Post cycle therapy, recovery after steroid cycle
Taking AAS reduces the production of your own testosterone. This process cannot be avoided, but it is possible and necessary to use post-cycle therapy to restore hormone synthesis in the body after a steroid cycle.
AFTER COURSE THERAPY
PCT (Post Cycle Therapy) – It is a drug complex designed to normalize the body’s natural hormonal background after taking anabolic steroids and reduce the side effects of taking steroids.
OBJECTIVES OF THERAPY AFTER THE COURSE
- Restoration of own hormone production
- To reduce and prevent the “rollback” phenomenon
- Prevention of gynecomastia
- Prevention of testicular atrophy at high doses
- Reduce and avoid the side effects of taking AS
The main drugs for therapy after the course
ANTI-STREGENS (divided into two types)
- aromatase inhibitors
- estrogen receptor blockers
- Aromatase inhibitors are used during the course to block the action of estrogen (female sex hormone), especially when using flavored drugs: testosterone, sustanone, methandrostenolone, boldenone, proviron.
Aromatase inhibitors include many drugs, but the most important are anastrozole and letrozole. Apply during the course and approximately 2 weeks after.
- Estrogen receptor blockers are used to increase testosterone levels. The main drugs are blockers: tamoxifen, clomiphene. They are adopted after each complexity has been completed.
The same is true
- Chorionic gonadotropin
- Cabergoline (Dostinex)
- Chorionic gonadotropin prevents the development of a side effect called testicular atrophy. Its use begins in the 2nd week of the course or in the last 5 weeks and continues until the end of the steroid cycle at an average dose of 250 ME twice a week. After that, it is recommended to immediately switch to estrogen receptor blockers.
- Cabergoline (Dostinex) Inhibitor of prolactin secretion. It is used as part of progestin drugs (nandrolone, trenbolone) which increase the level of prolactin, which is responsible for most of the side effects of these drugs. Usually taken at a dose of 0.25 mg every 4 days during the course.
All types of over-the-counter drugs (sports nutrition) are used.
- Omega 3
- Growth hormone
- Testosterone Booster
- Hepatoprotectors
- Omega 3 is used to normalize cholesterol levels and lipid profile and also helps protect the heart and blood vessels. The method of application is simple, take 2-3 grams per day for the entire course and 2 weeks after the course.
- Growth hormone is an excellent drug for maintaining muscle mass after an anabolic steroid cycle. It is used for post-course therapy for the last week of the course and for 6 weeks at a dose of 5 units per day (or every other day is a more appropriate option).
- Testosterone boosters are used to restore hormone levels for 5 weeks. It is recommended to start admission from the penultimate week of study. Dietary supplements can be purchased at sports nutrition stores. The most popular are Tribulus and Ecdysterone.
- Hepatoprotectors are designed to protect the liver, since most anabolic steroids are harmful to the liver (not fatal), they are used during the course and after 2-4 weeks. You can buy it at the pharmacy.
Examples of post cycle therapy (based on the testosterone enanthate course)
- 1st week: Testosterone Enanthate 500 mg
- 2nd week: Testosterone Enanthate 500 mg + Anastrozole 0.5 mg (every other day)
- 3rd week: Testosterone Enanthate 500 mg + Anastrozole 0.5 mg (every other day)
- 4th week: Testosterone Enanthate 500 mg + Anastrozole 0.5 mg (every other day)
- 5th week: testosterone enanthate 500 mg + anastrozole 0.5 mg (every other day)
- 6th week: testosterone enanthate 500 mg + anastrozole 0.5 mg (every other day)
- 7th week: testosterone enanthate 500 mg + anastrozole 0.5 mg (every other day)
- Week 8: Testosterone Enanthate 500mg + Anastrozole 0.5mg (every other day) + Gonadotropin 250ME (twice a week)
- Week 9: Anastrozole 0.5mg (every other day) + gonadotropin 250ME (twice a week)
- 10th week: anastrozole 0.5 mg (every other day) + gonadotropin 250ME (twice a week)
- Week 11: Tamoxifen 10 mg (once daily)
- Week 12: Tamoxifen 20 mg (once daily)
- Week 13: Tamoxifen 20 mg (once daily)
- Week 14: Tamoxifen 10 mg (once daily)
The intake of anastrozole begins from the 2nd week of the course at a dose of 0.5 mg every other day to prevent gynecomastia and increase the level of testosterone in the blood. Analogues of anastrozole can be taken.
Gonadotropin maintains testicular sensitivity to endogenous gonadotropic hormones. To suppress side effects such as shrinking of the testicles (take only in severe and severe courses, this course is not necessary for taking this drug, but we have given the use of gonadotropin as an example)
Tamoxifen is one of the most important drugs in post-cycle therapy as it triggers the secretion of one’s own testosterone by blocking estrogen receptors. This means that if testosterone levels drop while taking steroids, they will return to their original levels very quickly after taking tamoxifen.
WHEN DO I START PCT?
Post cycle therapy should not be started until the steroid levels in the blood have dropped to a sufficiently low level. If after prolonged treatment with z. For example, if testosterone enanthate is started too early with PCT, the effectiveness of this therapy will be minimal. Enanthate will continue to “radiate” into the body for approximately three weeks, meaning there will be no HHA arc reconstruction during that time.
There are two factors to consider when deciding when to start PCT:
- half-life of steroid esters (SPR);
- dosage of drugs.
The half-life of a drug is the time it takes for a drug to be halved in the body. Consider an example to understand how PPR is used. Suppose we inject 1000 mg of testosterone enanthate (PPR = 7 days). This means that 7 days after injection 500 mg remain in the body, after another week – 250 mg, three weeks after injection – 125 mg, four weeks after injection – 62.5 mg, five after injection injection – 31, 25 mg. As you can see, it takes more than 5 half-lives to eliminate 1000mg of testosterone enanthate.
From the example above, it can be seen that the duration of action of the drug is directly related to the dose. 1000 mg of testosterone enanthate takes longer to reach a lower concentration threshold than the same 500 mg.
So called “steroid calculators” like Roidcalc can be of great help in determining when PCT will start.
It is possible to initiate PCT when the blood levels of the drugs drop to 100 mg.
Below is a table of the most common esters and doses, indicating the number of days before PCT since the last injection.
With long esters, it may take an appropriate amount of time before starting therapy. As a result, it is much more convenient and reliable to build courses on short preparations.
If you are a proponent of long lasting steroid cycles, ending them with a 3-4 week “discount” for short shipments would be your best option. For example, after a 10-week cycle of testosterone cypionate (800 mg / week), another 4 weeks of testosterone propionate (100 mg / day) is performed, 2 days after the last propionate injection, PCT is started . Such a scheme will help to finish the course smoothly and to start rehabilitation therapy almost immediately.
Results:
- To determine the day to start PCT, the PPR and drug dosage should be considered;
- PCT can only be initiated after steroid reduction to trough levels (100 mg);
- We calculate the start date of the PCT using a special calculator or according to the table in this article;
- Long prep courses should end with 3-4 weeks of “quitting” on short steroids, after which PCT should begin immediately.