Please note: I am not the original author but do have permission to repost this. Original author(s) unknown but likely a combination from the mods over on r/steroids. Anything in italics I have added (including links to articles/threads on our own forum). Edited to fit the word restrictions.
Post Cycle Therapy (PCT)
Post Cycle Therapy or PCT is a period of medication treatment that follows the use of anabolic steroids. Post Cycle Therapy is also one of the most confusing topics for many steroid users; this is largely due to misconceptions. When to start PCT, which meds to use, how long to use them and what you should expect, these are all common questions and ones we’ll address here.
The Purpose of PCT
When we supplement with anabolic steroids we suppress our natural testosterone production. Testosterone, the primary male hormone, is essential to our very well being. Most men who supplement with anabolic steroids will always include at least a minimal amount of testosterone in their cycle due to this suppression factor.
Following the use of exogenous anabolic steroids, the majority of users will experience what has been dubbed a “hormonal crash” or “post cycle crash”, which is a bodily environment in which key hormones essential to the retention of the newly created muscle mass has been suppressed or shut down. The key hormones in question are LH (Luteinizing Hormone), FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone), and subsequently (and most importantly), Testosterone. LH and FSH are known as gonadotropins, which are hormones that signal the gonads (testes) to begin or increase the manufacture and secretion of Testosterone. Alongside low levels of these hormones, the overall balance of total hormones will be essentially thrown off, whereby Testosterone levels will be low, and most of the time (depending on many factors), Estrogen levels will be higher, and levels of Cortisol (a steroid hormone that destroys muscle tissue) will be at normal levels. With Testosterone levels low and Cortisol levels in the normal (or high) range, Cortisol now becomes a threat to the newly created muscle that was created during the recent anabolic steroid cycle (Testosterone properly suppresses and counteracts Cortisol’s catabolic effects on muscle tissue). SHBG (Sex Hormone Binding Globulin) is also a concern here as well, which is a protein that binds to sex hormones (Testosterone) and renders them inactive, essentially ‘handcuffing’ them and preventing them from exerting their effects. SHBG will also normally be elevated during the post-cycle weeks as a result of the supraphysiological levels of androgens from the recent anabolic steroid cycle.
The human body will normally restore this imbalance of hormones and recover its endogenous Testosterone levels on its own over time with no assistance, but studies have demonstrated that without the intervention of Testosterone stimulating agents, this will occur over the course of up to 4 months or so. This is quite evidently enough time for the hormonal imbalance to wreak havoc on the body and result in any individual losing most or all of the newly gained muscle during this time. Therefore, all anabolic steroid users should be concerned with the fastest possible hormonal recovery, assisted and boosted with the use of Testosterone stimulating compounds in the proper manner. Furthermore, the attempt to allow the body to recover on its own will present a very high probability of long-term endocrine damage to the HPTA over time whereby the individual will develop anabolic steroid induced hypogonadism (the inability to manufacture proper levels of Testosterone for the rest of their life). It is therefore paramount that a proper post cycle therapy that includes multiple recovery compounds be utilized so as to not only restore the HPTA function to normal levels as quickly as possible, but to avoid any possible permanent damage, which takes priority over the concern of maintaining the recently gained muscle mass.
The HPTA: How It Works
The HPTA is the Hypothalamic Pituitary Testicular Axis, which is an axis of interconnected endocrine glands in the body that deal with and control Testosterone production.
Click here For HPTA Diagram
Outlined above is a diagram of the HPTA. The HPTA regulates how much Testosterone is manufactured and circulating the body at any one given time. Every individual is essentially programmed by their genetics (DNA) as to how much maximum Testosterone they will manufacture, and this is the prime determining factor. There exist other factors that determine how much Testosterone an individual will produce as well, and these include: age, diet, body composition, lifestyle habits, and physical activity. All of these factors play a role in how much Testosterone an individual will generate overall.
The HPTA functions under what is known as the negative feedback loop, whereby the body will reduce its manufacture and secretion of Testosterone if too much Testosterone is detected circulating in the body, and will also adjust as such if insufficient amounts of Testosterone are detected. This detection and adjustment, known as the negative feedback loop, is controlled by the hypothalamus, which is essentially considered the ‘master’ gland for all endocrine and hormonal functions in the body. The negative feedback loop is ultimately the body’s attempt to maintain hormonal homeostasis, which refers to the regulation of a system (in this case, the internal systems of the body) in order to maintain stable and constant favorable conditions. All endocrine glands operate by way of the negative feedback loop in one way or another, and to varying degrees. In the case of post cycle therapy, the concern is primarily with the negative feedback loop of the HPTA.
Within the HPTA, the concern during PCT is the restoration and regulation of the following 5 hormones to homeostasis:
There are two primary hormonal factors that serve to inhibit, reduce, suppress, or shut down Testosterone production in the HPTA:
This very basic understanding of the mechanisms of the HPTA and negative feedback loop described above is essential to understanding how and why a proper PCT program must be developed and utilized following an anabolic steroid cycle.
Post Cycle Therapy (PCT)
Post Cycle Therapy or PCT is a period of medication treatment that follows the use of anabolic steroids. Post Cycle Therapy is also one of the most confusing topics for many steroid users; this is largely due to misconceptions. When to start PCT, which meds to use, how long to use them and what you should expect, these are all common questions and ones we’ll address here.
The Purpose of PCT
When we supplement with anabolic steroids we suppress our natural testosterone production. Testosterone, the primary male hormone, is essential to our very well being. Most men who supplement with anabolic steroids will always include at least a minimal amount of testosterone in their cycle due to this suppression factor.
Following the use of exogenous anabolic steroids, the majority of users will experience what has been dubbed a “hormonal crash” or “post cycle crash”, which is a bodily environment in which key hormones essential to the retention of the newly created muscle mass has been suppressed or shut down. The key hormones in question are LH (Luteinizing Hormone), FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone), and subsequently (and most importantly), Testosterone. LH and FSH are known as gonadotropins, which are hormones that signal the gonads (testes) to begin or increase the manufacture and secretion of Testosterone. Alongside low levels of these hormones, the overall balance of total hormones will be essentially thrown off, whereby Testosterone levels will be low, and most of the time (depending on many factors), Estrogen levels will be higher, and levels of Cortisol (a steroid hormone that destroys muscle tissue) will be at normal levels. With Testosterone levels low and Cortisol levels in the normal (or high) range, Cortisol now becomes a threat to the newly created muscle that was created during the recent anabolic steroid cycle (Testosterone properly suppresses and counteracts Cortisol’s catabolic effects on muscle tissue). SHBG (Sex Hormone Binding Globulin) is also a concern here as well, which is a protein that binds to sex hormones (Testosterone) and renders them inactive, essentially ‘handcuffing’ them and preventing them from exerting their effects. SHBG will also normally be elevated during the post-cycle weeks as a result of the supraphysiological levels of androgens from the recent anabolic steroid cycle.
The human body will normally restore this imbalance of hormones and recover its endogenous Testosterone levels on its own over time with no assistance, but studies have demonstrated that without the intervention of Testosterone stimulating agents, this will occur over the course of up to 4 months or so. This is quite evidently enough time for the hormonal imbalance to wreak havoc on the body and result in any individual losing most or all of the newly gained muscle during this time. Therefore, all anabolic steroid users should be concerned with the fastest possible hormonal recovery, assisted and boosted with the use of Testosterone stimulating compounds in the proper manner. Furthermore, the attempt to allow the body to recover on its own will present a very high probability of long-term endocrine damage to the HPTA over time whereby the individual will develop anabolic steroid induced hypogonadism (the inability to manufacture proper levels of Testosterone for the rest of their life). It is therefore paramount that a proper post cycle therapy that includes multiple recovery compounds be utilized so as to not only restore the HPTA function to normal levels as quickly as possible, but to avoid any possible permanent damage, which takes priority over the concern of maintaining the recently gained muscle mass.
The HPTA: How It Works
The HPTA is the Hypothalamic Pituitary Testicular Axis, which is an axis of interconnected endocrine glands in the body that deal with and control Testosterone production.
Click here For HPTA Diagram
Outlined above is a diagram of the HPTA. The HPTA regulates how much Testosterone is manufactured and circulating the body at any one given time. Every individual is essentially programmed by their genetics (DNA) as to how much maximum Testosterone they will manufacture, and this is the prime determining factor. There exist other factors that determine how much Testosterone an individual will produce as well, and these include: age, diet, body composition, lifestyle habits, and physical activity. All of these factors play a role in how much Testosterone an individual will generate overall.
The HPTA functions under what is known as the negative feedback loop, whereby the body will reduce its manufacture and secretion of Testosterone if too much Testosterone is detected circulating in the body, and will also adjust as such if insufficient amounts of Testosterone are detected. This detection and adjustment, known as the negative feedback loop, is controlled by the hypothalamus, which is essentially considered the ‘master’ gland for all endocrine and hormonal functions in the body. The negative feedback loop is ultimately the body’s attempt to maintain hormonal homeostasis, which refers to the regulation of a system (in this case, the internal systems of the body) in order to maintain stable and constant favorable conditions. All endocrine glands operate by way of the negative feedback loop in one way or another, and to varying degrees. In the case of post cycle therapy, the concern is primarily with the negative feedback loop of the HPTA.
Within the HPTA, the concern during PCT is the restoration and regulation of the following 5 hormones to homeostasis:
- GnRH (Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone)
- LH (Luteinizing Hormone)
- FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone)
- Testosterone
There are two primary hormonal factors that serve to inhibit, reduce, suppress, or shut down Testosterone production in the HPTA:
- Excess Testosterone
- Excess Estrogen
This very basic understanding of the mechanisms of the HPTA and negative feedback loop described above is essential to understanding how and why a proper PCT program must be developed and utilized following an anabolic steroid cycle.