Side Effects of Oxandrolone
The side-effects of Oxandrolone, if there was ever a steroid you could supplement with side-effect free this would be the one. Make no mistake, there are possible side-effects, but this is one of the most side-effect friendly anabolic steroids of all time, and side-effect free supplementation is a true possible reality. While this most certainly applies to men, this side-effect friendly nature also applies to women; in-fact, this is the number one anabolic steroid for females in both a side-effect and benefit capacity. As for the side-effects, you will find they are largely of a Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) nature; after all, this is a DHT derived anabolic steroid. There will also be moderate issues revolving around hepatotoxicity and virilization, and even a moderate testosterone issue, but the end result for most will be nothing but beneficial. Even so, you need to recognize all the possible side-effects of Oxandrolone so you know what to do should they occur, and most importantly, so you can avoid them outright.
DHT Related:
One of the most common side-effects of Oxandrolone supplementation is acne; DHT compounds are a bit notorious for causing acne, but this is normally only in those who are already sensitive to breakouts. In either case, keeping your skin clean and dry at all times is extremely important; if you become sweaty take a shower, and if that’s not possible change into a clean dry shirt and shower as soon as you can; regardless you’re going to need at least one extra shower a day if you’re a sensitive individual. Beyond acne, hair-loss can also be an issue in men who are predisposed to male-pattern baldness; you were going to lose your hair any way, but the DHT compound may speed it up. For this reason, you may find the use of the 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor Finasteride to be useful as it will protect against the DHT deterioration of hair-follicles. For those who are not predisposed to male-pattern baldness, you have nothing to worry about; you will not lose the first hair on your head.
Beyond acne and hair-loss, the most concerning DHT related side-effect of Oxandrolone is prostate enlargement, but the odds of this occurring in a healthy adult male are extremely low. It takes large buildups of DHT to cause enlargement, and you would need a massive amount of Oxandrolone for this to occur; even so, if you already have prostate issues you should not supplement. Further, if there is some underlying issue that you’re unaware of and prostate enlargement does occur this is where you’ll find the 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor Finasteride to be beyond useful. Finasteride has been shown to significantly reduce prostate enlargement in most men with six months of therapy; in many cases completely.
Hepatotoxicity:
Most oral anabolic steroids belong to the C17-alpha alkylated (C17-aa) class, and this makes them toxic to the liver; the rate of toxicity will vary tremendously depending on the C17-aa steroid you’re using. In the case of Oxandrolone, it is a C17-aa anabolic steroid and it does carry a hepatotoxic nature, but this is both necessary and not as damaging as you might think. The C17-aa nature refers to a structural change at the hormones 17th carbon position that allows it to survive the first pass through the liver; without it the liver would destroy the compound. Of course, this precise structural change is what makes it toxic to the liver, but in the case of Oxandrolone it’s so mild the odds of a significant liver enzyme increase is extremely low if you’re responsible. This means avoiding excess alcohol consumption as such consumption is far more damaging to the liver than any anabolic steroid, and it also means avoiding all over the counter (OTC) medications where possible; many OTC meds are just as if not more hepatotoxic than many anabolic steroids. Do these things, assuming your liver was healthy prior to supplementation and it will remain healthy.
Virilization:
Virilization refers to the promotion of masculine traits in women; specifically body-hair growth, a deepening of the vocal chords and clitoral enlargement. Thankfully, Oxandrolone carries the lowest virilization rating in-regards to actual beneficial anabolic steroids, and most women can supplement without a single virilizing effect. Of course, if your dose goes too high you will have a problem; normally 10mg per day is all most women need; some can tolerate 20mg but should never try it unless they’ve tolerated lower doses; doses above 20mg will always cause virilization. At any rate, responsible dosing will protect most women, but due to the individualistic nature of all human being some may find they display a poor response even with proper doses. This is not unique to Oxandrolone; think about it, some of us can’t eat peanuts but most of us can. In any case, if virilization symptoms begin to show, discontinue use immediately and they will rapidly fade away. If you ignore them and allow them to set in, they may make a new home in an irreversible way.
Testosterone:
Anabolic steroids suppress natural testosterone production, this isn’t new news, but the rate of suppression will vary greatly from steroid to steroid. It’s often said Oxandrolone doesn’t suppress natural testosterone production, but this isn’t true; it does suppress but it is extremely mild. The Oxandrolone hormone is not going to have a major impact on your HPTA, but for the male performance enhancer a small exogenous testosterone dose isn’t the worst idea in the world. Sure, if you’re only using Oxandrolone and nothing else you could get away with it, but if you recall from the profile page this is not a common or recommended practice for most men based on this steroids extremely mild nature. For women it’s another story, they can easily use it alone, but we are only referring to men here in the testosterone section.
