posted Mon, 05/16/2016 - 10:27
2340
Do steroids lower cortisol?
ad
Been doing a lot of research lately to see if there is a connection between Testosterone and Cortisol. Reasons being.....High levels of Testosterone are proven to give Men that bit more drive, assertive, higher libido etc.
High cortisol levels are proven to give Men low libido, shyness, tiredness etc
So my question is.....If a Male takes a smallish dose of Testosterone will his cortisol levels decrease or will it not make a difference?
- Bookmark
- 0
- 0
Do you have a cortisol issue? Bloods? Why the particular interest if I can ask?
I think cortisol levels are high due to coming off long term benzo use, never knew how horrible benzos were, Dr just kept on prescribing them to me and now 12 years later I am withdrawing from Clonazepam and Diazepam, both of which were prescribed for anxiety. Trouble is anxiety has gone crazy since withdrawing, so doing research and it seems cortisol levels raise when coming off these drugs. So was wondering if a very mild anabolic steroid like Anavar may help ease anxiety? My confidence has gone, sex drive has gone, no motivation etc etc. 41 years old and Test levels are very low but not low enough for the NHS here in the UK to treat me.....Last bloods showed my Test levels at 259 and my Dr said this was fine, estrogen was 59 so that is high.
Bro, there are protocols for managing benzo withdrawal, some of them even with very long acting benzos that get tapered very slowly. It's 2016 not 1965. I don't know how affordable it would be to step outside the NHS to a private doctor, but there is no reason to be suffering from benzo withdrawal in this day and age.
I know this from personal experience.
I don't think that steroids are going to help much here bro.
Welcome to the broken national health system in the UK. Initial consultation with a private psychiatrist is £300/$430 dollars and half that for the follow-ups. Plus you must pay for all the medication. I can believe this OP's story regarding the NHS. It's messed up in the extreme. Why I have and always will have private medical insurance here. All that said you are 100% right. It's totally unnecessary for the OP to be going through this. From what he says below regarding he treatment options they've had him on the mind boggles.
Thanks for providing the information. Fella I would be very careful adding anything given your circumstances. I know from experience what benzo withdrawal can be like and I was never on for 12 years straight. Anabolics can and do have some psychoactive properties so I would be extra careful. Perhaps you can convince you GP to refer you to an endo to look at your endocrine system holistically. Can you do this privately? You mentioned testosterone and estrogen numbers but what about cortisol, thyroid, prolactin etc? Otherwise I assume you're seeing a psychiatrist to find a more suitable long term treatment for your anxiety? If you're not this must be your first stop. Good luck mate and do think hard before adding any anabolic a or self prescribing trt.
Thanks greatly bud. Ok.....Will take your advice. So you think adding Test may not be the wisest thing to do at the moment? Never had cortisol, thyroid or prolactin checked, I can ask him but will most probably deny it. Indeed, I am seeing a psychiatrist. He prescribed me Gabapentin, that made me ultra drowsy then tried me on Pregabalin, that made me feel tired and dizzy so no joy with either of those.
Yes stay away from the aas. Speak to our GP and phychiatrist about seeing an endo. There is a good case to be made given your high estro and lowish test alone. Good luck.
Your E2 look nevertheless high for your T levels. Did you get a proper morning reading? Do you do night shift? Besides, managing oestradiol alone can be enough do decrease stress / anxiety and raise Testosterone, thus aiding recovery and well-being. No need for exogenous steroids at this point in your life imho.
Sorry to hear about a 12 years benzo withdrawal. That could be much of a stress enough to lower your T.
My advice is to stay away from aas. There is enough room to proper, natural recovery i believe - try to see an endo anyway.
Thanks greatly guys......Love this forum, proper honest replies and no crap.
Indeed, three times I have had my Test levels checked and everytime they have come back low, bloods always taken in the morning and I dont work nights, normal 9-5 job. Estrogen always comes back high.....I have some pharma grade arimidex here so may try a very small dose every three days and see if that helps?
I strongly encourage you to see an endo first.
Least thing you want is to crush your oestradiol. It's unusual with low dose ana (0.25 e3d) but some are very sensitive to it.
From your stats, I see your weight is 240. What is your %bf? Know that aromatase, the enzyme catalyzing the conversion of T into E2, is highly expressed in fat tissue...
Test has been shown to de-sensitize adrenal response to ACTH to some extent, but no clinical studies have shown, to my knowledge, a lowering effect.
Other than that, Testosterone helps A LOT with stress, so it's reasonable to expect a dampening effect on cortisol, but physiological healthy levels appears to be enough for that.
What's proven instead is cortisol lowering both total and free t (via SHBG).
Thanks greatly for the informative reply.
Just been reading pros and cons of Anavar, one of the pros says 'Lowers cortisol' one of the cons 'Increases bad cholesterol'
One of my interests behind some of this is......In anxious people cortisol levels are very high, so if cortisol levels are low then anxiety should decrease.....I would have thought?
"Low" cortisol is defined as adrenal insufficiency and occurs in clinical settings such as addison disease or insufficient ACTH due to hypothalamic/pituitary defects... you won't get THAT low with exogenous steroids, unless we are consider corticosteroids withdrawal.
Aromatizable molecules can also increase ACTH due to oestradiol influence on neuroendocrine control of CRH secretion.
About anxiety... it can both stimulate cortisol and catecholamines as well and be propelled by physiologic corticosteroids elevations due to stress / poor nutrition / etc but it won't work the way other. Low cortisol will cripple psychological well-being as much as high levels can. It is usually associated with so-called "neurovegetative" symptoms of depression. Atypical depression, a common form, is associated with decreased pituitary response to CRH and lower morning cortisol levels. It presents with shyness, interpersonal rejection sensitivity, and psychosomatic symptoms such as heavyness of limbs.
Wow.....You really know your stuff, thanks mate.
RustyhookerStats? Priors? Goals?
?? Bit confused.....Just trying to extend my research if an AAS will lower cortisol levels?
If stats etc are necessary then......6ft, 229lbs, 41yrs old, from UK, 12% BF, 19 years training, run mostly clean but a few Dbol/Test cycles over the past 15 years as trained natty for the first 4 years.