Follicle-stimulating hormone (follitropins, menotropins)
FSH, rFSH, Follitropin alfa, Follitropin beta, Follitropin delta, Gonal-f, Puregon, Follistim
Forms: Recombinant FSH: follitropin alfa (Gonal-f), beta (Puregon, Follistim) and delta (Rekovelle, approved for women only). Menotropins (hMG, Menopur) come from urine and carry both FSH and LH activity.
The pituitary hormone that drives sperm production through the Sertoli cells of the testes. A prescription fertility medicine, used in men together with hCG.
Legal status: Prescription medicine. Menotropins carry LH activity, banned for men (WADA S2.2.1); FSH alone is not named on the list, so check with your anti-doping body.
What it gives
What people use it for and what the sources report. Strength is a general category from the literature: mild, clear or strong.
Purpose
Approved for men with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, together with hCG, to start sperm production, and for ovarian stimulation in women. After steroid use, fertility specialists may add it when sperm production does not recover on hCG and SERMs.
What people seek and what studies show
FSH acts on Sertoli cells to support sperm production, while LH or hCG drives testosterone. In FSH-deficient men, follitropin alfa given with hCG induces sperm production; the response is slow. After steroid misuse the evidence is limited to clinical series: in one, 94 men were infertile, all were treated (FSH was added when other drugs failed), and 15% had a pregnancy within 12 months.
Effects
Evidence: Approved medicine — studied in people for its medical use
Possible side effects
Possible does not mean certain: whether they appear depends on dose, duration, individual response and monitoring. Below — what to watch for and how to notice it early.
4 possible side effects
level · how often it is reportedWhat the levels mean
Level: general category from the literature, not your personal risk
How often
- common
- reported often
- possible
- reported in some people
- rare
- reported occasionally
How to lower the risks
For 2 of 4 possible side effects there are specific ways to lower the chance: everyday measures, supplements and options a doctor may consider. For the rest — general advice. No measure removes a risk completely.
React early: see a doctor at the first lump, check estradiol and prolactin.
How each option helps (1)
- Working with a doctor — Early assessment of breast-tissue growth allows treatment before the change becomes permanent.
Products obtained without a prescription are often fake, mislabeled or non-sterile, and there is no way to check at home. For legal supplements, look for third-party testing (Informed Sport, NSF).
Low-level side effects
How each option helps (3)
- Adapalene — Reduces spots in many users. Redness, scaling, dryness and stinging are common early and usually ease; acne may look worse at first. Rarely, allergic swelling.
- Benzoyl peroxide — A first-line acne option. Dryness, redness and peeling are common at first; it bleaches hair and fabric; rarely, serious allergic reactions. Severe steroid acne needs a dermatologist.
- Zinc — Trials show a modest drop in inflamed spots, weaker than antibiotics; steroid acne is driven by androgens.
Check-ups and blood tests
Which tests and check-ups to do and when. This is a guide — agree the exact schedule with your doctor.
Which doctors can help
Get medical help at once if
- A painful lump under the nipple or nipple discharge — see a doctor early, while it can still regress; a hard, painless or fixed lump, skin dimpling or bloody discharge — see a doctor promptly.
In an emergency, call your local emergency number.
For women
In women it is a fertility drug: risks include ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, multiple pregnancy and, very rarely, blood clots. It is not anabolic.
Myth & fact
“FSH on its own restores fertility after steroids.”
It is approved only together with hCG and is added by specialists when other treatment fails. Even with treatment, some men stay infertile, so a semen analysis and an andrologist come first.
Combinations
No specific combination notes for this substance yet. The stack check still adds up side effects that several substances share.
Sources
Possible side effects by body system, combinations, how to lower the risks and which tests to do — free.
Open the stack check