just read your article on hair loss, great info. I'd like to implement a protocol for sparse eyebrows I've had since birth, I've had mixed success with minox + dermapenning, what would you recommend to really grow my eyebrows?
I don't envy you having to answer some of these questions, lol. Was just hoping for your quick feedback on Dihexa and if it gets your stamp of approval. Why or why not? Thanks man.
Dihexa is a small molecule agonist of Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF), which is the ligand for the c-Met receptor, potentially analogous to the AT4 receptor. While Dihexa's mechanism of action differs from AT4 receptor antagonists and has shown promise in trials, there are concerns about potential overactivity of the c-Met receptor.
Given these complexities and the need for further research, self-experimentation with Dihexa is for the brave lab rats. Personally, I'm not touching it.
Understood, and thank you for the thoughtful reply. Had been doing a review of the research and anecdotes, and noted some cause for concern. Calculated risks are one thing, but unwarranted risks are another. Just what I needed to hear. Steering clear for now. Thanks! :)
Best methods you’ve found for reducing stress / overcoming burnout? Work as the Ent Account Executive with a kit of travel and completing on my first business purchase, and just finished a men’s physique season. Feel absolutely burnt out
Health phase! Your body lets you know when it's time to chill for a little bit and not take on so many projects/goals. This is a good time to start logging nutrition, make sure you're getting micros, doing your cardio, prioritizing sleep, reconnecting with friends and having some fun/social activity, getting sufficient sunlight exposure, limiting blue light, and all that good stuff. That's how you recharge.
Once you're recharged you can schedule mini rest periods into your life so you don't get to complete burn out mode again.
The way I approach this is to stick to a schedule and then hack my home environment to mimick the light environment I'm genetically adapted to. This stuff helps:
Smart bulbs to change color temperature during time of day
Apologies for lengthy post. 32M ~10% BF year round and eat a protein dominant diet. Been into nutrition and fitness for 10-12 years so make sure get nutrients through diet and remainder through supplements. Got some bloodwork done and T levels are around mid 500s and free T is 1.5% but I do not struggle with energy levels and am pretty muscular relative to my frame. Prolactin came in at 11UG/l and estradiol was <40 pmol/l. DHEA is at 5.5 umol/l. I know you always say lack of morning wood can be check engine light and it's been very inconsistent unless I work for blood flow using pomegranate juice, l-citrulline, arginine, etc (same with libido -- pine pollen helped). I am thinking P5P and high quality vitamin e to bring down prolactin. 5mg pregnenalone to help with DHEA levels. Struggling to improve libido and would like to bring up T levels for the rest of high T benefits (have tried the general health twitter supps). Would appreciate some guidance. Thanks.
Prolactinomas: a type of tumor on the pituitary gland that secretes prolactin. Can be diagnosed with an MRI.
Medications: can increase prolactin levels by inhibiting dopamine, which normally suppresses prolactin secretion. These include antipsychotics, antidepressants, and antiemetics.
Hypothyroid: Low thyroid hormone levels can lead to increased secretion of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), which can stimulate prolactin production.
Chronic Stress: CRH directly stimulates prolactin release from the anterior pituitary. Additionally, elevated cortisol also increases prolactin levels by inhibiting dopamine secretion in hypothalamic dopaminergic neurons.
Dopaminergic dysfunction/ excessive cooming.
Read all that and give your entire life a completely honest and unbiased critique. what do you think is causing it?
Trying to be as unbiased as possible here, because I have mostly everything (sleep, diet, training, getting some sunlight daily, etc.) pretty dialled in, I'm perplexed.
Out of the things you mentioned hypothyroid and chronic stress seem like the most probable. Subjective feelings of stress oscillate but could be a contributor (mostly financial stress).
From my thyroid panel, TSH came in at 2.54 mlU/l and free T4 was 13 pmol/l.
Don't have issues with excess cooming or porn (quit that years ago) and even with my wife, I limit cooming to 3-4 times a month max.
Thanks again for willing to provide some guidance here.
Your body makes its own BCAAs, all you need to do is eat protein. I think they're a waste of money and don't produce any results. I'm going to guess that Creatine is a better choice for what you're after.
New here, glad I'm here & thanks, Bow. I saw a previous comment you made on a Q&A saying, "If by falling short on protein you mean less than 200g per day, then you're wasting your time and need to change something." Question: If we're not making our protein goals, is this causing "a waste of time" for muscle growth only or also in terms of mental clarity/supplemental loss as well? Thanks.
if it's just that day, then it's a waste in terms of muscle growth. if you're chronically failing to hit sufficient protein your mind, body, and performance will suffer as well
this isn't my realm of expertise, i'd recommend seeing a dermatologist.
Not something I've ever had to deal with. I'd make sure gut health and nutrition were on point and increase sun exposure. If that was hard to do I'd use my sperti fiji or hit the tanning beds. I'm sure antifungal creams from a dr will do the trick if everything else is dialed in.
Whats up man. My question is again regarding BPC 157 oral. Hope this isn't too long of question.
I've had gut issues since taking a course of antibiotics over a year ago now. I've gone to gastro doctor and run tests and they've determined its only leaky gut (as opposed to something more severe). The symptoms are pretty bad though - I would get liquid diarrhea at least once a week as the worst symptom.
I figured out trigger foods, started eating out less, and have been managing stress better which has helped - but the biggest differentiator seems to be the BPC. Its not perfect - and I still sometimes get flare ups aka bad diarrhea - but its helped a lot.
My concern is with tolerance and side-effects of taking it too long. Of course the cost isn't ideal but thats a seperate issue. I started taking 1000mcg per day which made a difference but am now at 1500-2500mcg per day. The higher dosage definitely help but I worry I am growing a tolerance to it. I can't say 100% whether I've needed a higher dosage to feel the same effect or if the higher dosage simply helps more. Especially with gut health it seems there are so many factors to be able to isolate one (sometimes I have a flare up and have no idea what caused it).
I also worry about how long to take it. My hope was that it could resolve my issues and I could start weening off it - but honestly my issues haven't seem to have gotten healed, its just the BPC is keeping it at bay. Even with just a lower dosage (500-1500mcg in a day), I'm still very susceptible to flare ups (bad diarrhea) from the slightest trigger - sometimes even when I can't identify the trigger and seem to be doing everything right.
Basically my question is 1. should I worry about building a tolerance? and 2. is there a point where taking bpc becomes risky or worrisome, say if i was taking higher dosages 5-6 months straight?
Haha that's multiple questions. I wouldn't worry about building a tolerance, that's not how BPC works. I don't think it's worrisome to be taking those larger does of BPC long term if needed, but It does make me think you still have a lot of work to do. Stayed tuned because I'll be going over gut health in a guide shortly
Hi Bio, new sub here and excited about all the stuff i’m going to learn.
First thing, would you recommend getting into NAD? Been seeing some options to daily dose yourself (VAION+).
NADs not really something I pay close attention to. I think if you take care of the foundational stuff, your NAD production will be sufficient
I take Nootropics Depot's OptiNAD+ and call it a day :)
Good to know, will check that one out! Cheers. :)
just read your article on hair loss, great info. I'd like to implement a protocol for sparse eyebrows I've had since birth, I've had mixed success with minox + dermapenning, what would you recommend to really grow my eyebrows?
I believe latanoprost/bimatoprost are known to help with that, but you'd need a prescription for a doctor
I don't envy you having to answer some of these questions, lol. Was just hoping for your quick feedback on Dihexa and if it gets your stamp of approval. Why or why not? Thanks man.
Dihexa is a small molecule agonist of Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF), which is the ligand for the c-Met receptor, potentially analogous to the AT4 receptor. While Dihexa's mechanism of action differs from AT4 receptor antagonists and has shown promise in trials, there are concerns about potential overactivity of the c-Met receptor.
Warning: may increase autism https://www.reddit.com/r/Nootropics/comments/96go62/dihexa_6_months_report/ 😂
Given these complexities and the need for further research, self-experimentation with Dihexa is for the brave lab rats. Personally, I'm not touching it.
Understood, and thank you for the thoughtful reply. Had been doing a review of the research and anecdotes, and noted some cause for concern. Calculated risks are one thing, but unwarranted risks are another. Just what I needed to hear. Steering clear for now. Thanks! :)
Best methods you’ve found for reducing stress / overcoming burnout? Work as the Ent Account Executive with a kit of travel and completing on my first business purchase, and just finished a men’s physique season. Feel absolutely burnt out
Health phase! Your body lets you know when it's time to chill for a little bit and not take on so many projects/goals. This is a good time to start logging nutrition, make sure you're getting micros, doing your cardio, prioritizing sleep, reconnecting with friends and having some fun/social activity, getting sufficient sunlight exposure, limiting blue light, and all that good stuff. That's how you recharge.
Once you're recharged you can schedule mini rest periods into your life so you don't get to complete burn out mode again.
How do you have proper circadian rhythm at high latitudes with long winter days and vice versa long summer days?
The way I approach this is to stick to a schedule and then hack my home environment to mimick the light environment I'm genetically adapted to. This stuff helps:
Smart bulbs to change color temperature during time of day
https://amzn.to/3ZpGy5j
Best Supplemental UV Light
https://www.sperti.com/product/fiji-sun-tanning-lamp/?ref=10787
Best Supplemental Red Lights
https://emr-tek.com/
Black out Curtains
https://amzn.to/3Zj8Uhi
Bluelight Blocking Glasses
https://amzn.to/3zlXEpO
Hi,
Just about to start a bulk. Do you see any meaningful differences in performance, size etc. when increasing daily creatine consumption from 5g to 10g?
Thanks!
Personally no. I think 10g is great when you start, but I feel like after a month or so I can maintain the same benefits on 5g per day.
Cheers
Hey BTBH,
Apologies for lengthy post. 32M ~10% BF year round and eat a protein dominant diet. Been into nutrition and fitness for 10-12 years so make sure get nutrients through diet and remainder through supplements. Got some bloodwork done and T levels are around mid 500s and free T is 1.5% but I do not struggle with energy levels and am pretty muscular relative to my frame. Prolactin came in at 11UG/l and estradiol was <40 pmol/l. DHEA is at 5.5 umol/l. I know you always say lack of morning wood can be check engine light and it's been very inconsistent unless I work for blood flow using pomegranate juice, l-citrulline, arginine, etc (same with libido -- pine pollen helped). I am thinking P5P and high quality vitamin e to bring down prolactin. 5mg pregnenalone to help with DHEA levels. Struggling to improve libido and would like to bring up T levels for the rest of high T benefits (have tried the general health twitter supps). Would appreciate some guidance. Thanks.
Causes of High Prolactin:
Prolactinomas: a type of tumor on the pituitary gland that secretes prolactin. Can be diagnosed with an MRI.
Medications: can increase prolactin levels by inhibiting dopamine, which normally suppresses prolactin secretion. These include antipsychotics, antidepressants, and antiemetics.
Hypothyroid: Low thyroid hormone levels can lead to increased secretion of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), which can stimulate prolactin production.
Chronic Stress: CRH directly stimulates prolactin release from the anterior pituitary. Additionally, elevated cortisol also increases prolactin levels by inhibiting dopamine secretion in hypothalamic dopaminergic neurons.
Dopaminergic dysfunction/ excessive cooming.
Read all that and give your entire life a completely honest and unbiased critique. what do you think is causing it?
Trying to be as unbiased as possible here, because I have mostly everything (sleep, diet, training, getting some sunlight daily, etc.) pretty dialled in, I'm perplexed.
Out of the things you mentioned hypothyroid and chronic stress seem like the most probable. Subjective feelings of stress oscillate but could be a contributor (mostly financial stress).
From my thyroid panel, TSH came in at 2.54 mlU/l and free T4 was 13 pmol/l.
Don't have issues with excess cooming or porn (quit that years ago) and even with my wife, I limit cooming to 3-4 times a month max.
Thanks again for willing to provide some guidance here.
Helll BowTied! Thoughts on BCAAs? I have started to add a scoop to my protien powder daily . If pro, any specific brand you would recommend?
Your body makes its own BCAAs, all you need to do is eat protein. I think they're a waste of money and don't produce any results. I'm going to guess that Creatine is a better choice for what you're after.
What’s the best solution / stack for loose skin post pregnancy?
Time, high protein diet, collagen, topical GHK maybe some hydrocortisone
If you were using GHK-CU for eggplant gains, alongside MK-677/Cialis/Pump/BPC-157, would you apply it topically or inject it?
I've done both. Both work.
New here, glad I'm here & thanks, Bow. I saw a previous comment you made on a Q&A saying, "If by falling short on protein you mean less than 200g per day, then you're wasting your time and need to change something." Question: If we're not making our protein goals, is this causing "a waste of time" for muscle growth only or also in terms of mental clarity/supplemental loss as well? Thanks.
if it's just that day, then it's a waste in terms of muscle growth. if you're chronically failing to hit sufficient protein your mind, body, and performance will suffer as well
Any suggestions for tinea versicolor?
this isn't my realm of expertise, i'd recommend seeing a dermatologist.
Not something I've ever had to deal with. I'd make sure gut health and nutrition were on point and increase sun exposure. If that was hard to do I'd use my sperti fiji or hit the tanning beds. I'm sure antifungal creams from a dr will do the trick if everything else is dialed in.
Is there any difference between ALCAR and regular l-carnitine for weight loss?
Yeah ALCAR is a nootropic
Hey BTB, I am reading the replies and realized you probably unintentionally missed my Q (posted on time, just 1Q) would love you take on that Q.
Could you please check that. Appreciate that.
I don't see it?
Whats up man. My question is again regarding BPC 157 oral. Hope this isn't too long of question.
I've had gut issues since taking a course of antibiotics over a year ago now. I've gone to gastro doctor and run tests and they've determined its only leaky gut (as opposed to something more severe). The symptoms are pretty bad though - I would get liquid diarrhea at least once a week as the worst symptom.
I figured out trigger foods, started eating out less, and have been managing stress better which has helped - but the biggest differentiator seems to be the BPC. Its not perfect - and I still sometimes get flare ups aka bad diarrhea - but its helped a lot.
My concern is with tolerance and side-effects of taking it too long. Of course the cost isn't ideal but thats a seperate issue. I started taking 1000mcg per day which made a difference but am now at 1500-2500mcg per day. The higher dosage definitely help but I worry I am growing a tolerance to it. I can't say 100% whether I've needed a higher dosage to feel the same effect or if the higher dosage simply helps more. Especially with gut health it seems there are so many factors to be able to isolate one (sometimes I have a flare up and have no idea what caused it).
I also worry about how long to take it. My hope was that it could resolve my issues and I could start weening off it - but honestly my issues haven't seem to have gotten healed, its just the BPC is keeping it at bay. Even with just a lower dosage (500-1500mcg in a day), I'm still very susceptible to flare ups (bad diarrhea) from the slightest trigger - sometimes even when I can't identify the trigger and seem to be doing everything right.
Basically my question is 1. should I worry about building a tolerance? and 2. is there a point where taking bpc becomes risky or worrisome, say if i was taking higher dosages 5-6 months straight?
Haha that's multiple questions. I wouldn't worry about building a tolerance, that's not how BPC works. I don't think it's worrisome to be taking those larger does of BPC long term if needed, but It does make me think you still have a lot of work to do. Stayed tuned because I'll be going over gut health in a guide shortly
could definitely use that gut guide
Anyone have good recommendations for TRT clinics/doctors?
Marek Health