Overload,how are your test levels after cycling all of those years and coming off...what were the duration of your cycles? Did you maintain decent strength after coming off? What were your pct's? Im curious to see how guys bounce back to being natural after heavy steroid usage..im dreading the shitty feeling coming off of this 9 month cycle...im thinking of coming off for a couple years or only doing one 8 week cycle a year
6 months ago my test was at 520, not bad considering my past.
Duration? about 7 years. Well, pretty much off and on for the first 4 years and then was blast/cruising the last 3 years, highest amount being about 3500mg "combined" AAS and lowest being 250mg test every 10 days while cruising, but more time "on" than off.
I actually maintained about 80% of my strength after coming off, but i felt like shit and my life was an emotional rollercoaster for about 8 months, lots of ups and downs.
My PCT was 250iu of HCG E3D the last 6 weeks of my cycle, which at this point was 250mg Test every 10 days. After my last shot of test/hcg i took 50mg Clomid and 10mg Nolva for about 8 weeks. Keep in mind i was being monitored by an Endo the last 2 years of my AAS use and was having all of this documented for a medical journal that the state of Texas refused to publish, but i still have all the journals and charts. I didn't really start to feel bad until about 3 months after i came off and most of it was in my head. I was still weighing 220 with abs after 1 year of being clean and my strength was good.
Over the last 2 years i really haven't lifted weights much, but i have been doing a bunch of muay thai training and cardio. I'm still solid muscle and still have the same "shape" but that "puffy" muscular look faded after i came off. I weighed 193 on Saturday and i'm about 8% BF, you can see my serratus clearly even while standing relaxes and the fibers in my quads are very visable.
About 2 months ago i started training seriously again using Olympic training protocols, and to my surprise my strength has been increasing rather rapidly. I think once you have built a solid base you can keep it the rest of your life as long as you train here and there without giving up completely.
A 9 month cycle isn't bad, i wouldn't worry about it. I had a lot of stuff going on in my life during that 8 month emotional rollercoaster that amplified the effects of coming off a 3 year cycle.
I consider myself the exception, not the rule. i know plenty of guys who have come off major cycles with zero issues.
All you can do is stay positive, keep training, keep eating well and focus on the more important things in life. The weights will always be there, but your health may not. i have been very fortunate to not have "any" health issues from my 7 years of AAS abuse. My BP is prefect, my Chol is perfect; all my profiles are actually better than average for a guy in his early 30's.
Steroids really are not as bad for you as many of us believe, but again i might have been one of the lucky ones. Only time will tell...
Good luck,
