What happened to the price of HCG?

[todd_xxxx]

After years of being on low dose T, interspersed with actual cycles, the boys are about gone. I haven't run HCG in years because, frankly, I didn't care. Now they are almost non-existent, so I'm start to care a little I started looking into it a bit, and the prices seem crazy high to me.

Also, is there anything new on the frontier that I don't know about to plump them back up? I'm going to keep running low dose test, but I'd like to have them bounce back, at least partway.

 

[Matth274]

I don’t think there is anything revolutionary that you are missing. Some people claim you can take gondatrophin, kisspeptin, or enclomiphene on cycle as a replacement for HCG but no studies actually show that it works. Seems to be little anecdotes for these use cases.

You could also move to Natesto (nasal testosterone gel) which only partially suppresses you, allowing the boys to restart while you are still on some form of exogenous test.

Testicle/load size is very important to me and I’m thinking about coming off of a 8 year TRT dose because of this. I didn’t take HCG for the longest time, but added it to the mix a few years ago (brand name Pregnyl from Costco) and it did help somewhat… maybe only 10-15%. I honestly doubt it would do much adding it to the stack this late in the game when you’ve gone years without HCG support. I bet not taking HCG for years affects the ability for HCG to help later down the line - I wonder if I PCT’ed, recovered for a few weeks, then hopped back on TRT (with HCG from the start) would yield better results. Does anybody have experience with this?

 

[4Drago]

Once you gain underground privileges start to research. You can find pretty affordable prices.

 

[Type-IIx]

The (apparent; though I have been given references of prices lower today than pre-pandemic in some instances) price increase for hCG is a result of unintended consequences from hCG compounding restrictions that have been implemented at the federal level in the U.S.

US federal regulators have prohibited compounding (i.e., urine-derived) hCG to target off-label uses that include principally TRT maintenance (of testis function & size) and "anti-aging" applications (rife with fraudulent & deceptive marketing tactics with respect to hCG's effects).

So, while it is still legal to prescribe it for these off-label uses federally in the US, patients and their doctors have to rely on manufactured, i.e., imported, (recombinant; r-) hCG, that due to supply & demand (because demand is outstripping current supplies) has become, apparently, exorbitantly expensive. This, unfortunately, affects the entire market including those who would acquire it in its manufactured form without prescription.

Some compounding pharmacies (with previously high volume hCG sales) are now going through the FDA licensure procedures (Biologic License Application; BLA) for the ability to resume lucrative hCG sales.

And the incentive isn't there for doctors, who can't make money slingin' it out of the compounding pharmacy in which they hold a financial stake in sales profits, to prescribe it under these conditions. So, in practice, they're, in general, going back to Clomid (clomiphene) for now.

To your question of whether there are any alteratives for maintaining testis size: hMG will to an extent, as it generally contains LH & FSH; but in some instances, only FSH or an analogue thereof. It'll be more expensive than hCG, though. HCG does more than maintain testis size, anyway, it stimulates the Leydig cell of the testis, promoting or permitting in some instances (i.e., doses up to 200 mg testosterone q.w.) steroidogenesis (i.e., maintained intra-testicular testosterone synthesis).

 

[Type-IIx]

The (apparent; though I have been given references of prices lower today than pre-pandemic in some instances) price increase for hCG is a result of unintended consequences from hCG compounding restrictions that have been implemented at the federal level in the U.S.

US federal regulators have prohibited compounding (i.e., urine-derived) hCG to target off-label uses that include principally TRT maintenance (of testis function & size) and "anti-aging" applications (rife with fraudulent & deceptive marketing tactics with respect to hCG's effects).

So, while it is still legal to prescribe it for these off-label uses federally in the US, patients and their doctors have to rely on manufactured, i.e., imported, (recombinant; r-) hCG, that due to supply & demand (because demand is outstripping current supplies) has become, apparently, exorbitantly expensive. This, unfortunately, affects the entire market including those who would acquire it in its manufactured form without prescription.

Some compounding pharmacies (with previously high volume hCG sales) are now going through the FDA licensure procedures (Biologic License Application; BLA) for the ability to resume lucrative hCG sales.

And the incentive isn't there for doctors, who can't make money slingin' it out of the compounding pharmacy in which they hold a financial stake in sales profits, to prescribe it under these conditions. So, in practice, they're, in general, going back to Clomid (clomiphene) for now.

To your question of whether there are any alteratives for maintaining testis size: hMG will to an extent, as it generally contains LH & FSH; but in some instances, only FSH or an analogue thereof. It'll be more expensive than hCG, though. HCG does more than maintain testis size, anyway, it stimulates the Leydig cell of the testis, promoting or permitting in some instances (i.e., doses up to 200 mg testosterone q.w.) steroidogenesis (i.e., maintained intra-testicular testosterone synthesis).

I should add, after being informed by a particularly persnickety reader (lol) by private message, that urine-derived hCG is commonly imported as well.


In short, this reader wanted me to relay that the ostensible price increase for hCG due to supply/demand imbalance pertains basically to prior compounded hCG, some of which was of potential dubious quality & potency, anyhow. Albeit, the market for pharmaceutical u-hCG should not be affected by these regulatory changes, and in his experience is actually cheaper now than pre-pandemic, accounting for inflation.