Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG)
Drug Class: Leutenizing Hormone (LH) - Gonadotropin
Active Life: 64 hours
Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) is a hormone produced in the placenta of the female body during the early months of pregnancy. It is in fact the pregnancy indicator looked at by the over the counter pregnancy test kits, as due to its origin it is not found in the body at any other time. Medically, human chorionic gonadotropin has been used for the treatment of undescended testicles in young males, hypogonadism (underproduction of testosterone) (1) and as a fertility drug used to aid in inducing ovulation in women. In veterinary practices, it can also be used to rapidly induce ovulation, most often in cows and horses.
For male steroid users, HCG can mimic the action of luteinizing hormone (LH) in the body. Luteinizing hormone is a pituitary hormone that is released and signals the manufacture of testosterone in the testicles. It is this ability that enables the compound to help restore the normal function of the testes to respond to endogenous luteinizing hormone. This ability can be dramatically reduced after a long period of inactivity, as is the case when administering anabolic steroids. Even when the release of endogenous LH has been resumed to it's normal levels, testosterone levels may not return to normal because of the extended time of inaction that the testes were exposed to (2).
Individuals will also often use HCG to combat testicular atrophy, a result of the hypothalamus pituitary testes axis shut down. While this atrophy is more of a symptom of a side effect of anabolic steroid use rather than something that can be dangerous to a user, many individuals are concerned about testicular atrophy and turn to human chorionic gonadotropin to help and alleviate it. For this purpose, HCG is quite effective.
As is fairly obvious by the preceding, human chorionic gonadotropin offers female athletes no performance enhancing qualities and is useless for this purpose.
Use/Dosing
It is important to note that HCG should only be run while a user is still on cycle and not during PCT. This is due to human chorionic gonadotropin actually being suppressive to the hypothalamus pituitary testes axis. Obviously this is something to be avoided when attempting to "re-start" your natural testosterone production. Ensure that the last shot of HCG is taken within several days of the start time of post-cycle therapy so that it has cleared the system of the user and the compounds being taken for PCT can function as intended.
High doses of human chorionic gonadotropin have also been shown to cause a large amount of aromatase activity. Since a user would obviously want to keep aromatase to the lowest level possible, small and frequent doses would be most effective while keeping side effects to a minimum. The side effects and risks associated with HCG will be dealt with later in this profile, however obviously there are several concerns that a user must take into consideration when choosing a method and dosing with a compound such as this.
Human chorionic gonadotropin can be injected either using intramuscular or subcutaneous injection methods. There is no evidence showing that either method is more effective or potent than the other. Some users complain of a sharp sting when injecting the compound. However this pain quickly dissipates.
Once constituted, human chorionic gonadotropin must be refrigerated. Depending on the type/brand of HCG a user has it could last from approximately four to eight weeks. Constituting the powder of the compound with bacteriostatic water may add some shelf life but this increase is not dramatic by any means, extending the life of the constituted compound by only days.
There are numerous effective ways with which a user can administer human chorionic gonadotropin throughout their cycle. However, one must ensure that they do not run it at such a dose that damage is caused and that the Leydig's cells are desensitized to luteinizing hormone which could impair an individual's ability to produce testosterone naturally. Some evidence has shown that doses as low as 800 to 1200ius can cause at least temporary damage Leydig's cells in some individuals (1). However, the medical literature and many doctors who specialize in hormone replacement therapy and/or endocrinology still prescribe much larger doses of HCG despite this. Doses in excess of 3000ius have been recommended and prescribed by doctors to help stimulate testosterone production in patients suffering from hypogonadism. However, like many compounds, there is very little research regarding the use of human chorionic gonadotropin for the reason that most steroid users administer it.
A majority of users have anecdotally reported that frequent small doses are the norm for steroid users attempting to maintain at least minimal testicular function during their anabolic steroid cycles. However the timing, doses, frequency and durations of administering the drug vary quite widely amongst users. For the most part this is due to the lack of credible information available to users about how to go about using the compound effectively. However, there are some absolutes when using human chorionic gonadotropin.
Drug Class: Leutenizing Hormone (LH) - Gonadotropin
Active Life: 64 hours
Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) is a hormone produced in the placenta of the female body during the early months of pregnancy. It is in fact the pregnancy indicator looked at by the over the counter pregnancy test kits, as due to its origin it is not found in the body at any other time. Medically, human chorionic gonadotropin has been used for the treatment of undescended testicles in young males, hypogonadism (underproduction of testosterone) (1) and as a fertility drug used to aid in inducing ovulation in women. In veterinary practices, it can also be used to rapidly induce ovulation, most often in cows and horses.
For male steroid users, HCG can mimic the action of luteinizing hormone (LH) in the body. Luteinizing hormone is a pituitary hormone that is released and signals the manufacture of testosterone in the testicles. It is this ability that enables the compound to help restore the normal function of the testes to respond to endogenous luteinizing hormone. This ability can be dramatically reduced after a long period of inactivity, as is the case when administering anabolic steroids. Even when the release of endogenous LH has been resumed to it's normal levels, testosterone levels may not return to normal because of the extended time of inaction that the testes were exposed to (2).
Individuals will also often use HCG to combat testicular atrophy, a result of the hypothalamus pituitary testes axis shut down. While this atrophy is more of a symptom of a side effect of anabolic steroid use rather than something that can be dangerous to a user, many individuals are concerned about testicular atrophy and turn to human chorionic gonadotropin to help and alleviate it. For this purpose, HCG is quite effective.
As is fairly obvious by the preceding, human chorionic gonadotropin offers female athletes no performance enhancing qualities and is useless for this purpose.
Use/Dosing
It is important to note that HCG should only be run while a user is still on cycle and not during PCT. This is due to human chorionic gonadotropin actually being suppressive to the hypothalamus pituitary testes axis. Obviously this is something to be avoided when attempting to "re-start" your natural testosterone production. Ensure that the last shot of HCG is taken within several days of the start time of post-cycle therapy so that it has cleared the system of the user and the compounds being taken for PCT can function as intended.
High doses of human chorionic gonadotropin have also been shown to cause a large amount of aromatase activity. Since a user would obviously want to keep aromatase to the lowest level possible, small and frequent doses would be most effective while keeping side effects to a minimum. The side effects and risks associated with HCG will be dealt with later in this profile, however obviously there are several concerns that a user must take into consideration when choosing a method and dosing with a compound such as this.
Human chorionic gonadotropin can be injected either using intramuscular or subcutaneous injection methods. There is no evidence showing that either method is more effective or potent than the other. Some users complain of a sharp sting when injecting the compound. However this pain quickly dissipates.
Once constituted, human chorionic gonadotropin must be refrigerated. Depending on the type/brand of HCG a user has it could last from approximately four to eight weeks. Constituting the powder of the compound with bacteriostatic water may add some shelf life but this increase is not dramatic by any means, extending the life of the constituted compound by only days.
There are numerous effective ways with which a user can administer human chorionic gonadotropin throughout their cycle. However, one must ensure that they do not run it at such a dose that damage is caused and that the Leydig's cells are desensitized to luteinizing hormone which could impair an individual's ability to produce testosterone naturally. Some evidence has shown that doses as low as 800 to 1200ius can cause at least temporary damage Leydig's cells in some individuals (1). However, the medical literature and many doctors who specialize in hormone replacement therapy and/or endocrinology still prescribe much larger doses of HCG despite this. Doses in excess of 3000ius have been recommended and prescribed by doctors to help stimulate testosterone production in patients suffering from hypogonadism. However, like many compounds, there is very little research regarding the use of human chorionic gonadotropin for the reason that most steroid users administer it.
A majority of users have anecdotally reported that frequent small doses are the norm for steroid users attempting to maintain at least minimal testicular function during their anabolic steroid cycles. However the timing, doses, frequency and durations of administering the drug vary quite widely amongst users. For the most part this is due to the lack of credible information available to users about how to go about using the compound effectively. However, there are some absolutes when using human chorionic gonadotropin.
Comment