Help with HCG?

my husband was prescribed androgel almost 2 years ago and had been on it up until a few months ago. We have been trying to conceive for a year and a half and finally went for help. Come to find out he has a zero sperm count due to the TRT - we were never told of this side effect though were stupid not to look it up ourselves I guess.

Anyway, he has tapered off the TRT and we'd like to use HCG to get things moving again. We have a 10,000 iui ampule of freeze dried HCG (bought online b/c we can't find it locally) and are unsure what to do with it now, our doctor and pharmacist are not very familiar with it.

So a couple questions:
- he is to take 250-500iui every second day. How do we reconstitute the HCG to do this (it came with 2ml of sodium chloride) and once reconstituted how much do we use for each shot? can't seem to figure out how to convert the amount into mls or ccs to give the shot
- also, it says it must be used immediately after reconstitution. Is this within the hour, all in the same shot or do we have a bigger window to use it in?

Thanks so much!

From Kale:

BTW...the water you need to reconstitute HCG is bacteriostatic water.

Calculating HCG:

There isn't a specific ratio of cc/ml to IU. It depends on how you mix it. It's quite simple. If you dillute 5,000 IUs HCG with 5ml (cc) solvent, the end result is 1,000 IUs per ml (cc). Divide the same 5,000 IUs with 10 ml (cc) and the end result is 500 IUs per ml (cc). Therefore, a large part depends on the concentration of HCG per ampoule or vial.

Mixing HCG:
(Items needed: bacwater h20 and some 5ml emty vials-get****).

1) Open hcg/amp with powder
2) Use a syringe to pull out 1cc of BacWater and put in amp with HCG
3) It will instantly dissolve
4) Then Use an empty 5ml vial (sterile and sealed) put 4ml of Bacwater in the vial
5) Take syringe and ad the mixed HCG solution to the 5ml vial
6) Shake it and you have 5000IU's of HCG
7) Than draw 1cc and inject
8) put the rest in the refrigerator

•The reason your discarding the amp of solvent cause its made for 1 times use and you wouldn’t be able to refrigerate it and use it a week later again. That’s why you need Bac H2o.
•The most common side affect associated with HCG is gynecomastia. The concurrent intake of Nolvadex with HCG prevents gynecomastia, prevents/minimizes leydig cell desensitization and contiues the stimulation of pituitary LH once HCG has been discontinued.
•HCG will last approximately 30 days if mixed with Bac h2o instead of the solvent it comes with.
•You can keep the mixed hcg in vial or pins In the fridge till use

oh, wonderful! thanks so much! that would make things so much easier, where does one find bacteriostatic water?

welcome - if you look at the top right of this page, you'll see a banner for "ar-r" research chemicals...they sell it.

you might ask your local pharm, but if they don't the AR-R banner at top of forum has it.

OP should really speak with a fertility specialist before trying to use HCG without any medical guidance. If your husband was diagnosed as being hypo/low testosterone, he will need to return to TRT at some point. Please make sure he addresses this also!

i believe it has been confirmed that you dont even need to come off the test to get fertile again ..just adding the hcg has shown to do the trick..

correct me if i'm wrong

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Originally Posted by jpkman

i believe it has been confirmed that you dont even need to come off the test to get fertile again ..just adding the hcg has shown to do the trick..

correct me if i'm wrong

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Nope, you go it right. Better if hCG was started at the same time as the T procotol...of course.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jpkman

i believe it has been confirmed that you dont even need to come off the test to get fertile again ..just adding the hcg has shown to do the trick..

correct me if i'm wrong

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Yes many people I personally know have gotten pregnant while on cycle or on HRT and I can personally attest as we've gotten pregnant while I'm on as well.

right. We had a problem with our fertility doctor though, he wanted us to taper off the TRT over the next 2 months then wait another 3 months, have another sperm analysis done and then look at treatment options. That would add another 5 months to our already lengthy time trying to conceive so we wanted to push it up a bit. He did go off the T before we learned about the HCG but its done now, over the withdrawals etc so we're hoping the HCG will help get sperm production going a bit faster and also with natural T production. We're not sure we want to go back on the T, who knows if it could permanently damage something? and I don't think he really wants to do longterm HCG and T to maintain fertility. We will address that when/if we do manage to get pregnant

hCG is a bio identical form of Luteinizing Hormone. It the hormone attaches itself to the receptor sites on the Leydig Cells making the testicles do what they do...and well. hCG is a fertility drug designed to increase fertility in both men and women but do to it's function maintains testicles when men are under a T protocol as well (another drug doing something it was not originally designed for).

hCG can increase natural levels of T as well as a host of other beneficial things like maintain Pregnenolone levels.

There are some docs who put men on a monotherapy of hCG only to increase T levels...with moderate results.

hCG will increase sperm count and other things that can help you get prego.

BTW, long term TRT under the right medical management and protocol is not likely going to damage anything...in fact, it will probably and most likely not make things get "damaged" as men age;)

Good luck Zandi!

G

what about bacteriostatic sodium chloride vs just bacteriostatic water? same thing? different? one better than the other? we are about to leave on vacation and can get the bacteriostatic sodium chloride locally but not the water, can we use that instead?

zandj,,
i was having the same issues after stopping trt to start a family. my doc put me on clomid tablets for about 3 months, no hcg. sperm count was about 85% back to normal after the clomid therapy.

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Originally Posted by zandj

right. We had a problem with our fertility doctor though, he wanted us to taper off the TRT over the next 2 months then wait another 3 months, have another sperm analysis done and then look at treatment options. That would add another 5 months to our already lengthy time trying to conceive so we wanted to push it up a bit. He did go off the T before we learned about the HCG but its done now, over the withdrawals etc so we're hoping the HCG will help get sperm production going a bit faster and also with natural T production. We're not sure we want to go back on the T, who knows if it could permanently damage something? and I don't think he really wants to do longterm HCG and T to maintain fertility. We will address that when/if we do manage to get pregnant

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No offense, but it doesnt sound like you two have a clue what you're talking about. "Withdrawals"? "Damage"? "We're not sure we want to go back on the T, who knows if it could permanently damage something"?

It seems what little you've learned is giving you a skewed view of the matter like most people. If your Hubby was diagnosed with low T, how can he not go back on it? Low T is a real health issue & affects more than just his sex drive or sperm count. These are the least of his worries for long-term health.

The HCG is not going to bring his T back to normal levels & everything's fine moving forward. Do you two know this? TRT is life long, plus I doubt he'll be shooting any bulls-eyes in the future without it. Again, no offense, but "your-husband" needs to educate himself on this issue & confer with a credible TRT Doctor.

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Originally Posted by APIs

No offense, but it doesnt sound like you two have a clue what you're talking about. "Withdrawals"? "Damage"? "We're not sure we want to go back on the T, who knows if it could permanently damage something"?

It seems what little you've learned is giving you a skewed view of the matter like most people. If your Hubby was diagnosed with low T, how can he not go back on it? Low T is a real health issue & affects more than just his sex drive or sperm count. These are the least of his worries for long-term health.

The HCG is not going to bring his T back to normal levels & everything's fine moving forward. Do you two know this? TRT is life long, plus I doubt he'll be shooting any bulls-eyes in the future without it. Again, no offense, but "your-husband" needs to educate himself on this issue & confer with a credible TRT Doctor.

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^^^^ +1 on that. I thought the same thing...

i take 1250ius x2 weekly every few months

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Originally Posted by warchild

i take 1250ius x2 weekly every few months

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Wait...are you saying that you inject 2500 iu of hCG a week? What do mean every few months? Like, every 3 months for one week you will inject 2500 iu of hCG? Or, are you injecting 2500 iu weekly for a few months at a time?

withdrawals, I guess more the 'effects of lowering T' not 'withdrawals' - he was giving himself shots every 2 weeks. Towards the end of the two weeks his sleep turns to shit, night sweats, low energy but would go away again either with another shot or like now, when it's been a few weeks the effects have lessened and his body has straightened out a bit.

His T was borderline when we had him tested, high 200s or low 300s, so almost normal apparently (but who knows with how little our doc knows otherwise), TRT was given to improve energy etc, not sperm count. Before we did that and knew he was 'low' we conceived our son after two months of trying, just fine 3 years ago so it wasn't effecting that at all like the TRT has.

You're right, we don't know much. We thought it could be a problem so he was tested. His doc gave him the androgel and he was retested soon after and it was in the 1000s and he was... angry, very little patience, effects of too much, for him at least. So they reduced it a bit. Back to the 200-300s. Tried again, back up. All this time we are trying to conceive and were not told of the side effects. In fact, when we went back to the doc to explain how long it had been TTC he upped it again and said it would help! We obviously do not trust that doc. much anymore. Went to a fertility specialist who ordered him off the TRT immediately based on labwork. We live in the middle of nowhere and the docs nor the pharmacists around here have never dealt with this kind of thing so we're on our own which is why I asked here for some help with this.

Yes, he doesn't know if he'll go back on it. With only lowish levels we may be able to increase it in other, non sperm killing ways, we don't know if the HCG will help or not, it *is* said to be helpful in promoting natural T production, he only needs a little help, which would be good for us! he will be restested after being on it for a while. Our bacteriostatic water will be here tomorrow.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gdevine

hCG is a bio identical form of Luteinizing Hormone. It the hormone attaches itself to the receptor sites on the Leydig Cells making the testicles do what they do...and well. hCG is a fertility drug designed to increase fertility in both men and women but do to it's function maintains testicles when men are under a T protocol as well (another drug doing something it was not originally designed for).

hCG can increase natural levels of T as well as a host of other beneficial things like maintain Pregnenolone levels.

There are some docs who put men on a monotherapy of hCG only to increase T levels...with moderate results.

hCG will increase sperm count and other things that can help you get prego.

BTW, long term TRT under the right medical management and protocol is not likely going to damage anything...in fact, it will probably and most likely not make things get "damaged" as men age;)

Good luck Zandi!

G

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Agree with this, good post!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by APIs

No offense, but it doesnt sound like you two have a clue what you're talking about. "Withdrawals"? "Damage"? "We're not sure we want to go back on the T, who knows if it could permanently damage something"?

It seems what little you've learned is giving you a skewed view of the matter like most people. If your Hubby was diagnosed with low T, how can he not go back on it? Low T is a real health issue & affects more than just his sex drive or sperm count. These are the least of his worries for long-term health.

The HCG is not going to bring his T back to normal levels & everything's fine moving forward. Do you two know this? TRT is life long, plus I doubt he'll be shooting any bulls-eyes in the future without it. Again, no offense, but "your-husband" needs to educate himself on this issue & confer with a credible TRT Doctor.

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+ 2 Your husband needs to do more research and a start working with a reputable AA Dr.

yes, we will start looking into doctors who know what they're doing with TRT when/if we ever manage to conceive again and are more willing to start talking TRT again. Right now we both want nothing to do with it, it has been a long hard past year and a half trying to conceive. Hopefully we will be able to find one within 2 hours of here...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zandj

yes, we will start looking into doctors who know what they're doing with TRT when/if we ever manage to conceive again and are more willing to start talking TRT again. Right now we both want nothing to do with it, it has been a long hard past year and a half trying to conceive. Hopefully we will be able to find one within 2 hours of here...

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I understand the frustration, but what everyone is saying here is that there is no reason for your husband to abandon his TRT program and feel like garbage. Low T and other messed up hormones affect all aspects of your life. I can personally attest to this.

I can also personally attest to getting my wife pregnant while on TRT + HCG. I also know quite a few other people that have done so as well. My wife is on this board too and would be happy to chime in as well. =)

Good Luck in your quest!

Thanks :) We are (unfortunately? lol) headed to Australia next week for a month so we haven't the time to look into combo treatments but wanted to get his testes moving again a little faster than they might have without it, which is why we're pushing the HCG right now. When we get back we'll ask our (useless) doc for a referral to somebody or info on where to find someone who does know what they're doing and maybe they can help with a combo therapy or something. We just knew that with the time we had before we left it was either keep at the TRT and have no sperm, drop it and wait for his body to regulate (his LSH and FH were in his boots too along with sperm count) or try speed it up a bit with HCG and we're getting a bit desperate obviously! (that was quite a phone call to get!!)

Yeah, I can definitely see how that can be challenging with the trip coming up and for so long.

Well we'll be here to help out if we can when you are back, tell your husband to join up! =)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by APIs

No offense, but it doesnt sound like you two have a clue what you're talking about. "Withdrawals"? "Damage"? "We're not sure we want to go back on the T, who knows if it could permanently damage something"?

It seems what little you've learned is giving you a skewed view of the matter like most people. If your Hubby was diagnosed with low T, how can he not go back on it? Low T is a real health issue & affects more than just his sex drive or sperm count. These are the least of his worries for long-term health.

The HCG is not going to bring his T back to normal levels & everything's fine moving forward. Do you two know this? TRT is life long, plus I doubt he'll be shooting any bulls-eyes in the future without it. Again, no offense, but "your-husband" needs to educate himself on this issue & confer with a credible TRT Doctor.

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x3....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gdevine

Wait...are you saying that you inject 2500 iu of hCG a week? What do mean every few months? Like, every 3 months for one week you will inject 2500 iu of hCG? Or, are you injecting 2500 iu weekly for a few months at a time?

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1250ius x2 weekly for a month. i do that every 3-6 months

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Originally Posted by warchild

1250ius x2 weekly for a month. i do that every 3-6 months

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Ok, got it now. Can you explain what your trying to achieve with this cycle?

IMO, 2,500 iu a week for a month [may/can] desensitize the receptors on your lydeg cells.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gdevine

Ok, got it now. Can you explain what your trying to achieve with this cycle?

IMO, 2,500 iu a week for a month [may/can] desensitize the receptors on your lydeg cells.

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i really dont know what that means.