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
, there are dozens of hormones