HIGH Testosterone. How to know??

[black&gold]

I'm swaying pink so I know it's recommended to take Saw Palmetto. However, I know it can mess with cycles and I'm just not sure how I feel about taking it.

I'm wondering if there are any signs to know if you have high testosterone. I have two boys and just assume I'm always going to have boys. I don't have random hair growing on my face or anything, I have an very low sex drive.. but are there any other signs? I do tend to have good muscle tone even when I don't work out, have always had a "6-pack" and biceps even though I am very petite - BMI of 16.7.

Just curious if there are other signs that mean high levels of testosterone...?!?

[LacePrincess]

There are other physical signs besides hair like acne on the chest and neck/chin (as opposed to acne on cheeks/forehead), and deep voice. But your T would have to be really high to show signs like that, likely as of PCOS or some other hormone disorder.

You're seeing a 6 pack not necessarily due to high T but because you're so thin. Visible 6 packs aren't due to large ab muscles - it's due to very low bodyfat. Even pro bodybuilders don't see 'cut' abs unless they cut bodyfat low enough. I usually see mine too but my bodyfat was too low to properly ovulate, and I had to gain a little in bodyfat to get my ovulation regular again. Ever since I gained a bit of bodyfat I don't see my abs as cut anymore.

You really have no way of knowing your T levels without a blood test. I wouldn't recommend testing for it, and worrying about it will ironically just raise your stress hormones (cortisol and T). As long as you're following LE diet recommendations you'll be minimizing what you have anyways.

[black&gold]

Thanks Lace, sorry I'm asking so many questions!

[black&gold]

Is the Saw Palmetto super important? I've only had a period maybe 6 times since stopping breastfeeding and my cycles which were always 28 days exactly have been a little off and are only just regulating. I want to get pregnant fast so I worry this could mess things up. Is it a really important part of the sway I should be doing?

[LacePrincess]

Hey, np! Glad to help. :)

Sorry, I'm not that familiar with SP since I was still nursing when I started my sway and you can't take SP at all while bf'ing. So I just kinda never did. I ended up feeling more comfortable with Vitex.

SP can shift things around your cycle, as can Vitex. I took Vitex more for regulating my cycle again (which it did) then for sway reasons. If you're not nursing anymore then you can start SP but yes it can definitely make things weird with your cycle. If you're not comfortable with that you could give it a few cycles for things to settle down if you like and are nervous about the SP.

[Thorz300]

Can peppermint tea mess with your cycle too?

[Tiggerian]

I highly doubt that - but it can lower you testosterone. However, I've been drinking two cups a day for nearly a month and the change isn't amazing (I know I've got high test.). It's slight, but noticable. I'm not sure whether it's due to diet changes, the tea or a combination of both, but the fluff on my chin has gone down considerately. Few stubborn strands left, but other than that it's gone and my skin has cleared up a lot too.

[LacePrincess]

I don't know if peppermint tea can lower T, though I doubt it. Even if it could you'd have to be taking some pretty big therapeutic amounts, far more than a few mugs of tea.

Peppermint can cause cramping and induce early m/c (although again in large amounts) so just to be safe it's recommended not to have any in the 2ww.

I find it very soothing myself, and I'm a really anxious and aggressive type. I find it calms me and calms the jitters, so if anything I would think it reduces T.

[atomic sagebrush]

physical symptoms of high testosterone are here: http://genderdreaming.com/forum/trying-conceive-boy/582-physical-symptoms-high-low-testosterone-women.html I agree with what Lace says above - by the time you have those symptoms, you're pretty high in T and would be having some other symptoms like irregular cycles and stuff like that.

The prob with pep tea is yes, it can lower testosterone, but at the same time, it can also screw up your cycles and I personally believe it's less effective than the SP is. So I think it's better to go with the SP and just be sure to stop it a day or two before you're expecting to ovulate

[atomic sagebrush]

Is the Saw Palmetto super important? I've only had a period maybe 6 times since stopping breastfeeding and my cycles which were always 28 days exactly have been a little off and are only just regulating. I want to get pregnant fast so I worry this could mess things up. Is it a really important part of the sway I should be doing?

Virtually all the girls ever conceived on the planet were gotten without taking saw palmetto!! It's totally your call to make. I do think it helps, but it's in no way mandatory. I didn't take it.

[LacePrincess]

Hah, I just realized I contradicted myself! I meant to say that peppermint tea doesn't raise T and if anything can lower T because it has a calming/destressing effect.

Gosh this is what you get for posting without enough coffee!

[atomic sagebrush]

Can peppermint tea mess with your cycle too?

Yes.