Estrogen management 101

This post will discuss the various estrogen management techniques that you can use control your estrogen while on cycle or just TRT.

Bodyfat

If you’re on TRT, bodyfat is the first thing to look at. This applies a bit less to the guys who are on full blown cycles because they’re likely using so much testosterone that even if they were 6% shredded, they would still need some type of estrogen management due to the sheer amount of testosterone being used and therefore, aromatized to estrogen.

The adipose tissue is where testosterone is metabolised to estrogen, so the more adipose tissue you have, the more receptors there are available to convert circuling testosterone to estrogen.

So if you’re struggling with estrogen on TRT, dropping bodyfat can certainly help limit that conversion rate.

If you’re on TRT, bodyfat is the first thing to look at. This applies a bit less to the guys who are on full blown cycles because they’re likely using so much testosterone that even if they were 6% shredded, they would still need some type of estrogen management due to the sheer amount of testosterone being used and therefore, aromatized to estrogen.

Check out my fat loss guide for help losing weight

Aromatize Inhibitors (AIs)

Aromatize inhibitors work by preventing the conversion process from testosterone to estrogen via aromatize or (research).

These can be a quick way to achieve estrogen management and effectively lower estrogen levels when high estrogen symptoms start to show up.

You should always use them reactively innitially so you can gauge where your limit of estrogen actually is (we all aromatize at different rates). Otherwise you could easily crash your estrogen it into the ground, which isn’t fun…

So what does reactive use actually look like?

Finding your AI dose

Let’s say you are taking 300mg of testosterone, everything fine for three weeks then you start to notice nipple tenderness and a drop in erection quality – Two classic signs of high estrogen.

You can dose your AI once here and things should resolve themselves in 24-48 hours if you catch it quick enough.

In this example lets use 1mg of arimidex, but make a note of the date – this is actually really important, because you want to track how many days it takes for symptoms to show up again.

For this example, lets say that the same symptoms return 8 days later. Take your first dose of the AI again, but in future – Now you know that you can prevent any symptoms from showing up by taking half the amount of the initial dose AI every 4 days (0.5mg), or a quarter (0.25mg) every 2 days.

This is now your dose until other variables change (bodyfat goes up, testosterone dose is adjusted etc).

Arimidex (Anastrozole)

Arimidex is the most popular and widely available AI to address high estrogen. It will typically come in 1mg tablets and can usually resolve symptoms in 24-48 hours if you are fast enough.

It works by blocking the aromatase enzyme in the body which is responsible for the production of estrogen via it’s metabolism from testosterone.

Most guys won’t need to use more than 1mg per week for estrogen management while on moderate amounts of testosterone.

For me 0.5mg per week is enough for estrogen management on 300mg of testosterone and 0.75mg is enough to control 500mg

Aromasin (Exemestane)

Aromasin is just as effective as Arimidex, but tends to be more expensive and harder to find.

Some say Aromasin also increases IGF-1, which increase muscle growth and repair.

25mg of Aromasin is equavilant to 1mg of Arimidex.

Letrozole

Letrozole is the ‘nuclear bomb’ of estrogen management and 99.9% of people reading this will never need to touch it.

It’s most commonly used by competetive bodybuilders to crush their estrogen into dust before they step on stage, to eliminate the remaining water retention caused by estrogen – helping them achieve a more favorable and drier look on stage.

Note that crushing your estrogen into the ground will make you feel awful! And will even be devastating to the health of your brain and heart.

DHT derivatives

Primobolan (methenolone) and Masteron (drostanolone) are DHT derivived steroids and can be incorporated into a TRT protocol to manage estrogen levels effectively. These compounds have the ability to mitigate estrogen-related issues.

Primobolan posses metabolites that work directly as an AI to effectively lower estrogen levels.

Masteron functions as a SERM by competitively binding to estrogen receptors lowering estrogens total expression.

By inhibiting aromatase activity, Primobolan and Masteron help lower estrogen levels in the body, reducing the risk of estrogenic side effects. Additionally, these DHT derivatives have a high affinity for the androgen receptor, further minimizing estrogenic effects. Their inclusion in a TRT regimen can effectively manage estrogen levels.

Primobolan (Methenolone)

Primobolan or Primo is usually the go-to when it comes to using another androgen as a way to control estrogen.

How much you should use, again depends on the individual and how strongly you get the AI effect from Primobolan, but most guys find that a 2:1 ratio to a 1:1 with testosterone helps with estrogen management and allows them to get away without an AI or other forms of estrogen control.

My personal take on primo is that it’s a bit of a waste of time. It’s expensive, the post injection pain is nasty and you’d probably get better result for less cost just running higher testosterone with an AI as estrogen management.

If you want to experiment with Primobolan, start low. I’d suggest starting with a quarter of your dose of testosterone.

For example if your on 200mg of testosterone, start with 50mg of Primo and slowly work your way up to achieve the desired AI effect.

Masteron (Drostanolone)

For some guys masteron can also lower estrogen, however most including myself, don’t get any AI effects.

It was developed for this purpose – To treat breast cancer in women by binding to and blocking estrogen receptors in breast tissue.

Masteron is great for guys that are gyno prone, it lets them run estrogen a little bit higher and reaping the brain, heart and anabolic effects of that without any gyno issues.

It’s also a feel-good compound. It usually improves mood and libido so that’s another added benefit.

Supplements

There’s some over the counter supplements that can lower estrogen too. They’re easily accessable and should be added in regardless of other methods of estrogen management for the additional health benefits and potentially lowering the amount of an AI required to manage estrogen.

Zinc plays a role in inhibiting aromatase, the enzyme responsible for converting testosterone to estrogen. By supplementing with zinc, you can help reduce the conversion of testosterone to estrogen, ultimately managing your estrogen levels.

Calcium D-glucarate can be used to lower estrogen levels in men. Calcium D-glucarate works by inhibiting the enzyme beta-glucuronidase, which helps remove excess estrogen from the body. This mechanism of action supports estrogen management efforts. Additionally, calcium D-glucarate has potential mood and libido benefits.

Diindolylmethane (DIM) is another effective supplement for lowering estrogen levels in men. DIM works by promoting the balance of estrogen metabolites and inhibiting the conversion of testosterone to estrogen. This mechanism of action helps regulate estrogen levels and supports overall estrogen management efforts. Additionally, incorporating DIM into your regimen may have additional health benefits and potentially reduce the need for other estrogen management methods.

Tadalafil

Tadalafil (or as its more commonly known as Cialis) is a PDE5 inhibitor and can be a powerful supporting supplement for PED users due to it’s ability to modulate aromatase activity and upregulate androgen receptor expression.

It also has the added benefits of lowering blood pressure and easing symptoms of BPH, both of which are very welcome additional effects for a PED user.

If you’re just on TRT, it’s very likely that you can get adequate estrogen management by keeping bodyfat levels under control, taking supplements like zinc and using tadalafil.

Increased administration frequency

Increasing the administration frequency of testosterone into daily micro-shots can be an effective way at reducing total estrogen. This is because your levels become much more stable and are no longer subject to the peaks and troughs caused by an infrequent dosing schedule, resulting in increased aromatization.

Propionate

Some men insist that that they get less aromatization from using an equvilant dose of propionate over enanthate or cypionate. They believe this is likely due to the shorter half-life of propionate clearing the body faster, leaving less to aromatize.

I don’t buy into this theory much and I can’t see if being any different from using enanthate or cypionate with the same administration frequency.

How I control estrogen on TRT and cycle

I typically cruise on 150mg testosterone, 75mg masteron and 500iu of HCG weekly. Using this amount doesn’t give me estrogen issues as I stay relatively lean <14% bodyfat year round. I also take 50mg of zinc daily and use tadalafil regularly as a pre-workout – I’ve never had a problem with estrogen management on this protocol.

When I’m on cycle I typically will just add a minimum amount of arimidex that’s proportionate to the amount of testosterone I’m using for estrogen management.