DHEA at 50mg gave me oily skin and acne, anyone else see androgenic sides?

Posted by sleep_coastal in Safety & Side Effects - 1 points, 0 comments.

Started DHEA a few months back at 50mg morning dose, just to see if it'd help with energy and general mood. Felt decent on it for the first couple weeks, maybe a little more drive in the mornings, could just be placebo though. Around week three my face got noticeably oilier.

Then small cystic bumps along my jawline and the back of my neck. I almost never break out so this was pretty obvious to me. Anecdotally it seemed pretty clearly tied to the DHEA because when I dropped to 25mg the oiliness backed off within about a week and the acne slowly faded over the next month.

I ran 25mg for a while and the sides mostly stayed away but I also felt less from it. Tried splitting the dose 25mg morning and 25mg early afternoon instead of all at once and that seemed to help a little with the skin stuff but not entirely. Curious if anyone here has dealt with the androgenic sides from DHEA specifically.

Did you find a dose where you still got benefits without the acne and oil? Or is it kinda just a package deal once you go above a certain threshold? Also wondering if anyone tracked their testosterone or estrogen levels while on it and saw a meaningful shift at these doses. I have not pulled bloodwork yet but probably should before I keep going much longer.

Community discussion - research and educational context only. Not medical advice.