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HCG The Best of Both Balls


Senior Editor, Steroid.com

When I first had published my thoughts on Post –Cycle Therapy, I recommended using HCG. Other than those thoughts, and reasoning behind it, I really didn’t give much thought to HCG. Frankly, many people (Dan Duchaine, etc…) had recommended it for PCT before me – and many went on to recommend it for PCT after me (Dr. Michael Scally, for one ). Clearly Duchaine made his recommendations before me (he was dead before I was even published) and I guess I need to note that although Dr. Scally had his thoughts on PCT published after me, clearly he had been using HCG with his patients much prior to this.

Just because I happened to recommend it for PCT doesn’t mean that I invented its use for that purpose – nor do I think that I’ve invented he wheel. But honestly, I thought that recommending it for PCT was just that…a reccomendation for it’s use after a cycle, and nothing more.

Unfortunately, many people have interpreted this to mean that it’s only use, in my opinion, is for PCT. So I’m going to go over some different protocols for HCG use, as it’s been seen throughout the years. I never said that I think it’s totally useless while on a cycle – I just never really covered that use in my writing.

Oops.

But then again, there’s a lot of different ways that people have theorized that HCG could be used for various purposes…and I’ve only written about a few of them until now. I’m going to present you with some different ideas regarding HCG use, and that information is yours to do what you want with…to incorporate into your cycles, talk to your doctor about, use after a cycle…whatever.

The first time HCG for use with anabolic steroids had ever really been written about in detail was in Anabolic Steroids and Sports, Volume II, by James E. Wright PhD. In this book, he covers the three ways HCG had been utilized by anabolic steroid using athletes:

1.    For 1-3 weeks following (500-5,000 units 1-2x/week) a cycle
2.    (and) for varying lengths of time during (500-5,000 units 1-2x a week) a cycle*
3.    As a stand alone anabolic
4.    For fat loss (the so-called HCG diet)
However, there are two other schools of thought regarding concurrent HCG use with (or after) anabolics, and neither is very new either. In fact, both have been around since the earliest books on underground steroid use, and were spoken about more than a decade ago by Dan Duchaine (Underground Steroid Handbook) and also by W. Nathaniel Phillips (Anabolic Reference Guide volume 6). Phillips (who later wrote “Body for Life” and seems to have aged negative ten years over the last 20 or so) has some wacky ideas about HCG use, one of which being to stop using anabolic steroids (while on a long cycle) for about 2 weeks, and just use HCG for that period, then starting up the AAS again. I don’t think this is optimal, but it’s not going to kill you.

Duchaine originally recommended something along the lines of 1,000-1,500iu every third week on a cycle, then some HCG and Clomid afterwards for PCT. Then in his second edition of the Underground Steroid Handbook, he recommends 500-1,000 1-2x* a week during a cycle (perhaps with some Nolvadex), while for getting off steroids he recommends 1,000iu E3D (along with tapering off the injectable dose, as well as the oral dose, starting with the most toxic steroids first, and lowering the total oral mgs every third day).

* Interestingly, there has been a doctor (of what Duchaine would refer to as the “benign-quack variety) who frequents various internet forums, claiming that he invented the “500iu of HCG 2x a week protocol”…which COULD HARDLY BE TRUE, since Dr. Wright first mentions this protocol in his book (1982), and Duchaine used a similar protocol in his second Underground Steroid Handbook. 

What I’ve seen from athletes, anecdotally at least, is that when used on a cycle sparingly, HCG helps to maintain testicular size and condition. It is further speculated that the intermittent administration of HCG will keep the testicles receptive to LH, when we eventually go off a cycle. This may be due to HCG’s ability to help you maintain of a higher level of Inter-Testicular-Testosterone (ITT), when used during a cycle. This could aid and quicken your recovery of the hypothalamic-testicular-pituitary-axis. This is certainly possible, although I’ve never seen bloodwork or really good data confirming it.

The reason I tend to recommend it for PCT is that when used after a cycle, it will  help in restoring your testicles back to their original size, and provide stimulation for the Leydig cells. Both using it during a cycle and for pct methods has merit, and there’s no reason why you can’t use HCG every third week at a one time dose (perhaps) 500iu or so, and then use it at that same dose for a daily schedule at the outset of your Post Cycle Therapy.

Dr. Scally has told me that he thinks that 500iu is too small of a dose (Duchaine disagrees), and that 2,500iu is the minimum he’s seen to be effective in his patients.

Personally, from countless users feedback on steroid.com, I feel that 500iu/day for 3 weeks (along with the rest of my PCT protocol) is highly effective…it’s probably the most commonly used do-it-yourself PCT for steroid users in the world. I’ll get more into the research and studies in the next part of this article, but for now, suffice it to say that I have never been “against” HCG for use on a cycle. It’s been done since the early 80’s at least, which is the first time I’ve seen the 500iu 2x/week protocol spoken about.

I know that my own Hormone Replacement Therapy includes 10,000iu of HCG per month, although I admittedly never even reconstitute the stuff. Chalk it up to laziness or apathy, or whatever you want, but I just never happen to use the stuff.

But I’ll get into this more in part two, when I’ll have to think up another clever title for an article about keeping your balls big.

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