Firstly the ask and then the background as not everyone will enjoy the long read:

The Ask

I am looking for two groups of guys who are willing to run a number of blood tests over the coming 24 months. Both groups would run all tests described below

Group A - True Dr prescribed TRT guys not currently on cycle and have been off cycle for the duration of their last cycle AND who are then willing to run a Test only + Proviron Cycle
Group B - Guys who PCT not currently on cycle who have completed PCT + time on last cycle AND whose blood levels show recovery AND who are then willing to run a Test only + Proviron Cycle

Test 1 - Establish Baseline IGF-1 Levels plus Female Hormone Panel
Blood Tests will need to be run at Labcorp (iSYS/ICMA) AND Quest Diagnostics (HP-LC)
No supplements of any sort should be taken for at least 14 days prior to the blood draws

Test 2 - (Test E/C run at 500mg pw and GH at 4iu daily single am dose for at least 4 weeks) IGF-1 Levels plus Female Hormone Panel
Blood Tests will need to be run at Labcorp (iSYS/ICMA) AND Quest Diagnostics (HP-LC)
No supplements of any sort should be taken for at least 14 days prior to the blood draws
See end of post for IGF-1 testing protocol

Test 3 - Test E/C run at 500mg pw, Proviron 50mg daily split and GH at 4iu daily single am dose for at least 4 weeks) IGF-1 Levels plus Female Hormone Panel
Blood Tests will need to be run at Labcorp (iSYS/ICMA) AND Quest Diagnostics (HP-LC)
No supplements of any sort should be taken for at least 14 days prior to the blood draws
See end of post for IGF-1 testing protocol

It would of course be preferable if everyone was on the same Testosterone, Proviron and GH and that we already has quality assurance for all three compounds but especially the GH but I realise this is going to be near impossible to achieve.

I realise this is a big ask in terms of costs of testing, cost of the cycle and time which would all be your own. I offer nothing in return other than to publish the results of the study here in the hope that this may make us all a bit more informed and provide much needed guidance.

The Background

So any of you that regularly check the the lab test section for IGF-1 test results will know there have been a bunch of tests results lately (including my own) which have been controversial. Myself and MegaT833 have been undertaking a bunch of research and analysis to try and determine what factors can negatively influence IGF-1 test results. We are trying to determine what factors can have a true biological effect (i.e. truly lowering or raising IGF-1) and which factors cause an interference with the testing methodology resulting in false low or high test results. All of this off the back of a theory that DHT's (like Proviron) cause a testing interference when tested under various immunoassay based testing methodologies such as the ICMA assays (like the iSYS) used by Labcorp in the US and the ELISA assays (like the Maglumi used by one of the labs here).

So let me explain why I have landed on this theory......For as long as I have been around on the scene it has been a "commonly held belief" that DHT's reduced IGF-1 and therefore many of us held off running compounds like Proviron, Anavar or any DHT for that matter while on GH. This commonly held belief seems to stem from many blood test results showing poor/low IGF-1 levels whilst on GH and any DHT. However, this just doesn't make much sense......for example it is a well researched fact that androgens (such as Testosterone) results in an increase in IGF-1 levels both in vitro and in vivo (as well as increasing the levels of IGFPB and increasing the expression on IGF-1 messenger RNA). We all know that Testosterone is converted to DHT via the 5 alpha reductase process so again you would not expect to see the results seen if DHT biologically reduced IGF-1).

Could it be something about the synthetic nature of the compounds commonly used causing this issue? Perhaps, but again it would seem unlikely given how synthetic androgens and DHT's work. It could be the 17 alpha-alkylated nature of some of these inhibiting the liver (where most IGF-1 is synthesised)? Again perhaps, but non-17aa steroids like Proviron cause effect the same result so this seems unlikely. So, far more likely, is that something in the nature of the synthetic DHT's are causing some sort of interference with some (not all) immunoassay based tests. Unsurprisingly, research yielded nothing in terms of actual studies on this. I ay unsurprisingly as synthetic DHT's are almost never used in a clinical setting and therefore there has/is been no reason to research this. So the above ask is to try and obtain some empirical data that helps us make a call as to whether DHT's (Proviron specifically in this case) do in fact interfere with immunoassay based IGF-1 tests.

And here it starts to get complex and messy....earlier I said some (not all) immunoassay based tests. /i also mentioned my own controversial results. Take a look here - https://www.eroids.com/pics/puretropin-grey-tops-igf-1-results-plus-some.... As you can see some quite radical differences across two Immunoassay based tests. This opens up the possibility that some Immunoassay tests are subject to such interferences (should they exists) and others aren't. It also shone the light through research that there are vast differences in results for IGF-1 tests across the different Immunoassays available nevermind between these and newer and more accurate non-immunoassay methods like HP-LC (which is now publicly and affordably available via Quest Diagnostics in the US). So far the international medical community has failed to reach a consensus on how to standardise across these assays and methodologies. We have also learnt that even the more accurate methods like HP-LC are not without there limits and it is possible for these to yield false results although the scope for these seems far more limited.

One can see with all this how easy it is for any member on this board to conclude they have "bad" or "bunk" GH based on an IGF-1 test. This is compounded when comparing tests across different assays/methodologies especially when a baseline for each assay/methodology has not been taken and/or when running multi-compound stacks.

While the research and analysis has been fascinating and we are hopefully all learning a bunch of new and interesting things, reminding ourselves of key biological processes and challenging some long held beliefs. A few things to note before I sign-off and hope some of you will be willing to contribute to the research:

• Antibodies are a huge source of known and potentially unknown interferences for immunoassay based tests. Known interferences from heterophile antibodies and certain antibodies associated with rodents and rabbits. Any antibody binding to IGFPB's will likely cause interference
• Low/High Blood Glucose Levels and/or high/low insulin levels may biologically impact IGF-1 levels
• Biotin at high enough levels will cause interference with IGF-1 and many other tests
• Get a goddamn Baseline before you start drawing conclusions
• Always do a GH Serum Test as this will at least tell you if there is GH in your GH. If you get a poor IGF-1 results, but a high serum GH level and you have side-effects it may be time to think about interference before you start bashing the hell out of your source
• Here is the protocol for IGF-1 and GH Serum Tests:

IGF-1
GH run consistently for at least 7 days (although longer is preferable). Blood draw to be done 24 hours after last pin.

GH Serum
Blood draw to be done 3 hours after pin.....It is not necessary to pin 10iu or anything other than the usual amount of GH you have been using

Lastly a huge thanks to MegaT833 for all his help and sending on links to research and studies. I have probably left a bunch of stuff out and so hopefully he pops in and can add to this.