I have been diagnosed with Low T. My wife and I are trying to get pregnant so our fertility doc referred me to a doctor I’m seeing now who put me on Clomid and Arimidex (sp?) for 3 weeks. My T went from 202 to over 500 but I didn’t feel any better. My E2 went from 26 to 21.
Now he is suggesting I start HCG injections and stay on the Arimidex to see how that works.
I guess my basic question is, does this plan make sense? I’ve been reading on here for a little bit recently and have not seen anyone on just HCG, typically HCG with T injections. His concern is around sperm count.
I don’t have my full labs with me, was hoping this is enough info just to give me peace of mind that my doctor is doing the right thing and I’m on the right track.
Thanks in advance!!
It depends on whether you have been diagnosed with Primary or Secondary hypogonadism. If you are Primary, meaning that your testicles can’t/don’t produce enough testosterone despite everything else working fine, then HCG alone won’t have a huge impact. It looks as though you are Secondary though (since Clomid and Arimidex have successfully raised your T levels), so HCG should help bump you up. It all depends on the cause of your hypogonadism though. Any labs you can get your hands on and post here will help us out a lot in figuring out what’s going on with you.
Those of us on TRT use HCG to prevent/fix testicle pain, shrinkage, and infertility since supplemental T shuts down all testicle function. That is why you see most guys on here aren’t on HCG alone, but Testosterone with the HCG helps keep up testicular health. There are several people on here, though, that are on Clomid/HCG/AI without the testosterone shots, so you are not alone.
I’m not sure how effective HCG is at raising sperm count.
HCG mimics LH in the body, resulting your nuts producing more testosterone, but FSH is the hormone most responsible for fertility, I believe. And AFAIK, HCG does not raise nor mimic FSH levels.
SOme people are able to maintain or increase fertility while on HCG, I believe, but I’m not sure how many or how effective it is in that regard.
IMO, the SERM is a bette option.
You didnt mention your sperm count–Im assuming it was low?
This is why I asked the question in my other Thread about a “quadfecta” that has Test, HCG, arimidex,and clomid. KSMan did not fully understand my question, but basically Clomid does bind to estrogen receptors and can leave some feeling as though they are still having estrogen problems even though their estrogen is in check with an AI.
My advice would be to stop the clomid and use HCG and arimidex only to see if you feel better. My theory is based on your T levels with just clomid and the AI, the HCG will do the same job and also back fill your other hormonal pathways as well. If using the HCG/AI doesnt keep you above the mid range and feeling better, add some T. If that doesnt make you feel better, something else is going on. And, in mentioning that, you need and should have gotten previously a complete hormonal (T, E2, free T, shbg, cortisol, dhea, pregnenolone, progesterone, aldosterone, dht), tyroid funtion, cbc, cmp, lipid, liver, and nutriotional panels. I’m sure that would give you and your dr a better picture if you had those results.