Fareston (toremifene)

Pharmaceutical name: toremifene

Toremifene citrate is an anti-estrogenic drug, specifically classified as a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) with mixed agonist and antagonist properties. It is a non steroidal triphenylethylene derivative, similar in structure to both the drugs nolvadex and clomid. Toremifen citrate is used for the treatment of breast cancer in postmenopausal women with the estrogen receptor positive or estrogenic receptor unknown tumors. It works by attaching to the estrogen receptor in various tissues in a competitive manner, blocking endogenous estrogen from exerting biological activity. Toremifene citrate was first approved by the FDA as a prescription drug in 1997. It is sold in the U.S under the Fareston brand name, which is made by the pharmaceutical company Gtx Inc. Fareston is also available in over 25 other countries worldwide. Fareston is most commonly supplied in tablets of 88.4mg, which are labeled and equate to 60mg of toremifene base.

The difficulty in using toremifene citrate is the lack of research conducted using human subjects, and specifically male subjects. While it is possible to apply most of what is known about the other selective estrogen receptor modulators to toremifene citrate, independent research conducted with the drug itself is invaluable and therefore a risk is taken when using the drug because of the lack of information. Unfortunately toremifene citrate is possibly the least researched selective estrogen receptor modulator, with the possible exception of raloxifene.
Despite the lack of human-based research available, in terms of its use in steroid users, toremifene citrate can help in two ways. Firstly due to the binding affinity of the compound it is able to help in the prevention of gynocomastia. Toremifene citrate will compete with estrogen for the estrogen receptors in certain tissues, including the breast, and if it can bind to the receptor estrogen will not have an opportunity to interact with receptor and therefore gynocomastia should not be able to develop. When using anabolic steroids that can convert to estradiol (estrogen) this protection against gynocomastia can be invaluable. However it should be noted that toremifene citrate will not eliminate the estrogen or disallow the conversion to occur. Instead it attempts to counteract the effects of circulating estrogen in the body in those tissues that the drug effects. Therefore there is no evidence that toremifene citrate has any effects counteracting estrogenic side effects that are unrelated to the tissues not affected by the drug. Namely there is no real causal connection to any reduction in water retention and acne in users that begin taking toremifene citrate as it relates to estrogen.The second, and possibly more beneficial, aspect of toremifene citrate for steroid users is its ability to increase the production of luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone, and therefore increasing testosterone. This ability is why it is often used by steroid users during their post-cycle therapy. Toremifene citrate would accomplish this by blocking the negative feedback inhibition caused by estrogen at the hypothalamus and pituitary, and this in turn will help to increase the production of these hormones. Currently there is no available research that directly links toremifene citrate to being able to raise testosterone levels in male users, however due to the nearly identical mechanisms that both tamoxifen and toremifene citrate use and the reactions that they produce in the body, it would be easy to extrapolate that both drugs should have similar effects in this respect as well. Anecdotally users have reported good results with toremifene citrate and say that they are at least comparable that those of tamoxifen citrate.

Athletes and bodybuilders will usually take around 60-100 mg per day of toremifene per day which is equal to roughly 20-40mg per day of the drug nolvadex.