Male Hormone Replacement Therapy

Why do men need progesterone? Let’s talk about it. 

Progesterone is typically thought of as a female hormone but men make progesterone too.

The adrenal glands actually produce some progesterone.

Progesterone is important because it is a natural aromatase inhibitor. What does that mean? It means it prevents testosterone from turning into estrogen. Too much conversion of estrogen from testosterone can cause gynecomastia, also known as man boobs, increased body fat, moodiness, and metabolic disorders in men. 

I have found in my male patients who require testosterone replacement therapy that adding a small amount of progesterone to their testosterone inhibits estrogen conversion, maintaining a higher level of testosterone for lower dosing.

I’ve been using Gen-Pro in my male patients which is a prescription grade transdermal progesterone.

Typically men need about 2.5 milligrams of progesterone for every 40 milligrams of testosterone. Gen-Pro delivers 25 milligrams per pump. Most of my male patients would use Gen-Pro from one to three times a week, which is adequate to cover their testosterone replacement therapy which may range from 80 milligrams a day to 360 milligrams a day.

I have even found that especially in genetic conditions with extra X chromosomes like Kleinfelter’s adding progesterone to testosterone replacement therapy starting in puberty for these young boys will prevent conversion into estrogen and help them to masculinize as much as possible. 

Of course, all my male patients support their hypothalamus with Genesis Gold® to optimize their response to testosterone. 

If you’ve any questions about male hormones, please join us in our Hormone Reboot Training. Also my new book The Hypothalamus Handbook goes into depth on male hormone replacement therapy and the use of progesterone.