Controlling Cortisol in PCT & Beyond
Hi all,
This is my first post so I figured I would introduce myself and ask a question that has my curiousity at the moment!
My name is Cliff and I’m 25 years old, 6’5” tall, 203lbs and around 12% body fat plus or minus 1%. I am a former division 1 athlete (FB) and although this will be unpopular I have used AAS since I have been 17. To preface the previous statement, I used AAS pretty irresponsibly when I was young(er), ie oral only cycles, no pct, no bloods, etc. I am not going to lie and act like I regret it because even though I had some rough times and effects (thankfully made a full recovery) it paid off in not having student loans. But I do want to start doing things right and will be posting on here more with questions, My upcoming cycle is my first one in about 4 years so I’m pretty excited and have most of my items on hand that I’ll be using.
This leads me into my question and allow me to preface some information again before I ask it. One of the biggest side effects of using AAS for me was it’s effect on my anxiety and cortisol levels when coming off cycle. It was hard for me to eat, i was depressed, didn’t feel pumped, had almost no motivation to get into the gym, started having panic attacks, and even developed a sort of agoraphobia. THIS LASTED A LONG TIME. My doctor prescribed me an anti-depressant and Xanax to use on an as needed basis. The anti-d only made things worse and only seemed to make good times a little more dull for me. Now the Xanax on the other hand did it’s job well and took the edge off but my attitude with medicine is the same as my attitude with AAS I want to take the least possible amount of drugs and work my ass off and discipline my body and mind to the point where I don’t need them anymore. As a testament to this, I have been off all anti-d’s for 2 years & haven’t had an attack either. I’m still sensitive to anxiety but it’s not nearly as severe as it was in the past (very manageable now).
So I’m asking the community, how can I control cortisol through PCT? Was my reaction because I am sensitive to anxiety? Was it because I didn’t do a PCT? Should I just use my prescribed Xanax on an as needed basis again (if the same problem occurs) and not try to fight the anxiety myself naturally? (Note: I’ll be doing a PCT this time regardless)
Sorry I feel like I wrote a book but wanted to give you guys all the info and I hope I made a good first impression to the community.
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Your anxiety could have been an underlying condition brought to the forefront due to a hormonal imbalance post-pro-hormone cycle. The truth is that you should speak with a medical professional regarding that condition, as any diagnosis made on the internet by complete strangers is at best anecdotal; at worst, erroneous and potentially harmful to your person.
Yeah fair enough lol I definitely wasn’t looking for a diagnosis. But on the contrarian side of your view, I believe that, since AAS are a schedule 3 controlled substance, medical professionals have less knowledge on the subject especially due to the lack of human studies in medicine. I can actually link a few scientific studies fairly recent (2014) that literally try and say AAS does not increase athletic performance (LOL).
Now I understand possibly telling my doctor I’ll be using AAS and him monitor my levels (Will they actually do that?) and other health factors but I just don’t feel comfortable around white-coats. I literally hate going to the doctor, not to mention my primary healthcare professional discontinued practicing so I would need to find a new doctor and definitely wouldn’t feel comfortable asking for AAS advice on the first few visits. And in this case I sure as hell wouldn’t want him to take the easy route and say “to manage anxiety just take this TCA or SSRI (anti-d’s) once every day” I’d tell him to go fly a kite lol that’s why I figured id turn to some gents with some experience countering the side effects of AAS lol.
I feel it’s better to get a fresh RECENT view point on the subject but as always there are a few staples and hidden secrets/gems that transcend time and I’d love to learn them but they’re just hard to find sometimes (outside the stickies lol)
We have a group here for anxiety bro. If you’re interested, apply & I will accept you. It is a hidden group, meaning only members of the group & MODs can see your comments. It’s a place to seek out support or share experiences to help others.
https://www.eroids.com/og/depressionanxiety-discussion
I applied for entry , I appreciate you looking out bro
You’re in bro
This is what anti depressants to for anxiety. They dull a heightened emotional estate, which also carries through to all other emotional states. Prescribing anti-d's for anxiety is nothing short of malpractice if you ask me.
I do not believe you are 25 and would not want to offer aas advice, just like the other 5,000 25 yo's who come on the site.
You articulated your position well which tells me that you are educated, however, have detailed nothing about how you have dealt with the cause of your anxiety, which tells me you might be a magic pill type. The fact that you mention fighting anxiety speaks volumes to how little you know about anxiety, yet here you are on a steroid users website, asking for medical advice with regard to drugs, steroids, hormone management and anxiety management.
Honestly, I am not trying to be rude to you, this is based on what little information you have supplied and some reading between the lines. Still though... what in Jebus' name are you playing at?
IMO you read the lines perfectly and did not hit the bait.
Yep good job not taking the bait bro! I’m actually a 14yo pre-pubescent teen who just got dumped by the first girl who touched my shaft so now I wanted to shift to AAS to get more girls on my shaft but I needed ideas of how to deal with artificially increased stress hormone because the stress of this breakup is horrible. I feel like Peter Bretter from Forgetting Sarah Marshall :( ....
Jk bro you’re entitled to your opinion lol
I do believe you are under 25 that's for sure but certainly not 14. It's the internet, you can say and be anyone or any age you want. I just call it how I read it, don't be mad.
I didn’t mean to come off mad, I was just joking around lol all these fake 25 year olds out here making us real 25 yo like the boy that cried wolf haha but it’s crazy because at first I was gunna say exactly what you said just then.. that’s the beauty of the internet you can be anyone you want to be lol I just don’t want anyone holding back their wisdom from me lol
I know you’re not trying to be rude, I could tell by the tone.. You seem more skeptical and curious, but thank you for the dialogue.
I’ll start from the top, I completely agree with you about the doctors prescribing these meds for anxiety purposes. I know a lot of people my age on anti-d’s and they’ve had their fair share of problems as well (withdrawal,vomiting,etc). My experience was similar, no withdrawal, a lot of nausea, and just a complete dulling of my emotional palette (I’m still not the same today). It seems like the doctors throw these drugs at people around my age right when they hear the word anxiety and it’s not right.
As for the cause of my anxiety, I don’t know what it was... I felt it was the culmination of everything that was going on in my life (college, family stuff, ups & downs of AAS use, position battles, and an overwhelming craving for perfection in an imperfect world) and even though leading up to my first attack I didn’t feel “stressed” I feel that in my subconscious the accumulation of all these stressors I was ignoring finally manifested itself.
As I mentioned before I’m no magic pill type. I’d rather take no meds and SUPPLEMENT with AAS.. Keyword being supplement, I want it to be 90% me with my diet and work ethic and 10% AAS.
As for your comment about me not knowing anything about Anxiety because I mentioned fighting it is completely erroneous. I know a lot about anxiety unfortunately and have successfully fought it with minimal medication. It wasn’t fun and I learned a whole hell of a lot about myself through the whole process and I think that’s the key. So perhaps you’re right I don’t know a ton about anxiety scientifically but I had to learn the best way to fight it naturally by learning about myself, my triggers, and the early signs from my body that something was off and what to do to prevent manifestation of symptoms.
If you want to know particulars because it sounds like you have some experience with anxiety send me a FR and PM me and I’ll give you some tips that I used to help control it, if I can help anyone not feel the way I did, I would be happy to help.
My angle? I love knowledge and real experiences, I feel that a lot of community members here share a common goal and possess a wisdom that I want to turn into my ideal physique lol. So it is for a selfish purpose, but I plan to give back as well.
Although the stressors may not necessarily be the case of an anxiety disorder, I think you are at least half way towards understanding the why's. Ok so, to explain what I mean; when you say fighting anxiety, I say you seem inexperienced with it due to the simple fact that you cannot fight anxiety. Although medication might make it seem that way, it cannot be done. Talking therapies, mindfulness, meditation etc. are fundamentally based upon acceptance rather than any form of fight or struggle. In fact, it is only when you stop fighting (for want of a better word) that you can truly move forward in a sustainable way.
Now, this said, I recognise it might be a debate over semantics, given I dont know anything about your journey.
You seem smart. If truly 25, stick around, do some research yourself, real research when possible. Learn about these things you have an interest in, and justify what you plan to do not by ego but through knowledge; which you already enjoy attaining. Starting at the end and learning about PCT first is an excellent approach. Worrying about cortisol in PCT and planning to use addictive seditatives to cope is not something to do, if you really do already know how to deal with anxiety without medication. Worrying about specific compounds that can trigger anxiety is a better approach but would be the last part of the puzzle, if you are smart.
Yep I thought that’s what you meant by that and perhaps I used the term fight incorrectly. Because you’re right you can’t fight anxiety it only makes things worse it has to be managed. I think that would be the better word.
Thank you for your insight I will continue to search, it’s just a very hard thing to research because I learned to cope with anxiety naturally and obviously I was unsuccessful in managing my anxiety with an artificial increase in my stress hormones. I can only hope that when the inevitable time comes and my cortisol spikes that my natural and learned ways of managing stress work and I won’t have to use any additional medicine that I don’t want to use. I really like your idea of figuring out the chemistry of specific compounds that could cause it, I will look into that. I liked the idea of possibly using Gh but I could never throw in a compound that I don’t know much about, so I need to check that out as well. Again thanks for your time and ideas I’ll shoot you a FR and I’ll PM you if I need some additional input on my research!
You mentioned not doing a PCT. I think that is where your issues stem from, not cortisol spikes.
Yeah I feel that it definitely attributed to the situation I was in (especially with my hormones being volatile at that age as it is). The panic attacks are what pointed me to think it was cortisol related, it was like my body got addicted to the feeling (which was terrible). After my first one, the next 10 or so nights I woke up in the middle of the night and an attack would try and manifest.. it was extremely strange. It got to a point that instead of sleeping through the night I would just nap during the day. I have to add this occurred about a month and a half post cycle.
I appreciate the background info. Given your age and weight (could put on more size naturally) I’m not gonna advise any kind of cycle for you so I’m glad that’s not what you’re asking for.
Controlling the cortisol spike coming off anabolics can really help you stay lean and hold your size. This is when I reach for hgh. Early morning is when cortisol is at its highest so I like to pin it first thing upon waking. 2-4 iu of quality growth is all you’ll ever need. It’ll knock down your cortisol, help you with feeling good while you’re “off” and may even let you continue to progress while detoxing your system. This also ensures that when you’re on growth you’re off DHT’s or any other drugs that might hinder igf conversion.
Thank you for the reply! Awesome info, sending you a FR, would love to pick your brain sometime!