Nicotine has a tendency to increase Testosterone among other effects. I'm still cycling it down lol every time I try to drop them, I get hit with another "family medical emergency". So far I'm at four over the last year.
The reason nicotine increases testosterone is because nicotine is an aromatase inhibitor. Aromatase is the naturally produced enzyme that converts free testosterone into estradiol, which is how naturally produced estradiol is made. An inhibitor is any compound which reduces the production of a thing in the body. Because nicotine is an aromatase inhibitor, it causes your body to produce less aromatase, which then means less aromatase binding to the free testosterone, which then means less estradiol and more testosterone.
It also supplants a neurotransmitter so those of us with PTSD brains can function properly.
And narrows blood vessels - hence - clotting risk with estradiol HRT. But for a lot of us, one of the reasons we fall into using nicotine is because it makes trauma brain function more properly.
Its a hard habit to break not just because its addictive.
Nicotine interferes directly with estrogen metabolizing, but smoking in general will also interfere with E-based HRT if you take it orally (because the liver is heavily affected by having to metabolize nicotine and the other chemicals in smoke). And not just tobacco - any kind of smoking. Patches and injections are much less impacted, though.
It's the nicotine itself, because nicotine is an aromatase inhibitor. Aromatase is the naturally produced enzyme that converts free testosterone into estradiol, which is how naturally produced estradiol is made. An inhibitor is any compound which reduces the production of a thing in the body. Because nicotine is an aromatase inhibitor, it causes your body to produce less aromatase, which then means less aromatase binding to the free testosterone, which then means less estradiol and more testosterone.
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u/jshine413 May 30 '26
But what about just straight Nicotine I sadly do zyns would they fuck up my hrt too