
After testosterone
suspension, and various forms of testosterone,
this
was second Anabolic
Steroid ever produced. It’s simply testosterone with a minor
alteration (an added 1-2 double carbon bond), and an added 17a-methyl
group. This does two things. The added 17a-methyl group serves to allow
it to pass through the liver without being totally destroyed, and the
1-2 double bond slows the rate of conversion to estrogen
(aromatization). Although conversion to estrogen is going to be less
than with testosterone, it’s actually still going to be enough to cause
potential side-effects because it converts to a very potent type of
estrogen. Dianabol (often just called Dbol
for short) is typically only
seen in bulking cycles- and then only for the first 4-6 weeks. Common
doses are between 20mgs/day for a beginner and double to triple that
for an advanced user.
Although
Dbol
is usually found in pill form it can also be found as an
injectable. As with
Winstrol,
both versions are exactly the same, just suspended in water or oil
versus a pill, capsule or as a paper anabolic. Regardless of the form
it takes, it is still a 17aa steroid; which means two things, for our
purposes. The first is that it has been altered at the 17th Carbon
position, in order to resist being inactivated by your liver, and the
second is that as a result, your liver enzymes will be elevated as a
result of this resistance to inactivation. This is good because it
means that the active chemical will make its way into your blood
stream- and it’s bad because these elevated enzymes can stress your
liver. In reasonable doses, which I believe to be up to 50mgs/day, the
main “side effect” is going to be rapid weight gain. Its watery weight
sometimes and not typically considered “clean” gains, but it’s
definitely going to make you stronger. I’ve seen studies using some
pretty high doses of Dianabol,
and the subjects didn’t really suffer
any intolerable side effects
[1].
Often, Dbol is compared to
Anadrol
50 and in many ways that comparison is apt. Although Anadrol is derived
from
Dihydrotestosterone
and Dianabol is derived from testosterone,
they still share a couple of similarities when we take a look at them
from an effects & side effects point of view. Both of them
cause a rapid buildup of both strength and weight at equal doses, both
produce a bit of a bloated look, both are going to stress your liver to
an extent as well as raise your blood pressure. Interestingly, both
also bind very weakly to the Androgen Receptor, so many of their
effects are thought to be non-receptor mediated, and are attributable
to other mechanisms. Although Dbol
has only modest
aromatase
activity
[2],
I really have to stress that it metabolizes to a very potent
estrogen.
The use of Dianabol is currently popular for jumpstarting a bulking
cycle, and thus seeing immediate results from the outset of the cycle.
For this reason it’s often stacked with longer acting injectables such
as
Testosterone
Cypionate or Enanthate, and Deca-Durabolin. The
rationale here with this is that the Dbol will give the user a rapid
buildup of weight and strength, and those gains can be compounded when
the injectables begin to produce results. This is typically done for
the first 2-6 weeks of a cycle, with 4 weeks being the most typical
time span.
My own experience with Dianabol
was pretty impressive, in retrospect. I used a Bulgarian version of it
for my first cycle, alone, and at a dose of 25mgs/day. I was training
very heavy, and eating like a horse- and in six weeks I gained 28lbs.
Granted, it was very watery weight, and did not particularly improve my
athletic performance until I dieted off a lot of the water, but I was
left weighing roughly 10-15lbs heavier, after several months of being
off, and was able to keep those fifteen lbs for good. This isn’t to be
construed as my saying D-bol produces permanent gains, but in my case,
after I had lost nearly half of what I gained, I was able to hold on to
a nice amount of that weight.
Several years later, I worked my way up to just over 100kgs, while
using roughly four grams of anabolics every week. I was able to
maintain this weight by using Dianabol
at a dose of 10mgs/day, and
could have probably done this indefinitely, if that dose were
continued- or if I actually wanted to stay at that weight, which I
didn’t after a few weeks.