[quote]bushidobadboy wrote:
I can never remember the physiological reason for post cycle acne. Something to do with pH of sebaceous secretions being more favourable to bacterial growth.
Personally I would tackle it with some sort of facial wash, rather than an AI.
I don’t think it has much to do with Estrogen anyway.
Post cycle acne is from increased cortisol. As androgens plummet cortisol levels increase and vice versa. It has nothing to do with estrogen.
The most effective remedies for increased cortisol are Relora, phosphatidylserine, androstenetriol, and 7-hydroxy-DHEA. One of the above should suffice. Phosphatidylserine is a little pricey.
[quote]rjb62 wrote:
Are u still shut down in the stasis period? Why not take serms then? [/quote]
Its explained to you many pages back in this thread. At least once. Take the time to read it.
[quote]LillGuy001 wrote:
rjb62 wrote:
Are u still shut down in the stasis period? Why not take serms then?
Its explained to you many pages back in this thread. At least once. Take the time to read it.
[/quote]
I read the thread a couple times, it says that 100mg + SERM doesnt suppress, but what I dont understand is why no SERM during the stasis as I would think w/out it you would still be suppressed for an additional 6 week period longer than normal PCT, possibly causing more shrinkage.
For those of u who have done it successfully would u recommend the stasis without nolva or clomid.
Im coming off my first cycle 10 weeks TestE 500mg.wk and 4weeks masteron 350mg/wk. Would like to try the taper, but wanna make sure I have it down.
[quote]pushharder wrote:
Would you say the same about teenage acne when test levels run high and aromatase is on the job full time converting test to E2? I know as a teen I experienced severe acne and sore itchy nipples at the same time. They weren’t connected at all? Just coincidence? Cortisol was off doing its own thing to cause my acne and the test/estrogen ying yang thing was causing my other problems?[/quote]
Acne from high cortisol tends to be more on the face, while acne from high androgens tends to be more on the back. This isn’t a hard fast rule but the relationship is generally there.
I don’t think estrogen is a major player with acne. With women, the birth control pill (which is composed of estrogens and progestins) tends to decrease acne. I know women and men aren’t the same but I think the trend carries over.
I had bad acne on my face as a teenager along with some minor gyno. I have since been on much higher amounts of testosterone than puberty and have had extremely high estrogen levels. I need 2.5mg of Letrozole to keep estrogen in range while on lower dosages of testosterone.
Whenever my estrogen gets severely out of range I don’t break out any more. But the higher my testosterone goes the worse my bacne gets. When I’ve tried 100mg Masteron (which doesn’t aromatize) per week my back exploded with acne.
The acne on my face which is minor now never gotten worse from pre to post steroids, which makes me think my bad acne during puberty was cortisol related.
To help remove higher testosterone from the acne equation, I’ve used high dose DHEA. My estradiol levels went over twice the top of the range and actually improved my acne. Testosterone didn’t increase much at all.
Same with HCG. It tends to help my acne, probably from the higher estradiol. I don’t take HCG anymore though since I can’t keep estradiol in range unless I take it without testosterone and on an AI.
I could be wrong. These are just my observations. Acne is probably more complicated than what I’ve outlined. There’s a lot of differance between people. Some breakout extremely easy, while others never do on the harshest androgens, and/or high cortisol PCT.
[quote]rjb62 wrote:
LillGuy001 wrote:
rjb62 wrote:
Are u still shut down in the stasis period? Why not take serms then?
Its explained to you many pages back in this thread. At least once. Take the time to read it.
I read the thread a couple times, it says that 100mg + SERM doesnt suppress, but what I dont understand is why no SERM during the stasis as I would think w/out it you would still be suppressed for an additional 6 week period longer than normal PCT, possibly causing more shrinkage.
For those of u who have done it successfully would u recommend the stasis without nolva or clomid.
Im coming off my first cycle 10 weeks TestE 500mg.wk and 4weeks masteron 350mg/wk. Would like to try the taper, but wanna make sure I have it down.
[/quote]
Yes many of us have completed it successfully that way. During the stasis period use nothing but 50mg test 2x wk. During the taper itself some like to include a serm at that point. With my last stasis/taper I used nothing and the transition was very seamless.
The most effective remedies for increased cortisol are Relora, phosphatidylserine, androstenetriol, and 7-hydroxy-DHEA. One of the above should suffice. Phosphatidylserine is a little pricey.[/quote]
You can get Phosphatidylserine at bulk nutrition for a good price. Thats what I’ll take during the taper
In a previous post on this thread BBB stated that proviron is acceptable to use up until the third week of the stasis. I believe that the SHBG lowering effect is the main reason to include it starting the stasis, but I am confused as to why it should be stopped. If there is no liver toxicity, and no negative effect on the HPTA then in theory 100mg/d of proviron would be good to use throughout the entire stasis and possibly even in the taper itself.
I understand that the purpose of the taper is to let all drugs clear the system so natural function can take over again. But I don’t understand how proviron would hinder this.
There probably is an explanation as I am not saying anyone (especially BBB) is wrong, but I was just hoping that someone could clear it up for me.
I have a boatload of proviron and am trying to figure out the best ways to incorporate it into my cycles.
I assume you know of my fondness for that drug… and from what i have read, it is this-
Proviron gives a great boost to libido, so quite simply, if you are running it throughout your taper/PCT etc… then how will you know that the taper is working to stimulate your HPTA?
I read that in an article somewhere - not sure where, but it makes perfect sense to me. I think if you want to use it, wait until the taper is over by a couple of weeks - if your libido is up, then bonus - if it is still low, then use some proviron to have a good time for a week or two, then stop to reassess where your function is.
I would add that while it isnt meant to suppress in dosages of 50-75mg… i am willing to bet that isnt the case for ALL users. I bet some can handle 25mg only while others 150mg.
I personally would wait a good week after any proviron use (if i wanted to be sensible), just to make sure my HPTA is functioning before using it again.
[quote] JJ wrote:
I dunno… but i bet a gram would do it…!
if you dont mind me asking, why would you want to know?! lol!
[/quote]
I am thinking of running proviron at least throught the first half (3 weeks) of the stasis if not the entire stasis before the taper. If I do this I am trying to figure out what dose would be optimal.