Preg: How High Is Too High?

sunmountain

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I've been taking about 1/8 tsp of preg for a while; lately increased it a bit more. Don't feel any different for the increase.

I do know that preg was the missing link for me in terms of being able to increase thyroid...that is, until my gut got inflamed and got in the way (temporary, I hope). I am calmer for it, too.

Can it hurt to take too much, "too much" being different for everybody? Can it suppress cortisol too much, and what problems might that cause?

Also, while on preg, I feel less of a need for progest-e, but take it anyway as I'm used to. But wondering if I really need it anymore.

Also, I need something stronger for mood. I'm calm, but I want to feel happy. I haven't felt happy for a long, long time. I know I have had PTSD most of my life.

Thanks
 

Mittir

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I do not remember if you shared your total cholesterol number before.
One can make Pregnenolone from cholesterol with the help of thyroid
and vitamin A. RP himself used 3000 mg of pregnenolone daily for a year
and he thinks it is quite safe. He has mentioned calming effect of
Pregnenolone. You can try increasing your dose with small increment
to see which dose gives the best result.

I do not see why you are worried about lowering cortisol.
That is one of the major goal of RP recommendation is to lower cortisol.
Body can make cortisol in stressed condition if there is enough
cholesterol with the exception of certain disease.
Pregenolone simply preventing you to be in a stress condition.
 

Jennifer

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sunmountain said:
Also, I need something stronger for mood. I'm calm, but I want to feel happy. I haven't felt happy for a long, long time. I know I have had PTSD most of my life.

I know you're specifically asking about Pregnenolone, but something stood out to me in your post, sunmountain. If you don't mind me asking, have you seen someone to help you with the PTSD?

This may just be me, but eating a very healthy diet and taking plenty of supplements and mood boosting progest-e have done nothing to help me get over a childhood trauma I endured. Getting over it is all me, digging deep. I'm still have a few kinks to work out, but almost dying has really sped up the process. LOL

Despite being a very easy going and calm girl, I just couldn't get happy and couldn't figure out why. Since releasing the burden of my past, even at my most physically painful days, I still manage to be happy. Perhaps your lack of happiness stems from a weight on your soul?
 
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sunmountain

sunmountain

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Thanks, Mittir! It's good to know RP used 3g daily. I just wasn't sure how high to go and what to expect...of course, it's different for everyone. I'll experiment with higher and see.

I don't have a cholesterol number...doc did not test for that. I can ask her next time.

I'm not sure how much 3g translates in teaspoon.

Do you have any recommendation for a "happiness" pill? :D By that I mean, going beyond calm to feeling pleasure, joy, and optimism. I realize some of this is very much tied to my low energy due to hypothyroidism. I know that better metabolism will resolve much or all of it. However, it has been so long since I felt a positive outlook, and it would help in the meantime while I work on metabolism.

Thanks
 

Mittir

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Cholesterol number is very important as most protective hormones are made
from cholesterol. Just raising the cholesterol one can increase protective hormones
like progesterone, pregnenolone and DHEA. Cholesterol itself is protective against
stress. I try to keep my cholesterol level up with a lot of apple juice and sugar.

I remember RP talking about pregnenolone increasing efficiency in workers.
Increased pregnenolone usually increases progesterone conversion too.
I think thyroid and pregnenolone combo can be very effective.
I personally believe this good health= good metabolism makes us
resistant to all kind of stress, including psychological and emotional one.
It is very hard to be upset about anything for long when you are feeling really good.
After nice resting sleep everything looks fine. I have always observed how happy
healthy children are and how unhealthy children are always crying and complaining.
I also believe health issues and other kind of sufferings are blessing .
In most cases it makes people more kind and humble.
It requires people to examine life in a deeper way. I do not think RP would have
been this smart and kind without going through all the physical sufferings.
I think it would easier for you to thanks all the past sufferings if you feel
really good now. I think patience is very important in improving metabolism
if it has been broken badly.
 

Blossom

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If it's any consolation I can say from personal experience I've noticed a tremendous improvement in areas considered mental/emotional/psychological steadily over the last year and specifically within the last 3months. I agree with Jennifer and Mittir's posts. I did pay for one professional counseling session when things got particularly rough with a family issue and that was very helpful. I also went to about 4 support group sessions in that time period that helped me not feel so alone in my situation. I think the reason therapy wasn't necessary long-term was because my health improvements lead to a feeling of resilience and empowerment. I don't know of any specific 'happy' supplement but do believe that healing through Peat's work can result in lower stress and the ability to feel joy again-at least it has for me.
 
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sunmountain

sunmountain

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I will try to get cholesterol number. I am back to drinking OJ, and tolerating it I think. I am eating tablespoons of sugar all day in various things. Also an egg most days. Ice cream, etc. But until my gut is calmed, I don't think my metabolism is going anywhere. And that will take time.

I agree with you, Mittir, about good health being the foundation of feeling good. And the potential of suffering to transform for the better. I know that when I was energetic, I had motivation, purpose, hope, fight. That must have been a long time ago because I barely remember it. Now things feel very different.

I just know that when I feel well, everything seems different. And that my outlook actually affects the reality around me positively.

I was thinking of something to provide a little bit of temporary relief...though not a trip (at least not when I'm not myself :? ). More to help my outlook, if there was such a thing. I don't like to think I'm depressed, though there might be a bit of that in the way I feel tired and unmotivated most of the time.

I've had plenty of counseling in the past, both good and mediocre. I'm not sure counseling will help much at this point in time, when I understand the root cause of the way I'm feeling: health. It's also not easy to find a good counselor. I've also attended support groups. I have learned a lot about myself from both counseling and support groups that has helped me become a stronger person in many ways, and I remain immensely grateful for that.

Regarding PTSD, there have been events, or should I say losses of one kind or another, throughout my life. In spite of major personal growth in recent years, I would say I am still defined by the traumas. But then that brings me back to the issue of health. I also know that when I feel well, my way of seeing the world is almost entirely different, and like Mittir, said, it's hard to feel badly when you're feeling good.

Right now, I'm trying to muster energy to possibly make some major changes in my life when my daughter leaves for college next year. To perhaps take that as an opportunity for myself. To step back and look at the big picture. I'd like to do this from the standpoint of a positive outlook. I think that would make a big difference in the results, don't you think?
 

Mittir

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One thing that has helped me a lot in ignoring angry and negative thoughts
is that anger and depression increases cortisol and gut permeability.
This will weaken me more and nothing is gained from unhappy thoughts.
It is a good motivation.

I think OJ is difficult for someone with weak digestive system unless it is
made from sweet ripe oranges and pectin removed. I have been having an
amazing improvement from Apple juice. It is the high fructose content of apple
that is doing the wonder. If you read RP's article on "Sugar Issues" and " Glucose and
Fructose for diabetes" it will be very clear that fructose is a major tool in
recovery. Apple juice can have more than 70 percent fructose depending on the
cultivar. I was getting a lot of sugar before but i now realize that i needed
a higher ratio of fructose to glucose. Fructose with potassium can easily increase
cholesterol and fructose improves health in many different ways.
Fixing digestive health requires a lot of experimentation and observation and
common sense does not help at all.
 

Jennifer

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sunmountain said:
I've had plenty of counseling in the past, both good and mediocre. I'm not sure counseling will help much at this point in time, when I understand the root cause of the way I'm feeling: health. It's also not easy to find a good counselor. I've also attended support groups. I have learned a lot about myself from both counseling and support groups that has helped me become a stronger person in many ways, and I remain immensely grateful for that.

Oh okay! Good! I know some people get weary or nervous about the thought of seeking help so I'm glad to hear you got support.

And I can relate to feeling that counseling will not help much at this point since you understand the root cause of the way you feel. That's definitely half the battle. My therapist after about 4 sessions told me that she felt she couldn't really offer any new insights that I wasn't already aware of or extra tools that I hadn't already developed for myself. She thought I had a very good understanding and awareness of why I do what I do or feel the way I feel at times. The real work for me has been consciously making an effort to change old thought patterns since they can be almost knee jerk for me.

Like you and Blossom, I have found support groups to be very helpful. For me, having at least one good friend to bounce my thoughts off of has been a blessing. My mom is great for that and I've also developed friendships with people who have gone through similar experiences who I email back and forth with practically everyday.

Mittir said:
If you read RP's article on "Sugar Issues" and " Glucose and Fructose for diabetes" it will be very clear that fructose is a major tool in
recovery. Apple juice can have more than 70 percent fructose depending on the
I was getting a lot of sugar before but i now realize that i needed
a higher ratio of fructose to glucose. Fructose with potassium can easily increase
cholesterol and fructose improves health in many different ways.

Hmm...this is interesting to me. I did fruitarianism because I read that all the fruit sugars would help get me out of the depression I was suffering from, but it only made things so much worse and this was before my health and body got destroyed. I noticed when I switched to a more WAPF diet of lots of whole milk and eggs, I felt more balanced. I figured it was due to needing protein.

So the key is higher fructose over glucose? I was doing honey as my main source of sugar a couple months ago, but I didn't feel any different mentally. For some reason my body keeps going back to wanting high protein foods. When I can tolerate juice again, I may try your apple juice suggestion.

Mittir said:
Fixing digestive health requires a lot of experimentation and observation and common sense does not help at all.

Yes, I've come to realize this. The digestion part is what makes me question if that is why people gain positive benefits on completely different foods from one another. Like Ray has mentioned, endotoxin can cause mental disturbances. So if a food isn't properly digested, I would think it only makes the mental state that much worse.

Back when I was doing RBTI, a digestive/enzyme test was done on me and I was told that I don't break down carbohydrates well, but I do break down proteins and fats quite efficiently. I wonder if there's any truth to that test?
 

aquaman

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sunmountain said:
Regarding PTSD, there have been events, or should I say losses of one kind or another, throughout my life. In spite of major personal growth in recent years, I would say I am still defined by the traumas. But then that brings me back to the issue of health. I also know that when I feel well, my way of seeing the world is almost entirely different, and like Mittir, said, it's hard to feel badly when you're feeling good.

You could look into Ayahuasca, I've never done it but friends have and they say it's great for releasing traumas. It's potentially quite extreme wayo to do it however, you would need a lot of research.
 

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From Vision and Acceptance, Ray Peat said:
Making an effort to learn how to use techniques of food, hormones, light, activity, etc., is similar to the effort needed to work with a psychologist, and the effort itself is part of the therapy-the particular orientation of the psychologist isn't what's therapeutic, it's the ability to participate in meaningful interactions, that is, the ability to provide a situation in which the person can practice being human. When people start think about things in their life that can be changed, they are exercising aspects of their organism that have been atrophied by being in an authoritarian culture. Authoritarians talk about protocols, but the only valid 'protocol' would be something like 'perceive, think, act.'
 
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I think pregnenolone is very safe, especially if it has no fillers/excipients to further irritate your gut. My own personal experience has been that when my gut is irritated/bloated it definitely affects my mood, I suspect from the release of serotonin...I guess do whatever you can to soothe the intestines and improve digestion while keeping blood sugar up. Hope it's going well for you.
 
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sunmountain

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My stomach is still swollen, but I'm in a sort of rhythm now with food. I drink 3 cups tea per day, and each cup has 2 heaping tablespoons of gelatin and table sugar. Breakfast is steel-cut oatmeal with CO and 2 T sugar, and a cup of tea. Lunch is about a cup of rice stir-fried in CO with an egg and small potato. Greek yogurt and a few grapes and tea. Dinner is ground grass beef in marinara sauce with a bit of pasta, or easily-digestible lentils (soaked overnight) with rice, or shellfish. OJ usually with dinner. Then at bedtime icecream.

I'm trying to get an appt. with a GI to find out more detail about the gut.

My temp/pulse is 97.2/78, which is better than before.

I eat/drink about every 2 hours or start to feel low sugar. I'm mostly now maintaining a steady supply of sugar all day, so feel more stable.

I don't understand why my liver is not storing glycogen yet. Is it because of gut? Because I think my hormones are mostly fine now: I don't feel particularly estrogenic. I take thyroid/preg/progest twice a day, and that seems to work fine. I've decreased cypro to 4mg a couple of times a week. I've reduced cascara to now and then, and mostly seem to go ok without it. I'm sleeping much better than before Peating for sure -- occasionally I have a sleepless night, and I'm going to bed too late, which I want to change. My mood doesn't fluctuate, which is nice, though I'm still missing joy.

So overall things are so much better now. Need gut fixed, and some joy in life. Still not back to walking or hiking yet as energy level needs to increase for that. That used to make me feel so good.
 

Jennifer

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sunmountain said:
So overall things are so much better now. Need gut fixed, and some joy in life. Still not back to walking or hiking yet as energy level needs to increase for that. That used to make me feel so good.

YAY! I'm so happy you're making progress, sunmountain! That's great news! :D

And boy can I relate to wanting to get back out hiking. It use to make me feel so good too! I'm thinking I might try slowly getting back into it by snowshoeing this winter on the trails that run through my family's property, building up strength to hopefully tackle a small mountain. I think getting out will be good for my spirit. Wake it up a little! LOL
 

Blossom

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I'm back up to nearly 1000mg per day pregnenolone again and I'm sure it's due to stress. I'm just glad to have this tool. If it weren't for Peat's work I'd probably be going rapidly down hill again. Well, that's not exactly right because I would have never improved enough in the first place, if I hadn't discovered his research, to improve and then recognize that stress was wearing me down. He has given us so many options to protect and restore our bodies in the situation of unavoidable stress that life sometimes brings. This has been a reminder for me that things are constantly changing and to respect what my changing body needs. I Hope pregnenolone is helping you as much as it helps me sunmountain!
 
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sunmountain

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I have not even gone walking around neighborhood because I tire so easily, and the joint pain is never far away if it is hilly. I hope you have better luck, Jennifer!

Blossom, the preg was my missing link, just as you said it was for you. It raised my temps to the 97-range. It really is foundational, and once my gut heals, will hopefully support increased thyroid. Or perhaps gut healing might raise temps a bit too.

BTW, how much is 1g in teaspoons? And how do you store your preg, Blossom?

thanks
 
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sunmountain

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Also, I'm wondering about the price difference between Smart Powders preg (20g $16) versus HealthNatura preg (20g $30). It seems both are sourced from china, so why the price difference?

Has anyone tried Smart Powder's preg? I'm using Heath Natura right now.

thanks
 

Blossom

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sunmountain said:
I have not even gone walking around neighborhood because I tire so easily, and the joint pain is never far away if it is hilly. I hope you have better luck, Jennifer!

Blossom, the preg was my missing link, just as you said it was for you. It raised my temps to the 97-range. It really is foundational, and once my gut heals, will hopefully support increased thyroid. Or perhaps gut healing might raise temps a bit too.

BTW, how much is 1g in teaspoons? And how do you store your preg, Blossom?

thanks
I have a 300mg scoop that came with my original purchase. I'm currently using the Health Natura product too. I'll compare my 300mg scoop to a 1/8 tsp and see what the difference is between them and let you know!
 

Blossom

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Blossom said:
sunmountain said:
I have not even gone walking around neighborhood because I tire so easily, and the joint pain is never far away if it is hilly. I hope you have better luck, Jennifer!

Blossom, the preg was my missing link, just as you said it was for you. It raised my temps to the 97-range. It really is foundational, and once my gut heals, will hopefully support increased thyroid. Or perhaps gut healing might raise temps a bit too.

BTW, how much is 1g in teaspoons? And how do you store your preg, Blossom?

thanks
I have a 300mg scoop that came with my original purchase. I'm currently using the Health Natura product too. I'll compare my 300mg scoop to a 1/8 tsp and see what the difference is between them and let you know!
I put some pregnenolone into my 300mg scoop and transfered that to a 1/8 tsp measuring spoon and they seem to hold an equivalent amount of powder. 1/8 tsp of pregnenolone should be about 300mg. I don't have a scale but it looks pretty close.
 

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