[Chestnut]

Hi chestnut, if i can add anything it would be to trust the process and be patient. I'm happy I've been there to help you early on in your journey. 

Hi Lotus, Thank you for your wise words and for your support. Like everybody here I have learned so much from your invaluable research over the years - Thank You for being here for us. I dearly hope that you may have some better news with your health struggles in the near future.

[Chestnut]

I will be posting in detail about my latest experiements and development in about two weeks or so as I'm hitting three and half years on HRT. Last six months have been amazing and I've figured out quite a bit about how to make the topical protocol work to the max. The basics of it are super simple, with DHEA I think its great idea to get the capsules and use the micronised powder instead of cream, its much cheaper and dosing is super easy. Of course if cost isn't a problem, the creams work just fine as there's less hassle to work with.

From what I've found, it seems to get really efficient when dosage exceeds 50mg. I've stayed on 75mg for a long time as it seems near perfect. With progesterone, creams work fine, but the changes seem to get way faster when there's much higher dosage used, the gel from Prog capsules. My usual dose is 200mg from capsule and 20mg from cream. For estradiol I have the 1mg gel pouches.

Anyway, I will be posting updated program, timeline photos and explain a whole lot about all this before Christmas.

Hi Lara, and thank you so much for your advice and help. I really value your encouragement and example, though I can only dream of making the fantastic gains that you have achieved!

I especially appreciate the dosage examples you describe. I can see instantly that I am way off the dosages you are using, so I will have to examine and adjust mine in the light of your comments. I have just today run out of DHEA cream (Biovea). You are quite right - it is very expensive and to increase my dosage I will need to change to capsules and mix the powder into my progesterone cream (as you advise) - which I also need to up my dosage of.

In the UK the only source of micronised DHEA capsules seems to be iHerb. I have been looking at some 50mg capsules from MRM Nutrition which appear to be a good starting point. If you have any other suggestions or a preferred brand I would love to know - DHEA seems a little tricky to source in the UK…

I very much look forward to hearing about your experiments in due course. I hope that you might be able to give us more information on dosage rates and anything else that you feel has helped you in making your amazing gains. Thanks! Chestnut

[wee2er]

Hi Chestnut, yes DHHEA is a bit tricky to get here, I use the Swanson 100mg from iHerbs and mix into the pg cream which I get from iHerbs as well. 
There's some debate if the Swanson is micronised, but for me it absorbs completely in the cream, and works well.

[Chestnut]

Hi Wee2er. Thanks for the information. I usually buy from iHerb too - they seem to be about the only source in the UK for a lot of things. They stock the MRM Nutrition DHEA what is what I am planning to try. The 50Mg capsules work out at £0.13 each (supplied in a bottle of 90) and are definitely listed as micronised. I had a look on the MRM website, and they definitely state that they are micronised. The price works out at the same per capsule as the Swanson ones that you are using.

If you don’t mind me asking, how many are you using per day? I was thinking that I would use one when I get up in the morning and another before bed, mixed into my progesterone cream. Does that sound about right? I’ve never tried splitting the capsules and mixing into the cream, but it sounds like it should be easy enough, if a little messy. Any hints on the best approach?

[wee2er]

Hi Chestnut,
Yes iHerbs does seem to be the only decent and reliable supplier for us in the UK. The reason why uuse Swanson is that they are 100mg/cap, which corresponds to the recommendations of 100mg/day from our wonderful Lotus 

So it was really down to a financial decision 1/cap of Swanson as opposed to 2/caps of the MRM.

Although the Swanson does not specifically say its micronised, when I did a lot of digging around it seems that all medical powders are these days micronised, so  maybe the reason why they dont bother stating it.

However, I can confirm that it dissolves completely in the PG cream.

It's not that messy once you get into it, and I also use a few other things too, so what I do is:

Witch hazel thighs/buttocks/breasts (this is optional but makes sure you have ultra clean skin)
Apply a decent layer of Aloe Vera gel (its a good idea to let it start soaking in first)
Using the aloe vera lid, I split the DHEA cap onto it.
Squirt 3 pumps of PG cream around it (make a well around the DHEA)
Drop my 6~8 drps of RC onto the DHEA
Mix it all with one finger
Slap it all on
Then drop half a dropper full of cayenne extract (with PM dissolved in it) to each area and rub in
Then most importantly - thoroughly wash your hands as cayenne extract on your delicates is not a happy place to be in !!!
Then chillax for 15-mins or so to let it all absorb in.

So all in all 30-mins max before bed.

Hope that helps.

[Chestnut]

Hi Chestnut,
Yes iHerbs does seem to be the only decent and reliable supplier for us in the UK. The reason why uuse Swanson is that they are 100mg/cap, which corresponds to the recommendations of 100mg/day from our wonderful Lotus 

So it was really down to a financial decision 1/cap of Swanson as opposed to 2/caps of the MRM.

Although the Swanson does not specifically say its micronised, when I did a lot of digging around it seems that all medical powders are these days micronised, so  maybe the reason why they dont bother stating it.

However, I can confirm that it dissolves completely in the PG cream.

It's not that messy once you get into it, and I also use a few other things too, so what I do is:

Witch hazel thighs/buttocks/breasts (this is optional but makes sure you have ultra clean skin)
Apply a decent layer of Aloe Vera gel (its a good idea to let it start soaking in first)
Using the aloe vera lid, I split the DHEA cap onto it.
Squirt 3 pumps of PG cream around it (make a well around the DHEA)
Drop my 6~8 drps of RC onto the DHEA
Mix it all with one finger
Slap it all on
Then drop half a dropper full of cayenne extract (with PM dissolved in it) to each area and rub in
Then most importantly - thoroughly wash your hands as cayenne extract on your delicates is not a happy place to be in !!!
Then chillax for 15-mins or so to let it all absorb in.

So all in all 30-mins max before bed.

Hope that helps.

Thanks Wee2er - That helps a lot. Thanks for clarifying the Swanson/MRM question. That makes perfect sense and looks like a much more economical option than the DHEA cream. I was surprised how small the pump dispenser for the cream was when it arrived, and also how quickly I used it all up. I don’t think I could afford to keep using the cream at that sort of cost. Lara recommended the capsule powder option as a much more affordable method and she’s definitely correct!

Your information on how you apply your mixture is invaluable and will be the method I will adopt when my DHEA capsules arrive. It sounds like that will work great with my nightly routine, too. I also need to get some RC drops as everyone on Lotus’s Topical Cream Protocol is saying that it works really well and is an important addition.

I need to read up on the cayennne extract - I haven’t understood just how that contributes, but again it must be worth incorporating it. I will take heed of your timely warning about washing my hands as soon as everything is applied, though!

I get the sense that the procedure will be a little complicated to start with, but like everything else we do, it will become easier once it is an established routine.

Thanks again for your support and advice.

[wee2er]

Glad it is of help.

RC we think is a good substitute for the lip plumping stuff (sorry cant remember the name) but looks like its has an accumulative effect so the longer you use it the better and longer lasting results you get from it.
The man aim for adding it my topical is to see if it helps prompt the lower half curves, but I'm using it (on and off) on my lips with a slather of MCT oil and they do feel a little bit plumper.

Cayenne extract, what I d with that is split 10 caps of BO into it, so the idea is I get a bit of BO along with the benefits of the cayenne, which is increased metabolism, which should help absorption and the BO.

Look out for Heaven's Night update as she is at the topical frontline 

[Chestnut]

That clarifies the RC and cayenne queries - thanks. I think I’ll concentrate on getting the basic TCP sorted out and see where that takes me for a month or two, and then look at adding in other elements when I can see where my development is heading. It seems to make more sense to approach it incrementally to see what works for me and what doesn’t.

Really looking forward to HT’s update on all things topical.