Oxymetholone (Anadrol): Uses, Dosage, Side Effects & Reviews for Bodybuilders

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Oxymetholone

If you look at the molecular structure of oxymetholone, it is easy to see that it strongly resembles the molecules of oxandrolone and drostanolone: in all three cases, the base was the molecule of dihydrotestosterone, and the main changes were made in the first ring (second position).

In the case of oxymetholone, a hydroxymethylene group was introduced into this position, which radically changed the properties of oxymetholone: like its "parent," it is capable of binding to estrogen receptors, but it is an agonist of these receptors.

This means that oxymetholone can exhibit estrogenic activity. This is evidenced by accumulated data concerning the use of oxymetholone in medicine (and it is currently used quite widely).

But that's not all: it also turned out that oxymetholone can exhibit progestogenic activity, and its similarity to oxandrolone allows it to suppress the secretion of cortisol (this is just a hypothesis, but it is supported by facts), although to a much lesser extent than its "brother".

Features and Properties

1. Agonist of estradiol receptors
2. Exhibits weak progestogenic activity
3. Exhibits anti-catabolic activity (although it is not entirely clear how)
4. Can significantly increase strength indicators
5. Significantly increases the number of red blood cells

Trade Names

Some trade names of drugs containing oxymetholone:

1. Anadrol — Syntex, USA
2. Anadrol 50 — Alaven Pharmaceutical LLC, USA
3. Anapolon — Abdi Ibrahim, Turkey
4. Androlic — British Dispensary, Thailand
5. Oxymetholone 50 — Alhavi, Iran
6. Hemogenin — Hoechst, Brazil
7. Roboral — Abic, Israel
8. Synasteron — Sarva, Belgium
9. Zenalosyn — Roche, Netherlands

Use in Bodybuilding and Other Sports

The initial purpose of oxymetholone was the treatment of anemia, which means it has a pronounced ability to significantly increase the number of red blood cells. Because of this, athletes feel an amazing "pump" effect when taking the drug.

Paul Borresen denied the "anabolic component" of oxymetholone, considering it a practically useless drug.

Most likely, it cannot be called an anabolic, but it should be remembered that oxymetholone can be considered an anti-catabolic, and together with its estrogenic and progestogenic activity, it can be considered an almost ideal partner for a drug like testosterone.

However, oxymetholone is also successfully used "solo" — for example, there is a case when an athlete who took 2 tablets of oxymetholone a day for four months increased his weight from 84 to 92 kg.

After discontinuing the steroid, he lost 3.5 kg of gained mass — the water went away, which is hard to avoid when using oxymetholone alone, but 4.5 kg remained.

This is not so much, but you can't call the means by which this increase was achieved useless.

Mass Gain

Actively used. The optimal drugs to combine with oxymetholone are testosterone, boldenone, primobolan.

It is not advisable to combine the use of oxymetholone with nandrolone and trenbolone due to the risk of significantly increasing prolactin levels.

Combining with methandrostenolone sharply increases the negative impact on the liver.

Strength Increase

Actively used. However, there are three problems.

1. its use, as already mentioned, should not be combined with trenbolone injections (trenbolone can be considered the main "strength" drug);
2. oxymetholone should not be taken with other oral steroids due to the negative impact on the liver;
3. since long-term use will inevitably lead to water retention, oxymetholone can be recommended only to athletes for whom body weight is not particularly important.

Endurance Increase

Usually not used, although in theory it can significantly increase endurance due to the increase in the number of red blood cells. On the other hand, a possible drop in cortisol levels will lead to a decrease in endurance.

Competition Preparation

Can be used. Surprisingly, oxymetholone can be used in competition preparation. The fact is that this anabolic steroid is a relatively good "fat burner".

Post-Cycle Therapy

Not used due to progestogenic activity and the ability to activate estradiol receptors.

Dosage Forms

Tablets or capsules for oral administration. The usual content of the active substance in a tablet is 50 mg. The half-life period is quite vague and ranges from 7-15 hours.

Feature of oxymetholone — it is quite complex to produce. Violation of the technological process or the use of low-quality raw materials can practically nullify the effectiveness of the drug.

The guaranteed high quality is only found in one drug containing oxymetholone as the active substance: Turkish "Anapolon".

The effect of oxymetholone is more or less comparable to the effect of methandrostenolone. However, there are noticeable differences.

Recommended Dosages

Surprisingly, athletes take oxymetholone in lower doses than those recommended in the drug instructions. The minimum "working" dose is 50-100 mg per day (it is better not to stop at the first value and start immediately with the second).

Optimal dose: 250-300 mg per day. In this case, surprisingly, the most pronounced are the "fat-burning" properties of oxymetholone.

Moderate dose: 150 mg per day. It is best to divide the daily dose into two or three doses.

Safety

Oxymetholone is considered one of the most dangerous of all existing androgenic anabolic steroids today.

I don't presume to judge the origins of this myth, I just note that the drug, as I mentioned above, successfully helps to prevent muscle mass loss in people suffering from immunodeficiency syndrome.

Examination of such patients who took 100-150 mg of oxymetholone daily without interruption for 30 weeks did not record any side effects, not even virilization phenomena. There were no recorded liver dysfunctions either.

So, oxymetholone itself should be classified as a "mild" AAS. And the practice of using this drug by athletes clearly shows that oxymetholone is safer than its main "competitor" - methandrostenolone.

In combination with other "mild" AAS, such as metenolone, oxymetholone behaves very "modestly," without causing any side effects.

Side Effects of Oxymetholone

Common side effects for all AAS.

1. Suppresses own testosterone secretion
2. Suppresses spermatogenesis (the amount of ejaculate sharply decreases) — very strongly
3. Reduces glucose tolerance (can provoke the development of type II diabetes)
4. Negative impact on the liver — moderate
5. Negative impact on the kidneys — none
6. Negative impact on the cardiovascular system — moderate (mainly due to increased blood pressure)
7. Increased aggressiveness — none
8. Hair loss on the head, hair growth on the body — rare
9. Acne — rare
10. Gynecomastia — high risk

Specific Side Effects

Like oxandrolone, oxymetholone has several specific side effects. All these side effects begin to manifest around the 5-7th day of taking the drug.

1. suppresses appetite
2. causes a pronounced feeling of fatigue
3. can not only increase but also periodically decrease blood pressure (often noted BP jumps)
4. can cause sleep disturbances

Use by Women

As already mentioned, in medical practice oxymetholone is prescribed not only to men but also to women. A dose of 100-150 mg of anabolic steroid per day for a very long period did not lead to virilization phenomena.

And yet, it is better to minimize the risk by reducing the daily dose of the drug. Recommended dosages are 25-50 mg per day.