Long-term safety of Clomid and Anastrozole usage

Therapeutic Efforts Pharmaceutical
#1

I have been on a Clomid (50mg x 3/week) and Anastrozole (1mg x 1/week) regimen for the last 1.5 years, with a 4 month break in between. The treatment has been effective in restoring my T levels (278 -> 683 ng/dl), however DHT remained low (37 ng/dl), so a DHT gel was added in the treatment the last 4 months. However I am a little worried about staying on these drugs for long term. I am especially worried about possible tolerance to long-term constant upregulation of HPTA, causing new setpoints for LH and FSH to set, with a risk of a bad crash of LH/FSH if I stop using these medications. I am also worried about any other long-term effects, such as vision problems.

What do people think/know about long-term safety of Clomid/Anastrazole usage? I really don’t want to depend on taking these for the rest of my life, the damage that long-term Propecia has done to my hormonal profile is a constant source of worry about long-term exposure to endocrine altering agents. At the same time, when I gave the 4-month break, all my values went back to baseline (E2 stayed higher than baseline), so it really doesn’t “jump-start” my HPTA or anything, I simply need it to keep the hormones in desired zone. I would highly appreciate to hear others’ opinions and especially any references to any studies on long-term safety of Clomid use.

Thanks in advance!

#2

Vision disturbances are a possible side effect of Clomid, i.e. floaters.

I read on peaktestosterone.com that you’re advised to go an optometrist or opthamologist before taking Clomid.

Get a complete work-up, including dilation and retinal scan. Have them check for retinal field vasculature occlusions. Have an air-puff ocular pressure test done.
If the doctor can image the optical nerve cup, do so.
Have them snap an image and maintain in your records for future comparison.

Obviously if you encounter an issue, stopping taking the medication and seek medical advice or see your optometrist immediately.

#3

I think that tamoxifen unlike clomid is designed to be taking long term.

#4

Good advice. I still have occasional vision problems after taking Clomid for several months in 2009. I developed what’s called ocular migraines. Occasionally I will get the geometric patterns that migraine sufferers get in my vision. No headaches, just the pattern. They last 20-30 minutes. Very scary when they first started happening. I only get them a couple times a year anymore. Clomid basically cured me of trying different pharmaceuticals to try to fix this pfs mess. It made me worse for a long time after I stopped.

#5

Thanks for all the useful info about possible vision side effects. I don’t have anything noticeable yet, but it does make me nervous. I have a lot of floaters but I’ve always had floaters so it’s hard to say if any of it is Clomid induced.

So, no concerns about the effect of long-term use on the hormonal equilibrium? BTW, I really don’t see any sexual benefits from Clomid/Anastrazole protocol. No increase in libido or sexual/erectile function. The only thing I think it helps is cognitive issues and depressed mood. So I don’t even have a strong reason to continue…