Empower vs Pregnyl HCG

[Bmac]

So here’s the labs I had done while on HCG monotherapy:

12-30-15 labs were while on this protocol:
HCG - 2000IU split into EOD dosing (Pregnyl HCG)
Anastrozole 0.25mg 2x/ week
Total T - 1185 (250-1100 ng/dL)
Free T- 171.7 (46.0-224.0)
Bio T - 345.6 (110.0-575.0 ng/dL)
SHBG 39 (10-50)
E2 Sensitive - 43
DHEA-S - 615 (106-464)
Albumin - 4.4 (3.6-5.1)


2-11-16 labs were while on this protocol:
HCG - 2000IU split into EOD dosing (Pregnyl HCG)
Anastrozole 0.25mg 2x/ week
Total T - 1193 (250-1100 ng/dL)
Free at - 168.9 (46.0-224.0)
Bio T - 362.1 (110.0-575.0 ng/dL)
SHBG 39 (10-50)
E2 Sensitive - 55
DHEA-S - 729 (106-464)
Albumin - 4.7 (3.6-5.1)


4-12-16 labs were while on this protocol:
HCG - 1000IU split into EOD dosing (Pregnyl HCG)
Anastrozole 0.25mg 2x/ week
Total T - 579 (250-1100 ng/dL)
Free T - 71.4 (46.0-224.0)
Bio T - 143.8 (110.0-575.0 ng/dL)
SHBG 38 (10-50)
E2 Sensitive - 11
DHEA-S - 452 (106-464)
Albumin - 4.4 (3.6-5.1)

The itchy nipples went away when using 1000iu’s/ week. But it just wasn’t enough to get my free T levels where I need them to feel good. On this dose my low T symptoms returned and I felt like crap. E2 was also very low, which probably didn’t help. I didn’t end up trying this dose with no ai. I ended up trying to restart my system with clomid after those labs in April 2016

On the 2000iu’s/ week I would inject around 575iu’s EOD. on the 1000iu’s/ week I would inject about 285iu’s EOD.

My libido definitely went down a decent amount on the 1000iu’s/ week compared to the 2000iu’s/ week. It was still decently high, but while on 2000iu’s/ week it was just through the roof. Which is what I love! So that part was amazing

And my libido was through the roof the whole time while on 2000iu’s/ week. It only decreased a bit when I went down to 1000iu’s/ week

How did you find your erectile function quality on 2000iu’s vs 1000iu’s?

 

[JA Battle]

So here’s the labs I had done while on HCG monotherapy:

12-30-15 labs were while on this protocol:
HCG - 2000IU split into EOD dosing (Pregnyl HCG)
Anastrozole 0.25mg 2x/ week
Total T - 1185 (250-1100 ng/dL)
Free T- 171.7 (46.0-224.0)
Bio T - 345.6 (110.0-575.0 ng/dL)
SHBG 39 (10-50)
E2 Sensitive - 43
DHEA-S - 615 (106-464)
Albumin - 4.4 (3.6-5.1)


2-11-16 labs were while on this protocol:
HCG - 2000IU split into EOD dosing (Pregnyl HCG)
Anastrozole 0.25mg 2x/ week
Total T - 1193 (250-1100 ng/dL)
Free at - 168.9 (46.0-224.0)
Bio T - 362.1 (110.0-575.0 ng/dL)
SHBG 39 (10-50)
E2 Sensitive - 55
DHEA-S - 729 (106-464)
Albumin - 4.7 (3.6-5.1)


4-12-16 labs were while on this protocol:
HCG - 1000IU split into EOD dosing (Pregnyl HCG)
Anastrozole 0.25mg 2x/ week
Total T - 579 (250-1100 ng/dL)
Free T - 71.4 (46.0-224.0)
Bio T - 143.8 (110.0-575.0 ng/dL)
SHBG 38 (10-50)
E2 Sensitive - 11
DHEA-S - 452 (106-464)
Albumin - 4.4 (3.6-5.1)

The itchy nipples went away when using 1000iu’s/ week. But it just wasn’t enough to get my free T levels where I need them to feel good. On this dose my low T symptoms returned and I felt like crap. E2 was also very low, which probably didn’t help. I didn’t end up trying this dose with no ai. I ended up trying to restart my system with clomid after those labs in April 2016

On the 2000iu’s/ week I would inject around 575iu’s EOD. on the 1000iu’s/ week I would inject about 285iu’s EOD.

My libido definitely went down a decent amount on the 1000iu’s/ week compared to the 2000iu’s/ week. It was still decently high, but while on 2000iu’s/ week it was just through the roof. Which is what I love! So that part was amazing

And my libido was through the roof the whole time while on 2000iu’s/ week. It only decreased a bit when I went down to 1000iu’s/ week

Thank you for this.
Did you ever try 2000 with no ai?

 

[Gman86]

How did you find your erectile function quality on 2000iu’s vs 1000iu’s?

I’ve never really had erection issues while on HRT. I chalk that up to being a health freak. Erections are highly correlated to overall cardiovascular health and overall health of the cartilage and tissue in the penis. I’ve had libido all over the place while on HRT, mostly high, but it’s also been in the tank at time, and never had any real issues with erections that I can remember. Me being extremely healthy is the only thing I can think of as the reason why

 

[Gman86]

Thank you for this.
Did you ever try 2000 with no ai?

Anytime. And no, never tried any HCG mono dose without an ai

 

[StepbyStep]

Just an update, month and a half later after switching back to Pregnyl HCG.

Honestly I've been feeling great. Better mood, more energy, overall feeling a lot better. Ejaculate volume has increased as has orgasm strength.

Almost out of the Pregnyl though and now I see it's backordered. No more compounding options either. There always just has to be something with TRT. I might just have to do a restart if I can't get Pregnyl. TRT without good HCG just doesn't work for me.

 

[Gman86]

Just an update, month and a half later after switching back to Pregnyl HCG.

Honestly I've been feeling great. Better mood, more energy, overall feeling a lot better. Ejaculate volume has increased as has orgasm strength.

Almost out of the Pregnyl though and now I see it's backordered. No more compounding options either. There always just has to be something with TRT. I might just have to do a restart if I can't get Pregnyl. TRT without good HCG just doesn't work for me.

Ya I had that problem with Pregnyl and is why I stopped using it at one point, IIRC. What’s ur current HCG protocol?

 

[StepbyStep]

Ya I had that problem with Pregnyl and is why I stopped using it at one point, IIRC. What’s ur current HCG protocol?

Still at 500iu twice a week.

 

[JRos895]

I’ve been following this thread for a while as I’ve always felt Empower/compounded HCG was weaker than Pregnyl.

I never used Empower for HCG mono but I have used Hallandale and Pregnyl for HCG mono so I can compare those. I was using Hallandale and then recently I switched to Pregnyl since it was the only HCG available. I now have test results available for Pregnyl HCG mono to compare to Hallandale.

My numbers on Hallandale HCG mono (1500iu 3x a week, 1 mg AI) were as follows:

TT: 580
E2: 35

My numbers on Pregnyl HCG mono (1500 3x a week, 1 mg AI) were as follows:

TT:980
E2: 78

Both sets of labs were taken on Wednesdays on MWF protocols. It appears that the Pregnyl was twice as potent than the Hallandale HCG.

If I had to guess, I would also guess the Empower HCG is weaker than Pregnyl since the Empower HCG felt weaker when I was using it as an adjunct to TRT (relative to when I was using Pregnyl as a TRT adjunct) but can’t verify that with labs.

The potency of compounded is something to strongly consider when purchasing HCG (if and when compounded HCG comes back) since though it may be half the cost, it may be half the potency as well!

 

[bennettjc]

I’ve been following this thread for a while as I’ve always felt Empower/compounded HCG was weaker than Pregnyl.

I never used Empower for HCG mono but I have used Hallandale and Pregnyl for HCG mono so I can compare those. I was using Hallandale and then recently I switched to Pregnyl since it was the only HCG available. I now have test results available for Pregnyl HCG mono to compare to Hallandale.

My numbers on Hallandale HCG mono (1500iu 3x a week, 1 mg AI) were as follows:

TT: 580
E2: 35

My numbers on Pregnyl HCG mono (1500 3x a week, 1 mg AI) were as follows:

TT:980
E2: 78

Both sets of labs were taken on Wednesdays on MWF protocols. It appears that the Pregnyl was twice as potent than the Hallandale HCG.

If I had to guess, I would also guess the Empower HCG is weaker than Pregnyl since the Empower HCG felt weaker when I was using it as an adjunct to TRT (relative to when I was using Pregnyl as a TRT adjunct) but can’t verify that with labs.

The potency of compounded is something to strongly consider when purchasing HCG (if and when compounded HCG comes back) since though it may be half the cost, it may be half the potency as well!

JRos895- Thanks for the thoughtful and convincing analysis.​

The brand of HCG I use, "Ovidac," does not seem to lack for potency.​

On a related note.. something I've been trying to encourage discussion of...is this old study that shows that IM HCG leads to higher HCG levels than does SubQ HCG at the same dosage. Taking your HCG IM may be a backdoor way to make up for lower potency. I've started IM HCG instead of SubQ and I do believe it has enhanced my libido.​

​

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[Fortunate]

Interesting discussion. @JRos895, maybe you went through this, but I am curious how you ended up on monotherapy? I did it a long time ago and eventually added TRT. But, I have always used hCG.

 

[JRos895]

Interesting discussion. @JRos895, maybe you went through this, but I am curious how you ended up on monotherapy? I did it a long time ago and eventually added TRT. But, I have always used hCG.

I did not previously go through this, and am happy to share.

I’m in my mid twenties and I’ve always been very concerned about fertility, especially since my baseline LH/FSH (with no HRT of any sort ever until that baseline test) was near zero.

I originally decided to go with T+HCG (1000iu) a week. Given my concerns about fertility, I did a semen analysis on this protocol, which ultimately came back very poor. This is likely because I was likely infertile in the first place from the low LH/FSH at baseline (or perhaps because the Empower HCG I was using as the T adjunct was weak…?)

An often overlooked facet of the Lipshultz T+HCG study and protocol is that low dose HCG may often maintain semen parameters, but may not induce fertility when one is infertile in the first place. Higher doses of HCG are often needed to induce spermatogenesis for secondary hypo infertile men. I often hear people saying that there’s no benefit to HCG Mono over T+HCG since both are suppressive but that’s absolutely not true if you’re trying to induce fertility.

Thus, the reason I went onto HCG mono was two fold: (1) to hopefully induce my fertility so I can freeze sperm right away if my semen parameters increase and (2) to hopefully induce my fertility so that if I switch to the low dose HCG +T protocol (which I probably will do), the protocol may successfully maintain the fertility once induced.

All in all, I don’t expect to be on the HCG mono long term and am using it as a short term fertility strategy.

 

[JA Battle]

Anyone have any idea where to bring an hcg script in order to get pregnyl? Any online pharmacies carry pregnyl? The difference between compounded and pregnyl anecdotally speaking, has me curious to run back through some of my hcg experiments with pregnyl.

 

[Fortunate]

Anyone have any idea where to bring an hcg script in order to get pregnyl? Any online pharmacies carry pregnyl? The difference between compounded and pregnyl anecdotally speaking, has me curious to run back through some of my hcg experiments with pregnyl.

Probably will have to use a local pharmacy.

 

[Steve78]

Where are y’all getting pregnyl from? I keep looking but wells says back ordered as well as other pharmacies I asked....

 

[Seth]

Where are y’all getting pregnyl from? I keep looking but wells says back ordered as well as other pharmacies I asked....

I couldn't get it from any of the chain stores, like Walmart. On perpetual backorder. I asked my doctor about this, and he suggested a local pharmacy. They had it in stock. Apparently the pharmacist there supplies a lot of it and knows how to get it.

 

[Steve78]

I couldn't get it from any of the chain stores, like Walmart. On perpetual backorder. I asked my doctor about this, and he suggested a local pharmacy. They had it in stock. Apparently the pharmacist there supplies a lot of it and knows how to get it.

Can you tell me which one, maybe they can ship it to me, I have a script... you can PM me etc

 

[moreiga]

Call Optum RX - 877-358-9016. That is who Defy recommends for Pregnyl. I just got mine delivered 10 minutes ago. $125 for 10,000 IU's and free overnight shipping. Hope this helps.

Question for previous Pregnyl users. Can you store in the fridge beyond the 60 day limit safely? I will only use slightly more than half the vial at the 60 day mark and really don't want to throw the rest away. Let me know if you've used beyond 60 days without any side effects or loss of potency.

Thanks.

 

[Gman86]

Call Optum RX - 877-358-9016. That is who Defy recommends for Pregnyl. I just got mine delivered 10 minutes ago. $125 for 10,000 IU's and free overnight shipping. Hope this helps.

Question for previous Pregnyl users. Can you store in the fridge beyond the 60 day limit safely? I will only use slightly more than half the vial at the 60 day mark and really don't want to throw the rest away. Let me know if you've used beyond 60 days without any side effects or loss of potency.

Thanks.

Thanks for this info! Called Optum Rx and setup a profile, then called Defy and had them send out the prescription for Pregnyl. Super easy. Thanks again!

And to answer ur question I used Pregnyl when I was on HCG monotherapy, and had labs done while just opening a new bottle, and had labs done using a vial that had been open for around 60 days, and both labs had my testosterone levels just about identical. So I would assume that after 60 days Pregnyl might start losing potency, but I doubt it’s gonna be anything drastic before ur able to finish the vial. Definitely would just use up the vial until it’s done, regardless of how long ur using the same vial for. Pregnyl seems to stay potent for a lot longer than any other HCG I’ve come across

 

[cosmoen]

I’ve been following this thread for a while as I’ve always felt Empower/compounded HCG was weaker than Pregnyl.

I never used Empower for HCG mono but I have used Hallandale and Pregnyl for HCG mono so I can compare those. I was using Hallandale and then recently I switched to Pregnyl since it was the only HCG available. I now have test results available for Pregnyl HCG mono to compare to Hallandale.

My numbers on Hallandale HCG mono (1500iu 3x a week, 1 mg AI) were as follows:

TT: 580
E2: 35

My numbers on Pregnyl HCG mono (1500 3x a week, 1 mg AI) were as follows:

TT:980
E2: 78

Both sets of labs were taken on Wednesdays on MWF protocols. It appears that the Pregnyl was twice as potent than the Hallandale HCG.

If I had to guess, I would also guess the Empower HCG is weaker than Pregnyl since the Empower HCG felt weaker when I was using it as an adjunct to TRT (relative to when I was using Pregnyl as a TRT adjunct) but can’t verify that with labs.

The potency of compounded is something to strongly consider when purchasing HCG (if and when compounded HCG comes back) since though it may be half the cost, it may be half the potency as well!

Have you ever done a semen analysis to see how much HCG monotherapy has improved semen quality?

 

[JRos895]

Funny you should ask—I just did my first one today (Friday)! First one for HCG mono that is.

Will update you when I receive my results. I am optimistic since the HCG yielded strong T levels, which I think serves as a proxy for fertility.