Anyone interested in anabolic steroids has heard about the term “cycling.” And while it is pretty obvious that a steroid cycle involves taking steroids, when the cycle finishes, it is not as simple as just stopping cold turkey. In fact, stopping with steroids cold turkey can have massive adverse effects, both physically and mentally.
This article will explain why you need to take PCTs after a steroid cycle. We will explain what happens when you stop taking steroids and what side effects can be prevented with PCTs. Lastly, we will mention common drugs used in PCT, giving you some options to consider.
Let’s roll!
What Is Post Cycle Therapy?
Post Cycle Therapy (PCT) is a therapy steroid users should take after completing a steroid cycle to get hormone levels in order quicker than it would naturally take.
Bodybuilders in the old days only worried about the actual steroid cycles, not what happens after they stop taking them. They would either quit abruptly or gradually reduce steroid intake to give their bodies time to adjust.
However, neither of these two approaches is good. Ending a steroid cycle without PCT has consequences and symptoms we will discuss below.
Why You Need To Take PCT After A Steroid Cycle?
When taking artificial hormones, prohormones, or more SARMS, your natural testosterone levels decrease. That happens because steroids raise your testosterone levels artificially the body stops producing its own.
During your steroid cycle, this doesn’t seem to be a problem – your testosterone levels are skyrocketing, resulting in more energy, sex drive, and of course, being able to build muscle size and strength rapidly.
However, when you stop taking steroids without starting a PCT cycle, not only will your body be left with no natural or artificial testosterone, it will also have much higher levels of estrogen present.
In fact, even during a steroid cycle, your estrogen levels rise too, which is why many steroid users take estrogen blockers.
But, once you stop taking steroids, your testosterone will significantly drop, and your estrogen levels will remain elevated for a while, which has consequences.
What Happens If You Don’t Take PCT?
When you stop taking steroids without PCTs, you are left with high estrogen and low testosterone levels. This combination will have severe symptoms, including:
- Physical issues – fat gain, muscle loss, increased water retention, decreased sex drive and impotence issues, gynecomastia.
- Mental issues – reduced sex drive, reduced self-confidence, irritability, becoming too emotional, depression.
The number and the severity of the symptoms will depend on various factors and the amount of time you were using steroids before completing the cycle. These symptoms can last for weeks, even months after stopping the steroid cycle.
Wasted Results
What’s also problematic is that you took steroids to get bigger and more shredded. But now, after stopping the cycle, the testosterone level plummets, and estrogen stays high. You will start losing muscle and gaining fat. In other words, you will negate a considerable portion of the results you got from your cycle.
How PCT Helps?
Post Cycle Treatment (PCT) will combat most of the issues we listed above. Medications from the group called SERMs (selective estrogen receptor modulator) like Nolvadex will block estrogen from interfering with your pituitary gland, which would result in producing less testosterone.
Primarily taken for its anti-estrogenic properties, Nolvadex ties to estrogen receptors instead of actual estrogen, thus minimizing some of the side effects of higher estrogen levels common after a steroid cycle. Specifically, Nolvadex helps the process of increasing natural testosterone (by stimulating luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone production), and helps in gynecomastia prevention.
Another benefit of SERMs such as Nolvadex is that they don’t completely eliminate estrogen from the body, and some of it will remain in the system. This has benefits on the immune system, lipid profile, and even muscle growth.
Besides Nolvadex (also known as Tamoxifen), there are other drugs such as Clomid (also SERM), HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin), and others.
Our PCT recommendations.
When to start taking PCTs?
Start taking PCTs 2 weeks after finishing your cycle of a long-acting steroid product. (Testosterone Enanthate, Sustanon, Cypionate, t400, Masterson Enanthate, Trenbolone Enanthate, Primobolan Enanthate.
Start taking 3 weeks after finishing a cycle of Deca Durabolin, Equipoise, and T450.
3-5 days after shorter-acting injectables like Testosterone Propionate,
Dosages
Days 1-20 take 500 iu every other day
Days 10-30 take 100mg Clomid first 10 days followed by 50mg next 10 days
Days 1-40 Nolvadex 10 days at 40 mg then the next 30 days at 20mg a day
Conclusion
Post Cycle Treatment (PCT) is shown to be an effective harm reduction measure, which will help steroid users get through the classic symptoms that follow a steroid cycle much faster and more comfortably.
Drugs like Nolvadex reduce the adverse effects of having too little testosterone and too much estrogen simultaneously. That alone will help with all of those nasty mental and physical consequences a sudden hormonal imbalance can leave. Steroids Online Canada offers the highest quality Novaldex in Canada. Get yours today!
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