Here is an article I personally just put together for another forum recently after a lot of research. Its a big part of the reason I have changed my stance on Nolva:
Nolvadex (Tamoxifen Citrate) use with Anabolic Steroids
What is Nolvadex?
Nolvadex, or Tamoxifen Citrate is a prescription drug that is used to treat breast cancer in both men and women. It can also be used as a preventive measure for women more likely to develop breast cancer due to age, genetics, or other high risk factors.
Tamoxifen (Nolva) is an antagonist of the estrogen receptor in breast tissue via its active metabolite, hydroxytamoxifen. In other tissues such as the endometrium, it behaves as an agonist, and thus may be characterized as a mixed agonist/antagonist. Tamoxifen is the usual endocrine (anti-estrogen) therapy for hormone receptor-positive breast cancer in pre-menopausal women, and is also a standard in post-menopausal women although aromatase inhibitors are also frequently used in that setting.
Some breast cancer cells can require estrogen to grow. Estrogen binds to and activates the estrogen receptor in these cells. Tamoxifen is metabolized into compounds that also bind to the estrogen receptor but do not activate it. Because of this competitive antagonism, tamoxifen acts like a key broken off in the lock that prevents any other key from being inserted, preventing estrogen from binding to its receptor. As a result, breast cancer cell growth is blocked.
Tamoxifen was discovered by pharmaceutical company Imperial Chemical Industries (now AstraZeneca) and is sold under the trade names Nolvadex, Istubal, and Valodex. However, the drug, even before its patent expiration, was and still is widely referred to by its generic name "tamoxifen."
Estrogens effects on running anabolic steroids:
While running aromatising compounds, such as testosterone, aromatase in the male body will convert it to form estradiol. Too much estradiol (estrogen) in the male body can lead to several problems. The biggest problem being development of female breast tissue (gynocomastia) in men. Warning signs of this occurrence are usually associated with small lumps, swelling, puffiness and/or sensitivity in the nipple area. Without controlling this issue, things can worsen, often leading to surgery as the only way to reverse this condition. High estrogen also contributes to things like water retention and bloat leading to loss in definition and smoothing out your physical condition. Higher estrogen levels also contribute to fat gain. This is a big factor in why women typically have a higher bodyfat percentage than men.
The benefits of Nolvadex during an anabolic steroid cycle:
It is important to know that Nolvadex is a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) and NOT an aromatose inhibitor (AI). Nolvadex does not lower your estrogen level, but works to keep estrogen from binding to receptors in the body.
With that said, many bodybuilders will use Nolvadex as a part of their steroid cycles.
1) Taking Nolva during cycle will not lower estrogen, but will keep estrogen from binding to receptors allowing one to run it in conjunction with multiple aromatising compounds without any issue. Since estrogen is necessary to build muscle, Nolvadex can be used on cycle to maximize gains without lowering estrogen and hindering muscle gain.
2) Nolvadex can contribute to fat burning. The effects are especially apparent with those that have very low body fat, as Nolva can significantly increase hardness and lower water retention on cycle, leading to a much more dry and shredded physique.
3) Health-It's widely known that steroid cycles can significantly put strain on your health and adversely affect your blood lipids. Estrogen is essential for a properly functioning immune system and lipid profile. Your immune system and lipid profile (both HDL and LDL) will both benefit from the administration of Nolvadex on cycle.
4) Some bodybuilders take human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) at the end of a steroid cycle to jump start recovery. HCG, has a structure similar to that of luteinizing hormone (LH), a pituitary gland hormone that controls testosterone synthesis in the Leydig cells of the testes. The problem is, HCG stimulates estrogen synthesis as well as testosterone. So, bodybuilders often combine HCG with Nolvadex to prevent those estrogen side effects.
5) Gyno symptoms on cycle- Nolvadex exerts its effects faster than an aromatase inhibitor. So, when bodybuilders experience the symptoms of gynecomastia while they are on steroid cycle, they can rely on Nolvadex to immediately counter the problem. However, a drawback of this drug is that it exhibits only short-term effects, which means that once Nolvadex intake is discontinued, the same problems can possibly rebound sooner than later. To prevent this rebound, Nolvadex is generally use in conjunction with aromatase inhibitor. Nolvadex can deal with the problem right away while an aromatase inhibitor like Arimidex can work for the long-term results as it reduces the production of estrogen.
Nolvadex benefits for post cycle therapy (PCT):
Nolvadex can also have a VERY profound effect on recovery of the hypothalamus pituitary testicular axis (HPTA) post-cycle of running anabolic steroids. Significant increases in Luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), and testosterone are experienced with administration of Nolvadex in PCT. some research suggests that just 20mg of Nolvadex taken each day can raise testosterone by 150%. For reference and comparison, it would take roughly 150mg of Clomid each day to achieve the same level of result.
Nolvadex is also safer to use long term versus some of the other alternative ancillaries commonly used post cycle. Nolva has a much lower toxicity, and is just simply better suited for long term use without further having a negative impact on overall health, and even provides some nice health benefits.
The downside and negatives of Nolvadex:
1) As with any drug, Nolvadex does come with side effects, though they are generally very mild. Nausea, vomiting, and hot flashes are the most common.
2) Dosing Nolvadex too high can become counter productive, preventing natural production of testosterone by the testes along with increasing levels of estrogen instead of lowering them. This happens when the adrenal glands are over stimulated to produce more dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). DHEA converts to estrogen.
3) reduction of IGF-1 levels- Nolva has been linked to reduced gains in some bodybuilders. This isn't due, as previously thought, to its reducing estrogen levels (which it doesn't), but rather to its ability to possibly reduce IGF (Insulin-like-Growth-Factor) levels, which are important for muscle growth.
The myth of using Nolva with 19-Nor Nandrolones:
There is a lot of conflicting information out there, and one of the biggest things being spread around is to not use Nolvadex during a cycle with nandrolones such as Tren or Deca, and not in PCT.The argument is that Nolva will up-regulate progesterone receptor activity, and since Nandrolones can increase progesterone levels, the combination leads to possible gyno problems.However, this is very far from the actual truth. (Nolva) Tamoxifen is a mixed ER agonist/antagonist as we said earlier and behaves as such.In certain tissues, such as the endometrium (uterus), upregulation of the PgR would be expected, since the endometrium is very sensitive to estrogen. This is where there is confusion that leads to the myth.In other tissues, such as the breast, Tamoxifen is an antagonist and blocks the estrogen receptor. The progesterone receptor is synthesized in direct response to estrogen. When the estrogen receptor is blocked, the progesterone receptor will also down regulate. This is exactly the mechanism of action that happens in cancer patients, so we can expect the same result.
There are no studies stating Tamoxifen up regulates the progesterone receptor in breast tissue, so its pure "bro-science" and speculation. As with most things on the Internet, if you spread false information around to enough people it eventually gets accepted as the truth.It is important to also note that Tamoxifen does nothing to combat prolactin. To control prolactin, caber or Prami is taken.
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