Has anyone else had a change in how they react to HCG - confirmed by Defy

[HoustonTX]

I've had some challenges over the past 9 months on getting dialed back in again which have been mainly due to HCG. I am ready to either cut it down to a minimal part of my protocol or go back to using it daily as opposed to keeping it EOD.

When I first came to Defy, Dr Crisler suggested 100 ius daily. He said I should feel something. I didn't feel anything, so we increased it to 125 and then 150. I never felt anything. Now I feel it, and it's not in a good way. I have been trying to balance and reintroduce HCG for almost a year now. When I expressed my frustration to the person I work with at Defy, she said that she has had 50% of her patients either take HCG out of their protocol or reduce the amount and go to EOD injections. She said that she thought it might be due to the increase in potency from Empower and the other lab they use, but as far as I know that can't be right as the labs are closely controlled with the active ingredients.

Anyway, my real question is to find out how many other people have experienced the same thing. I mean I was taking 150ius of HCG daily with no problem. Now, I can't take more than 110 EOD which is a huge difference....all other variables have remained the same. I have taken 120ius and get a huge estradiol rush and get super tired and have ED set in...like going from rock hard at 10am to a wet noodle at 6PM.

I've heard people on this forum say that an estradiol rush from hcg doesn't happen, so I needed to include that. And, mine happens with a difference of 1/100th of a cc.

 

[Vince Carter]

A fair number of us on EM either don't use HCG or feel the same way about it, either nothing or that it just complicates things for us, never improves or makes anything better. I only use about 200iu once per week. You can theorize why but most of the time its going to be an E problem if it makes you feel bad, as opposed to feeling nothing. Direct stim of the testes has some aromatase tied to it and use of an AI is less effective in the testicular environment where this is happening.
I did it all with HCG...500 3x week, to 100 daily and everything in between. My nuts aren't shriveled up but that's about all I could say about HCG.
Drop it for a month and see how you do.

 

[Vince]

Since I started trt 4 years ago, I've kept the same HCG protocol. 500 IU of HCG twice a week. I've never had any reason to change.

 

[theoneguy]

I am the same as vince I use 500IU 2x a week and i feel great. I tried 250IU 2x a week and my TSH shot up from 2.2 up to 5.8.

 

[BigLebowski]

From doing a fair bit of reading on various forums it seems that there's lots of people out there that have issues and lots of people that don't. I've been interested in the answer to your question too as I'm two weeks in to starting my trt protocol (Sustanon 125mg e7d with 500iu HCG 3x pw).

 

[River Rat]

Since I started trt 4 years ago, I've kept the same HCG protocol. 500 IU of HCG twice a week. I've never had any reason to change.

When taking HCG twice a week, are you taking every 3.5 days. My dr said to take 350 iu HCG the two days following the 100mg t injection. I am wondering if it would be better to spread them out to every 3.5 days.

 

[Vince]

When taking HCG twice a week, are you taking every 3.5 days. My dr said to take 350 iu HCG the two days following the 100mg t injection. I am wondering if it would be better to spread them out to every 3.5 days.

Yes I inject HCG 500 IU every three and a half days. I've never had any reason to change my HCG protocol.

 

[River Rat]

Thank you. It appears that every 3.5 days would make more sense than back to back injections.

 

[Tman]

I am in my first three month period with Defy, and I dropped HCG about a month into the program. I was on the HCG diet in the past, so I know I am not allergic. However, the day after taking HCG through the Defy program (500 initially), I would have hot flashes, sweating , increased heart rate, and higher blood pressure. I tried reintroducing HCG at 250 with the same results, on several occassions. Finally, I decided to forgo it all together and I have not had those symptoms. I would be open to trying again at 100, but from the research, you need at least 250 for results. Regardless, that is a brief summary of my experiences. I have my follow-up soon.

 

[theoneguy]

Everybody really does react very differently to not just hcg but testosterone. Personally without hcg my thyroid goes hypothyroid and I lose alot of sensitivity in my penis. If I only needed to take it to keep the testes full then I would have ditched it a long time ago lol. Divy up the pros and cons and make an informed decision yourself is the best way, but see how you feel on it and off it first.

 

[HoustonTX]

A fair number of us on EM either don't use HCG or feel the same way about it, either nothing or that it just complicates things for us, never improves or makes anything better. I only use about 200iu once per week. You can theorize why but most of the time its going to be an E problem if it makes you feel bad, as opposed to feeling nothing. Direct stim of the testes has some aromatase tied to it and use of an AI is less effective in the testicular environment where this is happening.
I did it all with HCG...500 3x week, to 100 daily and everything in between. My nuts aren't shriveled up but that's about all I could say about HCG.
Drop it for a month and see how you do.

Well, I cannot just drop it. I wish it were that easy. I am at a Test level in the high 700s but my estradiol level is at 15 without it keeping my test and anatsrozole the same, and I have no sex drive and no penile sensitivity with my estradiol that low. On just 110 ius EOD, my test level goes up to about 1150 and my estradiol in the mid 20s. I would need to lower my AI or increase my testosterone, if I dropped it. Defy had suggested maybe increasing my test and dropping the HCG

 

[HoustonTX]

One of the things that reamins a mystery is why I could take 150ius daily with no problem 2-3 years ago, but now I can't even take 120 EOD. It doesn't make sense to me

 

[lowe2sucks]

Well, I cannot just drop it. I wish it were that easy. I am at a Test level in the high 700s but my estradiol level is at 15 without it keeping my test and anatsrozole the same, and I have no sex drive and no penile sensitivity with my estradiol that low. On just 110 ius EOD, my test level goes up to about 1150 and my estradiol in the mid 20s. I would need to lower my AI or increase my testosterone, if I dropped it. Defy had suggested maybe increasing my test and dropping the HCG

drop hcg and anastrozole = problem solved