Clomid has been used in male TRT for years, however, today there is a new kid on the block – Enclomiphene. Many clinics have been switching to the latter.
Is this a good idea, and which is better for TRT? Which should you rather ask for, and are there really that many differences? Let’s find out.
Key Takeaways
- Clomid is not just a medication to help increase ovulation, but also helps increase testosterone naturally and does not impact fertility.
- Clomid is known to have quite bad effects on emotional health
- Enclomiphene is a stereoisomer of Clomiphene (Clomid), and is known to have far fewer side effects
Clomid for Men
Clomiphene citrate, or better known as Clomid, is a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM). This simply means that it binds to the estrogen receptors and changes their activity.
This medication is often used to treat female infertility by inducing ovulation. However, for men, this drug is prescribed off-label for men who may want alternatives to testosterone replacement therapy and for those who need to improve sperm production.
Since the FDA has not approved Clomid as a treatment for low testosterone, it is considered “off-label.” Yet, multiple clinical studies have shown Clomid to be an effective treatment for improving male fertility by improving sperm concentration and boosting testosterone production.
Encomiphene for Men
Enclomiphene is what’s known as a estrogen receptor antagonist, meaning that Enclomiphene will bind to estrogen receptors in your body and prevent estrogen from actually binding to them, and therefore you have “less estrogenic” effects in your body. Think of it as “Hey that guy stole my parking” and now you can’t get your taco at this gas station.
Enclomiphene has been shown to increase FSH (Follicle-stimulating hormone) and LH (Luteinizing hormone) as well as raise serum total testosterone in men. Under the brand name Androxal it has recently been subscribed to men who suffer from low testosterone, want an alternative to TRT, and are not interested in Clomid (clomiphene citrate) which has enormous emotional side effects.
Clomid vs Eclomiphene
For testosterone production, let’s compare the same Enclomiphene study vs a Clomid study conducted in 2003.
As aforementioned, Enclomiphene increased testosterone by 55%. The Clomid study had participants run 150mg Clomid weekly, for 4 months.
Clomid at this dose resulted in an average increase of testosterone by 50.22%.
As someone who will be suffering from lower LH and FSH due to the use of anabolic substances, Enclomiphene does seem like a great alternative to HCG or Clomid post cycle – bonus: less pinning. Keeping in mind, any PCT will probably be less than 3 or 4 months, and will need management of other factors such as estrogen.
Side Effects: Clomid vs Enclomiphene
Compared to it’s counterpart of Clomid, Enclomiphene almost comes with a clean pass. While further trials are definitely necessary, Enclomiphene currently only has two known side effects, diarrhea and nausea. The list of side effects for Clomid is way more plentiful.
One more thing about Enclomiphene, some studies do show or at least suggest that it will lower IGF-1 levels in the body.
While Clomid is generally considered to be safe, as with almost every drug, there are some side effects.
Some of the most commonly reported side effects are mild and include:
- Headaches
- Diarrhea
- Visual disturbances
- Tenderness of the pectoral muscle
- Severe mental complications
Which should I choose?
Personally, I would always go for Enclomiphene. It seems to be better for Testosterone and when looking side effects. Clomid has been used very widely in the past for TRT, and stories of “Clomid Crazies” are plentiful.
Clomid is effective, sure, but Enclomiphene seems to be better. Even when looking at what TRT clinics are providing to clients most these days, it’s Enclomiphene.
How long to take Clomid for Low Testosterone?
According to one study, Clomid can be taken for a duration of 3 years with most patients seeing improvements throughout that period.
Are there any current clinical trials with men on Clomid?
Yes. Most up to date clinical trial investigating dosage and effects can be found on the US clinical trials website right here
1. No, at the moment none that I can find. 2. Studies suggest Clomid would also drop IGF-1. Keep in mind if you are training you probably don’t need to worry, and certainly not if you take any kind of PED. 3. No studies have been published on EC as a monotherapy, it’s not ethical to make a call on that. Personally, I think it depends on what kind of hypogonadism you suffer from
I have low free test due to (presumably) secondary hypogonadism (though honestly, who knows). My urologist put me on Clomid. I did some reading and asked my urologist if Enclomiphene would be better and she said “No, enclomiphene has been banned by the FDA.” This seems weird to me, as 1. Clomid contains enclomiphene, and 2. Prescribing Clomid to increase test in men is an off-label use already. So I’ve been trying to do as much research as I can, trying to give her the benefit of the doubt that maybe there exists a case for Clomid being safer or more effective than pure enclomiphene, but I haven’t found this yet.
If there are no studies that directly compare Clomid vs enclomiphene, are there individual studies that measure the safety of each that we can use for comparison?
So I’ve been taking Clomid for 5 months. My testosterone has doubled — but so has my SHBG; in sum, my free testosterone has remained the same. So this seems pointless. Is this typical? Is this less likely to happen on EC than on Clomid?
I asked my clinic to switch to EC and they refused. I think it’s time to find a new clinic.
This is not uncommon. The easiest way to solve this is to take Boron, 5mg per day, as this could potentially lower SHBG