Category Archives: Steroids

Test Flu: “Etiocholanolone” likely to blame.

You started your test cycle and all of a sudden you’re lethargic, may have a fever, chills, body aches, even a sore throat. You wanted to kick off your training hard, but this “flu” is getting the best of you and stomping on your training. What you are feeling may not actually be a viral flu bug, but a side-effect of the rapid increase in testosterone in your body, most commonly assosciated with shorter esters like propionate or phenyl-propionate.

The most important thing to do first is rule out infection which can be caused by poor injection technique or dirty gear. The effects felt by test flu can be identical to those caused by an actual infection. To rule out infection, keep an eye out for bright red inflammation that does not fade, heat emanating from the injection site, and also, fevers, chills, body aches. If you are confident you do not have an infection, then perhaps you are suffering from the test flu.

Testosterone, once injected, will be broken down into some of all of it’s metabolites. You are likely familiar or have heard of most of them except for “Etiocholanolone”:

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Simply, Etiocholanolone, is an “inhibitory neurosteroid” which means it inhibits actions on neurotransmissions. In this way, it acts as an antidepressant among other things such as:

  • Anxiolytic (anti-anxiety)
  • Stress-reducer
  • Promote social behavior
  • Promotes ant-aggressive behavior
  • Promotes prosexual behavior
  • Acts as a sedative
  • Promotes sleep
  • Increases cognitive and memory functions
  • Acts as an anesthetic or reduces pain
  • Acts as an anticonvulsant
  • Is neuro-protective

In short, we do need etiocholanolone for optimal brain function, and subsequently, overall wellbeing. In addition to the effects above, etiocholanolone is also an immunostimulant, which means it can trigger fevers, and other immune responses which the organism afflicted associates with being sick. The reason this is more likely to occur with a short ester such as test propionate versus test enanthate is because higher amounts of testosterone are released much faster, and the body has not yet had the opportunity to adjust.

Long story short, your body just needs time to adjust. In terms how how long, the best information we have is anecdotal due to the lack of research of AAS. Typically, Bloggers and bros seem to agree on anywhere from 3 days to two weeks. In the meantime, take ibuprofen to alleviate symptoms and stay hydrated. A diet rich in anti-inflammatory antioxidants might help to. Go ahead and keep training as best you can, you are not actually sick.

Less Acne with Natural Bodybuilding Lifestyle

Athletes partaking in the use of AAS might seem to be more likely to develop acne versus natural bodybuilders and non-athletes. Steroids contribute to increased sebum production, which contains fatty acids toxic to many benign bacteria. As a result, bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and Propionibacterium acnes, are able to thrive much easier due to their resistance to these fatty acids and lack of competing bacteria. This colonization leads to an immune response by the body, which causes the inflammation we know as acne.

The Iranian study took three groups of people:

  • 71 users of anabolic steroids
  • 23 natural bodybuilders
  • 46 non-athletes

The goal was to see how anabolic steroids affected acne caused by Propionibacterium acnes. The table below illustrates the percentage of individuals with the acne causing bacteria. 45% of steroid users’ skin contained the bacteria versus 17% of non-athletes, and surprisingly, natural bodybuilders had the least at 4%.

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The types of pimples were also recorded:

  • papula – no pus
  • pustule – pimples with pus

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Surprisingly the group studied with the clearest skin were the natural bodybuilders. One might draw the conclusion that bodybuilders, typically self-critical and health-conscious individuals exhibit healthier skin as a result of lifestyle choices. This study also supports the obvious fact that has been well known in the AAS community for a while – AAS can increase acne volume and severity.

The Scoop on “Anabolic/Androgenic Ratios”

Steroids, though illegal for recreational use, hold merit for medicinal purposes via prescription and under the supervision of a doctor. In fact, a lot of research and some of the best compounds available today exist due do medicinal scientist’s attempts to harness all of the muscle building components of AAS, but none of the androgenic “side-effects”. Such drugs have been utilized to stave off muscle wasting in burn victims, those afflicted with cancer or AIDS, and even as potential treatment for those with muscle dystrophy. As a result, scientists developed what they called the “myotrophic–androgenic index” and what bodybuilders and other recreational users of AAS call the “anabolic-androgenic ratio”.

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The “androgenic side-effects” is typically the term associated with the development characteristics typical of men, or the “Secondary Sex Characteristics” as labeled by the scientific community. Such traits (and side effects) are as follows:

These ratios were defined by scientist (Eisenberg and Gordan (1950) via the measured ratio of growth in rats (not humans) of the levator ani muscle (anabolic) versus growth in the seminal vesicles (androgenic). The problem with these studies is that the levator ani muscle is not a skeletal muscle, but is analogous to a human pubococcygeus muscle (PC muscle) which is a hammock-like muscle, found in both sexes, that stretches from the pubic bone to the tail bone and in humans, envelopes the rectum. Other scientists  such as (Hershberger),set out to define anabolic androgenic ratios of other compounds but utilized the ventral part of the prostate as a gauge for androgenic activity.

In 1968, Kruskemper (1968) discusses the many failings of the procedures used for determining the myotrophic–androgenic index. For example, the seminal vesicles react much slower to certain androgens, so for tests over short periods of time, data might be skewed towards a higher myotrophic (anabolic) effect vs the androgenic effects.

In the past two decades, scientists still argue on whether or no the levator ani muscle is a fair indicator of skeletal muscle tissue or which part of the prostate should be used to gauge androgenic activity. The takeaway from this reading should be that many of the “anabolic androgenic ratios” we see flying around bodybuilding and steroid forums are the result of numerous rat studies, that differ in the tissues types used to define anabolic vs androgenic activity. In addition, the concentration of androgen receptors may differ in rats vs humans within specific tissue types. Though this is the best and most peer-reviewed information we have, we should take them with a grain of salt. Below is an example of the typical anabolic androgenic ratios you might find floating around on a steroid-related website:

Anadrol 50:
Androgenic/ Anabolic Ratio: 45:320

Anavar:
Anabolic/Androgenic Ratio: 322-630:24

Andriol:
Anabolic/Androgenic Ratio: 100:100

Andropen 275:
Anabolic/Androgenic Ratio:100:100

Deca-Durabolin:
Anabolic/Androgenic Ratio: 125:37

Dianabol:
Anabolic/Androgenic Ratio: 90-210:40-60

Equipoise:
Anabolic/ Androgenic Ratio: 100:50

Halotestin:
Anabolic/Androgenic Ratio:1,900/850

Masteron:
Anabolic/Androgenic Ratio:62:25

NPP:
Androgenic/Anabolic Ratio: 37:125

Oral Turnibol:
Anabolic/ Androgenic Ratio: >100:>0

Parabolan (Tren):
Anabolic/Androgenic Ratio: 500/500

Primobolan:
Anabolic/Androgenic Ratio: 88:44-57

Proviron:
Androgenic: Anabolic Ratio: 30-40/100-150

Testosterone Cyp, Enanthate, Prop, Suspension, and Sustanon
Anabolic/Androgenic ratio:100/100

Winstrol:
Androgenic/Anabolic Ratio: 30:320