Tamoxifen(Nolvadex, Tadex) is an orally active selective estrogen receptor modulator.
Tamoxifen is currently used for the treatment of both early and advanced ER+ breast cancer in pre- and post-menopausal women. It is also approved by the FDA for the prevention of breast cancer in women at high risk of developing the disease. It has been further approved for the reduction of contralateral (in the opposite breast) breast cancer.
Tamoxifen is very comparable to Clomid(Klomen), behaves in the same manner in all tissues, and is a mixed estrogen agonist/antagonist of the same type as Clomid(Klomen). The two molecules are also very similar in structure.
Tamoxifen is used to treat infertility in women with anovulatory disorders. A dose of 10–40 mg per day is administered in days 3–7 of a woman's cycle. In addition, a rare condition occasionally treated with tamoxifen is retroperitoneal fibrosis.
In men, tamoxifen is sometimes used to treat gynecomastia which arises for example as a side effect of antiandrogen prostate cancer treatment. Tamoxifen is also used by bodybuilders to prevent or reduce drug-induced gynecomastia caused by the estrogenic metabolites of anabolic steroids. Tamoxifen is also sometimes used to treat or prevent gynecomastia in sex offenders undergoing treatment by temporary chemical castration.
Tamoxifen itself is a prodrug, having very little affinity for its target protein, the estrogen receptor. It must first be metabolized in the liver by the cytochrome P450 isoform CYP2D6 into the active metabolites 4-hydroxytamoxifen and des-N-methyl-4-hydroxytamoxifen (endoxifen). These active metabolites compete with estrogen in the body for binding to the estrogen receptor. In breast tissue, 4-hydroxytamoxifen acts as an antagonist so that transcription of estrogen-responsive genes is inhibited.
Tamoxifen(Nolvadex,Tadex), however, is not the most potent ancillary compound we can use on a cycle, but it is probably the safest considering it doesn´t actually reduce estrogen in your body keeping some estrogen floating around could have many benefits on muscle growth, as well. Estrogen is also important for a properly functioning immune system, and not only that, but your lipid profile (both HDL and LDL) should also show marked improvement with administration of tamoxifen. Estrogen is also responsible for a number of anabolic factors such as increasing growth hormone output, upgrading the androgen receptor and improving glucose utilization. This is why aromatizing steroids like testosterone are still best suited for maximum muscle gain. When reducing the estrogen levels, we therefore reduce the potential gains being made. For this reason one may opt to try Klomen during a cycle instead of Nolvadex(Tadex). Although I would imagine that the problem that needed solved would be of more concern, in which case Nolva remains the weapon of choice. It's a plain fact that there is a high correlation between gains and side-effects. Either you go for maximum gains and tolerate the side-effects, or you reduce the side-effects, and with it the gains. That's life, nothing is free.
Many bodybuilders actually use this stuff during their cycle for the health benefits provided by it. If, however, you are preparing for a bodybuilding contest, you need to use something which will suck most (if not all) of the estrogen out of your body. I am speculating that you may be able to use Tamoxifen for the majority of a contest prep cycle, to keep yourself relatively healthy, and then switch over to Letrozole(Femara) for the last 8 weeks.
Tamoxifen also has some important features for the steroid using athlete. In hypogonadic and infertile men given Nolvadex(Tadex), increases in the serum levels of LH, FSH, and most importantly, testosterone were all observed. The best (rough) estimate can be given is that 20mgs of Tamoxifen will raise your testosterone levels about 150%...and this would of course greatly aid post-cycle-recovery. What this means to us is that if you take Tamoxifen after a cycle, when you are trying to raise your levels of testosterone, LH, and FSH back to normal, it will greatly aid recovery. Some of the more harsh ancillary compounds available today will give you a more "dry" look that Tamoxifen can´t, but Tamoxifenis simply safer to use in long (over 16 week) cycles.
If problems of Gynocomastia or other estrogen related symptoms tend to pop up during a cycle the use of 20-30 mg of Nolvadex(Tadex) or 100 mg of Klomen daily should easily contain the problem, and be used until a few days after the problem subsides. For best results and the least amount of problems upon cessation it is best stacked with Proviron (50 mg) or Arimidex (0.5 mg) for this duration as well. Its not advised that these products be ran concomitantly with the steroid for the entire duration of the stack, as this will reduce your gains. Instead cease the usage of anti-estrogens once the problem is contained, and should the problem resurface, simply recommence the use of the products in the same manner as described above.
Once a cycle of steroids is concluded one should always initiate a post-cycle therapy to help bring back natural testosterone as soon as possible. This will help you to retain the mass you gained. How this is done depends highly on the type of steroid used. If only orals were used, therapy should start immediately, even the last day of the stack. If short-acting esters or water-based injectables were used, therapy should commence within 4-7 days after last injection, and if long-acting esters were used then it should commence 1.5 to 2 weeks after the last injection was given. The length of the therapy will vary as well, from 3-5 weeks. The longer acting the product was, the longer therapy should be continued to make sure all suppressive factors are cleared before use of Klomen/Nolvadex(Tadex) is discontinued.
For best results, it is best stacked with HCG (Pregnyl,Choragon), which functions as an LH analog and can help bring testicle size back up. HCG use starts the last week of a cycle, and on from there every 5-6 days (usually 1500-3000 IU) and discontinued 1.5 to weeks prior to the cessation of Nolvadex(Tadex)/clomid. The reason being that HCG itself is also suppressive of natural testosterone and should be out of the body before therapy is over, or it will inhibit natural testicle function. But I can not stress enough that HCG possibly plays a more important role in post-cycle therapy than clomid/Nolvadex(Tadex). For Klomen and Nolvadex(Tadex), doses are usually tapered down. Its best to start with 40-50 mg of Nolvadex(Tadex) or 150 mg of Klomen for the first week or the first two weeks, and then finish the program with 20-25 mg of Nolvadex(Tadex) or 100 mg of Klomen for an additional two weeks.
Store in temperature not exceeding 77oF(25oC), away from excess moisture.