TRT + HCG vs TRT "Cycle"

My doc has prescribed TRT for me. I’m a month in: 200mg Test/week, .2 hcg daily, anastrozole every other day.

The cheapest pharmacy for my HCG prescription is cvs specialty, ($104). I can afford everything else except the HCG. A friend just suggested that I forget about the HCG and just cycle off of test every couple of weeks in order to preserve testicular function/size. I know its not a big deal to some guys but I’d like to keep my size.

Has anyone else ever attempted to cycle on and off TRT to preserve testicular health?

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Ask if a compounding pharmacy can help with hCG price.
10,000 @ 250iu subq EOD will last 80 days.

200mg T per week? A regular doctor prescribed that?
We see to much of that, quite a problem.

Suggest:

  • self inject 50mg T, subq, twice a week, #29 1/2" 0.5ml insulin syringe
  • 250iu hCG subq EOD
  • 0.5mg anastrozole at time of injections to get near E2=22pg/ml

We need to know more about you:
age
height
weight
waist size
medical issues and medications

Please post all of your pre-TRT labs in list format with ranges.
Do not skip items because they are “normal”.

Also see below re oral body temperatures, we need to eval your thyroid status.


Please read the stickies found here: About the T Replacement Category - #2 by KSman

  • advice for new guys - need more info about you
  • things that damage your hormones
  • protocol for injections
  • finding a TRT doc

Evaluate your overall thyroid function by checking oral body temperatures as per the thyroid basics sticky. Thyroid hormone fT3 is what gets the job done and it regulates mitochondrial activity, the source of ATP which is the universal currency of cellular energy. This is part of the body’s temperature control loop. This can get messed up if you are iodine deficient. In many countries, you need to be using iodized salt. Other countries add iodine to dairy or bread.

KSman is simply a regular member on this site. Nothing more other than highly active.

I can be a bit abrupt in my replies and recommendations. I have a lot of ground to cover as this forum has become much more active in the last two years. I can’t follow threads that go deep over time. You need to respond to all of my points and requests as soon as possible before you fall off of my radar. The worse problems are guys who ignore issues re thyroid, body temperatures, history of iodized salt. Please do not piss people off saying that lab results are normal, we need lab number and ranges.

The value that you get out of this process and forum depends on your effort and performance. The bulk of your learning is reading/studying the suggested stickies.

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Age: 37
height: 6’ 5”
weight: 256
waist size: 42”
medical issues and medications: testicular torsion surgery (’97)

Progesterone
0.2NORMAL
Reference Range: 0.0-0.5 ng/mL

Estradiol
9.6NORMAL
Reference Range: 7.6-42.6 pg/mL

IGF-1 with Z-Score
Insulin-Like Growth Factor I
137NORMAL
Reference Range: 83-233 ng/mL

IGF-1, Z Score
-0.3
Reference Range: -2.0 - +2.0

Testosterone, Serum
291NORMAL
Reference Range: 264-916 ng/dL

Free Testosterone(Direct)
8.6LOW
Reference Range: 8.7-25.1 pg/mL

PSA Total (Reflex To Free)
Prostate Specific Ag, Serum
0.7NORMAL

There’s no reason to preserve suboptimal testosterone producing testicles by cycling on and off testosterone, it makes no sense. The only reason to add HCG to a TRT protocol is fertility, LH receptors throughout the body and wouldn’t be there is they were unimportant.

I would never consider 291 normal, perhaps for an obese unfit population. Normal was 50 years ago when 20 year old have 1000+ Total T and 40-50 years olds had a Total T of 800. The new normal in the next 20 years will look completely different, we’ll be lucky if we are even having children.

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Wondering about storage - was under the impression that once reconstituted, hCG will only last thirty days in the fridge. This is one of the reasons I haven’t bothered with it in the past so if you have a protocol, I’m interested.

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Hcg can last substantially longer if frozen as well. I’ve used it less and less over time because I’m sensitive to it and have side effects, but in the past ive filled syringes with 125 ius and frozen them. Their efficacy has remained for 6 months+ while frozen. They thaw out within 10 minutes as well.

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The vial of HCG I received in April had a listed expiration date of 09/28/2018.

Had it been reconstituted? For some reason I am under the impression that prior to reconstitution hCG is good for almost six months if refridgerated, and for a month once it’s mixed up.

That’s news to me. I had to mix it myself but when I got it from Titan I was told it would last me. Problem was I was taking it daily so it couldn’t last for longer than a month.

This article, “HCG Drops vs Injections - Expiration and Storage” on healthyhcg .com, says a month after reconstituting.

Freezing it after mixing is the key methinks.

@Chris_Colucci - sorry about that link, my apologies.

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Wrong. FDA insisted on expiry dates and they simply made up the numbers [no science]. And expiry in a clinical setting where vials are at risk of patient cross contamination is a different issue that does not apply.

Anything said in the context of discussing hCG drops should be disqualified.

So, do you have an answer with respect to shelf life of injections?

So is the only reason to have hcg in with trt to keep sperm going and not have your nuts shrink

Mostly HCG is for fertility and to keep the testicles from shrinking, but sometimes guys need it to make TRT work from a wellbeing and sexual function standpoint.