there is a lot of confusion here since the opening statement.
first of all Clomid is a SERM, its recommended to take a high dose first week of PCT normally 150mg because your ending your cycle and use of AI so its expected your gonna have an estrogen rebound a high dose of a SERM is used to block the effects.
HCG should not be used for PCT the whole purpose of PCT is to get your body back to its natural balance and get off use of sterons and injecting hormones
Clomid is both an agonist and antagonist to the estrogen receptor. Higher doses of it doesn't guarantee estrogen control.
I've done this so many times. When you take nothing after a cycle...do you know what happens? Nothing.
No test = no conversion to estrogen.
As for other SARMs, Toremifene and Tamoxifene are obviously better options for controlling estrogen, with Torem being the best at everything (boost T and controlling gyno). Raloxifene is decent too but requires some trial and error to figure out how to make it work right.
HCG is used however the person wants to use it, really.
I need to remind us all that PCT is really for two reasons:
1) To get T levels up FAST so as to retain muscle mass while letting the body figure out how to be natural again
2) To help the pituitary and other pathways to work again
What we need in those two cases is something that is an agonist for Test-producing processes.
HCG, while being exogenous, has a very useful purpose in PCT or during cycle, whichever you prefer.
1) It keeps T levels high while you introduce something else to ramp the pituitary up (aka SERMs)
2) The negative feedback system isn't direct like Test and therefore can be more freely used. For instance, a single shot of steroids can totally shut down the natural Test production. Deca and other 19-Nor's are known for this and proven clinically to do so. HCG can be taken in several doses for a longer period of time without causing any major disruption of your body's ability to produce its own LH. So I always recommend 1-2 bigger doses the week before starting Clomid therapy and gradually coming down off of it. Eventually, you'd get to a point of using just Clomid as PCT.
Clomid, like anything else, also has to be titrated off because like anything else, the pit can become dependent on it too. Many people have tried unsuccessfully to come off Clomid only to find that their T levels drop by half when they do. This is normal. It's like coming off opiates cold- turkey --> your neurotransmitter/opiate receptor density are/is sky high and not yet normalized and your brain is used to being stimulated by those additional receptors that it created for that opiate...there is a period we call withdrawal where your brain has the capacity to be high
but nothing stimulating those receptors.
Unfortunately, the same goes for Test levels. The more Test we introduce into our system, the more receptors our body makes to take full advantage of the added hormones. Cut it from 1500-2000 ng/dL down to 750? You'll likely feel a bit like dog poop during PCT.
This is where HCG is helpful because you can keep those levels titrating down as you go -- from 2000 to 1700 to 1400 to 1100 then down to 800 or so and then let Clomid take over completely at 25-50mg/day and then titrate Clomid down while getting all the needed nutrients to produce a lot of your own T - natural, OTC AI's, zinc, magnesium, etc and a health diet... and finally, PCT can come to an end after you feel like the momentum of your pituitary can keep the pace. And sometimes it just won't Sometimes the new normal is 80% of what the old was. That's life. It's bound to happen eventually, regardless so no need getting all upset if your extensively-abused endocrine system sucks butt now.
To do it correctly, as much time in PCT will be needed to reverse the receptor density in the cells. Basically, it will take just as much time to
correctly fix/reverse the issue as it did to mess it up.