I am a 46 yo male, skinny-flabby, HIV positive (undetectable but with immune system that is still not recovered). I go to gym 4-5 days a week but often don't have the energy to finish the workout, muscles remain lame, strength does not increase, have no energy during the day and some fat in face and around navel although I am considered slim. I have been testing low doses of various anabolics these months but am NOT on TRT so I do not supplement them with Testosterone or HCG.
I took 15 mg Oxandrolone (with prescription and not fake) per day for 4 weeks and I added 10mg slow release DHEA in the last 12 days in an attempt to reduce the high LDL, low libido, and anorgasmia caused by Oxandrolone. Higher doses of DHEA give me headaches after 4 days so I selected a low dose that won't do that but still give me some effect.
There is a single pharmacokinetic study that claims Oxandrolone is absorbed in 1-2 hours after ingestion but it was dissolved in alcohol so this study is not relevant to the real world. I took it with protein shakes, food, no food, several hours before working out, splitting it in two doses per day etc. but at the end I just started taking 15mg with breakfast before working out by opening the capsule and making sure the breakfast had some fat in it - Oxandrolone is probably fat soluble.
All blood tests were done in US by Quest Diagnostics.
My LDL by the way is high because of the HIV drug Intelence - it is much lower on other HIV drug combos. I tolerate that because Intelence also boosts my sex hormones which helps with my lack of libido and delayed ejaculation problem.
As expected, 15mg Oxandrolone decreased HDL and did not affect LDL, which lead to unfavorable cholesterol ratio. Adding the low dose DHEA at the end failed to improve the blood lipids:
In contrast, adding a higher dose DHEA to my Ostarine cycle did decrease LDL substantially but gave me headaches after several doses.
As expected the 15mg "low dose" Oxandrolone suppressed my sex hormones the more doses I took. Adding the low dose DHEA failed to increase the Estradiol:
Oxandrolone seems to slightly suppress White Blood Cells (mostly the Neutrophils) and the low dose DHEA was able to correct for that, partially. However, Creatinine and AST got increasingly abnormal:
My experience
Endurance/recovery:
I usually took 15mg Oxandrolone a few hours before gym and noticed on the 4th day that I can increase my weights and finish my workout without feeling tired. I no longer got sore muscles (quadriceps from squats) two days after workout.
Sleep:
About 2 weeks after starting Oxandrolone it became almost impossible for me to fall asleep at night. My HIV drug Intelence that I take in the evening is causing constant problems with falling asleep but Oxandrolone took that to a complete impossibility to fall asleep.
Muscle size:
Muscles look slightly firmer and larger - a tiny effect noticeable in pecs and deltoids. However, I could get that effect size simply by increasing my protein and working out as I am currently doing post Oxandrolone.
Fat/flab around waist:
I am slim but with a little stubborn fat around my navel. I did not feel that Oxandrolone reduced it in any way. In fact I felt the need to start counting calories and doing more cardio/walking to reduce my weight and fat. Sorry to disappoint the dreamers that think they will get "all shredded". If you are not even slim, forget it about Oxandrolone reducing your belly. Also my veins were not "popping" more than usual after workout.
Tendons/joints:
The tendon below my right elbow started hurting from doing pec flies with open arms. Oxandrolone did not help to heal it or reduce inflammation - simply no effect on that.
Sexuality:
In the initial days Oxandrolone increased my libido - made me more psychologically excited about sex. However on the 11th day I noticed that it became extremely hard for me to get to orgasm (probably testosterone suppression had started) and libido went to zero. Erection was not affected positively or negatively.
Adding 10mg DHEA in the last 12 days of the cycle quite obviously increased my libido and orgasmic ability, although it did not increase testosterone or free testosterone.
Immunity:
Unfortunately Oxandrolone and DHEA like many androgens seem to lower my already low immunity. The lab tests above show that Oxandrolone lowers significantly the Neutrophil count (same as Ostarine). On the 5th day since I added DHEA, I started getting mild headaches (HIV itself or some other resident virus) and angular cheilitis which both indicate low immunity. I am not sure if the cause for the cheilitis was Oxandrolone or DHEA or both. However I tested the same dose of DHEA by itself after I recovered from Oxandrolone and there was no cheilitis so Oxandrolone was also involved.
The bottom line
Oxandrolone 15mg helped with strength, endurance, and some minor musle definition but the price I had to pay is not worth it: it suppressed HDL, sex hormones, libido, orgasmic ability, neutrophils and immunity and led to some abnormal liver enzimes. To top it off, it destroyed my sleep and did not help me lose fat at all.
The idea to use a tiny dose of anabolic steroid hoping that you would get some benefit but won't get suppressed just doesn't work in reality. It is necessary to add TRT doses of HCG or Testosterone to maintain semi-normal levels of sex hormones and sexuality. People on TRT obviously do not need to worry about suppression and are in a favorable position to try anabolics in tiny or not so tiny doses. Even on TRT though, anabolics will make your blood lipids and possibly other blood tests abnormal.
For the same minor results, one can just increase protein consumption, workout, and use Beta Ecdysterone which does not suppress anything and on top of that helps with tendons.
I took 15 mg Oxandrolone (with prescription and not fake) per day for 4 weeks and I added 10mg slow release DHEA in the last 12 days in an attempt to reduce the high LDL, low libido, and anorgasmia caused by Oxandrolone. Higher doses of DHEA give me headaches after 4 days so I selected a low dose that won't do that but still give me some effect.
There is a single pharmacokinetic study that claims Oxandrolone is absorbed in 1-2 hours after ingestion but it was dissolved in alcohol so this study is not relevant to the real world. I took it with protein shakes, food, no food, several hours before working out, splitting it in two doses per day etc. but at the end I just started taking 15mg with breakfast before working out by opening the capsule and making sure the breakfast had some fat in it - Oxandrolone is probably fat soluble.
All blood tests were done in US by Quest Diagnostics.
My LDL by the way is high because of the HIV drug Intelence - it is much lower on other HIV drug combos. I tolerate that because Intelence also boosts my sex hormones which helps with my lack of libido and delayed ejaculation problem.
As expected, 15mg Oxandrolone decreased HDL and did not affect LDL, which lead to unfavorable cholesterol ratio. Adding the low dose DHEA at the end failed to improve the blood lipids:
Test | Normal range (male) | Before Oxandrolone | After 19 days of 15mg Oxandrolone | After 4 weeks of 15mg Oxandrolone and 12 days of 10mg DHEA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
HDL (good) | > 40 mg/dL | 59 | 30 | 31 |
LDL (bad) | < 100 mg/dL | 116 | 111 | 117 |
Total Cholest. | < 200 mg/dL | 194 | 160 | 170 |
Total Cholest./HDL | < 5.0 | 3.3 | 5.3 | 5.5 |
Triglycerides | < 150 mg/dL | 91 | 90 | 108 |
In contrast, adding a higher dose DHEA to my Ostarine cycle did decrease LDL substantially but gave me headaches after several doses.
As expected the 15mg "low dose" Oxandrolone suppressed my sex hormones the more doses I took. Adding the low dose DHEA failed to increase the Estradiol:
Test | Normal range (male) | Before Oxandrolone | After 19 days of 15mg Oxandrolone | After 4 weeks of 15mg Oxandrolone and 12 days of 10mg DHEA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Testosterone | 250 - 1100 ng/dL | 940 | 326 | 266 |
Free Test. (dialysis) | 35 - 155 pg/mL | 85.4 | 61.8 | 45.3 |
Estradiol (ultrasens) | <= 29 pg/mL | typical 33 - 37 | 14 | 7 |
Oxandrolone seems to slightly suppress White Blood Cells (mostly the Neutrophils) and the low dose DHEA was able to correct for that, partially. However, Creatinine and AST got increasingly abnormal:
Test | Normal range (male) | Before Oxandrolone | After 19 days of 15mg Oxandrolone | After 4 weeks of 15mg Oxandrolone and 12 days of 10mg DHEA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
White Blood Cells | 3.8 - 10.8 thousnd/uL | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.6 |
Lymphocytes | 850 - 3900 /uL | 1740 | 2110 | 2096 |
CD4 | 490 - 1740 /uL | 395 | 478 | 476 |
Neutrophils | 1500 - 7800 /uL | 1699 | 1250 | 1411 |
Red Blood Cells | 4.20 - 5.80 million/uL | 5.09 | 4.91 | 4.80 |
Hemogolobin | 13.2 - 17.1 g/dL | 15.5 | 15.0 | 14.6 |
Hematocrit | 38.5 - 50 % | 44.7 | 43.2 | 43.2 |
Creatinine | 0.60 - 1.35 mg/dL | 1.24 | 1.35 | 1.40 |
ALP | 40 - 115 U/L | typical 53 - 62 | 49 | 42 |
AST | 10 - 40 U/L | 21 | 23 | 45 |
ALT | 9 - 46 U/L | 11 | 16 | 28 |
My experience
Endurance/recovery:
I usually took 15mg Oxandrolone a few hours before gym and noticed on the 4th day that I can increase my weights and finish my workout without feeling tired. I no longer got sore muscles (quadriceps from squats) two days after workout.
Sleep:
About 2 weeks after starting Oxandrolone it became almost impossible for me to fall asleep at night. My HIV drug Intelence that I take in the evening is causing constant problems with falling asleep but Oxandrolone took that to a complete impossibility to fall asleep.
Muscle size:
Muscles look slightly firmer and larger - a tiny effect noticeable in pecs and deltoids. However, I could get that effect size simply by increasing my protein and working out as I am currently doing post Oxandrolone.
Fat/flab around waist:
I am slim but with a little stubborn fat around my navel. I did not feel that Oxandrolone reduced it in any way. In fact I felt the need to start counting calories and doing more cardio/walking to reduce my weight and fat. Sorry to disappoint the dreamers that think they will get "all shredded". If you are not even slim, forget it about Oxandrolone reducing your belly. Also my veins were not "popping" more than usual after workout.
Tendons/joints:
The tendon below my right elbow started hurting from doing pec flies with open arms. Oxandrolone did not help to heal it or reduce inflammation - simply no effect on that.
Sexuality:
In the initial days Oxandrolone increased my libido - made me more psychologically excited about sex. However on the 11th day I noticed that it became extremely hard for me to get to orgasm (probably testosterone suppression had started) and libido went to zero. Erection was not affected positively or negatively.
Adding 10mg DHEA in the last 12 days of the cycle quite obviously increased my libido and orgasmic ability, although it did not increase testosterone or free testosterone.
Immunity:
Unfortunately Oxandrolone and DHEA like many androgens seem to lower my already low immunity. The lab tests above show that Oxandrolone lowers significantly the Neutrophil count (same as Ostarine). On the 5th day since I added DHEA, I started getting mild headaches (HIV itself or some other resident virus) and angular cheilitis which both indicate low immunity. I am not sure if the cause for the cheilitis was Oxandrolone or DHEA or both. However I tested the same dose of DHEA by itself after I recovered from Oxandrolone and there was no cheilitis so Oxandrolone was also involved.
The bottom line
Oxandrolone 15mg helped with strength, endurance, and some minor musle definition but the price I had to pay is not worth it: it suppressed HDL, sex hormones, libido, orgasmic ability, neutrophils and immunity and led to some abnormal liver enzimes. To top it off, it destroyed my sleep and did not help me lose fat at all.
The idea to use a tiny dose of anabolic steroid hoping that you would get some benefit but won't get suppressed just doesn't work in reality. It is necessary to add TRT doses of HCG or Testosterone to maintain semi-normal levels of sex hormones and sexuality. People on TRT obviously do not need to worry about suppression and are in a favorable position to try anabolics in tiny or not so tiny doses. Even on TRT though, anabolics will make your blood lipids and possibly other blood tests abnormal.
For the same minor results, one can just increase protein consumption, workout, and use Beta Ecdysterone which does not suppress anything and on top of that helps with tendons.
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