Hello gentlemen...
Right so I've read many things here all pointing to the fact that there is much confusion about post cycle therapy. It's clear that you're all, understandably, interested in PCT and the correct way to incorporate this into your cycle.
There's a lot of science behind why exactly your body behaves the way it does. To illustrate the physiological effects of either an androgenic or an anabolic compound we need to go into the anatomy of the issue and try isolate the various parts of the male, so called infrastructure as it were, to gain a better understanding of how you yourself actually operate downstairs as a male. Once this understanding has been reached you'll be in a better position to make sense of it all and as such decide on your own PCT with a large degree of accuracy.
I hear guys talking about nolvadex, and clomid and all these things as well as various other forms of anti estrogen compounds VS other types of ancillaries. Does anyone KNOW how to use them, or are they just going on hearsay? I suspect that the average Joe doesn't care to know the science behind what he's inputting into his body and simply wants the best solution. Well, for those of you who struggle with side effects and find yourself in the same boat of not taking the time to learn, you can see now why you sit where you sit.
So if I may, please bear with me and read on and I'll try to remove the air of mystery surrounding the issue. This is going to be a long explanation but if you stick with me and read on you'll possibly be more enlightened by the time you have read to its end.
Right, so...Your body has something known as the HPTA: Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Testicular-Axis. This part of you is responsible for controlling your body's natural production of testosterone. Now as we all know from the use of steroids, if there is too much testosterone in your system the HPTA senses this and the system shuts down and like wise if there is not enough then the HPTA kicks into action and increases production.
The regulation of testosterone in your body has three levels. Right at the top is the the part of your brain known as the hypothalamic region and this is responsible for the release of a hormone known as: GnRH (Gonadotropin releasing hormone) and it does this when it senses the requirement for more testosterone in the body. The second level of the axis is the Pituitary. GnRH will then send a signal to this second level which in turn will release another compound known as LH: Leutenizing Hormone, as its response to the signal. If you're wondering what LH does, then I'll explain. LH is responsible for the stimulation of the testes which is actually the very next level in the three levels; it stimulates the testes to secrete testosterone.
So to recap, the three levels are:
1 - Hypothalamic > Releasing GnRH
2 - Pituitary > Releasing LH and FSH
3 - Testes > Secretes Testosterone
In the above recap I included something called FSH which stands for follicle stimulating hormone. It’s not necessary, for this discussion, to talk about FSH. So ignore FSH for the moment. I simply added it in for completeness.
Now, in females we have estrogen and that’s what makes them act like females. In men we have testosterone which obviously makes us act like men. In your body these two compounds occur naturally and in an attempt to achieve internal balance they will send negative feedback signals to the hypothalamus and the pituitary to slow down secretion of testosterone or speed it up if needed. When using steroids, however, you're essentially injecting or swallowing synthetic versions of these compounds and as such they have exactly the same effect on the system which would be to cause negative feedback signals to be sent to both the hypothalamus and the pituitary. This can then be seen as a "fake" regulation of your body's natural balance of hormones. Your HPTA senses that there is an abundance of certain compounds in your body and actively shuts down, through negative feedback signalling, your body's natural testosterone production.
Now that I've gone through what exactly the HPTA is and how your balls actually work, maybe now I can try explain why ancillary drugs are needed to avoid a post cycle crash as well as why exactly it takes so long for normal hormone levels to return to a safe, self produced level.
As far as the roles played by the different hormones go, there is a clear misunderstanding of what causes the much feared post cycle crash. Straight up its clear that steroid use can suppress testosterone production in the male body and it does this by lowering the gonadotropic BUT if one had to look at various studies that have been performed as far back as the 70's the misunderstanding becomes apparent. It's not actually the lowering of LH that is the brick wall to getting back to a normal and healthy HPTA.
I recent study showed these findings:
For just over 5 months a group of men were injected with 250mg per week with a testosterone. Once the cycle was completed these individuals were monitored for a further four and a half months. When the cycle started, LH levels were measured and testosterone levels were measured. As the testosterone levels went up, so the LH levels went down. At the end of the cycle once the testosterone injections ceased this then changed because by the 3rd week it was noted that LH levels had started to increase naturally and the testosterone levels were not increasing in any sufficient amounts. According to the findings, it was only after around the 10th week that testosterone levels started increasing. So there you see that LH isn't your problem, the problem lies with the testes themselves and the fact that they've undergone testicular atrophy and and are as a result desensitized to LH. As LH acts on the testes to secrete testosterone, and LH levels are since normal after the cycle was ended we see that its not low LH levels that is the problem.
The testes now, essentially, cannot do what they're meant to do because for your size and for the job that they're meant to do they're too small (atrophy). So the required course for action is to address the desensitization of the testes to LH and as LH levels are by this time normal, once this has been corrected you end up with testicular response to LH and a return to normal testicular size and thus normal operation too.
It is unfortunately a fact that endogenous testosterone cannot be restored simply by using anti estrogens compounds. The role of these anti estrogens are typically to block negative feedback signals from estrogen and in so doing restore LH levels but since LH returns to normal levels naturally without the need for any assistance (after a cycle has ended) something else is needed to fix the hormonal imbalance. The other thing to remember too is that by the time you start a PCT cycle you will already have a minimal amount of estrogen in your system because estrogen needs testosterone to synthesize into estrogen in the first place and since you’ve just come off of a steroid cycle your testosterone levels will be suppressed. If there is any estrogen spike during this time it is likely due to an increase in natural testosterone levels. If you take a step back and look at the function of the HPTA as well as what the side effects are of steroid use coupled with the change in hormone levels and that all related to the role of anti estrogen tablets you will see that there is actually nothing that anti estrogen tablets can do (on their own) to help restore normal operation.
I’m not a doctor so I can’t quite put the physiology of it all together because no doubt there is a world of information out there (freely available by the way) but if one was to look at the medical literature which you seriously could find if you had enough of an interest you would see how something like this could be overlooked. See, we all know whether it is by hearsay or by actual research done that anti e’s such as clomid or tamoxifen (nolvadex) are designed to increase LH levels as well as testosterone levels. Since they are meant for that purpose, that’s just what they end up doing when you take anti e’s but if you had to compare these findings with other studies which show that that using steroids lowers LH as testosterone becomes suppressed it then becomes clear how the assumption would be to focus on increasing LH levels. Remember the 3 levels? Well, remember that LH has a part in stimulating the testes into secreting testosterone. So really, the problem comes down to desensitization of the testes to LH, not LH itself. This claim can only be backed up if hormone levels were to be monitored as recovery happens and as such if this was to be done one would see that the role of anti e’s alone will not be sufficient in returning things to normal.
Since anti e’s alone aren’t sufficient, we need a helping hand in our PCT cycle to assist the testes to return to normal size or rather to speed up the process and this requires us to focus on the testes themselves. Using a fertility agent can help achieve this goal. HCG: Human Chorionic Gonadaotropin is one of those fertility agents which are designed to mimic the body’s naturally occurring leutenizing hormone (LH). Since the testes are already desensitized to natural LH it is safe to assume that a synthetic form of LH may be reacted to in the same way as the same receptor is being used. The trick is to shock the testes back into action by delivering measured doses of synthetic LH into the system and as such cause a very high level of stimulation to the testes so much so that it would be measurably higher than when using only anti e’s. Through this, hopefully the end result would be an increase in testicular mass which in turn would also allow the return of normal testosterone levels very much quicker than if only anti e’s were used or even if no ancillary treatment was undertaken.
So its safe to say that HCG should actually be your first concern when attempting a PCT cycle and your second concern would be to use anti e’s as a support to your cause.
The same study concluded that it is possible to return the system back to normal in as little as 45 days from cessation of cycle. Normal testosterone levels and testicular mass (without PCT) can take up to anything between 4 and 5 months to return to normal and by that time any bodybuilder/steroid user will show a marked loss in overall definition and/or size.
It can be seen from this that maybe those using steroids should undertake their physique alteration process very seriously and make the right choices in the right order. I suggest the following:
Please note this is an indication ONLY, based on my own research and my own interest in the subject. It is by no means a sure fire way or for that matter a perfectly medically sound manner in which to achieve maximum gains and minimise the effects of the post cycle crash and neither is it a “go ahead” from me to use or be involved in the buying and using of steroids. This is an information forum and I am treating it as such, and so should you.
So…here goes:
1 – Identify your goal. Clear goals have clear steps which lead to clear results quicker
2 – Locate and source your desired products, and LEARN how to use them
3 – Before your cycle has ended locate and source your ancillary products
4 – Do not waste your time with tapering or down dosing because you’re honestly just
wasting your time. If there is an estrogen or testosterone existent in your blood
stream how ever small in comparison to natural amounts; your body is still going
to notice it and react in the same way, it won’t think “oh only small amounts then”
it won’t make the connection. If the drugs are present, they will bind to your
receptors and the process will continue and no amount of tapering is going to
change that. The post cycle crash is an absolute definite, it WILL happen and the
best we can do is assist to minimise the effects. This isn’t like the ostrich shoving
its head down the hole in the hope that no one can see him. Tapering is honestly a
waste of time. If you require more information as to why I say this then you’re
welcome to ask. Also, if you think otherwise then you’re welcome to post a reply
and bring your arguments to the forum.
5 – Do not let your body go into vitamin deficit, use a strong multivitamin DAILY
6 – Don’t drink weekends and smoke things (what ever you smoke) it’s totally
counter productive. You can party once you have your balls back.
7 – Train hard. Eat right. Sleep LOADS. Drink water!!! Your kidneys NEED the
help.
8 – When your cycle is complete, take a break for goodness sake. Put the steroids
down and leave them alone, you don’t need them now. You’re in post cycle
therapy and as a result you’re only going to complicate your own return to health
more than you need to.
9 – If you’ve never taken a break from training, as in a “training holiday” then I
suggest you take this time to do so. Give your body a week or two to REST.
Don’t pig out, don’t go mad and drink and party cuz you’re YAY big now. If you
do, you’re just being stupid and you’re risking your gains. Trust me, rest…You
need it.
10 – Finally, if you successfully manage to keep your gains by using a mix of anti e’s
and HCG and your balls returned to normal STAY OFF THE JUICE for about as
long as you were on it. If you still at this point have to ask WHY, then its
probably better for you to not use steroids. If you choose to be on juice for 12
months of the year, year in year out then you’re seriously risking your health.
Your body is incredibly resilient, more than the world economy and surely more
resilient that what your pocket is going to be after you’ve spent all that money on
this stuff but I can guarantee you that your body WILL one day say: “That’s it, I
can’t anymore” and you will start to pickup problems. So basically what I’m
saying here is that, you may end up taking a year or two to reach your own
CRITICAL mass but be clever guys, one 4-6 month stack a year coupled to a
cutting stack if you want is enough. If you want to take a testosterone
supplement to help then go buy yourself some tribulus terrestris from and ZMA
and take it post cycle as per manufacturer’s specification. It will act as a support
for your body’s natural testosterone production.
Lastly, I’d like to say good luck to anyone who found this information useful. I truly hope that you reach both your physical and psychological goals that you have set out to achieve. Always remember that it takes nothing to be kind to those who need it and to share what you know but it takes only one second to deny them what you know and to destroy their confidence.
*x PEYTON x*
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