Oxandrolone
Oxandrolone is a powerful yet mild anabolic steroid that was developed in the early 1960’s by Searle Pharmaceuticals under the trade name Anavar. This is one of the most popular anabolic steroids ever made among men and women. In fact, Oxandrolone represents the primary anabolic steroid when it comes to female use. By 1989 due to extreme FDA pressure, Searle would discontinue the steroid and it would not appear back on the market until 1995 thanks to Bio-Technology General Corp, now known as Savient, under the trade name Oxandrin.
Oxandrolone at one time was touted as having numerous therapeutic uses, but over the years the FDA has severely shortened this list. Currently it is still used to treat severe infections, muscle wasting diseases and osteoporosis, and it is also used to combat prolonged exposure to corticosteroids. Savient is not the only pharmaceutical compounding house that manufactures the steroid; however, they are the primary U.S. manufacturer. Unfortunately, this is one of the more expensive anabolic steroids on the market, and while also produced by numerous underground labs (UGL’s) its overall price is still relatively high compared to most anabolic steroids.
Oxandrolone Traits:
Oxandrolone is a dihydrotestosterone (DHT) derived anabolic steroid that is orally administered. It belongs to the C17-alpha alkylated (C17-aa) class. This refers to a structural change at the hormone’s 17th carbon position in order for it to survive oral ingestion. Without this change the liver would destroy most of the hormone before the body could use it. Unfortunately, it also causes the hormone to carry a hepatotoxic nature. Carrying a hepatic nature, thankfully it is rather mild, making Oxandrolone one of the more popular oral compounds. It also carries a low amount of androgenic activity, and this will make it very female friendly in regards to virilization symptoms. Oxandrolone further carries no estrogenic traits, meaning related side effects are of no concern and any weight gained will be pure muscle tissue due to its inability to promote water retention.
Oxandrolone carries several prime anabolic steroid traits that include improving protein synthesis, nitrogen retention and greatly enhancing red blood cell count. It further has the ability to bind firmly to the androgen receptor, thereby, an ability to directly promote fat loss. Although highly anabolic, Oxandrolone is not well-known for being a mass building steroid. Its benefits will largely surround cutting cycles and enhancing direct athletic performance. The Oxandrolone hormone has the ability to greatly increase strength and enhance muscular endurance, and a lot of data has shown that it can have a strong, positive impact on cardiovascular endurance. This makes Oxandrolone a great steroid for athletes. As for a cutting cycle, Oxandrolone will greatly preserve lean tissue under stress, promote enhanced fat loss and provide excellent conditioning traits in the form of a harder and more defined physique. The enhanced endurance will also benefit the individual, as will this steroid’s ability to promote enhanced recovery. A trait any individual will enjoy.
The Side Effects of Oxandrolone:
As Oxandrolone carries no estrogenic nature, it cannot lead to gynecomastia or excess water retention. As water retention is not a concern and such retention often leads to high blood pressure, this can make Oxandrolone a far more blood pressure friendly steroid. It also appears to be relatively mild on cholesterol. It can skew cholesterol levels to a degree, particularly HDL levels. However, maintaining proper cholesterol levels is more than possible when supplementing with this steroid. Most are advised to consume plenty of omega fatty acids when supplementing with Oxandrolone.
Due to its slight yet existing androgenic nature, acne, body hair growth and hair loss are possible side effects of Oxandrolone. However, its androgenic activity is so low most won’t have a problem. Only those predisposed to male pattern baldness risk accelerating hair loss that was going to occur anyway. Acne is normally only a concern for those very sensitive to acne without anabolic steroids, but even then it will be rare due to this steroid’s use. It should be noted, 5-alpha reductase inhibitors are often used to combat androgenic effects when supplementing with anabolic steroids. This is due to a steroid’s ability to reduce from testosterone to DHT through the 5-alpha reductase enzyme. However, the enzyme plays no role here, this is already a DHT compound and related inhibitors will not have a strong effect.
Due to the androgenic nature, women must concern themselves with virilization symptoms. This refers to the promotion of masculine like traits such as a deepening of the vocal chords, body hair growth and clitoral enlargement. Most women will not have an issue if they supplement responsibly and with relatively low doses. 10mg per day for 6-8 weeks is normally tolerated well. Increasing the dose will increase the risk, and surpassing 20mg per day will all but guarantee related symptoms. If such symptoms begin to show, if the female discontinues use at their onset they will dissipate rapidly. If ignored, they may become irreversible.
Oxandrolone is suppressive to natural testosterone production. It is nowhere near as suppressive as most anabolic steroids, but most men will find a 40-65% reduction in total levels to occur depending on the total dose. The use of exogenous testosterone supplementation is recommended for most men anytime they use Oxandrolone.
All who supplement with Oxandrolone should be aware of its hepatic nature. Although mild, you should not supplement with this steroid if your liver isn’t healthy. Excess alcohol consumption should be avoided when using this steroid. The use of over the counter medications should also be limited to when only absolutely necessary as many of them carry strong hepatic natures.
