So I asked my Endo about changing from Clomid to HCG as, from everything I’ve read, it would be a better protocol for my lifelong TRT. I did this over the phone and the doctor called in a “script” to my local pharmacy.
Of course I need his office to call the insurance company and get pre-authorization, but I asked the pharmacist how much it would cost me without insurance. They told me that he prescribed 2000 iu’s twice per week… I was expecting around 700-800 iu’s per week so this seems really high.
The pharmacy also told me that my cost would be $1500.00 per month without insurance… wow. I’m starting to think that those India based pharmacies may be the way to go, even WITH insurance.
Even at 4k a week or 16k per month thats 2 vials which without insurance is ~$300. Not sure where they are getting $1500 a month from.
I saw a post on another forum where someone was taking 500 iu’s a day. You can probably get by with less.
There is a great post by David Z regarding HCG and Dr. Shippen’s protocol. A small snippet.
I use and recommend Dr. Shippen’s HCG protocol. Dr. Shippen’s protocol calls for low dose shots (about 300 to 500 IU) at bedtime, 2 to 5 times a week depending upon your responsiveness. This protocol more closely mimics the body’s natural physiologic rhythm of LH production. (Note: Effective April, 2005 I switched to nightly HCG shots of 65 IU/night)
[quote]GFA wrote:
Even at 4k a week or 16k per month thats 2 vials which without insurance is ~$300. Not sure where they are getting $1500 a month from.
I saw a post on another forum where someone was taking 500 iu’s a day. You can probably get by with less.
There is a great post by David Z regarding HCG and Dr. Shippen’s protocol. A small snippet.
I use and recommend Dr. Shippen’s HCG protocol. Dr. Shippen’s protocol calls for low dose shots (about 300 to 500 IU) at bedtime, 2 to 5 times a week depending upon your responsiveness. This protocol more closely mimics the body’s natural physiologic rhythm of LH production. (Note: Effective April, 2005 I switched to nightly HCG shots of 65 IU/night)
[/quote]
So I’m using a reputable pharmacy (CVS) and I have no idea why that price is so high.
Do you have any places that you recommend to order HCG from?
I use and recommend Dr. Shippen’s HCG protocol. Dr. Shippen’s protocol calls for low dose shots (about 300 to 500 IU) at bedtime, 2 to 5 times a week depending upon your responsiveness. This protocol more closely mimics the body’s natural physiologic rhythm of LH production. (Note: Effective April, 2005 I switched to nightly HCG shots of 65 IU/night)
[/quote]
Are there any posts about your HCG schedule?
I understand LH has an under 10 minute half life, and FSH is less than four hours. With a day-and-a-half half-life, I wonder if daily HCG would register as a pulse at all.
Your doctor probably wrote the script for more than you are actually supposed to take so insurance will cover it (making it a “one month supply”). This is common. Take the proper amount, not some retarded 2k iu/week amount. Go get it filled as often as necessary based on this schedule. You will be fine. I don’t understand what you are fretting over.
I use and recommend Dr. Shippen’s HCG protocol. Dr. Shippen’s protocol calls for low dose shots (about 300 to 500 IU) at bedtime, 2 to 5 times a week depending upon your responsiveness. This protocol more closely mimics the body’s natural physiologic rhythm of LH production. (Note: Effective April, 2005 I switched to nightly HCG shots of 65 IU/night)
[/quote]
Are there any posts about your HCG schedule?
I understand LH has an under 10 minute half life, and FSH is less than four hours. With a day-and-a-half half-life, I wonder if daily HCG would register as a pulse at all.
Interesting stuff. Thanks!
[/quote]
I purchased a vial of HCG from CVS 2 weeks ago but decided to move over to T cyp instead since its much cheaper.
Im doing T cyp injections(100mg) and using HCG 2x a week (250 iu). I can purchase T cyp (200mg/mL 10mL vial) for $80 a vial and it will last me 4-5 months. Im done having kids so I dont care about being fertile anymore. Im using the HCG until it runs out. This is Crislers TRT/HCG protocol.
If you read the protocol I sent you, it describes how much David Z is taking and what Dr. Shippen recommends.
Last week I posted a link from someone using 500 iu a day, 7 days a week. I honestly dont know how much you will need but the less the better right? You will have to find out what your body requires to maintain an acceptable level for you.
I did HCG awhile back and was doing 250 iu EOD. This kept my T around 600 I believe. These injections can be SubQ. 29-31g 1/2" insulin needles are fine.
All those crazy women doing the HCG diet are probably increasing the price for the rest of us that really need it.
Let me know if you have any other questions Ill be happy to answer them to the best of my ability.
I use and recommend Dr. Shippen’s HCG protocol. Dr. Shippen’s protocol calls for low dose shots (about 300 to 500 IU) at bedtime, 2 to 5 times a week depending upon your responsiveness. This protocol more closely mimics the body’s natural physiologic rhythm of LH production. (Note: Effective April, 2005 I switched to nightly HCG shots of 65 IU/night)
[/quote]
Are there any posts about your HCG schedule?
I understand LH has an under 10 minute half life, and FSH is less than four hours. With a day-and-a-half half-life, I wonder if daily HCG would register as a pulse at all.
Interesting stuff. Thanks!
[/quote]
Thanks GFA, it sounds like you’re pretty well informed.
If you’re not interested in having kids down the road, what is the reason for the HCG?
If you’re not interested in having kids down the road, what is the reason for the HCG?[/quote]
I will probably suck it up and continue to use HCG to keep my nuts functioning. Your testicles are responsible for other things besides just producing testosterone.
Many people that are on TRT report feeling much better after including HCG into their schedule. (Read the TRT injection sticky).
Dr. Crislin’s protocol is 100mg a week + HCG.
The reason he doesnt recommend HCG mono therapy is it usually doesnt work as well as Test + HCG in terms of mood and serum blood levels.
yeah hcg is a good mood stabalizer, along with the t injection the hcg will also act as a catalist to bump up both test and e2, so that is something one needs to address as well,
any idea why crissler recommends 2 hcg shots the two days before the test shot? or is that older thinking he does not believe in anymore?
and why does shippen recommend so many hcg shots? is that for hcg monotherapy only? it seems like it is not needed so much as yes it will bump the test up, but also the e2, wow what a ride that can cause?
Shippen isn’t high frequency…you start out at 2, and if that doesn’t get you to where you need to be, you add in one incrementally…the way it should be…
I read why Crisler recommends the HCG at the end of the week…and I think its because the paper he coupled that HCG protocol with was injecting only once a week and T levels would drop dramatically at that time, so the HCG was to keep them elevated. I dont know why anyone would do this instead of just injecting the T twice a week to alleviate the fluctuations and take your hcg evenly spaced too (a la the protocol in the stickeys here).