How Post-Cycle Therapy Works With Clomid, Nolvadex, And HCG
Almost necessary in the use of anabolic steroids for bodybuilding has been post-cycle therapy (PCT) as one of the major advancements in anabolic pharmacology during the last ten to twenty years. This wasn’t known by bodybuilders back in the 1970s and 1980s. By the start of the 1990s, some athletes of an avant-garde nature or a few bodybuilders hit upon the application of specific medications that could increase the speed at which natural testosterone is recovered after discontinuing steroid use.
Even the medical research community tried to reduce the harms associated with steroid use. To be more exact, several progressive-minded doctors sought to help those bodybuilders who suffer from what is known as “anabolic-steroid-induced hypogonadism” (ASIH).
Dr. Michael Scally M.D. was among the pioneers who first used three drugs in a PCT treatment protocol tested clinically worldwide. Scally successfully treated over 1,000 non-medical people using steroids to have their hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis (HPTA) functioning normally once again under his ASIH treatment protocol.
Dr. Scally is a physician in the greater Houston area. Among Houston’s bodybuilders are several champion amateur and professional athletes who have sought his counsel. It was only natural that other bodybuilders across the nation would regard him as an authority on Post Cycle Therapy (PCT) as soon as they heard about it. Bodybuilders at all levels of expertise now have access to the internet for information.
Scally’s drug combination consisted of three medications approved by the FDA but used off-labelly. These medications included human chorionic gonadotropic (hCG), clomiphene citrate (Clomid), and tamoxifen (Nolvadex). Regarding Nelson Vergel’s work HIV activist and TRT expert in the Program of Wellness Restoration, this protocol has been dubbed PoWeR Protocol.
The target of the PoWeR protocol was defined as:
“To develop an approach to cycle androgens that would result in significant changes in body composition and accelerate the normalization of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (HPGA) after cessation of androgens.”
The first phase of the PoWeR PCT protocol involved hCG use. HCG directly stimulates test production. The hCG-induced rise in testosterone levels is well into the normal range for serum testosterone and often exceeds this range even up to supraphysiological levels in a normal healthy male.
PCT, the first phase of it isn’t always an essential thing. However, for steroid cycles involving high dosages (e.g., exceeding one gram of total androgen per week) or steroid cycles of extended periods (e.g., over 16 weeks), hCG is usually recommended.
The second phase of the PoWeR PCT protocol involves using two selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) - Clomid and Nolvadex. To achieve this, the first phase is concerned with the testicles where every happening takes place while Clomid + Nolvadex forms the second phase which includes drugs that act on the estrogen receptors of the pituitary gland
However, using only a single SERM in PCT has been successful in many cases. Additionally, other SERMs like toremifene have been successfully used as well. Therefore, there may not be a need to use two different SERMS during PCT at all times. Nevertheless, Dr. Scally’s pioneering work demonstrated that the combination of Clomid and Nolvadex offers some advantages. Thus, severe ASIH or heavy steroid use would necessitate their combined usage.
SERMs are Clomid and Nolvadex. However, they act differently in some way. In most parts of the body, Nolvadex has an anti-estrogenic effect which leads to a decrease in the overall actions of estrogens in the entire body. Therefore, Nolvadex only acts as an anti-estrogen. Conversely, Clomid has more or less biphasic effects on it. In addition to its general anti-estrogenic effects, Clomid has a notably estrogenic effect in the brain where it stimulates the estrogen receptors in the pituitary.
Administering Clomid and Nolvadex simultaneously results in a more significant increase of luteinizing hormone (LH).
Dr Scally’s latest PCT program goes something like this:
hCG 2,000 I.U every other day for 20 days
Clomid 50mg twice daily for 30 days
Nolvadex 20mg once daily for 45 days
The development of Dr. Scally and other steroid harm reduction advocates’ works on PCT has made it a widely acceptable practice among many bodybuilders today. Those who use steroids responsibly could take solace from the available literature concerning ASIH treatment and steroid use as it can help them minimize anabolic steroid-related negative effects that might occur from their usage.
