Let me start off by saying I was stupid and thought bodybuilding was for me so I blasted and cruised for the past 3 years with the first two years focused on actual cycles and then cruise and the 3rd year was just a trt dosage. I came off completely at the end of January this year I am now 23.
I have been on clomid at 25mg mon/wed/Fri and 1mg adex a week. Had a blood test last week 2hours after waking up and testosterone came back at 697ng/dl. Is this low for me considering I am taking clomid 3x a week or am I simply not taking enough clomid? I do realise my testosterone may not fully be back online for atleast a year but I would have thought with clomid and adex that I would be at the upper range?
Seems like it’s in normal range 300-1200 depending on who’s chart you’re using. However, if you didn’t get bloodwork done before starting the cycle you have no idea what your normal is. If you feel good and there’s no problems then I’d say you’re fine. Seems like a lot of pct stuff there. Don’t overdo them or you’ll end up with problems.
Arimidex is NOT a PCT drug. We have all seen the perfect PCT programs calling for AIs but these are simply wrong. The people responsible should go take that stuff down. The arimidex is probably working against your full recovery.
I don’t think you still need to take the clomid it has been around 7 months depending on when exactly you started. From what I know about natural test levels yours seems good like right in the decent range, we all want extra high levels but that’s just not how nature works.
It’s probably time to stop the PCT regiment and let your body finish recovering. The clomid is actually taking the place of part of your HPTA loop so as long as you take it your body is dependent on it.
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Unfortunately due to compounding environmental factors and subjects used in various meta analysis, testosterone ref ranges are now closer to 170-800, 300-1200 should be the standard for normality though.
697 (depending on free T) is totally fine, if you aren’t feeling up to par it may be due to the adverse neurological affects of which clomiphene can cause.
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I have bad news for you: unless you plan on being in clomid the rest of your life that blood work is almost 100% meaningless.
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The reasoning for long term clomid use is because I have read up on several studies showing testes suppression can last anywhere from 12-18month.
What reasoning do you have for clomid and also anastrazole working against me? I am curious as I thought they would provide a natural release of testosterone which means not actually shutting you down.
“neurological” affects?
Also for you guys saying to stop pct meds… Clomid increases testosterone a fair bit so with my levels being around 700 then if I stopped taking then my levels would surely plumit to very low levels?
That is what I am mainly asking for in the first post as I actually do want to stop taking everything but for the fact of the reason above.
No one can know what your levels will be after you cease clomid use.
What I will say is when you attempt to come off, taper off as slow as possible.
SB
Yes the total time frame for complete recovery can be a year or more. PCT is performed to help kick start the natural testosterone production again but it takes as stated possibly a year for everything to finally come back and equalize. Taking PCT drugs for too long can desensitize your body to them and hinder your bodies ability to control itself.
Arimidex, this is blocking your bodies ability to convert test into estrogen. We need estrogen. If it is too low that can easily effect your mood and energy level and I don’t care what anyone says the most important thing to do during recovery is keep active and keep at it in the gym. At the very least you get the endorphin release via the gym. As far as your body chemistry goes, your HPTA loop is what you are trying to get back during PCT. With the loop if your test is too high then it slows the release, if it is too low then it increases the release. The Aromatase enzyme is one of the ways your body regulates test levels and that arimidex is blocking the process. If we are trying to recover the HPTA loop then blocking part of it is counter productive.
Really arimidex and any AI is only for on cycle estrogen management. We have all seen those PCT plans calling for the AIs but they are just wrong. Ultimately the recovery needs a balance of test to estrogen and elimination of estrogen just messes all that up. Also if your body detects high levels of estrogen then it can try to counteract that with more test but you are blocking the process of your body trying to find a balance.
Clomid, it’s really a fertility drug. That’s why it works for helping us kick back on our own test production. At this point of your recovery that clomid has already done what it can do. Taking more of it isn’t going to increase your test production. PCT is done to get our loop back on so that it can start the process of going around in a circle of to high or too low of whatever is involved so that ultimately the end result is producing a balance of hormones. If memory serve me clomid can actually act like either FSH or LH in some situations so if your giving your body a synthetic version of this then the body won’t make it’s own. It’s like when you take synthetic test then your body stops producing it.
The things that you are taking are not going to shut you down they will just interfere with the ultimate end goal of a healthy HPTA loop.
At this point you have natural production happening, it’s time to take off the training wheels (PCT drugs) and let your body finish the process of balancing itself.
One last thing to think about, we always say and are supposed to adhere to the rule of time on cycle equals time off cycle but we never count PCT as time off because we are still manipulating our bodies hormone levels via the PCT drugs.
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