Can You Kickstart A PCT With T + SERM?

I’m worried about flatlining on just stopping T and immediately starting SERM. Wondering if I can stop my 250iu HCG and go to T + SERM and then either taper off the T or just do LH/FSH tests to see if it’s possible for me to reboot and go from there?

Also curious if I can check pituitary function with LH + FSH levels on tamoxifen?

See the HPTA restart sticky which will provide you with answers and understanding.

Hi KSMan, I’ve read it and still needed clarity as far as these questions these go. I get that you describe the mechanisms and we should be able to infer things from them, but here’s where I’m having trouble:

You say the mechanism is negative feedback from T&E levels dropping is what actually starts the pituitary to kick in and work on its own when you taper off the SERM. You also say that SERMs make the hypothalamus blind to estrogens. So I’m assuming the point of doing a PCT at all is to ‘wake up’ the hypothalamus through this mechanism (I’ve also seen you write the phrase ‘HPTA damage’ which I’m kind of curious about, but anyways…I read this comment in a post of yours searching the forum from a while back:

Which brings me to wonder if taking T + SERM means the testosterone alone would be suppressive to the point that there will be no LH/FSH produced or that there’s such thing as ‘partial suppression’ and it’d be useful to try T + SERM to see LH/FSH levels without going through an energy slump/washout.

I’ve also read that it can take months for SERMs to work fully. So that’s the second reason why I was considering staying on T while I start a SERM, that I could cruise on that and wait to washout T when it’s fully working.

Just looking for clarity on these ideas. Maybe I should read more primary sources there’s just a lot of mixed information.

Can anyone else answer this? It’s not explicitly recommended in KSMan’s PCT guide and I’d think it’d be a good idea if it were. He recommends it in a post from 2015 in the Pharma forum, but want to be 100% sure before trying it. This would only make sense if estrogen was what suppressed the HPTA, not testosterone, then why isn’t it recommended as a first step to try an AI-only protocol? I see a contradiction, but maybe there’s more to it which is why I’m asking for elaboration.