I just joined a HRT clinic and the doctors recommendation is that I use HCG instead of Test to increase Test levels. The Dr said that HCG will increase my T-levels from 700 to 1100 in a safer manner than taking straight Test (as my level is high enough already and Test will bring my levels too high).
It sounds like BS to me. Most information on this site related to HCG is on stacking protocols or PCT debates. I am very interested if anyone has info on HCG as a standalone.
Not sure if my post will appear (it hasn’t) as I also did something inadvertently that may have screwed things up.
Anyway I had posted Yes this will work, but had said nothing past that.
I don’t know what method the doctors you refer to have in mind, so have no way of saying whether their way is the right way, but a dosage such as 125 IU 3x/week would be likely to accomplish the above goal.
It hasn’t been very popular as a performance enhancer: the consults I’ve done where that has been the direction chosen has been cases where HCG was not prohibited in the sport, while steroids were or the athlete with moderate or low testosterone had a personal objection to taking testosterone directly, but liked the idea of something improving his own production. It was always well-liked and did the job.
It’s a nice drug at suitably low doses frequently taken.
Thanks for the quick response Bill.
Do you feel that the possibility of HCG increasing estrogen is a realistic side effect? Also I have read a lot about HCG shutting down your natural production of LH. If that’s true wouldn’t it be better to just go straight with test?
Anytime you increase testosterone without using an aromatase inhibitor, estrogen will increase.
You could also likely get that same increase in testosterone by decreasing estrogen to low-normal with an aromatase inhibitor.
Whether HCG shuts down LH depends on amount and context. When in an already suppressed state and trying to recover, further suppressive effect is a bigger factor than when not having just spent a couple of months (or longer) fully suppressed and trying to recover from that in the face of an added partially-suppressive factor.
It isn’t correct that testosterone would be better than HCG with regards to suppression because the only reason HCG has suppressive effect is because of the added testosterone it yields (and corresponding increased estrogen but that is the case with injected testosterone as well.)