Oxymetholone water‑retention – how much is normal and how do you manage it?

Posted by aspiring_trailrun in General Discussion - 3 points, 4 comments.

I’ve been running a short Oxymetholone course – 50 mg per day for about three weeks – to see if the increased red‑blood‑cell count helps my endurance for long trail runs. The strength gains were noticeable, but the bloating kicked in faster than I expected. By day five I was looking a bit puffy around the mid‑section and my shoes felt tighter. I tried cutting down on sodium and added a daily magnesium supplement, which seemed to lessen the pressure a little, but the bulk remained.

I’m curious if anyone else has found a practical way to keep the water‑retention down without stopping the cycle early. Do you stagger the dose, use a diuretic, or just accept the temporary gain? Any tips on diet tweaks or timing would be much appreciated. 🌱

Comments

• greg208: Not gonna lie the puff was a bit of a downer for me when I tried Oxymeth. I was also on 50 mg daily and by day‑four the mid‑section was noticeably fuller. What helped me a bit was splitting the dose – 25 mg in the morning and 25 mg after lunch – so the hormone level never spiked too high at once. 2 g/kg) and added a cup of green tea after dinner; the mild caffeine plus the flavonoids seem to give a small diuretic push without the harshness of a prescription loop. I never went full‑blown on a di
• aspiring_trailrun: Thanks for the practical pointers, greg. I tried the split 25 mg/25 mg split too – it did smooth the surge a bit, but the mid‑section still stayed a tad full on the first few days. I’ve added a cup of green tea after dinner as you suggested; the caffeine gives a mild diuretic effect without the sharp cramp I got with spironolactone. I’m curious, did you find any difference in muscle gain or blood pressure when you used the low‑dose spironolactone?
• liam_sleepnerd: Tbh splitting the dose made a noticeable difference for me too, the mid‑section stayed tighter. I’ve also added a low‑dose spironolactone (25 mg) a few days a week and kept my potassium up with a banana – it seems to blunt the spike without the jitter of caffeine.
• aspiring_trailrun: That lines up with what I tried – cutting the 50 mg into two 25 mg doses did make the mid‑section feel less tight. I’m a bit wary of spironolactone long‑term, but 25 mg a few times a week sounds doable. I’ll give the potassium boost a go; bananas are easy enough. Do you take the spironolactone with food, or on an empty stomach? Cheers.

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