Description

Human Chorionic Gonadotropin is a hormone naturally found in women and has an important role to play in pregnancy; in fact, the hormone is only formed once a woman is pregnant as it is produced after implantation by the placenta and once HCG levels rise enough it is enough to confirm if a woman is pregnant.

If you’re a male steroid user, you might then wonder how or why such a hormone could possibly be of use to you. HCG does have a medical role for men: to treat low testosterone or hypogonadism.

Steroid users find HCG useful because it functions almost exactly like luteinizing hormone (LH). LH can be described as a pituitary analogy to HCG because they are hormones produced in different parts of the body (luteinizing hormone forms in the pituitary gland) but have a similar function.

This is where HCG becomes very relevant to men: LH is vital for stimulating natural testosterone production. This is what makes HCG a popular option for PCT usage, where the recovery of normal testosterone function following anabolic steroid suppression is required.

While SERMs and aromatase inhibitors are generally widely accepted as a necessary addition for any steroid user, HCG comes under much more debate with some anabolic steroid users swearing by its use, and others finding that it is not necessary or useful or comes with a greater risk than the other drugs. In any case, when HCG is used it is rarely used alone but in conjunction with SERMs in post cycle therapy and only at low doses for short periods of time if used during a steroid cycle.

Although considered a side effect friendly hormone for most people, HCG comes with one particular risk factor that we need to be concerned about, and this revolves around dependence. Thankfully this can be well controlled through sensible dosing and is a critical reason why HCG shouldn’t be taken until you’ve done adequate research into just how much you should be taking so you don’t put yourself at risk of dependence.

HCG & STEROIDS:

For steroid users who make use of HCG while using anabolic steroids the intent is to use this hormone to address the suppression of natural hormones that takes place when you use most types of steroids.

During this time your normal testosterone production and levels will be extremely low or even non-existent and the use of HCG during steroid use can prevent the problem of testicular atrophy but more importantly, taking HCG during a steroid cycle helps prime the body for recovery once your cycle ends.

So, what’s the downside to HCG and why doesn’t everyone just use it during a cycle? One of the commonly overlooked issues is the way the male body can become dependent on HCG’s supply of what is basically exogenous luteinizing hormone. Guys who take too much HCG or don’t seriously regulate use of it are at higher risk of dependence.

Those men who go overboard with their use of HCG during a steroid cycle, either through lack of knowledge or a false belief that more equals better, can quickly find themself suffering with a low testosterone condition. Those who know how to use HCG responsibly during a steroid cycle however will reap the benefits and avoid the problem of dependence occurring.

HCG VS AROMATASE INHIBITORS VS SERMs

HCG is very different from both SERMs and aromatase inhibitors (AIs).

Both SERMs and AIs are medications that have been designed to either block specific estrogen receptors (in the case of SERMs), or to lower overall estrogen levels (AIs). HCG on the other hand is a naturally occurring hormone produced in women once they fall pregnant.

HCG does not target estrogen in any way, but instead is able to directly help stimulate testosterone in men because it works in a very similar way to luteinizing hormone.

Both SERMs and AIs are mainly used to treat breast cancer in women. HCG is used medically to treat low testosterone and infertility and men, as well as fertility problems in women. All three categories of substances are therefore available with a prescription. While both SERMs and AIs are available as different products with slightly differing chemical structures and effects between them, HCG is the only one of the three that is a single hormone with no variation between products.

HCG is available in injection form only, while AI and SERM drugs are oral tablets that need to be taken more regularly than the once or twice weekly injections that HCG is normally administered by.

HCG is not intended to replace either SERMs or AIs at any point during or after a steroid cycle. Instead, it can be a very useful addition but one that needs to be used carefully and with knowledge of both how to dose it properly and what it can and can’t do both in benefits and side effects. Over-use of HCG can have the opposite of your intended effect: instead of improving or restoring your testosterone you could find yourself back in a low testosterone state.

HCG FOR POST CYCLE THERAPHY:

Post cycle therapy use of HCG is the most common reason guys will use this hormone for the purpose of optimizing recovery after a steroid cycle. The power of this hormone for PCT use comes with taking it before starting a SERM cycle.

Most PCT plans will include either or both SERMs Nolvadex (Tamoxifen Citrate) and Clomid (Clomiphene Citrate) and while these are generally very effective on their own, many steroid users find that adding HCG to the PCT phase provides enhanced recovery benefits.

The strategy here is to make use of HCG prior to starting your regular SERM dosage, with HCG essentially acting as a kick start to the hormone production process thanks to the way it mimics luteinizing hormone. The SERMs then take over for the rest of your PCT cycle, providing a more efficient and effective recovery.

This type of PCT plan provides for the two main purposes of post cycle therapy: to help you maintain your gains and to speed up the restart of natural testosterone production; this hormone will be in a greatly suppressed state at the end of your steroid cycle in most cases and without a proper PCT plan the rate of recovery is extremely slow which puts you in the certain position of low testosterone and the associated symptoms and muscle loss.

HCG will usually be started within a 4-to-6-week period after the end of your steroid cycle, but the timing will depend on the steroid compounds you’ve used. Those who are concerned about possible estrogenic side effects from using HCG during PCT, because of increased aromatase activity, might also choose to include an aromatase inhibitor into their PCT plan.

This is not always an effective idea because AIs come with their own set of issues when it comes to potentially negatively impacting on testosterone levels because of powerful estrogen suppression; in general, HCG is utilized for a short time frame during PCT, so side effects are not a great concern for most users.