- Pharmaceutical Name:
Methandrostenolone / methandienone
- Chemical structure:
17 beta-hydroxy-17alpha-methyl-1,4-androstadien-3-one
- Effective dose:
15-50 mg / day orally or 50-150 mg / week by injection
- Average Street-price:
$0.35 - 1.00 per 5 mg tab
- Available Doses:
1,2, 5 and 10 mg tabs or 25 mg/ml in 50 ml vials
Brands & Products:
- Ciba Dianabol (o.c.)
(GB, G, US) 5 mg tabs
- L.P Standard Labs.
Co. Anabol Tablets (Thailand) 5 mg tabs
- Leiras Anabolin
(o.c.) (F) 5 mg tabs
- Pharmacia Co. Dupnitza
Bionabol (BG) 2 or 5 mg tabs
- Polfa Metanabol
(PL) 1 or 5 mg tabs
- Leciva Stenolon
(CZ) 1 or 5 mg tabs
- Company Unknown
Methandrostenolonum. (Russian D-bol) 5 mg tabs
- Takeshima-Kodama
Andoredan (Japan) 5 mg tabs
- Major Dialone (o.c.)
(US) 5 mg tabs
- Sato Encephan (Japan)
5 mg tabs
- Galenika / Gedeon
Richter Nerobol (YU/HU) 5 mg tabs
- Gedeon Richter Nerobol
(BG) 5 mg tabs
- P&B Labs. Private
Ltd. Pronabol-5 (India) 5 mg tabs
- Meca Veterinary
Anabolikum. 2.5% (G) 25 mg/ml in 2 ml
- Ttokkyo Labs Methandrostenolone
10 mg tabs
- Quimper metandiabol
25 mg/ml in 2 ml
- Company Unknown
Trinergic (India) 5 mg caps
- Naposim (R) 5 mg
tabs
Characteristics:
Dianabol
was originally developed by John Ziegler and released
by Ciba in 1956. It has had a long stint of popularity
since then, especially in the US. Until the late 70's
methandrostenolone was all the rave. Perhaps the most
popular steroid ever. Known users include every Mr.Olympia
from Scott to Zane. Of course the doses used have severely
increased since then. Its popularity was also the cause
of its demise. Almost a decade ago now the original D-bol
was discontinued when the FDA drew the conclusion that
its therapeutic uses were minimal compared to the amount
of bodybuilders who were using it. But methandrostenolone
has never been out of circulation really. Especially the
Russians appeared quite fond of it and Russian D-bol is
one of the best and most marketed forms of the substance
methandrostenolone today.
Methandrostenolone
is without a doubt one of the best, if not the best product
for people who compete in non-aerobic oriented sports.
It promotes drastic protein synthesis, enhances glycogenolysis
(repletion of glycogen after exercise) and stimulates
strength in a very direct and fast-acting way. It may
be less useful to those competing in aerobic events as
it also diminishes cell respiration1. But methandrostenolone
manifests itself in a distinct manner : rapid and fast-acting
build-up of strength and mass is noticed. That's why its
often used at the beginning of cycle consisting of mostly
injectables like long-acting testosterone esters and nandrolone.
Since the effects of
such drugs don't fully come out for the first 10-15
days, methandrostenolone is dosed in to provide immediate
and visible results. It has a rather weak androgenic
component and an obviously quite strong and visible
anabolic component. Its effects are largely non-AR mediated,
which is documented by its rather low influence on the
natural endocrine system2 and the fact that it decreases
rather than increases red blood cell content in the
blood. Which means that one worry users of Dianabol,
especially short term, needn't fear is the dramatic
shutdown of natural testosterone production as is often
the case with very androgenic compounds. Of course this
effect is dose-dependent. It still has a mild androgenic
component, meaning in high doses (30+ mg daily) androgen-mediated
side-effects can be noted (acne, male pattern hair loss).
Because of its fast
effects, immense popularity and the increasing "more-is-better"
sentiment among bodybuilders, increasingly high doses
are indeed being used and recommended. One has to wonder
about the logic of such recommendations however, since
high dose urine-analysis showed portions of unmetabolized
compounds were being excreted3. In simpler terms that
means that with higher doses, higher amounts of unchanged
methandrostenolone were being excreted in the urine.
This would indicate that the current stance needs to
be reviewed and that smaller doses, taken multiple times
per day would deliver better results and maximal use
of the steroid. Dianabol simply is highly effective
in low doses(25-40 mg ed). Som say Anadrol, a comparable
steroid to methandrostenolone, is better, but its taken
in doses of 50-150 mg. If one was to take methandrostenolone
in those doses better gains could be expected. Methandrostenolone
is also a lot safer in as opposed to the highly toxic
and progestagenic anadrol. If one takes into account
that the half-life of methandrostenolone in the body
is only 3-6 hours, this theory makes even more sense.
So taking your daily dose spread over 3 or 4 doses may
elicit a better effect than only 1 or 2 doses. Methandrostenolone
is quite effective in these lower doses by the way.
Milligram for Milligram its more powerful than a testosterone
ester, generally considered the best mass-builder.
A few notes there need
to be made however. Not everyone should try and spread
their doses out over multiple servings. First of all
there is a slightly lower efficacy to take into account
here as well due to two characteristics. The first being
that you feed the total amount to the liver in smaller
portions, yet the liver still manages to metabolize
the same amount. Percentage wise that means less methandienone
would make it through totally. The second would be that
the peak levels aren't quite as high since no large
doses are taken all at once. These two facts make it
hard to recommend that just anyone take multiple doses.
People who take moderate to low doses of ONLY methandrostenolone
should probably opt for a single morning dose. This
delivers a higher peak level and more survival of your
only steroid. It also, due to the short half-life, makes
the drug clear the body before the body produces its
largest dose of natural testosterone, the early hours
of sleep. Combined with the already mild effect at the
AR, you could keep a good amount of your gains when
using clomid or Nolvadex post-cycle. For those using
it in conjunction with other, mostly injectable steroids,
two doses seems to be the better choice, if you are
taking in excess of 40 mg a day perhaps even three doses.
This is usually the
case for fast-acting substances, they have short half-lives.
Which brings us to the point of prolonged use. The general
concensus is that methandrostenolone should never be
used more than 6 weeks on end due its strong hepatoxic
effects. Being largely an oral compound, its also 17-alpha-alkylated
to help it survive the liver upon first pass. Liver
values are elevated over a short period of time4, making
long-term use a very dangerous affair. Liver values
should return to normal quite fast after discontinuation
however since the effects are so short-lived. Other
risks associated with the use of methandrostenolone
include the apparition of estrogenic side-effects because
it interacts rather well with the aromatase enzyme on
account of its methylated properties. It is therefore
best used in conjunction with an anti-estrogen. Gynocomastia,
high blood pressure, salt and water retention and mild
cases of acne are therefore not uncommon. Its methylated
properties (17-methyl group) does have several positive
characteristics of course. Why else would they add this
group? The main purpose of course it to make sure less
of the methandrostenolone is affected by hepatic breakdown
when taken orally. But apparently it also decreases
the affinity of the drug to SHBG (sex-hormone binding
globulin), a sex steroid binding protein that takes
up as much as 98% of testosterone. Testosterone that
can't be used to build muscle. Since methandrostenolone
does not bind to this protein easily, its quite an active
substance, no doubt accounting for its fast and immediately
visible action. Dianabol also does not affect cholesterol
levels to a high degree in moderate doses5, and it seems
to help an athlete stock up on potassium6. This is particularly
beneficial taking into account the amount of sodium
its estrogenic effects store as well.
We hinted at the short
time of activity methandrostenolone possesses. This
means that despite its immediate, fast and explosive
gains in both strength and mass, they are quite hard
to maintain. Often the bulk of mass is lost shortly
after discontinuation, making it most unsuitable for
those looking to gain and keep quality muscle. An injectable
may suppress some of these obviously flawed characteristics,
but the 5 mg tabs remain the trend. With its high capacity
to survive breakdown in the liver this understandably.
Orally its perhaps the most powerful, although in the
strength of effects it still can't hold a candle to
androl. But its cheaper and safer than the aforementioned
of course.
In light of the evidence
presented, we conclude that the best use for methandrostenolone
is short-term, for 5-6 weeks, at the beginning of a
longer bulking stack (10+ weeks), preferably injectable,
to kickstart gains and strength. Its effects are largely
non-AR mediated and it aromatizes quite well, which
leaves it with limited stacking partners, The best candidates
are of course nandrolone and testosterone. It should
be taken in doses no higher than 50 mg (20-40 mg being
the norm) ,spread over multiple doses for maximum effects
in stacks and a single morning dose when taken by itself.
D-bol remains a favorite today however, that's a fact
that cannot be argued.
Stacking and Use:
I needn't really expand
too much, since most of the conclusion were drawn in that
last paragraph. Dianabol is a methylated compound
with a certain toxicity, so in the interest of safety
you wouldn't use it longer than 6 weeks on end, 8 weeks
at the absolute maximum and only under supervision of
a medical professional who can monitor your liver values.
Because it heavily aromatizes its not particularly useful
during cutting and with 6-8 weeks of use maximum, that
leaves but two options. Either stacking it with another,
injectable, compound that can be used for longer terms
(beginning of stack when other compound is least active)
or you would do multiple short cycles.
In that case one would
take off at least as long as he was on during a cycle,
preferably longer. Like 6 weeks on, followed by 6-10
weeks off. These multiple cycles were all the fashion
among pro bodybuilders in the 70's with very decent
results. When stacking with a longer-acting product,
such as testosterone enanthate or cypionate, Deca or
Equipoise, the best use is early on in the stack. Dianabol
is a very fast-acting steroid and most injectables don't
start showing their real value for 2-3 weeks. That makes
it particularly useful to kick off a cycle with.
The pink ones are Anabol
(Dianabol) and the yellow ones are Stanabol (Winstrol).
These are very popular right now. They are 5 mg tabs
and they sell for less than 30 cents a tab. It's most
readily stacked with Deca-Durabolin or Primobolan, perhaps
even Equipoise. Usually an injection of 200-400 mg/week
combined with 30-40 mg of Dianabol everyday. In some
cases testosterone was used in conjunction with anyone
of these stacks. For short term use oral Primobolan
made a good match, and in lesser ways an oral Winstrol.
Both provide a mild, lean foundation for the Dianabol
and both are also 17-alpha alkylated, warranting short-term
use. Since Dianabol has little Androgen receptor activity,
it functions particularly synergistic with compounds
that have a strong Androgen receptor activity as is
the case for all the aforementioned. Along the lines
of secondary products an anti-aromatase like Cytadren
or Arimidex may be useful. When stacked with Deca, the
choice for a receptor antagonist like Clomid or Nolvadex
is perhaps a wiser choice. Perhaps even a combination
of both. Dianabol aromatizes rather heavily, which means
in a stack with another aromatizing compound the risk
for gyno remains high and water retention is virtually
a fact. Post-cycle the use of Clomid or Nolvadex can
be employed to boost natural testosterone production.
There is quite some circulating estrogen post-cycle
that causes prolonged negative feedback, clomid or Nolvadex
would solve that problem and help you retain more of
your gains.
References
1 Serakovskii S, Mats'koviak
I., Effect of methanedienone
(methandrostenolone) on energy processes and carbohydrate
metabolism in rat
liver cells, Farmakol Toksikol 1981 Mar-Apr;44(2):213-7
2 Blasberg ME, Langan CJ, Clark AS., The effects of
17
alpha-methyltestosterone, methandrostenolone, and nandrolone
decanoate on
the rat estrous cycle, Physiol Behav 1997 Feb;61(2):265-72
3 Harrison LM, Fennessey PV., Methandrostenolone metabolism
in humans:
potential problems associated with isolation and identification
of
metabolites, Steroid Biochem 1990 Aug 14;36(5):407-14
4 Nesterin MF, Budik VM, Narodetskaia RV, Solov'eva
GI, Stoianova VG.,
Effect of methandrostenolone on liver morphology and
enzymatic activity,
Farmakol Toksikol 1980 Sep-Oct;43(5):597-601
5 Romics L, Bretan M, Szigeti A, Varsanyi-Nagy M., Effect
of
methandrostenolone on serum triglyceride and cholesterol
levels in diabetic
patients, Acta Med Acad Sci Hung 1975, 32(1): 27-34
6 Hervey GR, Hutchinson I, Knibbs AV, Burkinshaw L,
Jones PR, Norgan NG,
Levell MJ., Anabolic" effects of methandienone
in men undergoing athletic
training., Lancet 1976 Oct 2;2(7988):699-702
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