Testosterone cycle, Arimidex and libido issues

Hello,

I am currently at my second cycle of testosterone enanthate of 400mg per week. I'd been cruising at 200mg per week for 2-3 weeks before starting the cycle and my bloodtest right before starting showed that my E2 were at 213, and the upper reference level given by the doctors is 107. (I am in Norway and we use another measurement than in the US.)

About 1,5 week into the cycle I started taking Arimidex. I took 0,50mg monday, wednesday and friday the first week. I noticed a drop in libido and started doing 0,25mg two times per week (about 24 hours after my test injection), however I have still not recovered my libido. I am able to get an erection, but it is not on fire like it use to be, and if I am changing position and not going at it for a short moment then I might lose the erection and have to work it up again. The sperm is also more runny.

Together with this I've done a shot with 350 IU of HCG two times per week.

My first cycle was done at 300mg per week of testosterone enanthate only. No anti estrogens or HCG. My libido was sky high during the whole cycle, and the libido went back to normal when I went off cycle. Bloodtest on cycle showed E2 levels at 295 on this cycle.

Do any of you know what might cause this problem?

Sounds like you function better with higher levels of E . If your not gyno prone then thats not a problem. If your not trying to shred down for a show then thats not a problem either. however going into pct with elevated estrogen will make recovery more difficult. you could just run your AI at the tail end of the cycle. if your worried about gyno then run a low dose SERM during the cycle.

One other thing though is that if your converting a lot of Test over to estrogen, and possibly a lot of it getting bound up with SHBG as well, then you may not have a ton of free test left to benefit you. try running 75mg of Proviron, that will help free up more test and may help the sex drive as well

Thanks for your reply!

I have been thinking that I function better with higher estrogen levels too. I felt really good my whole first cycle. I did have a bloated face, little bit more acne and a lot more water retention. I have not experienced any signs of gyno. My reasoning for doing arimidex is that I am going to be doing this for quite some time to come, and having high levels estrogens might lead to other problems down the road from the accumulative effect. I am doing a TRT dose between the cycles, instead of PCT.

On my first cycle, the SHGB levels went from 19 pre cycle, to 16 in the 8th week of the cycle. So I think most of it is going to E2.

I think you would benefit from running something that has a strong affinity towards SHBG , so Proviron or even a low dose of Winny. if you prefer injectable and not orals, then go with Masteron . I think that coupled with a very low dose AI (Adex .12 - .25 mg twice per week) would work . keep estrogen somewhat in control but not too low and free up more Test

Why I read this site daily. Learn something new every day. Thanks GH

Swuat, why are you running AAS on TRT dose instead of PCT? Are you doing comps?

Thanks GH!

0,25mg Arimidex two times per week is what I am currently doing, so I think 0,125mg might be better. Unless, and this is my other concern, that I am taking too little of the AR, and that my estrogen actually is too high and has built more up in my system.

But it was not untill I started taking Arimidex that I noticed a drop in libido. So I will stop taking Arimidex and get blood test done next week. Then I will wait until I notice estrogen related side effects, like bloated face, untill I start taking Arimidex again. But at that point I start at 0,125mg twice per week.

David, not sure what you mean with comps? I am doing TRT because it makes more sense to me as I am running more than 1 cycle per year and would be doing TRT regardless when I get older.

You can always get your glands removed about the by no and not worry to much about the estrogen level but you don't want it to high. Keep up the good work.

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Gearheaded for the win

Update:

I have not taken arimidex for one week and libido is up and my face is starting to look bloated. It's a balancing act from here I guess. Going for 0,125mgs two times per week starting next week. Good idea? :-)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Squatinator

Thanks GH!

0,25mg Arimidex two times per week is what I am currently doing, so I think 0,125mg might be better. Unless, and this is my other concern, that I am taking too little of the AR, and that my estrogen actually is too high and has built more up in my system.

But it was not untill I started taking Arimidex that I noticed a drop in libido. So I will stop taking Arimidex and get blood test done next week. Then I will wait until I notice estrogen related side effects, like bloated face, untill I start taking Arimidex again. But at that point I start at 0,125mg twice per week.

David, not sure what you mean with comps? I am doing TRT because it makes more sense to me as I am running more than 1 cycle per year and would be doing TRT regardless when I get older.

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But you are 27, I would not think that you would be on TRT for 10 years from now at the earliest. Do you have bloodwork that shows you are going to be on TRT at a young age? A proper PCT should get your normal Test levels back. I see where people use 200 mg per week as a TRT dose as a standard protocal. This is not always the case. I was on TRT for 10 plus years before I got to 200mg a week. There are a lot of risks of TRT, so unless you really like inject yourself try going doing a PCT and see where that gets you. This is just an experience opinion. I think you would benefit from reading this http://forums.steroid.com/hormone-re...ogonadism.html

By Comps, I mean competitions for Bodybuilding, powerlifting, etc.

I am competing in powerlifting.

Yes, you are right! If not running any steroids at all, I would probably not need TRT in a long time. Before starting steroids my blood work showed my test levels have always been from just fine to great. I agree that a proper PCT would get my test levels back, but not right away, and studies have shown that your steroid cycles does reduce your natural peak test levels a little bit each time. What I don't like about cycling is coming off and having your hormones out of whack for a prolonged period of time and taking a lot of stuff to get back on track and then proceeding to doing another cycle again. When doing this frequently, the likelihood of messing up your endocrinology system is high, so I rather accept it and run a TRT does between cycles for keeping gains, quality of live and living a productive life. I think cycling on and off is more stressful to the body.

Checking up on your etiology of hypogonadism now :-) Thanks!

You're over-complicating this. At 400 mgs pw you were running .5 mgs adex M-W-F, which is arguably enough for a 750mg pw cycle. Now you don't want to take any AI until you notice side effects? You're putting your seat belt on "after" the accident.

Keep it simple and run .25 x 2 either the day of or after you inject. You'll be fine, just be consistent and realize that when hormones are "in flux" libido will change. It's normal.

Yes, trying to figure this out. I did run 0.25mg arimidex 2 x per week, as you mentioned, for the past weeks with the libido being down. I cut the arimidex for the past week and libido is back up.

Do you think I should go back on 0.25mg 2x per week, as this is what I were doing while libido is down? I am thinking 0,125mg 2x per week.