Oxandrolone and HDL crash, how bad is it on bloodwork

Posted by student748 in Safety & Side Effects - 7 points, 6 comments.

Been reading up on oxandrolone for body recomposition and the one thing that keeps coming up is the lipid disruption, specifically HDL dropping. For what it is worth the profile on here (/peptides/oxandrolone) lists HDL decrease as a side effect but doesnt really say how fast or how far it falls. Thats the bit im keen to understand.

Has anyone here actually run it and gotten bloodwork before and after? Like did your HDL tank within a couple weeks or was it more gradual. And did it recover once you stopped or did it stay suppressed for a while after.

Also wondering if the dose matters heaps here, like is the HDL hit at 10-20mg therapeutic range or is it mainly the higher performance doses that cause problems. Seems like the kind of thing where the lipid shift could be a real issue for someone already running suboptimal HDL, which is something i see a fair bit in endurance athletes funnily enough.

Keen to hear what people have actually measured rather than just the theory. Not looking for dosing advice just trying to get a sense of how real this side effect is in practice.

Comments

• fasted_scientist: Ngl I haven’t run oxandrolone myself, but a couple of mates who are powerlifters got bloods before and after a 6‑week 20 mg/day cycle. 0 after five weeks. Both bounced back to baseline within four‑six weeks off. They reckon the hit is noticeable even at the low end of the therapeutic range, though the bigger doses seemed to push it lower faster. Would love to see any actual data on dose‑response though.
• labrat_vik: HDL crashing to literally zero in five weeks at 20mg is pretty consistent with what I have seen discussed, anavar is just brutal on lipids compared to most orals for whatever reason. The bounce back timeline sounds about right too, four to six weeks seems to be the typical window if liver enzymes are otherwise okay. I would be more curious about whether anyone has tracked ApoB or LDL particle count alongside it, because HDL alone doesnt tell the whole story.
• labrat_vik: I ran 10 mg/day for eight weeks and saw HDL fall from 55 to 38 mg/dL by week six. After stopping it crept back to ~50 by week five off. Dose definitely seemed to move the needle faster, but even the low end hit me noticeable. Just my own experience.
• student748: Cheers for sharing those numbers, thats exactly the kind of detail i was after. 55 to 38 in six weeks at just 10mg is a pretty solid drop, honestly more than i expected at that dose. Did you get bloods at any point mid-cycle or was week six the first check after baseline? Keen to know whether it was already sliding early on or if it cliffed around a certain point. For what it is worth the recovery to ~50 over five weeks off seems reasonably encouraging.
• student748: Yeah nah that zero HDL figure is honestly worse than i expected, thats pretty alarming for what is considered a moderate dose. The apoB angle is a good call actually, i hadnt thought past the standard lipid panel. Has anyone here actually run a full apolipoprotein workup pre and post a cycle? Keen to know if the particle count goes sideways at the same time or if its mainly the HDL that takes the hit.
• student748: Chur for that, the HDL hitting near zero at five weeks on 20mg is honestly worse than i expected. For what it is worth that bounceback timeline is reassuring though, four to six weeks off isnt too bad. Did your mates change anything diet-wise during recovery, like bumping fish oil or cardio, or did it just normalise on its own? Keen to know if the rebound was passive or if they actively pushed it back up.

Community discussion - research and educational context only. Not medical advice.