

Hormones change: I found an explanation for why I love sunshine and hate winter darkness.
ACTH and other hormones: I have a missing genetic marker POMC in gene 2 and all other genes not functioning properly.
View attachment 47027
Proopiomelanocortin
POMC is cut (cleaved) to give rise to multiple peptide hormones. Each of these peptides is packaged in large dense-core vesicles that are released from the cells by exocytosis in response to appropriate stimulation:

• α-MSH produced by neurons in the ventromedial nucleus has important roles in the regulation of appetite (POMC neuron stimulation results in satiety.[6]) and sexual behavior, while α-MSH secreted from the intermediate lobe of the pituitary regulates the movement of melanin produced from melanocytes in skin.
• ACTH is a peptide hormone that regulates the secretion of mainly glucocorticoids from the cells of the zona fasciculata of the adrenal cortex. ACTH can also regulate secretion of gonadocorticoids from the cells of the zona reticularis since they also express ACTH receptors.
• β-Endorphin and [Met]enkephalin are endogenous opioid peptides with widespread actions in the brain.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proopiomelanocortin

Super interesting thanks for sharing. I discuss POMC-neurons at length in my new article The Simulated Refeed . I am sure you find this interesting. I also explain how POMC-neuron signaling has a lot to do with energy expenditure.

 

[SWAlexander]

thingsvarious I read „The Simulated Refeed “. A very good description of cell starvation. Thank you very much.

Here is a question regarding PEM and carbohydrates.

I’m convinced, not only by my personal experience, when children are deprived earl on of proteins there will be a lifelong PEM, among cell, hormonal, and hypothalamic damage. This period of one-sided nutrition can become an epigenetic marker for the next generation.

For example, the potato famine in Ireland led to overwhelming diabetes. Now, 4 generations later the pancreas is still not able to produce sufficient glucagon.
Postwar children in Germany grew up mainly on carbohydrates because of meet/fat shortage. In addition, most postwar mothers could not breastfeed because of lingering postwar stress (hormone/oxytocin imbalance).
Even now and 3 generations later, a lab doctor told me, BH4 deficiency is very high in Germans combined with a lack of empathy and high defense aggression.

I do believe the cell and hormonal damage done back in childhood can´t be reversed because of genetic mutation.
I would like to hear your take.

 

[thingsvarious]

thingsvarious I read „The Simulated Refeed “. A very good description of cell starvation. Thank you very much.

Here is a question regarding PEM and carbohydrates.

I’m convinced, not only by my personal experience, when children are deprived earl on of proteins there will be a lifelong PEM, among cell, hormonal, and hypothalamic damage. This period of one-sided nutrition can become an epigenetic marker for the next generation.

For example, the potato famine in Ireland led to overwhelming diabetes. Now, 4 generations later the pancreas is still not able to produce sufficient glucagon.
Postwar children in Germany grew up mainly on carbohydrates because of meet/fat shortage. In addition, most postwar mothers could not breastfeed because of lingering postwar stress (hormone/oxytocin imbalance).
Even now and 3 generations later, a lab doctor told me, BH4 deficiency is very high in Germans combined with a lack of empathy and high defense aggression.

I do believe the cell and hormonal damage done back in childhood can´t be reversed because of genetic mutation.
I would like to hear your take.

Hello, no there is no postnatum "genetic mutation". What you mean is epigenetic modifications, which is completely different. Furthermore, on the brain network level there certainly are changes. While epigenetic modifications can be fixed (although stubbornly), brain network changes if they occur very early in brain development (before adolescence) are much harder if not impossible to counteract. However, one can use pharmaceuticals to change equilibria, as I have described in my article.

Glad you liked it btw

 

[SWAlexander]

epigenetic modifications

No, I don´t mean epigenetic modification.
Peripartum (postnatum) cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is characterized occurs towards the end of pregnancy or in the postpartum period.
Example: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32257832/
There are many more examples: postnatum - Search Results - PubMed (nih.gov)

 

[thingsvarious]

No, I don´t mean epigenetic modification.
Peripartum (postnatum) cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is characterized occurs towards the end of pregnancy or in the postpartum period.
Example: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32257832/
There are many more examples: postnatum - Search Results - PubMed (nih.gov)

This (likely) does occur with epigenetic modifications of the leptin receptor. It is well described in the literature.

 

[thingsvarious]

Some of you have contacted me when I will put up my website again. My website is back up and running. There I share my experience & takeaways from years of hormone replacement: Hormetheus.com