The effect of high doses of  AAS on the genitals and the use of HCG and HMG to protect and restore atrophy

 What follows is a subject not often discussed and controversial. I’ll describe a situation most of you will partly or completely be familiar with.

 After a long winter you tan on a sun-kissed beach. Some perfectly shaped beautiful girls keep a close eye on your ripped muscular body. The result of a winter of heavy work-outs an a good diet plan. And lets face it, a good cycle. You decide to give the ladies a better view and  walk into the sea. You walk in like a God. When you walk out, the wet trunks show painfully clear that your male pride shrunk by at least fifty percent. The cold water caused your genitals to shrink, sounds familiar, right?

 What cold water caused, can also be caused by the use/abuse of to many androgens or during or after a wrong designed cycle and PCT. Your testicals shrink, but not only that, your scrotum shrinks too and your balls retract into your groin. Your dick feels cold and even thinner and smaller. Your libido is dead and when you do come-off, your ejaculate volume is less then it used to be and sometimes is even painful. This is mostly accompanied with growth of your prostate that makes you feel like you constantly need to urinate. And when you did, it feels like you still have to pee and afterwards are still dripping. It looks like reversed puberty. Or worse you're getting OOOLD!!

When exogenous testosterone based anabolic steroids, ( tablets [orals] testosterone cream, testosterone patches, or testosterone injections) are put into a male body, the body's natural negative-feedback loops cause the body to shut down its own (endogenous) production of testosterone via shutdown of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (HPGA). In males this is called the hypothalamic-pituitary-testis axis (HPTA). High levels of  androgenic anabolic steroids (AAS) that mimic the body's natural testosterone cause, the hypothalamus, to shut down its production of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) from the hypothalamus. Without GnRH, the pituitary gland stops releasing LH (Luteinizing Hormone) and FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone). LH normally travels from the pituitary via the blood stream to the testes, where it triggers the production and release of testosterone. Without LH, the testes shut down their production of testosterone If the Leydig cells are not stimulated by the hypothalamus and pituitary gland to synthesize testosterone because there is already so much testosterone (or an anabolic steroid) circulating in a users blood, then the genitals will degenerate.

The need to administer testosterone can be due to bodybuilding, athletic performance enhancing or Testosterone Replacement Therapy – Hormone Replacement Therapy  (TRT-HRT).

 The symptoms that occur are NOT the same in every individual, since everyone reacts different on the administration of hormones, just like on every compound like by example recreational drugs, alcohol, caffeine etc etc. Its genetic!

Beside that, not all administered steroids are equal suppressing, notorious in this regard are compounds like Trenbolone.

 When your cycle of the diverse injectable and oral steroids stopped the body no longer receives exogenous administered AAS, because the body via the HPT axis sensed the body had enough circulating testosterone it had shut down the synthesis of endogenous (body own) testosterone.

 Old PCT protocols

 So, when a person stopped using AAS the body is deprived from testosterone and therefore also from DHT and estrogen. This process is called Anabolic Steroids Induced Hypogonadism (ASIH). And this is what bodybuilders call “crashing”. To prevent a crash bodybuilders tried all kinds of PCT (post cycle therapy) protocols. Most common was the use of high doses HCG.

HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin) is not a steroid, but a peptide hormone which develops in the placenta of pregnant women during pregnancy. It was found that HCG mimicked LH and therefore kick-start the testes.

It was quite normal to inject 2000iu and even up to 5000 iu every 4th or 5th  day. In many cases these high doses where not only counterproductive, but it also caused or aggravated gynaecomastia (bitch tits). The high doses where inhibiting on itself but the sharp raise in testosterone and estradiol (via aromatisation) caused further inhibition of the HPT axis. These high doses of HCG also desensitise the testicles to LH. It kinda damaged them. Most common was that the athlete also directly started to swallow Clomid to push the testes to start synthesising endogenous production of gonads.

 After a long and heavy cycle the testes had the size of grapes or even raisins and even the extra supplementation of Clomid and Nolvadex didn’t work because the testes didn’t pick-up the signals.  The libido was down and the athlete felt to depressed to go to the gym. He saw most of his hard-earned muscles disappear due to the low hormone levels. A vicious circle.

 As always some inventive bodybuilders where studying scientific studies that tried to improve hormone levels in hypogonadism in older man. Other studies to HRT  offered us already Sustanon and more lately Nibido. Scientists studied HCG protocols as a stand alone. Clomid to raise testosterone and a cocktail of HCG protocols with a subsidiary testosterone administration and other fertility drugs to find the ultimate solution.

 The  world population is getting older and due to environmental pollution lots of man and female have fertility problems. Many of those fertility products are used in powersports and bodybuilding. And as I just mentioned the older man and females want to grow old gracefully with strong bones, a healthy sex-life and enough stamina to enjoy life. That’s why replacement therapies in man and female to restore healthy hormone levels are subject of much research, which also benefits us. And what we don’t wanna know right now, will benefit us when we ourselves belong to that increasing group of older people with (to) low hormone levels.

 What about the genitals?

 What I described in the beginning of this article is that a “crash” can have the same effect on our genitals as cold water. Only the latter only last for a very short time.

 Our male genitals pre-natal (before birth)  are created by DHT and testosterone,  dihydrotestosterone is responsible for formation of the phallus and prostate, whereas testosterone mediates formation of the epididymis and ejaculatory system. The enzyme steroid 5a-reductase is expressed in the foreskin, scrotum (and female labia majora). Our genitals need a sufficient amount of testosterone and dehydrotestosterone  to be “happy”.

 Back to the athlete crashing. One of the first signs while on cycle is testicular atrophy, to bring it popular your balls are shrinking. As we pointed out earlier in this article your libido is decreasing, just like your sexual phantasies. Mostly when you first start to use AAS your libido and sexual phantasies increase, but this is also different from one person to an other and most probably also dependant on the type of steroid and the doses. When the libido decreases and even the morning wood has gone some expirience that the size of their penis is also decreasing and feels dead and lifeless, as somebody mailed me. Most men also expirience a decreased ejaculatory volume and even looks more watery. The prostate grows (hypertrophy) and makes urinating difficault is we described it above.

 The HPT axis is a very delicate system, the body is sensing external sources of testosterone and concludes that enough testosterone is circulating in the body and thus, is shutting down it's own production. If no PCT is used, then testes atrophy and other discomfort will remain until the HPT axis recovers back on  itself.  This can take some time depending on several causes, such as cycle length and used AAS, also the age of the user is very important a young man will recover faster then an older man. But it can take month in which most muscle gains will be lost.

 HMG in men

 In men, HMG (Human Menopausal Gonadotropin) can be used to stimulate natural testosterone production and to keep or restore the natural function of the testes. Those using HMG after testicular dystrophy often report an increase in sex drive and sense of well being as well as an increased rebound in fertility.
While HCG is known mainly for testicular stimulation, HMG will also increase the amount of sperm the body is producing, which HCG isn’t as effective at.

HMG is steadily picking up more interest in the medical community for the roles it can play in testosterone recovery. Those who don't see the results and recovery they want from a typical PCT - post cycle therapy - protocol may find HMG beneficial since it is able to stimulate the body's receptors at a wider range of points than HCG is able to. HMG is used for stimulating hormone FSH and LH. This simply stimulates your natural test production and keeps HCG working optimally. Your sex drive and sense of well being come back more rapidly then with other treatments as well as your potential for staying or becoming fertile

Just like HCG, HMG was originally derived from the urine of menopausal women which is high in FSH and contains a small amount of LH which is necessary for follicle development.  Some brand names – Pergonal, Humegon, Menogon, Repronex, Menopur, and Bravelle.

Recombinant FSH (r-FSH) is created using DNA technology , it costs more than purified urinary HMG as mentioned above

Original products contained no LH which was detrimental to follicular development. Some products now have added LH, but the amount of LH can be too much because it is an additive to endogenous LH. Some brand names – Gonal-F, Follistim.

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