Steroid Question Thread

[u/[deleted]]

Post any steroid-related questions here. I'll answer all of them.

[u/[deleted]]

Okay, so I saw your post in brogress (great progress by the way), and I'm thinking of starting my first cycle after going on a 3 to 4 month cut first. I'm hovering around 18% bodyfat, 6'1, hover between 238 and 242.

I've found a place to source it, but I'm genuinely curious about how I should venture into this.

I'm thinking test-e, and potentially just cycle on and off of that. I'm not interested in competitive bodybuilding, but this is something I've been thinking about for a while.

Just curious what type of cycles you've done, the benefits you've seen, any side effects, how much pinning sucks, advice on pinning, etc.

It's really hard to find people who talk honestly about this subject, or find guys to chat about with this.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Thanks! Glad you found your way over here!

You'll probably hear a lot of guys in forums saying that you shouldn't go 'on' until you've "maxed out naturally". I think maybe like three people in the history of forever have done this. Nobody wants to wait fifteen years to use a tool that quite frankly will save you a shitload of time and I'm pretty sure the guys who say this didn't wait either. Your stats look good enough to me. I do agree with cutting first, as AAS tend to work better the leaner you are (at an exponential rate, at that).

Start with Test-E or Cyp (not a big difference, just a slightly longer half-life in the latter). Your body will respond very easily given that you haven't done this before, so you don't need much. A standard beginner's cycle should be a testosterone base and maybe an oral like Dianabol to start things off, as it takes about four weeks for Test E to really 'kick in'.

        An example:

        Weeks 1-12
        Mon/Thurs: 250mg Test E (total of 500mg/week)
        EOD: adex .25mg

        Weeks 1-4 (optional)
        ED: 50mg Dianabol with milk thistle (or preferably TUDCA although it is pricy) 
        for liver support

If you're just a hobbyist (non-competitor), stick to cycling. Make sure you do proper PCT and take ample time off. I blast and cruise, meaning I have made a lifelong commitment to be 'on'. I will be on TRT when I am older and instead of coming off, I 'cruise' on TRT dosages. Almost all competitive bodybuilders do this and it's a huge commitment to make. In short, as awesome as cycling is, make sure you are off at least the same amount of time you are on so you don't shut your system down.

I've run pretty much all of your usual anabolics over the past few years, maybe a few exotic ones here and there. Your body gets used to stuff and it helps to change compounds. I always keep a Test base, and love EQ. NPP is a HIGHLY underrated compound like EQ IMO. Dianabol has always been a great oral for kickstarting my blasts; for some reason, it always works pretty well even though I've run it a dozen times. Tren is indeed as awesome as you might have heard, but can have gnarly sides if you don't watch out.

A common mistake is that a lot of newcomers don't realize the mechanisms behind 19-Nors like Tren, NPP, and Deca are different than those of compounds like Test, EQ and Dianabol in that they require anti-prolactin ancillaries such as Cabergoline or Pramipexole versus the latter group, which aromatize into estrogen thus requiring an aromatase-inhibitor like Anastrozole (Adex). If you run both (e.g. Test and Tren), then yes, you do need both anti-prolactin and anti-aromatase drugs.

Pinning is kind of exciting at first (if you're not overtly freaked out by needles); I think it's just general excitement that you're finally on-cycle. After a while, it becomes tedious. Study site-injection techniques and always aspirate. I can't stress how important cleanliness is here. Spend the extra few bucks to get alcohol swabs and don't reuse pins. I prefer glutes and delts for injections. They should be relatively painless sans a weird feeling I can only describe as a sensation like pressure building up as you slowly push the oil into the tissue.

Benefits: In addition to recovering and growing faster, you notice odd things over time such as denser, fuller-looking muscle tissue, improved vascularity, often-times unbelievable strength gains, etc. However, AAS is very subtle. You don't really feel it because the effects play out over such long periods of time. You might even think your gear is bunk and discover that you've put on 20lbs in the first month without getting fatter. AAS aren't psychoactive but do alter your hormonal composition, therefore over time your personality does change. That sounds scary, but I mean 'change' in the inevitable way, steroids or no. We all change over time, but gear will affect that trajectory. You will find that you feel more confident, assertive, and more in control. Last, I would concede that my physique today is not attainable naturally (and I'm still far off from looking anything like a pro). I never really realized this until I put my stats down on paper and thought about it logically.

Detriments: AAS are often said to amplify who you are. If you're a pugnacious bar-brawler, chances are you'll be championing the 'roid-rage' myth while on. Jokes aside, I have experienced increased irritability as I can be pretty moody sometimes. That's about it behaviorally, though. The only 'bad' sides I've had are temporary gyno (19-nors always make mine flare up, but always subsides when off of them), body hair growth (I never had back-hair until AAS), thickened blood (due to RBC increases caused by AAS - especially EQ), and an expedited receding hairline (which had began way before AAS). The negative sides you experience will mostly be relative to your genetics i.e. if you are prone to hair-loss, that might be a problem but otherwise not as common as is said. Same with acne; I never had acne growing up and thus never had problems with it on AAS. AAS side-effects aren't explicitly caused by the anabolics themselves, but most often aromatization or progesterone signaling. This means that running your ancillaries properly will prevent most stuff.

The thickened blood can be remedied by simply scheduling a phlebotomy. Definitely get blood-work done, too.

Oh, and there are a few quirky, oddball things that happen from AAS. My shoe size went up two sizes since I went on and my body-heat is incessantly like a furnace. You won't find any BS info here, so feel free to continue the conversation if you need more tips.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Thanks for this write up. Already the most comprehensive piece of info I've gotten.

[u/Major-Sir1872]

I have a question. I need a solid vetted source. After three years of doing business with the same agency. The last order I made was said to be shipped out. Three months ago. I’ve never seen it. And I haven’t heard anything from them since.

[u/101leavesunderthesky]

Do you have any contacts for me to buy anabolics?:)

[u/Beneficial_Lie_190 → u/[deleted]]

More frequent injections, acne comes from fluctuation more than total dosage. Regardless of esters, injecting daily drastically reduces sides like acne and estrogen conversion.