I apologize if this is something I should've been able to find via search, maybe I'm not coming up with the correct terminology to find what I'm looking for.
I just finished a cycle (if I should even call it that) of what was supposed to be testosterone enanthate @ 300mgs 2X a week for 10 weeks, last shot was Thursday of last week (the 4th of Aug). Now, as far as I can tell, this product was very much underdosed, but I don't believe it was totally fake being that my testicles did reduce significantly in size, I did break out in locations that are unusual for me in particular, and I did have particularly oily skin most of the weeks after the third or fourth.
I believe it was underdosed because I did not gain any additional strength besides the 5lbs a week for deadlift/squat and 2.5lbs a week for bench/OH press that I have been able to add consistently without any assistance, and I was eating between 4500-5000 calories a day (I weighed 224 when I started) and only gained 8lbs which from what I can tell is mostly fat.
I am finding that as of about sunday night/monday morning my testicles have been growing back to where today they almost feel %100 in terms of size. This brings me to my actual question.. is it possible that at a low dosage, suppression has been so mild that my HPTA is kicking back in without any help and therefore I would not need to use my nolvadex?
Believe me that if I could get my hands on more Nolvadex I would just do the PCT to err on the side of caution, but unfortunately I can’t at the moment and as I do plan to try a (hopefully better) cycle later this year it would be awesome if I could save the ones I have now. I do apologize for the long post and would appreciate any and all feedback.
I don’t think it’s necessarily relevant to my question, but just in case, here are my stats:
5’10"
233lbs
29 years old.
training for 17 months
lower/upper 4 days a week, low reps high intensity first two workouts and higher (8-10) reps moderate intensity the other two.
Some people are of the belief that PCT is a waste of time and money. You will (well, should) recover on your own in due time. I personally believe PCT speeds this recovery process up. So to answer your question, no you do not NEED PCT.
However I also would not base my PCT decision on how my testicles “feel.” Perhaps you could get some basic bloodwook (Total T, LH, FSH) to see if your body is functioning normally?
You do not actually need pct, but trust me it does wonders for my sak and sex drive. Have u considered taking hcg or clomid with nolva? Hcg is even used by lots of guys including me during their cycle and it helps keep ur sak in check. If not, I have had good results from hcg, clomid and nolva for pct.
Wtf? After every cycle you HAVE to do a PCT. In fact you could go as far as saying the PCT is more important than the cycle itself.
Post-cycle, how do you guys suggest you control the oestrogen side effects when your natural test is rock bottom and exogenous test has left the body?
PCT along with your diet is essential to keep the gains from the cycle and also to cause various signals in the brain to produce your own hormones.
It is correct that EVENTUALLY you will probably recover from a cycle but you will be lucky to keep your gains when oestrogen is not controlled and allowed to run amock in your body.
You also dont need clomid AND nolva for PCT, one will do (most people like nolvadex over clomid).
If his test was in fact underdosed (but still real), he will now have been suppressed for a total of 12 weeks. Thats 10 weeks being on cycle and 2 weeks clearance time for enanthate.
So yes, he does need a PCT.
^^^ this guy knows about being shut down. Back in the day no one did pct or even knew what it was. There were this individuals that were gifted enough to simple recover, the also weren’t using the doses we use today. I agree that that the ancillaries are more important than the gear itself. It will keep you healthy and cycling in the future.
For your current situation because you did notice some atrophy, I would at least run nolva at 20/20/10/10 just to be safe, it’s cheap, so why not?
Does anyone have any tips of somethings besides testicular size that I can go by to have a better idea if I’m still shutdown? I mean I know right now I would still technically be “on” but I’m hoping that once I cross the two weeks after last shot period, that I can take a week to see if I “really” need to use the Nolva. I’ve read morning wood is a good indicator, but, I’m a little sad to say I wasn’t getting morning wood frequently at all before I started the cycle to begin with, so that might not be a good reference for me. Thanks again for taking the time to help, if it weren’t for the quality of posts/members of this site and how well you guys explain things and are willing to share your own experiences, I would not have had the courage to delve into this.
[quote]denser21 wrote:
I really appreciate the input gentlemen.
Does anyone have any tips of somethings besides testicular size that I can go by to have a better idea if I’m still shutdown? I mean I know right now I would still technically be “on” but I’m hoping that once I cross the two weeks after last shot period, that I can take a week to see if I “really” need to use the Nolva. I’ve read morning wood is a good indicator, but, I’m a little sad to say I wasn’t getting morning wood frequently at all before I started the cycle to begin with, so that might not be a good reference for me. Thanks again for taking the time to help, if it weren’t for the quality of posts/members of this site and how well you guys explain things and are willing to share your own experiences, I would not have had the courage to delve into this. [/quote]
When you ‘really’ need nolva… how about when you have double D’s? Lol.
Or in a couple of months when you are about to mash a female and it doesnt get up? It might be too late then.
Theres small signs and symptoms that COULD indicate hormonal imbalances, however you cant rely on that unless its something very obvious like high prolactin causing lactation.
In your case, its hard because you are not dealing with prolactin but test and E, until you have bloodwork you cant assume anything.