Was my estrogen too high last cycle?

[Jonpower]

My stats:
Early 30s male, 6 feet tall, 220lb around 20%bf
Squat 440lb, Deadlift 460lb, bench 260lb

I'm planning on running a Test E 500mg e3d cycle for 16 weeks.

I ran a 12 week Test E cycle with dbol 25mg/day for the first 6 weeks before.

Last time I can't say I had any issues with gyno that I noticed, although I did have arimidex on hand just in case. I cried like a little girl at commercials on pct sometimes but that's another story.

My concern is that it really seems my estrogen levels were too high and I wonder if I should AI this time around? If so which (I have nolva and arimidex on hand).

My pre cycle levels were:

Testosterone 6.404ng/mL (reference range 1.560-8.770)

Estradiol;e2 30pg/mL (reference range 11-44)

Mid cycle (day after stopping dbol) they were:

Testosterone 26.399ng/mL (reference range 1.560-8.770)

Estradiol;e2 119pg/mL (reference range 11-44)

Your thoughts and advice would be welcomed! Thanks

[numbere]

Your e2 was twice as high as it should have been.

Of course you need an AI!

The negative effects of high e2 are much worse than gyno.

High e2 is terrible for your cardiovascular system.

You can feel gyno forming but you can't feel a blood clot until it's too late.

Due to this an AI is always necessary on cycle, unless you have mid cycle blood work to prove otherwise.

You should be taking an AI and adjust the dosage based on your mid cycle blood work.

16 weeks is a long time for your HPTA to be shut down.

You should consider a shorter cycle.

[Jonpower]

Thanks for your reply.

Yeah it was pretty damn high. I read over and over that I only needed an AI if I felt gyno so I went with that advice. I guess I was wrong.

So 0.25mg arimidex e2d?

I was initially planning a 12 week cycle but I read a lot about people doing 16 week cycles and it being more effective, as the big effects don't kick in until week 5-7ish. Still planning to have kids later on though and don't want to risk that.

[numbere]

That's a good starting dosage for dex.

Just because you begin making gains around week 5-7, while on test e, doesn't mean progress stays constant for the whole cycle. You can only put on a finite about of mass. On test e, gains usually start to slow down after week 12 and HPTA reset begins to get more difficult.

[kelkel]

You can feel gyno forming but you can't feel a blood clot until it's too late.

Ouch.

Still planning to have kids later on though and don't want to risk that.

So be sure you run HCG "On" cycle.

[Jonpower]

Thanks for the feedback.

Where I am it's very easy to get everything I need, except HCG for some reason. I'll keep looking.

I've read so many conflicting reports about it, especially about taking it the whole cycle or just one shot at the end. What would you advise?

[numbere]

I've read so many conflicting reports about it, especially about taking it the whole cycle or just one shot at the end. What would you advise?

Use hcg for the entire time on cycle; from day one until three days before PCT.

HCG: Why you should use it on-cycle only & how to prepare your hCG for injections