I took 3mg Ostarine per day (in the morning with a cup of water) for a month and because it suppressed HDL, I added DHEA in the last 6 days (25mg for two days, 50mg for last 4 days).
All blood tests were done in US by Quest Diagnostics.
Ostarine suppressed HDL but not LDL, worsening the Cholesterol/HDL ratio. Adding DHEA at the end did not improve HDL but lowered LDL and in effect improved the Cholesterol/HDL ratio:
Test | Normal range (male) | Before Ostarine | After 17 days of Ostarine | After 30 days of Ostarine and 6 days of DHEA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
HDL (good) | > 40 mg/dL | 59 | 40 | 39 |
LDL (bad) | < 100 mg/dL | 116 | 118 | 82 |
Total Cholest. | < 200 mg/dL | 194 | 178 | 140 |
Total Cholest./HDL | < 5.0 | 3.3 | 4.5 | 3.6 |
Triglycerides | < 150 mg/dL | 91 | 98 | 92 |
As expected the 3mg "low dose" Ostarine partially suppressed all sex hormones, although the free testosterone remained constant. Notice the suppressed SHBG did not lead to higher free testosterone as many people naively expect. Adding DHEA at the end somewhat normalized the Estradiol which may be related to the decrease in LDL above.
Test | Normal range (male) | Before Ostarine | After 17 days of Ostarine | After 30 days of Ostarine and 6 days of DHEA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Testosterone | 250 - 1100 ng/dL | 940 | 501 | 412 |
Free Test. (dialysis) | 35 - 155 pg/mL | 85.4 | 83.1 | 78.1 |
Estradiol (ultrasens) | <= 29 pg/mL | typical 33 - 37 | 11 | 20 |
SHBG | 10 - 50 nmol/L | typical 65 - 85 | 29 | not measured |
Ostarine seems to slightly suppress the red blood cells but DHEA counteracts that (probably related to increasing Estradiol):
Test | Normal range (male) | Before Ostarine | After 17 days of Ostarine | After 30 days of Ostarine and 6 days of DHEA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
White Blood Cells | 3.8 - 10.8 thousnd/uL | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.9 |
Lymphocytes | 850 - 3900 /uL | 1740 | 1892 | 1852 |
CD4 | 490 - 1740 /uL | 395 | 483 | 452 |
Red Blood Cells | 4.20 - 5.80 million/uL | 5.09 | 4.84 | 4.98 |
Hemogolobin | 13.2 - 17.1 g/dL | 15.5 | 14.4 | 15.0 |
Hematocrit | 38.5 - 50 % | 44.7 | 42.6 | 44.0 |
Creatinine | 0.60 - 1.35 mg/dL | 1.24 | 1.15 | 1.24 |
ALP | 40 - 115 U/L | typical 53 - 62 | 44 | 44 |
AST | 10 - 40 U/L | 21 | 19 | 18 |
ALT | 9 - 46 U/L | 11 | 12 | 14 |
My experience:
Ostarine makes my muscles a little harder and more swollen (pecs, triceps, biceps) and gives me a bit more endurance to finish my workout at the gym but did not give me strength – I did not feel I could increase the weights I lifted. It also seems to help decrease the fat in my face but that is on the boundary of placebo. It does NOT help with fitness recovery – I get sore quadriceps every time after doing squats if I space them more than 3 days apart. It does NOT give me good mood and energy during the day – I have no desire to go to gym, I feel depressed and want to take naps - and it also decreased my libido and orgasmic ability. This is probably connected to suppressed total testosterone and almost crushed estradiol (from 33 to 11 pg/mL), although my free testosterone remained the same.
Adding DHEA in the last 6 days of the cycle increased my strength at the gym (I felt the need to increase weights at gym) and increased my libido and ability to reach orgasm. However, I get headaches from repeated dosing of DHEA and they appeared on the 4th day (2 days at 25mg and 2 days at 50mg). It is not clear if the headaches are from excess estrogen or from DHEA interaction with the HIV medications or HIV itself.
My personal conclusion is that 3mg Ostarine by itself is not worth it because it crused Estradiol and HDL, possibly led to depression, dimished sex drive, and did not improve strength. Ostarine + DHEA is more worth it because the DHEA improves the areas in which Ostarine fails.
I've tried beta-ecdysterone in the past (900mg/day of Cyanotis Vaga extract) and it achieved similar modest swelling of the muscles, without suppressing my hormones, sex drive or mood, while increasing my strength, something that Ostarine by itself could not provide.
