HCG Effects on Thyroid Function

[BadassBlues]

I am currently researching this topic. Most of the studies are all related to pregnant females and the HCG diet.

It appears that HCG has an affinity for the TSH receptors, but I have yet to find a study that applies to men taking HCG as a protocol.

I see conflicting reporting that it can both increase and decrease thyroid function.

The only post I have found here so far is of no consequence. Anyone have a recent study or info that applies?

 

[tareload]

Pregnancy disrupts the accuracy of automated fT4 immunoassays

Objective Thyroid hormone measurements are often performed in pregnant women, as hypo- and hyperthyroidism during pregnancy can severely affect the fetus. Serum free thyroxine (fT4) measurements are well known for their analytical challenges, due to low serum concentrations and the subtle...

etj.bioscientifica.com

We showed that fT4 concentrations measured using both LC-MS/MS and IAs were significantly lower in the samples of pregnant women compared to the samples of healthy controls, which is supported by previous literature (22, 23). In a healthy, iodine-sufficient pregnant population, this is an observation considered normal physiology and not the result of a technical artifact of the measurement method. Although there has been no definite explanation for why serum fT4 concentration is decreased during pregnancy, several mechanisms are suggested to underlie this observation. HCG increases estrogen concentrations during pregnancy and consequently, estrogen increases TBG concentrations causing more T4 to bind to TBG which might lead to short-term lower freely circulating T4 (24). On the other hand, albumin concentrations decrease during pregnancy because of a dilution effect caused by an increased total blood volume (25). Although the changes in binding protein concentration will alter the total amount of bound T4, the fT4 concentration is dependent upon feedback from the pituitary by thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). A short-term inappropriately decreased fT4 will be sensed by the pituitary and lead to an increased TSH and stimulation of the thyroid gland to produce T4 which will ultimately result in an fT4 suitable for normal physiology during pregnancy

 

[captain]

I think it's an indirect effect on thyroid through increased Estrogen.

 

[Nelson Vergel]

hCG — human chorionic gonadotropin—the major hormone produced by the placenta which is closely related to thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). hCG can bind to the TSH receptors present in thyroid tissue and act like a weak form of TSH to cause the thyroid to produce and release more thyroxine and triiodothyronine.

Vol 2 Issue 6 p.5-6 | American Thyroid Association

CLINICAL THYROIDOLOGY FOR PATIENTS A publication of the American Thyroid Association Summaries for Patients from...

www.thyroid.org

 

[Fernando Almaguer]

does this result in higher metabolism?

 

[Nelson Vergel]

does this result in higher metabolism?

Probably. Even if everyone says it was a scam, the hCG diet was effective because of the low calories but also because of hCG.

 

[BadassBlues]

Pregnancy disrupts the accuracy of automated fT4 immunoassays

Objective Thyroid hormone measurements are often performed in pregnant women, as hypo- and hyperthyroidism during pregnancy can severely affect the fetus. Serum free thyroxine (fT4) measurements are well known for their analytical challenges, due to low serum concentrations and the subtle...

etj.bioscientifica.com

Thank you. This is one of

hCG — human chorionic gonadotropin—the major hormone produced by the placenta which is closely related to thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). hCG can bind to the TSH receptors present in thyroid tissue and act like a weak form of TSH to cause the thyroid to produce and release more thyroxine and triiodothyronine.

Vol 2 Issue 6 p.5-6 | American Thyroid Association

CLINICAL THYROIDOLOGY FOR PATIENTS A publication of the American Thyroid Association Summaries for Patients from...

www.thyroid.org

When you take into consideration that the HCG diet protocol is 100-200 IU's a day, it makes sense that the thyroid played a part in the weight loss. Of course, 500 calories a day helps a lot as well...

Another factor that makes the HCG diet effective is the "feel good" properties of HCG. People I know who have been on the diet for extended periods of time stated their moods were elevated and it made it easier to follow the calorie restriction.

 

[BadassBlues]

What spurred my interest is a conversation with my PC. My PC will prescribe testosterone, but not HCG. One of the main reasons he cited was the effect on thyroid function.

Personally, I have never noticed any effects on my thyroid numbers, and I have been on HCG for years.

 

[tareload]

Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and thyroid function in early human pregnancy: circadian variation and evidence for intrinsic thyrotropic activity of hCG - PubMed

To explore the diurnal variation and the relationship between serum hCG levels and thyroid function during pregnancy, 26 women with an uncomplicated early pregnancy were studied before and after interruption of pregnancy. The high serum hCG levels in early pregnancy were accompanied by an...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

These results suggest that hCG has thyrotropic activity, which, through rises in thyroid hormone levels, suppresses TSH secretion. In this regard, 27,000-128,000 IU hCG correspond to 1 mIU TSH. Pregnancy-induced changes in thyroid function, however, do not affect the circadian TSH rhythm.

 

[Flexedup]

This is a terrific topic and very glad it's covered here. I've been placed on HCG monotherapy after a catastrophe of an Estrogen crash while on SERMs. HCG has been a life changer for me and it's the best I've ever felt in over 10 years. It's been a month so far, however while I've become able to bench the same weight I was able to do in my 20's I'm now facing a decline in the form of lethargy, dead metabolism, feeling cold all the time and virtually not being able to sweat when working out. I feel so fatigued during excersise that I could literally fall asleep on the bench between sets. I tried searching for HCG effects on thyroid and landed here. All my symptoms remind me of my Low T days and I can swear that my thyroid took a hit in the form of hypothyroidism due to HCG. I don't have bloods to back up this claim but I will get it drawn next week to validate this theory. However, I was wondering if taking T4 with HCG will be a good decision?

 

[BadassBlues]

This is a terrific topic and very glad it's covered here. I've been placed on HCG monotherapy after a catastrophe of an Estrogen crash while on SERMs. HCG has been a life changer for me and it's the best I've ever felt in over 10 years. It's been a month so far, however while I've become able to bench the same weight I was able to do in my 20's I'm now facing a decline in the form of lethargy, dead metabolism, feeling cold all the time and virtually not being able to sweat when working out. I feel so fatigued during excersise that I could literally fall asleep on the bench between sets. I tried searching for HCG effects on thyroid and landed here. All my symptoms remind me of my Low T days and I can swear that my thyroid took a hit in the form of hypothyroidism due to HCG. I don't have bloods to back up this claim but I will get it drawn next week to validate this theory. However, I was wondering if taking T4 with HCG will be a good decision?

Your best course of action is to have a comprehensive thyroid panel done before you start experimenting with thyroid meds. You could easily end up in worse condition.