I see that a lot of men take testosterone replacement in their longevity regimens. I am considering it too, I am male, 47. But my husband who is a doctor (MD) has mixed feelings about it. He recommended me taking mesterolone branded as proviron by bayer as an alternative to boost free testosterone and while exercising, keeping my bodyfat percentage at around 15% percent he says that should be enough as my testosterone is not considered low, (two tests few months apart show that it is in the range of 350-400)… Has anyone been taking mesterolone? any thoughts on it? experiences? negative/positive?
my husbands rationale is that is is safe, non liver toxic, easy to take (pills) and really inexpensive (30 25 mg pills at around 5 eur in pharmacy)
should I try it? or should I consider something else?
Any thought on the subject apreciated!
Little anabolic effects but quite a bit of masculinization (excessive body hair, male pattern baldness)according to Wikipedia, that doesn’t sound very good and on top of that it would also suppress endogenous testosterone production. I would stay away and instead try something like tongcat ali first (not that I personally notice anything from that but at least it supposedly increases endogenous T production)
this is new to me. My husband checked some studies and said it does not suppress endogenous testosterone production… “given in doses of 75 and 150 mg/day to normal men does not suppress the pituitary ICSH production or the testicular testosterone production” I checked some reddit posts on it and some of the guys really are doing good on it. But since it is “anabolic steroid” I was really weary about taking it. regarding Tongkat, I was considering this Kino Mojo – Kinobody but could not find any reliable source that could confirm that it really increases testosteron and it is relatively expensive for some herbs and minerals… idk.
I don’t know the particulars of this substance but I think that all androgenic substances will decrease LH and endogenous T production. I just cannot imagine it would only bind to androgen receptors outside of the pituitary gland but not in the pituitary gland
"“The problem with dihydrotestosterone itself – once it enters muscle tissue, the enzyme 3-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (where it is in very high concentration in muscle tissue) binds to it, and renders it inactive by converting it into a compound that has no anabolic effects. This is the real reason for Proviron’s weak anabolic effects. There have been false rumors about Proviron’s weak anabolic nature in circulation among bodybuilding communities that Proviron “blocks the androgen receptor in muscle tissue”, which is wrong, and this rumor should therefore be put to rest.”
From a summary article here:Proviron (Mesterolone) - Drugs Profile - Steroidal.com
thx. this is a good article.
Not legal to prescribe in the USA
I really don’t know much about this product.
Hi guys, I have used proviron , but I am already on TRT. What I’ve always heard is used for, is to lower SHBG, thus freeing up more testosterone. Anecdotally it worked well for this purpose, although it might’ve been the medication itself. I was definitely more“horny“… It had less effect as time wore on. Many yrs ago. I now take TRT, 15 mg sub Q every day of cypionate, along with a tiny amount of compounded testosterone cream for the free testosterone effects as well as a little bit more DHT conversion, because I put it on my testicles, where it is most commonly applied. I feel great on this regimen at age 48.
I am from Europe, so it is legal and common here. It is supposed to have zero liver toxicity.
What would you recommend to boost free testosterone?
I am not an expert on this topic, so I won’t be making a recommendation. Perhaps I misunderstood its low risk of liver impacts. I use TRT but personally wouldn’t use another anabolic, especially if I had a normal testosterone level. Maybe it’s less risky than I thought.
For those interested in this topic, we have a few related threads…
Proviron tends to increase free Test by lowering your SHBG - it will also lower you E2 - estrogen - fairly quickly. I am on TRT so did not worry about suppression. I decreased my SHBG substantially which is the reason I used it - it also noticeably increased my libido which was a bonus. I took 50mg per day for 6 weeks and stopped because I tanked my E2.
Do you not have any fear of developing male-pattern baldness?
how bad is the low E2 for men? what were the main things you felt? I never really thought that low E2 in men is bad…
I did, but then you can try and see, I guess. But I remember reading in one of the studies / articles that mesterolone which is indeed DTH derivate won’t have a really big effect on MPB as it won’t bind with receptors in hair follicles but the problem would be increased free testosterone that could potentially be metabolized to DTH. The increase wouldn’t be really big, but of course if you are genetically predisposed to MPB, it does not help. But is the same with any testosterone replacement therapy i guess. You win some, you loose some.
Low E2 is just as bad as high E2. My main side effect was anxiety/panic attacks where I could not take full, deep breaths so panicked about not breathing. Generally low e2 symptoms are similar to low test symptoms.
Estradiol is thought to be cardio protective in both men and women. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fendo.2019.00310/full
Bodybuilders who use anabolic compounds like Nandralone almost always use a base dosage of testosterone as well. Some of the testosterone aromatizes to estrogen and helps to lessen the heart damage. (They hope) Playing around with our hormones is a risky game. It is a shame that we do not know more about some of these compounds that have been available for seventy years. Mice and other research animals don’t get heart disease the way humans do.
Proviron is cool, ran it a few times. Noticed slight hardening of the muscles and increased sex drive. Killed my HDL (good cholesterol). Basically cut my number in half so I stopped taking it. There’s a supplement out called tongat Ali which has the same effect on free test. It also kills HDL levels. There’s a cascade of reactions that involve cholesterol to synthesize test and when you take proviron, it lowers SHBG and somehow signals the Body to use lest cholesterol for test synthesis. This lowers HDL down stream.
If you want to maintain test levels, do trt. I prefer 120-140 mg of test per week. I microdose test propionate daily using insulin syringes as .15ml per day. Im 43 and am usually below 15% bf. No sides.
To answer your estrogen question, speaking from experience I used to take arimidex a lot because I read on forums it keeps estrogen in check on cycles or trt. Used to crash my levels all the time. having low e2 is horrible. You feel tired and lethargic, low sex drive and impotence. Estrogen is also cardio protective and has important functions in the brain. Crashing it sucks and should be avoided. I have arimidex on hand in case I do get a random estrogen flare up but this happens maybe once or twice a year on my dosage. I can usually tell because I’ll get moody and have sensitive nipples with water retention.
Hope this helps
how long have you been taking proviron to see the bad effects? some people recommend cycling… 12 weeks on / 8 weeks off or similar schedules… how high was your dose?
the problem is that i can get or testosterone transdermal gel (androtop) or Testosterone undecanoate which is injected every 12 weeks. where I live Testosterone propionate is not available and getting it from a foreign pharmacy gets complex as it is controlled substance…
thx. for clearifing more about E2 levels, I must look more into it, really.
I’ve probably ran it 4 or five times, 8 week cycles usually around 25-50mg a day while on cycles of other compounds like primobolan/eq/tren and higher dose test. I’ve also used while on trt dose. IMO it’s a very weak compound by itself or w trt. It serves a purpose in bodybuilding type of cycles though as it lowers shbg so if you’re running like 4-5 compounds it makes them all slightly more effective. I stopped running it and other cycles just out of concern for heart health.
With the options you have, I’d say the gel is probably the best. Long test esters can cause larger fluctuations in levels which is less stable and leads to more sides. Usually increased estrogen and mood variation as well from the 12wk half life stuff. The gel should have a short half life which makes it easier for your body to use.
The main thing w body fat is gonna be diet though. 15% isn’t super lean but still something where you need to be eating right and training to maintain. I’d fix that first before messing with other compounds