Let me ask you this. You posted many times here that it was fine for men on TRT not to be taking HCG, and that there were pluses and minuses to using it. AFAIK the main positives are that it increases ball size and semen volume, as well as back filling the HPTA, the main negative is that it makes E2 harder to manage. That is a lot to weigh and I've been back and forth in my head many times about it. I don't have to take an AI now, and I really don't want to if I can avoid it.
You yourself I think only started using it recently after many years of not. It was on that basis that I began my treatment with just T, trying to dial that in first, while evaluating weather or not to add HCG later. It just made sense to me to be conservative with what I put in my body, and only add one thing at a time to see how I react.
DET OAK has posted that he thinks its a huge mistake to do that and I should be on HCG immediately, to not be on it is taking big risks with my health. My arteries might harden, my leydig cells will be extremely desensitized and it will take months or years to bring them back.
What do you think am I making a huge mistake waiting?
So you were not using HCG for a year while using T, then you started using it, how long did it take before you noticed a difference? I've noticed a decrease in semen volume but no decrease in feeling or any pain
Unfortunately there is no definitive answer when it comes to taking hCG while on TRT. You are not going to find a longterm medical study where hCG was used on men. At least not one that I am aware of. For that matter, there aren't many, if any, longterm studies on men taking testosterone for TRT either. You will find studies that say TRT is good for men's health and studies that say it is bad for men's health. Many of the studies have flaws in them. Many only look at correlations rather than cause and effect. So somehow you are going to have to get past this uncertainty if you are going to continue TRT and/or consider hCG.
As you listed, some of the benefits to taking hCG while on TRT are:
- Maintaining fertility
- Limiting testicular atrophy
- Keeping the testicles functioning at a minimal level
- Testicles do more than produce more than testosterone. But honestly, I don't know if these other processes shut down in the presence of exogenous testosterone.
- Sexual benefits
- Many men anecdotally express that hCG gives them a" sense of well being."
- Probably many other benefits
Of course, there are potential downsides to taking hCG for long periods of time:
- Intra-testicular aromatization
- More complicated estradiol management
- Added cost
- More injections
- Unknown longterm effects
- Some men who are prone to anxiety or panic attacks seem to be affected by hCG.
I am not going to tell you that you are making a collosal mistake by not using hCG. I can share my personal experience though. I did not use it for a little more than two years while on TRT. While I knew the benefits, my doctor would not prescribe it to me. At some point along the way I decided to get some on my own and give it a try. I wrestled with this decision for a while and it wasn't one I took lightly. My testicles had gradually shrunk over time. My ejaculate volume had decreased. And I wanted to see if I too experienced that sense of well being. I have only been on it for a couple of months. I have noticed that my testicles have increased in size and sex is more enjoyable.
What I would recommend for you in particular at this point is to get dialed in on your current TRT protocol and then run with it for a little bit. Then at some point give hCG a try for three months and see what you think.
thats what experience means.
