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Chorionic gonadotropin is a
hormone found in the female body during the early months of pregnancy (it
is produced in the placenta). It is in fact the pregnancy indicator looked
at by the over the counter pregnancy test kits, as due to its origin it is
not found in the body at any other time. Blood levels of this hormone will
become noticeable as early as seven days after ovulation. The level will
rise evenly, reaching a peak at approximately two to three months into
gestation. After this point, the hormone level will drop gradually until
the point of birth. As a prescription drug, HCG offers us some interesting
benefits. In the United States are two popular brands, Pregnyl, made by
Organon, and Profasi, made by Serono. These are FDA approved for the
treatment of undescended testicles in young boys, hypogonadism
(underproduction of testosterone) and as a fertility drug used to aid in
inducing ovulation in women. When prepared as a medical item, this hormone
comes from a human origin. Although there is often a fear of biological
origin products, there is little research to be found regarding pathogen
or sterility problems with HCG. The problems seen with human origin growth
hormone are certainly not to be repeated with HCG, as this compound is
obtained in a much different way.
While HCG offers the female
no performance enhancing ability, it does prove very useful to the male
steroid user. The obvious use of course being to stimulate the production
of endogenous testosterone. The activity of HCG in the male body is due to
its ability to mimic LH (luteinizing hormone), a pituitary hormone that
stimulates the Leydig's cells in the testes to manufacture testosterone.
Restoring endogenous testosterone production is a special concern at the
end of each steroid cycle, a time when a subnormal androgen level (due to
steroid induced suppression) could be very costly. The main concern is the
action of cortisol, which in many ways is balanced out by the effect of
androgens. Cortisol sends the opposite message to the muscles than
testosterone, or to breakdown protein in the cell. Left unchecked (by an
extremely low testosterone level) in the body, cortisol can quickly strip
much of your new muscle mass away.
The
main focus with HCG is to restore the normal ability of the testes to
respond to endogenous luteinizing hormone. After a long period of
inactivity, this ability may have been seriously reduced. In such a state
testosterone levels may not reach a normal point, even though the release
of endogenous LH has been resumed. Many who have suffered severe
testicular shrinkage may be able to relate, as it is often some time
before normal testicle size and feelings of virility are restored if
ancillary drugs had not been used. The excessive stimulation brought forth
by administration of HCG can likewise cause the testicles to rapidly
return to their normal size and level of activity. We are not simply
looking for it to fix the problem however, as the resulting high
testosterone level can itself trigger negative feedback inhibition at the
hypothalamus. Estrogen production is also heightened with the use of HCG,
due to its ability to increase aromatase activity in the Leydig's cells.
This is due to the main action of HCG, namely the increase of cyclic AMP
(a secondary messenger that regulates cellular activity). When stimulated
by HCG, the ability of the testes to aromatize androgens could potentially
be heightened several times greater than normal. This also may inhibit
testosterone production, so we therefore use HCG only as a quick shock to
the testes.
The
usual protocol is to inject 1500-3000 I.U. every 4th or 5th day, for a
duration usually no longer than 2 or 3 weeks. If used for too long or at
too high a dose, the drug may actually function to desensitize the
Leydig's cells to luteinizing hormone, further hindering a return to
homeostasis. Timing the initial dose is also very crucial. If your were
coming off a cycle of Sustanon for example,
testosterone levels in your blood will likely stay elevated for at least 3
to 4 weeks after your last injection. Taking HCG on the day of your last
shot would therefore be useless. Instead one would want to calculate the
last week in which androgen levels are likely to be above normal, and
begin ancillary drug therapy at this point. In this case HCG would be
started around the third or fourth week. Likewise, after ending a cycle of
Dianabol (an oral) your blood levels will be
sub normal after the third day. Here you may want to begin HCG therapy a
few days before your last intake of tablets, giving it a few days to take
effect. One would also want to give some thought to the level of
suppression that the cycle might have brought about. After an 8 week cycle
of Equipoise for example, 1500-2500 I.U. would likely be a sufficient
initial dosage. The lower amount of hormonal suppression one associates
with this drug would probably not require much more. On the other hand,
750-1000 mg of Sustanon per week might incline
the user to inject a much larger HCG dose, perhaps as much as 5000 I.U.
for the opening application. It may thereafter also be a good idea to
reduce the dosage on subsequent shots, so as to step down the intake of
HCG during the two or three weeks of intake.
As
discussed above, HCG acts only to mimic the action of LH. It is likewise
not the perfect hormone to combat testosterone suppression, and for this
reason it is used most often in conjunction with estrogen antagonists such
as Clomid or Nolvadex.
These drugs have a different effect on the regulating system, namely
inhibiting estrogen-induced suppression at the hypothalamus. This of
course also helps to restore the release of testosterone, although through
a much different mechanism than HCG. A combination of both drugs appears
to be very synergistic, HCG providing an immediate effect on the testes
(shocking them out of inactivity) while the anti estrogen helps later to
block inhibition on the hypothalamus and resume the normal release of
gonadotropins from the pituitary. The typical procedure involves giving
the Clomid/Nolvadex
dose from the start with HCG, but continuing it alone for a few weeks once
HCG has been discontinued. This practice should effectively raise
testosterone levels, which will hopefully remain stable once
Clomid/Nolvadex have been discontinued.
While unfortunately there is no way to retain all of the muscle gains
produced by anabolic steroids, using ancillaries to restore a balanced
hormonal state is the best way to minimize the loss felt with ending a
cycle.
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