How necessary are they during a cycle? I'm thinking of 250 a week of HCG & 10mg a day of nolva.
Reason for asking is I've seen cycles with and without.
Hoss
How about some cycle history, stats, etc?
Bump this
generally speaking, IMO, nolvadex should be avoided on cycle as you need some estrogen to assist with gains and nolva on cycle reduces estrogen, and therefore can limit gains.
HCG on cycle assists greatly in recovery, especially when using very supressive compounds like deca or during longer cycles of 10-12 weeks or more. Swales protocol provides a good insight, and goes into detail as to what I just said. Never use HCG past your last test shot.
Really depends on how your body handles the aas you are on. I am a proponent of both during cycle because I have run cycles without them and regretted it.
How about some cycle history, stats, etc?
Only use the nolva if you start to get symptoms of gyno, which can be itchy nipples, sore nipples, things like that. If those start i would throw in the nolva, the dose depends on what works for you. BUT!......you should always have it on hand just in case. As for the HCG i think there is no other way to go. It will help keep your nuts from shrinking, and help keep them close to ready for the pct. When i have used hcg it really sped up my pct. Again this is just my opinion. Remember Hcg only stays good once mixed for about 30 days in the fridge, so make sure you get the smaller amps to avoid wasting any. 250iu a week sounds good. I ran 500 but to each there own. Some people do 250 twice a week. What you don't want to do is shoot the whole 5000iu once every week. You will desensitize your leydig cells.
Estrogen agonists like Nolvadex WILL NOT reduce estrogen, will not likely reduce bloat very much, and will only be good for some people to prevent the ONSET of gynecomastia. In fact, in those that are very estrogen sensitive, a drug like Nolvadex may actually worsen estrogen-related sides.
HCG will RAISE testosterone levels, even if you're already taking testosterone, which if you're already converting testosterone to estrogen from high doses of testosterone, HCG will just give you that much more testosterone for your body's enzymes to convert. Why? Because HCG acts like one of the chemicals your body produces to MAKE testosterone! HCG is good to use during cycle ONLY for the purposes of testicular size and weight or as an additional component of your TRT if you're keeping your testosterone dosage low.
It makes sense while supplementing with testosterone to use an aromatase inhibitor to combat estrogen-related sides. The three major ones are anastrazole, letrozole, and exemestane. Keep in mind that non-steroidal AI's generally wreak havoc upon your lipid profile so if you have access to exemestane (Aromasin), then that's your best bet. In any case, regular bloodwork in the above areas is a responsible pursuit.
People certainly use Nolvadex while on testosterone but I would save the Nolvadex (tamoxifen) for post cycle recovery of your LH and FSH levels so you can start producing testosterone on your own again. It works well for that purpose.
Research is key here to know exactly what dosages should or should not be used and remember to keep in contact with a doctor that specializes in one way or another, hormone replacement or especially testosterone replacement therapy.