I'd like to give an extremely unexpected update here. Due to travel restrictions, I halted HCG 5.5 weeks ago and haven't used it since.
Surprisingly, stopping HCG has almost completely stopped the testicle retraction! Sometimes one of my testicles will retract, but it's very minor and not nearly the same. Previously, with HCG, both of my testicles would retract nearly as soon as I obtained an erection. Now, one testicle sometimes retracts right at the point of orgasm, which is much less distracting - it's the kind of thing I could live with.
So my original theory was that I needed more HCG to get my testicles to be "bigger" so they wouldn't retract into the inguinal canal, but something else must be going on here.
Random ideas:
* Perhaps it's related to how much sperm the body "sees" inside the testicles (?). Maybe the body knows there's sperm in the testicle and tries to draw it close into the body to get more of it. But I presumably had some sperm in my testicles prior to TRT (though I've never taken a sperm count) and this didn't happen.
* Maybe it's related to my estradiol level or estrogenic effects of HCG metabolites (e.g. androstenediol). My LC/MS/MS E2 was 34.4 pg/mL (SHBG 48 nmol/L) on HCG and was 23.7 pg/mL (SHBG 45 nmol/L) a week and a half ago.
* It could be related to my libido, which has been in the toilet over the past several weeks since halting HCG. Maybe a higher libido and sex drive just means this happens. I've had periods of extreme libido in my life and never had the testicle retraction, though.
