Clomid, Nolva, Aromasin, & Arimidex

[Inquisitor]

I just read on the PCT forum where a guy said he is taking clomid for PCT and he noticed his libido go up and his erections get better. Some of you may know my situation here if you read my other thread entitled "High Estrogen". I was wondering if someone could give a short comparison of the 4 substances listed above. I know that Clomid and Nolva are SERMs. And I know that Arimidex and Aromasin are Aromotase Inhibitors.

Also, if I want to lower my estrogen while on cycle and it's so high that testosterone has no effect on me, which would be the best one to take. Without a blood test, can soemone give me a generic way (dosing) to get my estrogen into a safe range until I can take a blood test in two weeks? Can I gauge it by my libido and gains and just plain feeling good ??

[Inquisitor]

Oh... I failed to post that I had to go on a job and I couldn't make my BW appointment. So, now I have to maintain for two weeks when I take a blood test.

[GotNoBlueMilk]

My personal experience is below. First, my background: baseline low T and free T, E2 of 4 (so really super low). Had puberty gyno. 2 weeks after starting 100 mg/week of Test Cyp I started getting gyno symptoms. Followup bloodwork had my E2 at 28. So I have a really small range of E2 that I feel good at but don't have gyno symptoms. Now it is important to keep in mind that even when my E2 was at 4, I had no libido or erectile issues. I realize you are looking to help your issues, but you have to keep this fact about me in mind as you read below. Remember, I don't get libido or erectile issues from low E2. If I get them, it is from some other cause.

Clomid: Never done it. Although it may have helped the poster with erectile issues, it has nothing to do with E2 levels.

Aromasin: Never tried it (seriously, I do have some information to offer, keep reading).

Arimidex: This is the AI I started. Was doing 0.25 mg 2x/week. I inject T twice a week, so I took the AI on the same day. Although this is half the normal dose, it was sufficient for me. Problem for me was I would get very irritable and actually suicidal almost. So I stopped taking it. No, the symptoms were not from low E2, because my E2 never dipped below 18. Turns out mixing chocolate/sugar with Arimidex was very bad for me. Did not know that at the beginning, so I stopped the Arimidex and tried Nolva at my doc's suggestion.

Nolva: I tried this one, because I really didn't need to lower my E2 when it was @ 28, just stop the gyno symptoms. This killed my libido! Everything still worked, just had no desire for sex and I would dread it when my wife wanted sex. And my wife wants sex morning and night. After about 6 weeks I got off this. I will never do Nolva again!

Letro: (Not on your list but another AI) After stopping Nolva I went on this. Letro has added benefit of raising LH values. I was doing 0.25 mg 2x/week. Kept gyno in check, E2 was not too low (no joint issues, muscle ache, low energy, etc.). Prior to starting Letro, I had started HCG @ 250 IU 2x/week. My boys where huge so I decreased my HCG to 100 IU 2/week. Turns out the Letro was keeping the boys plump because it increases LH. When I stopped Letro, my boys started shrinking again and I went back to 250 IU 2x/week for HCG. The reason I stopped Letro was because my libido never fully came back. It was at about 50%. Again, everything worked, just wasn't interested in sex. I did some reasearch. The manufacturer's website has this very vague statement that "low E2 will always cause libido issues", but it doesn't say if Letro hinders libido directly or not. So I googled more. Turns out quite a few people have experienced libido issues from Letro. I stopped Letro. Needless to say, I won't do Letro again.

After about 4 weeks of going back to Arimidex, my libido was fully recovered. I just have to not do chocolate/sugar. This really isn't such a bad thing. So I started back on 0.25 mg 2x/week.

After this experience, I have a lot more compasion for women who "aren't in the mood". After being on HRT, I also have a lot more compassion for the whole PMS thing. Hormones have an incredible impact on mood.

I don't remember, but I think the thought was your E2 was high and that was impacting your libido/erectile issue. Just need to get that BW done and see where you are at, make adjustments, see if that helps. Erectile issues can be caused by lots of things. Unfortunately, finding the big cause can be difficult and require some trial and error. Hang in there and keep plugging away at it. Starting with getting your T and E2 levels in the correct spot is a good start.

[Inquisitor]

Awesome info, GNBM. Your experience does a lot to help me put things in perspective. You know, one thing you said is that it took 4 weeks to recover your libido. I actually took 1.5 mg of arimidex one day, thinking that it would knock down my estrogen quicker and have a quicker effect on my libido. I'm really doing some crazy shit here and need to get to that urologist and take a blood test. I asked my friend to mail some liquid aromasin to me. I had good results with that until I ran out the first time. I'm worried man. I even think my hair is thinning in the front. Never saw that before. DAMN !!