Ever since the birth of my child, I have had numerous inquiries regarding how I was able to impregnate my Wife while being on Hormone Replacement Therapy. It is common knowledge to know after years of being a Bodybuilder utilizing performance enhancing hormones, becoming infertile is a harsh reality.
I was using hormones off and on for the better part of 10 years, with only small breaks between cycles. It wasn’t until 2015 that my Wife and I considered attempting to have a child. Once we felt “ready” or at least believed we were in position for this life-changer, we knew if anyone were to be the problem during this process, it would of course be the Bodybuilder--ME.
I was internally unsure but played it off to my Wife that I would have it under control with my vast pharmacology knowledge and adhere to a superb “baby making cocktail” of drugs to spark spermatogenesis and potentiate fertility. Unfortunately, after moving to Las Vegas in 2015, I quickly lost my Father to cancer and went into hibernation and depression for a good 6 months. During this depression I went off all hormones and figured this was the time to rekindle my HPTA with an aggressive HCG, Clomid, and Aromasin “Post Cycle Therapy” protocol.
I was using HCG at 2500 iu 3x a week, Clomid at 100 mg every night, and Aromasin at 25 mg daily for 90 days!
Keep in mind my Total Testosterone before starting this protocol was down to 26 ng/dL (yes, you read that right), and LH and FSH was 0.1 or non existent. After 90 days of the above PCT regiment, my new numbers were barely, and I mean barely better! I officially had steroid induced hypogonadism. This dilemma left me no choice but to succumb to Hormone Replacement Therapy, as my blood work being in such a gutter-low state was displaying out of range numbers on major health panels.
My Wife now was extremely concerned about whether we’d be able to conceive since I could not get adequate or even mild pituitary signaling initiated. Plus I did not want to endure getting off my Testosterone Therapy after being so lethargic, depressed, and insecure when hypogonadal.
Finally in 2017 we knew I needed to see a Fertility Clinic and seek out a specialist. We did just that and to no surprise the specialist was pushing for costly options for our situation (no surprise right?). The Specialist was pushing for IVF (In Vitro Fertilization), which was around $12,000 - $15,000, then there was another option that was cheaper but absolutely brutal and savage. It’s also most likely what scared me into having a baby after hearing about this process………..Microscopic Testicular Sperm Extraction!
This was where they basically take a gigantic needle and drive it into your testicle(s) and extract the sperm straight from the source. Listen, I’ve been handling needles for a long time, but when a man hears the words “needle” and “testicles” in the same sentence--it makes you feel sick to your stomach.
This is what I did immediately after the demotivating Fertility visit -
First priority was to get a sperm count to at least see if I was producing detectable/measurable counts. After the awkward sperm count visit I awaited my results. I knew if I was “detectable” and in the low millions or thousands even, all it took was 1 little soldier. I would then invest into the drug HMG which stimulates Follicle Stimulating Hormone, which is often overlooked as HCG is what’s typically prioritized.
I received the phone call which revealed I had less than 15 million sperm which was “below average” but still was producing so I was very optimistic.
Now my Wife and I were actively trying and I was doing the following protocol:
HMG 3x a week at 75 iu
HCG 3x a week at 1000 iu
Concurrently running my 200 mg of Testosterone Cypionate a week, and this was also during my Primobolan experiment Series using 500 mg/week over TRT.
I was also dieting even stricter than normal during this time for an MPA Supps photoshoot after the Mr. Olympia. Body fat was very low and energy was not great to say the least.
Needless to say 2 weeks or so after the Olympia Photoshoot, Rachel did a pregnancy test and luck would have it -- PREGNANT!
So in summation - I was able to impregnate my Wife by ensuring my sperm count at least detected sperm. Then using the combination of HMG + HCG 3x a week for a few months over my normal HRT schedule to further help spark fertility. That is how the birth of my amazing baby boy all came together. So guys, you can certainly be on cycle or TRT and still be “fertile enough” given you test your sperm count which is my greatest advice. Don’t be fooled into believing you must come off your HRT 100% because you won’t know until you test your sperm motility.
