DOSE:

repeated

oral

DHEA

(edible / food)

BODY WEIGHT:

155 lb

My main reason for trying DHEA was to improve muscle building from workouts. I also heard of DHEA potentially improving cognitive skills (especially memory) and I wondered if it would help with work or study.

Dosage recommendations for DHEA are radically variable, from 2.5 to 50 mg by American doctors and pharmacies to over 500 mg by sketchy online sources and bodybuilders who desire a replacement for illegal steroids and/or GHB. I decided to start low and work up. I bought 30 mg pills and usually crushed them and added them to nutrition shakes including soy protein, moderate micronutrients, and a small amount of creatine. After two weeks of daily use, I could report no noticeable effects. I increased my daily dose to 90 mg, continuing for another 10 days. I still got nothing.

Before I began DHEA supplements, I read a report of someone using 350 mg of DHEA in a single dose. I finally decided to try an equal dose to compare effects. The 350 mg of DHEA gave my concoction a lovely chalk-that-sticks-to-your-gums taste and feel. I worked out just over an hour afterward, but noticed nothing different. Another hour later, I started perceiving subtle negative effects, such as dizziness, a feeling of lightness, and irritability. This was mild enough that it could have been unrelated to the drug. I felt nothing related to memory or mental alertness.

The slight unpleasant symptoms left after a few hours. I slept normally. The next morning, I felt ill. Strangely enough, it was very similar to what I feel after coming down from or on the morning after taking stimulants such as methylphenidate, cocaine, or dextroamphetamine. It's a basic feeling of 'drug sickness', with mild dysphoria, lethargy, nausea, and general discomfort. I realized my face felt very oily, the rest of my skin was clammy, and I was sweating heavily (I don't normally sweat much outside of heavy physical activity). This was consistant with the aftereffects I feel from amphetamine use, but more pronounced. The real surprise came when I looked in the mirror; my face broke out in acne like crazy. Even my neck and arms had a few spots. I still get a zit every few months, but haven't had anything like this, even as an adolescent. After seeing this, two friends acted a little concerned and said almost the exact same words: 'Um... you're not using steroids, are you?' 'Nope, why?' 'Uhh... nothing.'

I threw out what was left of the bottle. At least these little pellets from Satan's chalkboard taught me not to mess around with steroids. Chicks are into muscles, not getting some kind of pus bukkake every time I change facial expressions. (Okay, that was nasty.) Anyway, I'll stick to eating decent and maybe taking shots of Green Dragon before workouts. :)

Exp Year: 2005	ExpID: 46070
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Jun 28, 2010	Views: 13,171
[ View PDF (to print) ] [ View LaTeX (for geeks) ] [ Swap Dark/Light ]
DHEA (171) : Health Problems (27), Performance Enhancement (50), Hangover / Days After (46), Retrospective / Summary (11), Not Applicable (38)