Anti Estrogen Drugs

As can be surmised by the commonly used term anti-estrogen, the primary goal of therapy with an estrogen maintenance drug is to block the side effects associated with this hormone from becoming apparent during steroid use (though often they are also used at the conclusion of a cycle to help restore the release of endogenous testosterone). For the purpose of combating estrogen a number of substances have been used successfully over the years, and more have recently become available due to advances in the field of breast cancer research (treatment of breast cancer is the primary clinical use for most of these agents).
Likewise the athlete now has several pharmaceutical options to select from when shopping, which can make the choice of what drug may be best for any particular case a confusing one. Since a number of issues including cost, availability, potential side effects and efficacy may factor into this decision, I thought a closer look at both the old and newer agents might be in order.
Aromatization is the technical term for it. It is a natural process in which an androgen (male sex hormone) such as testosterone can be converted to an estrogen (female sex hormone) in the human body. In normal situations of course the male body will produce estrogens only in very small amounts, though they still do play an important role metabolically (including visceral/organ fat disposition, bone growth/maturity and blood lipid regulation). Athletes however may find that estrogen can become an extremely dramatic problem with the administration of anabolic/androgenic steroids. With the natural process of aromatization in place and extremely heightened androgen level can result in a troubling buildup of estrogens. This may cause the onset of estrogen related side effects such as noticeable fat and water retention, as well as the buildup of female breast tissue (gynecomastia). Gynecomastia is a particularly upsetting occurrence for the steroid-using male athlete, as the characteristic unsightly buildup of tissue mass is usually permanent. Although many synthetic anabolic agents are resistant or not open to the process of aromatization at all, our standard bulking drugs such as testosterone and Dianabol are still readily aromatized. This has prompted the athletic community to seek the benefit of estrogen maintenance drugs when taking such steroids, a class of medications that are now considered standard remedies in the athletes drug arsenal.