I've read numerous articles, etc. about the dangers of permanently shutting down your boys if you use too much HCG for too long. But, I've been thinking about it, and I have not read of a single documented case of this actually happening. Has anyone seen documented proof that this can happen? Is there any clinical evidence that HCG desensitizes the Leydig cells? I'm just wondering if it's really as much of a worry/risk as it's made out to be.

I realize of course that having a lot of natural test in your system will cause suppression of of the hypothalmus/pituitary, but I'm wondering about actual shutdown of the boys so they don't respond even with normal levels of LH.

I did find this on the Merk website. If I understand this correctly, they're saying that men who do not naturally produce LH should take 2000 IU of HCG 3 times/week for 3 months to start producing sperm. I didn't find any warnings about going longer than three months in this article. Unless I'm missing something or the people at Merk are dumber than I think they are, this indicates that HCG isn't that dangerous in terms of permanently shutting down the boys.

"Men with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism who want to develop spermatogenesis may be treated with menopausal gonadotropins that contain 75 IU each of FSH and LH at a dose of 1 to 2 vials IM 3 times/wk along with 2000 IU of hCG IM 3 times/wk. This therapy must be given for at least 3 mo to affect spermatogenesis. Alternatively, pulsatile subcutaneous administration of GnRH through a portable infusion pump may be tried if there is sufficient gonadotroph reserve, such as in Kallmann syndrome."

Thanks for that info JBU...that sounds encouraging. I've read some of the same things you were concerned about... like more than 500 iu's hcg per day can damage leydig cells etc.

I do know it's not uncommon for guys to run 250-500 iu's hcg 4 or more times per week to restore the boys to their normal size.

Personally, I've never only used it with pct, and never longer than 3 weeks. I may have to consider running a smaller but longer dose during cycle, though.