Deca Durabolin is a brand name for the anabolic steroid called nandrolone decanoate. It was originally developed in the 1960s to treat osteoporosis and muscle-wasting diseases. However, athletes and bodybuilders have also used it illicitly for its muscle-building properties.
Nandrolone decanoate is a synthetic version of the hormone testosterone, which is responsible for male sexual characteristics such as muscle mass and strength. Like other anabolic steroids, Deca Durabolin works by increasing protein synthesis in the body, which leads to increased muscle mass and strength.
Deca Durabolin is known for its long-lasting effects, with some users reporting gains in muscle mass and strength lasting for several months after the end of a cycle. However, it can also have negative side effects, including acne, hair loss, and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
- Drug Class: Injectable Anabolic Steroid Pharmaceutical.
- Name: Nandrolone / Nor-testosterone (as undecanoate)
- Brand Name: Deca Durabolin.
- Average Dose: Men 300-800 mg/week.....Women 50-100 mg/week
- Active Life: 14-16 days.
- Acne: Yes, Guest Posting in higher dosages or sensitive individuals.
- Water Retention: Yes, but less than testosterone.
- High Blood Pressure: Dose dependant
- Liver Toxic: No
- Aromatization: Low, converts to less active nor-estrogens.
- DHT Conversion: No, converts to NOR-DHT with low activity.
- Other Info: Highly anabolic/moderate androgenic effects.
Deca Durabolin Characteristics:
The deca/d-bol stack, it is often suggested, is where the practice of stacking comes from. But what does it owe its popularity to? Well, Deca Durabolin has some unique qualities that make it unlike any other steroid known to man.
Deca Durabolin (nandrolone decanoate) is more commonly known as the base steroid 19 or testosterone. As this structure would indicate it's like testosterone in appearance but for one small change. the absence of a carbon atom in the 19th position. This gives it several very distinct features. First of all, it makes nandrolone a notably weaker agonist of the androgen receptor. That alone causes quite a reduction in the risk of androgenic side effects. This is because it is the only steroid that is affected by the 5-alpha-reductase (5AR) enzyme in a way that makes it even less androgenic.
Unlike testosterone which forms DHT (dihydrotestosterone) at the 5AR enzyme, a hormone 3-4 times as potent as an androgen receptor stimulator, nandrolone forms DHN (dihydro nandrolone) a hormone that is even less suited than the already mild parent hormone for agonizing the androgen receptor. Those two features combined make Deca Durabolin a very safe bet for people at risk for prostate hypertrophy, acne, and aggravated male pattern hair loss. At the same time, it's estimated that Deca Durabolin is 2.4 times as anabolic as testosterone1, on a gram-for-gram basis.
Due to the many different ways that testosterone mediates anabolism, one has to take that statement with a serious grain of salt, but it does establish Deca Durabolinas as a potent muscle builder and performance enhancer with a comparatively safe character, at least androgenic ally speaking. This androgenic mildness is perhaps the greatest reason for its popularity. However, due to the lack of immediate anabolic activity, Deca Durabolin is rarely used alone. It's the most known and sought-after product for use as a base steroid, to use in conjunction with a more androgenic specimen to enhance the results without increasing androgenic side effects to a serious degree.
How Deca Durabolin exerts its anabolic effects is two-fold. First of all, it's a good mediator for nitrogen retention. When nitrogen retention is high, in essence, it means that the cells are taking up more nitrogen than they are releasing. Why is this a good thing though? Well, every amino acid has what is known as an amino group, which contains nitrogen. When nitrogen is retained it means there is a high concentration of amino acids in a cell, which in turn positively affects the rate of protein synthesis. Since every tissue in the body is made from protein, including muscle, this means that muscle hypertrophy is facilitated.
A second factor is estrogen. While Deca Durabolin's rate of aromatization is considerably smaller than that of testosterone, it does convert to a particularly powerful form of estrogen. This has been noted to increase glycogen storage, and growth hormone release and upgrade the androgen receptor in some tissues. In this case, it also entails agonizing of aldosterone, but more on that later.
On an interesting note, the 5-alpha-reduced versions enlighten us as to the anabolic effect of Deca Durabolinas as opposed to that of testosterone. Since Deca Durabolin is weakened at the 5AR enzyme and testosterone becomes notably stronger at the 5AR enzyme it makes sense that testosterone would be a better anabolic mediator in tissues with a high concentration of this enzyme and that Deca Durabolin would be the stronger of the two in tissues with a lower count of 5AR enzyme1b.
Because 5AR is not as well represented in muscle tissue it accounts for the finding that Deca Durabolin is 2.4 times more anabolic when it comes directly to muscular hypertrophy. It also explains why its less of a risk for androgenic side effects such as benign prostate hypertrophy (BPH) and androgenetic alopecia (MPB). Both the prostate and the scalp namely have high concentrations of the 5AR enzyme.
If indeed the overall yield of estrogen is so much smaller, and so is the rate of androgen receptor stimulation, how then is Deca Durabolin so anabolic? The common belief is through a third receptor the progesterone receptor. It has been concluded that both Deca Durabolin2 and several of its metabolites3,4 do indeed activate the progesterone receptor and are altered by it. On the one hand, progestogenic activity decreases the estrogen receptor concentration in some tissues, it also mediates estrogenic action in other tissues5.
So while estrogenic side-effects are fairly uncommon with Deca Durabolinuse alone, they can indeed occur and the implications of Deca Durabolin's activity as progesterone indicate these potential side-effects aren't to be solved with an aromatase inhibitor alone (like Cytadren). As long as there is estrogen in the system (indicating a possible increase of the problem when stacked with another aromatizing compound) progesterone can agonize its effects. And since progesterone receptors are found in breast tissue and have been linked to the formation of milk ducts, progestogenic activity may aggravate possibly gynecomastia. So while such problems are rare, when they occur they aren't easily treated.
It makes sense then that those particularly prone to the effects and side effects of estrogen would take extra precautions. Blocking aromatase, considering the previous paragraph, would be a poor choice, but competitively inhibiting the estrogen receptor itself with clomiphene citrate (Clomid) or tamoxifen citrate (Nolvadex) might bring some relief since a large portion of progestogenic action is nullified if there is no circulating estrogen around, or if it is kept from being activated by the estrogen receptor. It is generally assumed that 1 mg of either every day for every 20 mg of Deca Durabolin injected weekly is sufficient.
Slightly higher doses or the use of an aromatase inhibitor like children can be stacked if Deca Durabolin is used in conjunction with another aromatizing steroid. It has also been noted that the steroid stanozolol (Winstrol) may provide relief as it too binds to the progesterone receptor but remains unaltered by it. How strong of a competitor it is in such a case and what sort of doses would be needed are as much your guess as they are mine, so this may be a non-issue. But it does bode well for the stacking of Deca Durabolin with stanozolol in that you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Another benefit of Deca Durabolinuse often reported is the pain-free workouts because Deca Durabolin lubricates the joints. It stores a lot of water (as synovial fluid) in the joints, which eases the impact of the heavyweights handled by bodybuilders and weight lifters. One may wonder how Deca Durabolin can do a better job at it than a steroid that aromatizes much stronger such as a testosterone ester, but it's quite easily explained. One study at least goes to show that nandrolone metabolites are also aldosterone agonists6. Although we aren't entirely sure of the mechanism by which this occurs.
But, while sparing you with the details of this complex hormone, aldosterone has a strong function in the retention of sodium in the body. High sodium levels correlate with high storage of water and that would explain the aforementioned effect. Of course, one needs to note the implication of this of course: a bulkier frame and a certain loss of definition are not uncommon with Deca Durabolin, perhaps more so than with testosterone.
One last note that is of critical relevance to drug-tested athletes is the interaction between Deca Durabolin and esterase. Injectable, non-17-alpha-alkylated hormones are often esterified. This means attaching an ester to a specific position on the steroid causing it to be more lipophilic. That means it stores well in body fat and is only slowly released into the bloodstream, giving the whole a time-released character.
The more carbons an ester has the longer it will last. For the drug to become active it needs to remove its ester. When released into the bloodstream simply the suspension in H2O will solve that. But in the body fat, the ester can also be removed by the enzyme esterase. But esterase works two ways, meaning in some cases it can also attach an ester. nandrolone is such a case.
Deca Durabolin with a decanoate ester is fairly long-acting (10 carbons) to begin with and on top of that, a lot of the drug can be de- and re-esterified which means the substance stays active in the body for quite a long time. This has resulted in positive drug tests for the hormone Deca Durabolin and many of its metabolites, most notably 19-Norandrosterone up to 18 months after the last use of the drug.
While this is a fairly known fact, the recent number of athletes (including well-known soccer stars) who have tested positive for Deca Durabolin would indicate a lot of misinformation or plain lack of information in some circles. Positive tests, with reprimands, that could have easily been avoided. So anyone subject to any form of athletic drug test should refrain from using 19-Nortestosterone (nandrolone) or any of its metabolites, including nor-prohormones.
For those of you looking to use Deca Durabolin as your only steroid, be aware that the gains on Deca Durabolin are not only mild but also quite hard to maintain. Deca Durabolin, in the first place due to its combined estrogenic/progestogenic properties, is quite suppressive of natural testosterone production. Since it actively participates at three receptors it's very quick and merciless when it comes to giving negative feedback to the release of gonadotropin-releasing hormone from the hypothalamus.
But then one also has to take into account its affinity for esterases, making it stay active in the body significantly longer than most hormones. Because that means upon cessation of nandrolone use you'll still be under quite suppressive conditions, there simply isn't enough intrinsic anabolism available to support the mass you gained, resulting in a rather quick and inglorious reduction of weight.
Boldenone (equipoise) over Deca Durabolin. It's also a relatively mild androgen that has no conversion at the 5AR enzyme, so it's not that much more of an androgenic risk, but in all other aspects, it's a much safer steroid. Doesn't have strong estrogenic effects, or progestogenic activity. That means it doesn't cause bloat or fat gain and is much less likely to cause gyno. On the contrary, the gains from Boldenone are much leaner. It's also stronger, mg for mg. It doesn't readily re-esterify and due to its lower estrogenic effects, it is not nearly as suppressive as natural testosterone either.
That makes the gains not only better, qualitatively speaking, but also much easier to maintain. Also as far as the purchase is concerned. Boldenone is becoming cheaper and is very widely available. The availability of Deca is dropping, but it's still the most counterfeited steroid in the world. That makes it more likely that an inexperienced buyer will get scammed looking for nandrolone decanoate, than looking for boldenone undecylenate.
Deca Durabolin stacks well with virtually anything. Due to its mildly aromatizing and progestogenic activity, it's mostly used as a mass-building compound by all but the monstrously huge. Because some water retention is a fact, one would not desire to include it in a cutting phase, especially if it's one of your first cycles. Deca Durabolin is used in doses of 200-600 mg per week. 400 mg is the common recommendation for a somewhat experienced user when used in conjunction with another product. Deca Durabolin as decanoate, as found in deca-durabolin, is a long-acting ester of 10 carbons. That means 1 injection weekly will more than suffice as it has quite a long span of activity.
To this effect, it's preferably stacked with another aromatizing compound. In the first place long-acting testosterone like cypionate, enanthate, or Sustanon 250. For a beginner cycle, we want to note that the testosterone compound is the most active, and it's, therefore, more desirable to lower the dose of Deca Durabolin rather than the dose of testosterone. Often beginners look to start at 400 mg of Deca Durabolin and 250 mg of testosterone. A better suggestion would be 200 mg of Deca Durabolin and 500 mg of testosterone. Then bump the Deca Durabolin to 400 mg.
It also makes a good match for doses of Anadrol or Dianabol, although neither compound can be used for the period of Deca Durabolin decanoate due to liver toxicity. This isn't the case for a long-acting testosterone ester. Often Deca Durabolin and test are stacked in conjunction with Anadrol or Dianabol for the first few weeks of a stack to boost gains and strength.
A Deca Durabolin stack accompanied by stanazolol (Winstrol/Stromba) makes sense as well, especially for those who are highly prone to gyno. It's commonly accepted that stanazolol can compete for the progesterone receptor, and since Deca Durabolin can act as a progestin, this is a wise precaution. Progesterone agonizes estrogen and while Deca Durabolin only aromatizes slightly and cases of gyno with moderate Deca Durabolin use are rare when stacking it with another aromatizable compound like Dianabol or testosterone, you may not want to take the chance.
For secondary products, one needn't consider an anti-aromatase like Cytadren since one cannot fully block all aromatase conversion and due to the enhanced estrogen activity as a result of the progestogenic influence, it would serve little purpose. Using an estrogen-receptor antagonist, while not fool-proof obviously, may serve some benefit. Agonized or not, without binding to the receptor estrogen loses most of its influence. Using stanazolol and either clomid or Nolvadex during a stack with Deca Durabolin is usually the best prescription. Post-cycle use of such substances to help HPTA recover faster and retain gains also comes highly recommended, and preferably for longer than you would with most stacks, since Deca Durabolin stays active for a very long time.
More advanced users often consider the use of low-dose Deca Durabolin(200 mg/week) with cutting cycles as well, which proves that Deca Durabolin really does stack with anything. It is important to note that Deca Durabolin is a controlled substance in many countries and is illegal to use without a prescription. It should only be used under the supervision of a healthcare professional, and only for legitimate medical purposes.
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