Enclomiphene citrate 5 week progress and questions.

[hempdog]

Had testing done a while ago, and my testosterone levels were LOW TT was 156ng/dl and FT was 2.9 - I have been taking Enclomiphene citrate 12.5mg eod for 5 weeks and had just my testosterone levels checked. Levels are up to TT 281, and FT 7.6 and I am thinking I will start taking 12.5 every day and adding HCG 250iu per day as well.

Any advice or experience to give?

I am not worried about fertility - I have 2 kids and don't plan on any more, I just want to be able to gain some muscle, lose that weight and stay healthy enough to try and keep up with my 16 and 18 year old boys a bit better and live a good life.

I am 47 years old, 5'-11", 220lbs (down from 245 5 months ago) and still working on losing more weight - goal weight of 170. I have been in the gym lifting and doing cardio for the past 6 months and have definitely seen some gains.

 

[Systemlord]

I am not worried about fertility - I have 2 kids and don't plan on any more, I just want to be able to gain some muscle, lose that weight and stay healthy

I‘m confused as to why you would rather take a drug, a toxin instead of a bio-identical hormone.

Why is TRT off the table?

 

[hempdog]

I‘m confused as to why you would rather take a drug, a toxin instead of a bio-identical hormone.

Why is TRT off the table?

TRT is not off the table, I just feel like I would rather see if I can get my body to produce its own testosterone rather than use TRT which seems like a lifetime commitment. I have always been one to try different approaches to all kinds of things in life. If this experiment doesn’t work I am willing to go to the next step, which seems to be TRT.

 

[Kenp]

Read this thread: Enclomiphene restart - how long?

Can take a long time

 

[FunkOdyssey]

Had testing done a while ago, and my testosterone levels were LOW TT was 156ng/dl and FT was 2.9 - I have been taking Enclomiphene citrate 12.5mg eod for 5 weeks and had just my testosterone levels checked. Levels are up to TT 281, and FT 7.6 and I am thinking I will start taking 12.5 every day and adding HCG 250iu per day as well.

Any advice or experience to give?

I am not worried about fertility - I have 2 kids and don't plan on any more, I just want to be able to gain some muscle, lose that weight and stay healthy enough to try and keep up with my 16 and 18 year old boys a bit better and live a good life.

I am 47 years old, 5'-11", 220lbs (down from 245 5 months ago) and still working on losing more weight - goal weight of 170. I have been in the gym lifting and doing cardio for the past 6 months and have definitely seen some gains.

You did increase your free T by something like 2.5x which is a substantial improvement, however, you still haven't reached an optimal range. Increasing the enclomiphene seems reasonable as a first step. If that doesn't do enough for you, then it's time to introduce some exogenous T.

 

[Cataceous]

I‘m confused as to why you would rather take a drug, a toxin instead of a bio-identical hormone.
...

And you accuse me of fearmongering? Since when is enclomiphene a toxin at normal doses? The better argument is that there is a lack of long-term evaluation, although this doesn't imply anything either way about safety.

@hempdog — Increasing the enclomiphene dose is indeed reasonable. In the clinical trials they went as high as 25 mg daily, and many required this to become eugonadal. If you end up unsatisfied with enclomiphene then I suggest a trial with a testosterone nasal gel before moving to other forms of TRT. The reason why is that nasal gels are less disruptive of other hormones, and thus are less likely to cause unintended side effects.

 

[hempdog]

And you accuse me of fearmongering? Since when is enclomiphene a toxin at normal doses? The better argument is that there is a lack of long-term evaluation, although this doesn't imply anything either way about safety.

@hempdog — Increasing the enclomiphene dose is indeed reasonable. In the clinical trials they went as high as 25 mg daily, and many required this to become eugonadal. If you end up unsatisfied with enclomiphene then I suggest a trial with a testosterone nasal gel before moving to other forms of TRT. The reason why is that nasal gels are less disruptive of other hormones, and thus are less likely to cause unintended side effects.

lol at the fearmongering comment. no worries, I've been on the internet for a LONG time, not much fazes me anymore.

I tend to read everything and get as much data (scientific and anecdotal) as I can before making decisions like this - blame it on my ADHD.

Thanks for your response. I do feel like increasing the dose makes sense to try first. On the TRT - nasal gel is less disruptive than even the cream? That is interesting. Thanks again!

 

[Cataceous]

... On the TRT - nasal gel is less disruptive than even the cream? That is interesting. Thanks again!

Yes, it turns out the skin acts as a slow-release reservoir for testosterone, leading to a relatively long half-life compared to nasal gel.

 

[mcs]

64 y/o.
I had been trialing enc since July of last year and for the same reasons you state. TRT is also not off the table if I don't see consistent optimization not only in blood work, but in subjective observation.

I started at 12.5mg and soon increased to 25mg because I wasn't seeing any change in labs. My TT went from the low 400s to in the 700s, modest increase in FT, FSH and LH. I will continue on this trial for another 3-6 mos. to give it enough time before making a decision to remain on it or pivot to TRT.
Give it a bit more time and if you don't see your levels get in the upper range of normal, try upping the dose to 25mg and see if that makes a difference before throwing in the towel.