ANABOLICS Q&A - Danabol and Post Cycle Therapy
Anabolics Q&A - Danabol & Post Cycle Therapy
New Thai Dbol
Q: I picked up a bottle of Danabol DS on a recent trip to Bangkok. It is from March Pharmaceuticals. When I got home my buddy told me it was fake— only Body Research Danabol is real. Then I read on the Internet that all Body Research is fake. I am not sure what to believe. Can you help?
A: In one regard, you could say that what you read on the Internet is correct. Body Research is not actually a licensed manufacturer in Thailand. We could consider any product bearing the BR name underground, or even fake. However, I don’t think that is quite accurate. The history of Body Research is a bit confusing, but we do know these products were very popular in Thailand for many years. The company made several common anabolic steroid products including Stanol (stanozolol), Bonavar (oxandrolone), Testex (testosterone cypionate), Testolic (testosterone propionate), Danabol DS (methandrostenolone), and Dynabolon (trenbolone hexahydrobenzylcarbonate). They were widely sold in pharmacies in that country, and for a long time seemed to elicit positive feedback from users. Most of us assumed the Body Research firm had been a legitimate drug company.
A few years back, however, the Body Research (BR) operation was raided by Thai authorities. In spite of their popularity in Thai pharmacies, it turned out the company was never licensed by the government. You would think that would have been the end of the products, but that wasn’t the case. Since the raid, most of the old Body Research products have been returned to market. These new companies are using the old product names, along with near-exact copies of the original packaging. Given how unlikely it is to see a registered company copy the products of an underground drug lab, there has been a great deal of speculation that one of these two companies had been behind the Body Research products all along. Perhaps they simply were selling the products “out the back door.” Of course, this is sheer speculation. All we know for certain is that most of the Body Research products are back on the Thai market, this time fully licensed.
In this day and age, I couldn’t tell you much about the legitimacy of your particular bottle without seeing it. Thai pharmacies have been known to sell counterfeits from time to time. A picture of the most recent Danabol has been included here, so you can compare your bottle to it. Pay special attention to the small, round holographic sticker on the front, as well as the foil stamping in the logo at the top of the label (also on the front of the bottle). The March version of Danabol is fairly new, and I don’t believe counterfeits are a big problem as of yet. Soon, however, I’m sure they will be. Danabol was a common target for counterfeiters. The new product is so close in appearance to the old design that I’m sure the counterfeiters will adjust their packaging quickly. It is, therefore, always important to pay special attention to small or hard to duplicate features, such as logos and holograms, as this is where counterfeiters are most often tripped up.
PCT After Short Cycle?
Q: I am currently on a six-week cycle of 20mgs/day of oxandrolone. I know this is on the low side of dosage for this steroid, but should I plan a pct?
A: There is always a lot of debate about PCT, or Post Cycle Therapy. What is the right program; when is it necessary? It is difficult for me to say what the best approach is going to be for you. I find that many individual factors influence the success or failure of a PCT program. Some people respond well to the use of Clomid by itself after a cycle like this, while others may still find the need for a full, formal PCT program based on HCG, Clomid and Nolvadex. You aren’t really going to know how you fair without a bit of experience. In general, though, six weeks is a short time. The biggest roadblock to recovery after any cycle is atrophy of the testes. If they have become resistant to the stimulation of luteinizing hormone, it may take some time to get things going again. In this small window, however, it is possible atrophy isn’t yet as stubborn as it could be. Your testes may (emphases added) still return to normal levels of hormone production fairly quickly.
In a situation like this, I find that a few approaches are common. The first (and perhaps most common) is to use Clomid by itself for four to six weeks after the cycle is over. A dose of 100 mgs/day is usually taken. The expectation is that the anti-estrogen will help increase LH synthesis, which in turn will support heightened testosterone output from the testes. Remember, the hope is that they aren’t highly desensitized yet.
The other approach is to use hCG, but periodically while you are taking the anabolic steroids. A low dose is used, usually 250-500 IU twice per week. This should help prevent atrophy from occurring in the first place, by continuing to feed your testes the stimulation necessary to keep doing their jobs.
Lastly, some people may still crash hard from even a short cycle like this. Such individuals might opt for a full PCT program. This usually entails hCG (2,500 IU every other day for 20 days), Clomid (100 mgs daily for 30 days), and Nolvadex (20-40 mgs daily for 45 days).