jvangard
New member
Now, I know the prevalent theory concerning the sometimes (always for me) intense lethargy associated with SD and clones is associated with test/est shutdown. The treatment was, of course, to somehow increase test either by injection or perhaps td 4ad. I don't know about anyone else, but neither of these worked for me in the past. So, while this might be part of the problem, it didn't seem to be the major contributor.
Well, this last cycle I've had another side effect show up, and that is migraine headaches with associate aura. I am not necessarily prone to these headaches, and interestingly, they didn't show up until I abruptly stopped my SD cycle (because of lethargy and joint pain) and switched to Halodrol. I have had a few migraines in the past during the end of PCT, generally after I've stopped Nolva, but continued on Divanil. I attributed these to high estrogen levels, and indeed a quick 20 mg of Nolva would stop the headache in its tracks. This association with high est and migraine with aura is well known in women, so this all made sense. Unfortunately, these current headaches weren't touched by Nolva, and indeed started occurring only 2 days post cessation of SD--so est couldn't be the culprit.
I did some digging and found some interesting articles detailing the roles of est and progesterone on migraines. Interestingly, while est can promote excitability (starting a migraine) progesterones (like SD??) can inhibit it. Indeed, progesterone and allopregnanolone (a derivative) can act in an anesthetic fashion by acting on the GABAA receptor with results similar to benzodiazapines or alcohol (Steroids, 2002, 67:519)--hence this seems to be a direct neurological cause for lethargy. In laymen's terms, essentially SD feels like a sleeping pill. Furthermore, this may be why test doesn't really lessen lethargy from SD since it doesn't affect its action on the GABAA receptor.
Now, concerning the migraines I was experiencing, it seems that if you withdraw exogenous progesterone (ie. stop SD abruptly as I did), you get a withdrawal type of reaction that potentiates the cortical excitability and can precipitate migraines (Neurol Sci, 2011, 32:S31-35)--hence why Nolva wasn't touching my headache.
So, what to do about this? Really, the only thing I can think of is to make sure and taper off of SD, (which I have and no headaches so far). Test is also known to inhibit migraines as well. I have done this in the past but unfortunately I have none this time around...which may have made matters worse. Next cycle, I'll make sure to do some td 4ad or similar.
Thoughts anyone?
Well, this last cycle I've had another side effect show up, and that is migraine headaches with associate aura. I am not necessarily prone to these headaches, and interestingly, they didn't show up until I abruptly stopped my SD cycle (because of lethargy and joint pain) and switched to Halodrol. I have had a few migraines in the past during the end of PCT, generally after I've stopped Nolva, but continued on Divanil. I attributed these to high estrogen levels, and indeed a quick 20 mg of Nolva would stop the headache in its tracks. This association with high est and migraine with aura is well known in women, so this all made sense. Unfortunately, these current headaches weren't touched by Nolva, and indeed started occurring only 2 days post cessation of SD--so est couldn't be the culprit.
I did some digging and found some interesting articles detailing the roles of est and progesterone on migraines. Interestingly, while est can promote excitability (starting a migraine) progesterones (like SD??) can inhibit it. Indeed, progesterone and allopregnanolone (a derivative) can act in an anesthetic fashion by acting on the GABAA receptor with results similar to benzodiazapines or alcohol (Steroids, 2002, 67:519)--hence this seems to be a direct neurological cause for lethargy. In laymen's terms, essentially SD feels like a sleeping pill. Furthermore, this may be why test doesn't really lessen lethargy from SD since it doesn't affect its action on the GABAA receptor.
Now, concerning the migraines I was experiencing, it seems that if you withdraw exogenous progesterone (ie. stop SD abruptly as I did), you get a withdrawal type of reaction that potentiates the cortical excitability and can precipitate migraines (Neurol Sci, 2011, 32:S31-35)--hence why Nolva wasn't touching my headache.
So, what to do about this? Really, the only thing I can think of is to make sure and taper off of SD, (which I have and no headaches so far). Test is also known to inhibit migraines as well. I have done this in the past but unfortunately I have none this time around...which may have made matters worse. Next cycle, I'll make sure to do some td 4ad or similar.
Thoughts anyone?