Lifting and estrogen suppressors.

nz_deevaa

Yesterday I chatted with a friend who is seeing a PT 3 times a week. the PT is making her lift heavy to help her lose weight. My friend is worried about 'bulking up'. I told her there is no way she can, I told her about 'The new rules of lifting' etc. She then showed me her arms/shoulders, she's bulked up! LOL.

I said about women not having enough testosterone etc, and she mentioned that she's been on a course of estrogen suppressors as she donated some eggs to a friend to do IVF.

She's off the drugs now, does anyone know if estrogen suppressors/IVF drugs might have effected her 'bulk' wise? Any idea how long they'll effect her now that she's stopped taking them?

She's considering stopping lifting/gym because of it.

koosdel

It's more likely she has a very good diet, works really hard in the gym, and has a great personal trainer.
No drug will ever do anything for muscle growth without proper nutrition and training.

Unwrapping_Candy

She absolutely should not stop lifting. The fact that she was on estrogen blocking meds is a big deal, and there is some causation here. While on those meds the testosterone in her body had a bit more of an effect than when her estradiol is at normal levels. I am not saying that she had masculine levels of testosterone--it's very likely her testosterone didn't increase at all, but estrogen counters testosterone and because of the low estrogen she was able to "bulk up" more like a male would. However, now that her hormones are returning/have returned to normal levels this shouldn't be an issue. If it continues to be an issue she needs to see her doctor about a blood draw for a hormone panel.

redheadmommy

During an IVF cycle you are only on suppressant for a VERY short amount of time , usually only a week sometimes two. Right after this phase you are going through 2 weeks of stimulation , where you pump HUGE amount of female hormones and your estrogen level rise to the sky.
So no , there is no freaking way your friend bulked up because of doing IVF. Usually the opposite happens, since the suppression part is smallest hormonal imbalance during a cycle. It is little more than taking birth control, but not very significant .

The big thing during the IVF is getting huge amount FSH hormon, which stimulate the ovaries to produce dozens of eggs instead of the usual single egg.This is artificial or natural FEMALE hormone. Plus you get estrogen and progesterone supplement for weeks to support the implantation, but she probably didn't get that part as she just donated the eggs.

In any case there is no way she bulked up because of IVF. There is no testosterone or any male hormones given to a women.

nz_deevaa

Thanks for the info, I'll pass it along.