Ok, so we all know that HCG’s main purpose in the world of TRT is to sustain fertility, and help prevent testicular atrophy in those who are either so in love with their balls that they actually think their girl will notice if they shrink by a 1/16 of an inch, OR those rare few who experience real pain with atrophy. No judgement here, and it’s not up to me to decide how important either one of those reasons are to you or anyone else.
The thing that has been not been given much attention, and is really only theoretical and not proven in any study that I know of, is the idea that elevated LH can be beneficial for optimal adrenal function. This is what I’m interested in.
It’s also been very well documented that there are some men who feel like crap on HCG, and some who swear by how much better they feel while taking HCG. To whit, I would like to find if there is a reason for the somewhat evenly divided split. My very ill-educated hypothesis on the subject is this…
I theorize (key word being theorize) that there is one of two main reasons that could be responsible for those guys who do not tolerate HCG well.
- They don’t stay on it long enough to allow levels to equalize.
- These guys are secondary hypogonadism
Number one is self explanatory and the length of this experiment should negate that possibility. I’ll try to explain my basis for number two. I think that for the secondary guys, whose testicles function quite well but their pituitary cannot produce enough LH and FSH to take advantage of that function, boosting their levels of LH with HCG may give their natural testosterone production enough of a kick as to add a significant amount to the exogenous testosterone being injected, and throw the hormone levels into somewhat of a frenzy. I think it would be worth polling the different camps on HCG and compare their testosterone deficiency prognosis. This would be a very hard poll to take as most do not really go the extra mile to determine the cause before they start injecting and shut down LH and FSH production.
I also think that, in the theoretical case mentioned above, that some or even most of these guys may be overweight and therefore, not only do they kickstart the production of testosterone, but also cause the well functioning testicles to produce endogenous estradiol. Having a higher than normal aromatase rate due to being overweight could add significantly to those estradiol levels, especially since the testorone levels are now higher as well, making more available for aromatase. I think these two factors could be a viable possibility as to why some guys feel badly when the natural feedback loop of hormone production is started back up.
Now, that all being said, I myself know that I am primary hypogonadism, so I don’t expect much in the way of significant natural production adding to my TRT protocol. If I can successfully implement HCG into my protocol I know that it will not PROVE anything, but it will be a step in a good direction I think. I’m at the very least giving some experience based credence to my theory. Maybe not.
Ok so here is the experiment…
I got the HCG in today (12000IU total) and will inject 500IU on Monday’s and Thursday’s for a total of 1000IU per week for the next 12 weeks. I have been on Test Cyp only (no AI) for around 8 months and am fairly stable and feel pretty good. My current protocol is 50mg Test MWF (150mg per week Total).
I will post my last labs (taken about 2 months ago) a little later on. My next labs are due at about the same time this 12 week run with HCG will come to an end. I will compare those to see what differences are noted. I will also use this thread to journal any differences I notice in how I feel during the next 12 weeks, or any other changes I notice physical or otherwise. I would also like this to be a civil open discussion on my thoughts and theories, and you guys thoughts and theories on the subject.
Feel free to make predictions to test what you may or may not know, or whatever. Maybe this will help someone else. Maybe it will even pique enough interest that the discrepancies could be studied further by those with the means and education to properly conduct such studies, and eventually we could all have science driven fact on the matter. Until then, this is best that I can offer with my limitations.
Thanks for reading and feel free to chime in!!
@dbossa @increasemyt
I would love for you guys to get in on this discussion.
I’ve read some about HMG being used, so I may consider that down the road. We aren’t in a rush to have kids right now – likely a couple years from now.