The GURU: Q&A
Questions and Answers with the*AAS GURU: Dan Duchaine
Question:*I'm a fighter as well as a bodybuilder. I gained 15 pounds using primobolan tabs, and I'm happy. However, next year I'll be competing in kickboxing. Can I pop one or two aggression pills before a fight? I'm normally laid back, and it's affecting my fighting instinct.
Dan "Guru" Duchaine:*Before I answer your question, I'd like to tell you that this is the kind of question I really dislike. The bodybuilding subculture doesn't need any more Type A individuals acting like assholes. Anyway, most of the benign, non-androgenic steroids have been quietly removed from the commercial market . The most plentiful steroids on the black market are the various testosterones, which are not considered anabolics but rather classic androgens.
There have always been some individuals who actually crave increased aggressiveness, and such behavior has been condoned within their peer group. The obvious examples are the overt contact sports like boxing. But football players (when they were not being tested), law enforcement personnel, and military recruits all requested androgenic steroids when I was a steroid dealer ten years ago.
As to this specific question: yes, there is such a thing as an "aggression pill." But I wonder if much of the "effects" are due to placebo. There has been a recent scientific study which validates this possibility. The obvious choice for Kickassabol is sublingual methyltestosterone, since it's an androgen and has an activity level of only about 20 minutes. Some powerlifters I know would pop them like PEZ just before each lift.
The next choice is the trade-named Halotestin. The generic name is fluoxymesterone. In its favor (or maybe not), it's more androgenic than methyltestosterone. But it's not in sublingual form, so absorption is slow. This is avail able in Mexico as Stenox in two-milligram tabs. I could cautiously recommend 10 milligrams of this drug, but it really doesn't get into the circulation swiftly like sublingual methyltestosterone does.
The current state of the art for commercial androgens is a liquid veterinary or al preparation called Checque Drops (mibolerone). An eyedropper is included in the packaging. Checque Drops is the most androgenic substance currently being sold. It's so powerful that it's taken in micrograms, rather than the usual milligrams. It's used in animal medicine to prevent female dogs from going into heat, and it's usually added to the dog's food.
The powerlifters who use Checque Drops use two full droppers, taken orally. Although some pain-tolerant individuals do inject the liquid, which is mostly propylene glycol, a solvent, it causes tremendous burning at the injection site. It also doesn't do wonders for your stomach lining, either, which is why we have seen a limit of two droppers full. I can't quite say if Checque Drops is terribly anabolic, because I have yet to see any powerlifter or bodybuilder use large amounts of it. However, we do know that Checque Drops will latch onto the steroid receptor tighter than even testosterone. Usually, the high-affinity androgens like dihydrotestosterone (DHT) or Proviron don't have any anabolic activity. In the mid-'80's, the black market DDR designer steroids relabeled Checque Drops as dihydrolone and sold it as a so-called East German injectable. The chief side effect was gynecomastia.
Although Checque Drops doesn't convert to estrogen, it's one of the very few steroids that cross reacts with progesterone (the other "female" hormone) receptors. It does not block the actions of progesterone but actually imparts progesterone-like activity at the receptor. So continual use of Checque Drops may cause swelling of the (male) breast tissue, just as estrogen does.
Even now, Checque Drops are used for powerlifting out-of-competition training. Within 20 minutes or so, 2 droppers of Checque Drops instill a noticeable psychological effect. So Checque Drops is my candidate for Kickassabol. But beside s the fact that its use and possession is illegal (even if you're a horny dog), I don't recommend it because the androgens are what usually generate the side effects that lead to all the horror stories that average people associate wi th steroid use.
Question:*I want to use 3 sustanon 250's a week. Should I space the shots out, or can I inject all of it at once? The sustanons are in preloaded syringes, and the needles are pretty big. How do I transfer t he contents into another syringe?
Dan "Guru" Duchaine:*There is no benefit to spacing out the injections. A total oil volume of three cubic centimeters is not an especially large injection. And Sustanon, which is a blend of various durations of testosterone, is so long acting that there is no "magic" in spacing the injections throughout the week. The standard Mexican Sustanon preload uses a 20-gauge needle. (For readers who are unfamiliar with needle sizes, the smaller the number, the bigger the needle diameter.) Most oil-based drugs are injected with a 21-gauge needle. The smaller the gauge (the higher the number), the more finger pressure needed to force the oil through the needle.
In practical terms, in a standard 3-cc syringe size, most steroid users can force oil through a 23-gauge needle by pushing with one hand. Some individuals can use a so-called vitamin needle of 25 gauge, but it entails using both hands to push the syringe plunger. Most vitamin needles do not use a screw-on connection between the needle and the syringe, and trying to force the oils through this combination generates so much fluid pressure (think of hydraulics) that usually the individual blows the syringe off the needle, and he's left with a needle sticking out of his ass, an empty syringe in his hand, and the oily steroids pewed about onto the worst of places. When I self-surrendered to prison in 1989, I was trying to do the same vitamin needle stunt outside the prison gate inside my friend's new Mercedes and sprayed 3-ccs of Sustanon all over his beautiful Palomino leather interior.
But you're right, the 20-gauge Sustanon needle is damn big. And since you're insisting on using three preloads a week, that would create three very big holes that will accrue muscle scar tissue. Here's how I used to do it, but first, I suppose I should give the standard warning of don't try this at home: my preference was a 23-gauge, 1-inch length. I would remove the plunger and hold it in my teeth. I held the empty syringe in my left hand, and I carefully plunged the Sustanon preload's contents into the open syringe top. I emptied two more Sustanons into the syringe, which filled it to the 3-cc limit. I then carefully and gently replaced the plunger right at the very edge of the syringe rim. I didn't want to push the plunger in too much at this point because I'd dribble steroid out of the needle end. Once the plunger was in position, I turned the syringe upside down (plunger pointing down). I gave the syringe a few shakes downward, and that moved the trapped air up! to the needle end. At this point I could push the plunger in more, removing the air from the syringe. And then I was ready to finalize my felony.
Question:*I've read that testosterone has great IGF-1 generating abilities, and Deca Durabolin is not nearly as good. Should I avoid Deca if I want to get maximum growth?
Dan "Guru" Duchaine:*Testosterone is a more potent anabolic than Deca Durabolin (nandrolone decanoate). It might be that a steroid's ability to aromatize into estrogen is tied into the IGF-1 elevation. Testosterone has more conversion to estrogen than Deca Durabolin does, even though Deca Durabolin is made from an estrogen . We know that the use of the estrogen blocker Nolvadex lowers IGF-1. And we knew years ago that something about Nolvadex was inhibiting muscle growth because I received many comments that bodybuilders grew better without Nolvadex.
So should you avoid a steroid which has less side effects than testosterone in your quest for ultimate growth? It depends on how old you are. From AIDS research, we now know that testosterone depresses the immune system. Deca Durabolin does the opposite (but not to any great degree). My recommendation is that from middle age onward (pick an age, I use age 40 as the starting point), men should use Deca Durabolin instead of testosterone, even in situations of testosterone replacement. We also should be realistic. After a certain age, both growth and IGF-1 are not secreted at their previous youthful levels. So does it matter if Deca Durabolin reduces IGF-1 production if normal levels in middle age and onward are already insignificant? No research on that question has been done. I have a feeling that IGF-1 production declines so much by middle age that its suppression from Deca Durabolin would have no effect.
Another point to make about testosterone use -- we don't have a blood test that can tell us which individuals are going to lose their hair from testosterone use. I have a close friend who is 60 years old and uses 600 mg of testosterone a week and has a full head of hair. And he has been using various steroids, including testosterone, for close to 30 years. As we can see in the professional bodybuilding ranks, some bodybuilders are losing a lot of hair to be able to compete at the over 250-pound body-weight mark. It would be interesting to interview a number of balding bodybuilders and ask them if they wished they had avoided the various baldness-causing steroids. Is the loss of hair just a small price to pay for greatness? That probably depends on if the individual has any kind of life outside of bodybuilding. If the person's whole self and peer esteem is completely centered around his body "looking awesome," then I imagine that hair loss is no big deal. But remember, when the person stops steroid use and muscle size decreases, the hair, of course, doesn't grow back.
Question:*One of the arguments against steroid use is that all the gains I would make would disappear once I stopped using steroids. Is this true?
Dan "Guru" Duchaine:*Yes, eventually, virtually all of the gains from steroid use would disappear. However, it would take years for that to happen. This is one of the reasons football players have not been getting smaller since drug testing began . Off-season, players don't get tested, and they can accrue enough muscle mass to "coast" though the playing season.
The same logic applies with drug-tested bodybuilding shows. A bodybuilder could swear on a polygraph that he hadn't used steroids for a year. Swell, except, during the year of being "clean," a good amount of steroid-generated muscle will still be there. Steroids are still the anabolic bargain. In the studies of geriatrics using growth hormone, all of the beneficial effects induced from the growth hormone went away within a matter of weeks. I predict that the same fleeting anabolism will happen with IGF-1. Clenbuterol's effects diminished even more rapidly. Many doctors don't want to admit it, but limited steroid use of a yearly, eight-week cycle would have virtually no adverse side effects and would probably vastly improve the health of the individual through the rest of the year. It would be interesting to put a group of bodybuilders on a mild short cycle and then track the decreases of muscle mass over the months after the end of the cycle. These results wouldn't surprise me, but I don't think the anti-steroid crowd would like to hear that steroid gains do last for a long time.
Question:*I've been using some liquid GHB from two different sources. Both taste bad, but one tastes more like paint thinner than the other. The powder never tasted this bad. What gives?
Dan "Guru" Duchaine:*As much as the FDA doesn't want gamma hydroxybuterate (GHB) being made, it's an absurdly simple compound to make. Just add water and lye to the lactone solvent, adjust the pH to 7, and it's done. And no, I won't give you the recipe again, and I won't tell you where to buy the lactone. The toughest part of the granular GHB refining process was turning the liquid into a solid. The drying gets rid of all the trace solvents that impart the petrochemical smell. The various new (underground) GHB producers don't have the esoteric equipment to dry the liquid. What is the difference between the different-tasting liquids you allegedly have? The fouler one of the two probably has a pH of slightly under seven.
A well-made liquid GHB is no more toxic than the dry form. And overall, GHB has virtually no toxicity. The problem is how to know if the particular GHB is a good one. The best you can do is scrutinize the packaging. One GHB on the black market has both contraindications and research listings included with the packaging. But don't get too worked up about GHB. It's not really an ergogenic aid. The corresponding rise of cortisol negates any positive effect caused by whatever slight growth hormone may have been caused by GHB use. GHB is a (mostly benign) recreational drug. Those who claim otherwise are just in denial.
08-29-2012*01:22 AM
Question:*I want to go to Mexico to get some Metformin which is available as Mellitron. Is this a good idea? Or can you suggest something better?
Dan "Guru" Duchaine:*I've mentioned recently that the FDA has approved metformin, a potent insulin agonist, for treatment of Type II Diabetes. The trade name is Glucophage. To remind you: metformin would be more potent in improving insulin sensitivity than either chromium or vanadyl sulfate. I think the problem will be that most American doctors will not prescribe Glucophage to a healthy athlete.
Should you acquire Mellitron in Mexico? No. Unfortunately, in scrutinizing th e Mellitron closely, I found that along with the metformin, there are also 125 milligrams of another drug, clorpropamide. This particular drug increases insulin secretion. This is something most people wouldn't want. We want to improve insulin sensitivity and at the same time lower insulin secretion. Mellitron won't lower insulin but increase it. However, if a bodybuilder uses injectable growth hormone, Mellitron would work well along with it. Large amounts of growth hormone make the receptors insulin resistant, and a slight insulin increase would be beneficial. Most metformins available in Europe would be the isolated compound.
Question:*I was steroid shopping in Tijuana and found some small blue bottles of methandrostenolone made by Ludwig Heun in West Germany (at least, that's what the bottle said). Is this stuff real?
Dan "Guru" Duchaine:*No. It's counterfeit. I happen to know the entire history of this counterfeit because I designed the bottle, label, and tablets.
Starting in 1985, I worked closely with a Tijuana pharmaceutical manufacturing company called Laboratory Milano. For many years, Laboratory Milano produced generic medications, primarily antibiotics, for Mexican drugstores. The laboratory was named Milano because the owner, Juan Machlis, purchased all of the raw materials through a procurement company based in Milano, Italy. Whenever a drug was needed, the procurement company would find a source of it and usually charge between 10% to 15% over wholesale cost.
When brand-name Dianabol and generic methandrostenolone were removed from the American market, several companies began making counterfeit versions, but all of them had problems. Some of the pills were so poorly made and so loosely held together that you could use them as blackboard writing chalk. Others were good but elusive, i.e., hard to find.
About the same time, an Indian crime family based in England began repackaging the Indian Pronabol 5 (methandrostenolone) tablets into small white bottles and labeled them as if the product were from Ludwig Heun Gmb H KG, West Germany. This was a very nice product, and I remember going to various hotel rooms near the Los Angeles airport to buy thousands of bottles from a bearded, turbaned old gentleman who looked like a diplomat. But as nice as the product was, I could never depend on consistent shipments.
So I persuaded Laboratory Milano to manufacture methandrostenolone to my specifications. I designed a tiny light blue bottle with a white metal cap. I supplied the Indian/English Ludwig Heun bottle label so Milano could copy it. I picked this label for two reasons: 1) On the black market, the brand had established itself as a good, reliable product, and 2) I wanted to avoid any ties or references to Mexican manufacture simply because, at the time, most steroid users distrusted any Mexican steroid product. The unfounded assertion was th at the Mexican drugs were not as potent as the European versions. Besides, calling it "Duchainabol" was out of the question.
Methandrostenolone was the first steroid produced by Laboratory Milano, and we made sure each tablet always contained at least six milligrams of the steroid. The cost for the raw materials and packaging was only $0.50 per unit, but we sold it for $4.50. After that, we made counterfeit versions (always with real steroids in them) of Lemmon testosterone cypionate and Lemmon nandrolone decanoate. This was a screw up on my part because testosterone cypionate and nandrolone decanoate were never made by Lemmon. I unknowingly had bought counterfeit steroids to duplicate!
The original source of our methandrostenolone was from Germany. We also purchased oxandrolone from Searle in England. This was ironic because Laboratory Milano and I duplicated the Searle Anavar exactly (the tablet mold cost us $10,000) and sold it for half the cost of what Searle sold it for wholesale to pharmacies. Searle became so frustrated over this (we sold the counterfeit Anavar to American pharmacies) that the Anavar bottle size was doubled to differentiate between ours and theirs.
All the steroid tablets were smuggled in bulk across the border and dropped off at various motel rooms around San Diego. The bottles and labels were made in Tijuana and legally exported to America. Mexican women would count tablets, load them into the bottles, and box them in packages of 100.
I stopped working with Laboratory Milano in the fall of 1986. From that point on, the company cranked up production and flooded the American black market. Just before the arrest of the major "players" (myself included), Laboratory Milano produced some unusual products which I had designed. One was a methandrostenolone with a diuretic and liver antitoxin added. Others included very powerful injectable versions of oxandrolone and oxymetholone. I can honestly say that these two exotic injectables are the most potent steroids I have ever used.
Since the breakup and prosecution of the Laboratory Milano conspiracy, the company has ceased all operations. Nevertheless, some of the former employees still have the ability to produce the various bottles, labels, and tablets of the various steroids. However, none of these current counterfeits have any steroid in them, the Ludwig Heun version included. So if you see any European steroid being sold in a Mexican pharmacy, it's a counterfeit with no active steroid ingredients.
Question:*Whenever I use clenbuterol, it works great for about two weeks. After that, I can use ten tabs a day and my temperature will hardly rise. What can I do about this?
Dan "Guru" Duchaine:*Clenbuterol is a beta-2 agonist. It attaches to the same receptor as your natural adrenaline and noradrenaline do. It has a very high bonding capacity to the adrenergic receptor. Whenever a drug fits well onto a cell receptor , the receptor becomes resistant to that drug. For example, the thermogenic effect of ephedrine seems to have a longer duration (though it's not as potent ) for two reasons: 1) ephedrine doesn't have a high receptor affinity, and 2) ephedrine is not beta-2 specific.
You might have heard about the newly discovered beta-3 receptors. The receptor is primarily a thermogenic messenger, and over half the thermogenic effect from ephedrine is from beta-3 stimulation. Although the thermogenic message is not as intense as the beta-2 message, beta-3 receptors are very resistant to down-regulation. Clenbuterol, however, has very little beta-3 stimulation.
Until some new synthetic beta-3 agonist is commercially available, the beta agonist of choice is still clenbuterol (although the stronger cimaterol is available as a research chemical in the U.S.). The rapid receptor sensitivity attenuation happens to all users, and the various dosage schemes (i.e., two days on, two days off) just aren't successful.
This attenuation and the lowering of above-normal body temperature are governed by two different mechanisms. I've written about one of them before: the shunting of T4 thyroid away from the active T3 form into the ineffective reverse-T3. Most of the thyroid in the body is the inactive T4 type. The active thyroid that actually fits onto thyroid receptors is a reduced T4, and reduced T4 occurs when one of the iodine atoms is cleaved off the molecule by a specific enzyme (deiodinase). Since we have no way of stopping the T4 from being transformed into ineffective reverse-T3 instead of
he active T3, and there's no such thing as injectable deiodinase (which would prevent the reduction), the best approach is to supplement the missing T3 with Cytomel, a synthetic T3.
The trouble is, it's likely a daily amount of Cytomel higher than 25 mcg would eventually stop the production of natural thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), and the up-regulation will take about 8 weeks. Then, when you go off Cytomel, your body's still laggin' in production of TSH. So now you know why almost everybody who stops taking thyroid (with the exception of the drug Triacana) gets fat. For eight weeks, the body doesn't need as many calories.
Up to this point, the Cytomel trick was only a partial solution. The second and major decrease of body temperature is caused by the down-regulation of the beta-2 receptor. The receptor actually is still in the cell but not in its usual place. The receptor must be at the outside of the cell surface to be available to the beta agonist. There is research showing that the antihistamine ketotifen (trade name Zaditen by Sandoz) in large dosages will up-regulate the beta-2 receptors. This is similar to the American Periactin (cyproheptadine). This class of antihistamine will cause drowsiness, hunger, and irritability, but you may think the negative symptoms are a small price to play.
Here are the particulars. Zaditen is only available in France in 1-mg capsules , 60 capsules to a box. It sells for 65.10 francs (about $12.25). Because of its appetite-stimulating and muscle-building properties, Zaditen is sold through some of the American AIDS buying clubs. The average price for it in America is $40 a box. The dose needed for the up-regulation of the beta-2 receptors is about 10 capsules (10 mg)--assuming you've been using 3 clenbuterol tablets (60 mcg) each day. Sigma Chemicals, the company that has all the bodybuilding goodies that we like but can't buy (including steroids), does sell ketotifen (the fumarate version is water soluble) in raw bulk form. Keep in mind that even when used with clenbuterol, which both reduces appetite and is more of a stimulant than caffeine, Zaditen will still cause sleepiness and hunger. Those aren't nice effects, especially if you're dieting.
Your final solution to sustain clenbuterol's action is to use both Cytomel (25 mcg) and Zaditen (10 mg) each day after using clenbuterol by itself for 2 weeks . You'll need only 60 mcg of clenbuterol for a very pronounced thermogenic effect, hypothetically speaking, of course.
Question:*I'm 45 years old, and I'm on testosterone replacement for low natural levels of testosterone--around 300-350 ng/dl. My doctor has prescribed testosterone cypionate (100 mg per week), and this has brought my testosterone level up to around 600 ng/dl. Should I switch over to your recommendation of Deca-Durabolin? Is the use of Deca-Durabolin instead of testosterone for this purpose a documented and accepted practice? One more thing: I'm using 21-gauge needles. Should I try to go to something thinner to minimize scarring?
Dan "Guru" Duchaine:*First off, it's nice to see you've found a liberal doctor. Most M.D.'s won't consider prescribing testosterone until they see your blood level of testosterone drop below 300 ng/dl. You appear to have an unusual metabolism. Most males of your age would not realize such a high testosterone elevation on only 100 mg a week. Usually a weekly 100-mg injection of testosterone would raise blood levels 100 ng/dl, at the most. What usually happens is that as males age, the ability to convert testosterone to estrogen (with aromatase enzyme) increases. The extra testosterone injected will more readily convert to estrogen and, at the same time, down-regulate the small amount of natural testosterone being produced. I have a strong feeling that your particular metabolism doesn't manufacture very much aromatase, so the small amount of exogenous testosterone you're using has better potential, as much of it stays as testosterone and doesn't down-regulate your own supply.
Since your injected dose is quite small (only half of what the World Health Organization is recommending for FSH "follicle-stimulating hormone" down-regulation), I can't see any real benefit for you to switch over to Deca-Durabolin. Although the nandrolones have a higher androgen-receptor-binding ability than testosterone, the anabolic effect is not equal, so you might have to raise the weekly dosage to about 200 mg to equal all the positive effects of testosterone cypionate.
In many other males, more than just 100 mg a week of testosterone is needed to generate an optimal blood level of between 500-600 ng/dl. At these higher a mounts, more testosterone is converted to dihydrotestosterone (which accelerates balding and swells the prostate) and estrogen, which would further down-regulate natural testosterone secretion. In these situations, when 200 mg or more of injected testosterone is needed each week, Deca-Durabolin is a nice option, as the DHN (dihydronandrolone) variant has a lesser affinity to receptors at the prostate and hair follicles. The nandrolones also don't convert as readily to estrogen (although it's not markedly different from testosterone).
Now that we know the various mechanisms of the enzyme conversions of testosterone, an enlightened M.D. could also prescribe both Proscar (using only a quarter of a tablet) and Nolvadex (10 mg) daily and would see both a higher blood level of testosterone and a significantly smaller testosterone dosage. I've reluctantly recommended Nolvadex (the most popular anti-estrogen) simply because most M.D.'s won't believe how Cytadren (at 250 mg a day) would work better for this purpose. Of course, the upcoming supplement "Flavone X" could work for the same purpose. However, if you're counting dollars, using Deca-Durabolin would be cheaper than using the combination of testosterone, Proscar, and Nolvadex. Too bad Primobolan Depot is not approved for use in the U.S. It could be a perfect testosterone replacement as it has absolutely no conversion to either estrogen or DHT. You might have heard of a new androgen replacement called MECE. It's very androgenic, so much so, only micrograms are needed each day. This steroid is simply a non-17 alkylated version of the veterinary Checque Drops (mibolerone). I find it hard to believe that researchers are taking this steroid seriously, as mibolerone is a potent progesterone agonist, binding to progesterone receptors and imparting progesterone actions (including sensitizing breast tissue).
Deca-Durabolin, as great as it is, is not mentioned in the literature as a testosterone replacement for middle-aged men. It's recommended for women with systemic lupus (and there is published research on this). The only drawback in using Deca-Durabolin for an androgen replacement is that with extremely low natural testosterone levels (less than 150 ng/dl), there might not be enough androgen action to reestablish libido. In my case, my blood testosterone level is 370 ng/dl, and I have more than adequate libido. I would choose Deca-Durabolin over a testosterone: my hairline is borderline, so why tempt fate?
As to your inquiry about needle gauges, yes, repeated weekly injections with a 21-gauge needle will eventually generate more scar tissue than a smaller needle would. Realistically (and I've tried all the gauges), the smallest gauge needle you can actually use to self-administer is a 23 gauge (I prefer the 1 inch length). But don't be surprised when your weekly shot takes 2-3 minutes to push the plunger all the way down.
Question:*Over the summer, I purchased a few hundred tablets of metformin from a European mail-order company. I started 2,000 mg/ day (one 500-mg tab with meals 4 times a day) and experienced a severe loss of appetite. After ten days, I ceased using the drug because I began to lose weight (muscle) and strength as a result of the lower calorie intake. Do you have any thoughts on this?
Dan "Guru" Duchaine:*I've gotten the same reports from other bodybuilders who comment on this loss of appetite. At least you got the dosage right. Most non-diabetics who use Glucophage (the American version of metformin) have been cautious with do sages and haven't felt any beneficial effects.
The conundrum is this: bringing the dosage up high enough (between 1,700 and 2,000 mg) generates better glycogen storage and a workout pump, but the loss of appetite makes it difficult to eat enough food. This food apathy is caused by metformin's slowing of gastric emptying. Such an effect would be nice to have while you're on a low-calorie diet. But on a maintenance or hyper-calorie diet, metformin would be a problem.
The simple solution is to make sure you eat calorie-dense foods. If there is a ny complaint (and it seems to be a very minor one) with the moderate to high-fa t diets (whether it be Isometric or Zone based), it usually is that the increase of dietary fat means less food to eat. This is the one instance where peanut butter is a guilt-free solution. So it seems logical that metformin and moderate-fat diets would compliment each other. Hunger from eating less carbohydrates is eliminated because of the slow release from the stomach (and from the small intestine, too), and the reduced carbohydrates will be prioritized for glycogen storage. The dietary fat is calorie dense.
If you're following a high-carb diet and won't consider switching to denser foods, the traditional approach for stimulating the appetite for athletes is the prescription antihistamine Periactin. Unfortunately, Periactin causes lethargy and irritability.
If none of the above solutions suit you, only use metformin when you're on a low-calorie diet. If you lower the dosage enough, your appetite will not be affected, but at the reduced dosage, the insulin sensitivity enhancement will be negligible.
Question: I plan on using insulin, the Humulin R kind, and was wondering if I should take vanadyl and metformin with it ?
Dan "Guru" Duchaine:*Vanadyl and metformin will affect the action of insulin in both good and bad ways. The good thing is less insulin is needed for the small amount of carbohydrates consumed. Increasing the effects of insulin at its lowest possible dosage is the ideal situation. the bad thing is that if you maintain the insulin dosage and food intake levels you had prior to adding vanadyl or metformin, you'd probably get some kind of hypoglycemic reaction, perhaps even go into a coma. The over-the-counter insulin is enticing because it's cheap and its usefulness is supported by stories from top professional bodybuilders. The underfunded and uninformed recreational bodybuilder, however, may suffer many adverse side effects. Even at moderately low daily dosages of Humulin R, visceral (interorgan) fat will accumulate. At best, this is cosmetically repugnant (men looking pregnant). At worst, visceral fat is associated with heart disease. This fat, at least in male bodybuilders, appears to be the last fat deposit lost when dieting.
Metformin was heralded, a few years back, as an "alternative to insulin", but neither type II diabetics nor bodybuilders have been raving about this drug. What little positive effect metformin has on insulin resistance occurs only at high dosages. We now have hopes for the next generation diabetic drug. Rezulin (troglitazone), recently available here in states. Since Rezulin's action appears to work on the insulin receptors (increasing their number) and not at the gut level like metformin, it looks like a possible bodybuilding drug. Increasing insulin receptors is a good thing, unless it happens on fat cells, too.
We don't have a formula for the reduction of insulin when using these insulin synergists. Half the usual dose? Less/more ? From my BODYOPUS experiments. I've found a glucometer isn't accurate blood glucose indicator for readings under 120 dl/ml. I wouldn't try this stack.
Question:*You're always cutting edge. What's the next bg thing in bodybuilding drugs ? I mean, beyond DNP and insulin, what floats your boat ?
Dan "Guru" Duchaine:*Injectable, once-a-year growth vaccasines-two are being worked on. One vaccine inhibits somatostatin, which is a trace hormone, mostly secreted in the hypothalamus. Somatostatin is a growth-hormone-inhibiting factor, one of the counter hormones which stops the secretion of growth hormone. The other vaccine is an antigen that causes the sama anabolic response through the same receptor stimulated by clenbuterol (and other beta-agonists). Clenbuterol is anabolic in animals in only very high dosages, and these dosages would be lethal for humans. The new antigen vaccine would stimulate the same anabolic receptor, nut it wouldn't cause any of the side effects. Both of these vaccines are being developed in the beef industry in Australia. I'll give you more information as it becomes available.
Question:*In your recent estrogen article, you mentioned Clomid (clomiphene) was safe for long-term use by bodybuilders. But in the World Anabolic Review, the authors say Clomid should be used for no more than 14 days and that it's a poor estrogen blocker. Also you gave Proviron (mesterolone) a poor mark while the World Anabolic Review claims it's one of the best estrogen blockers. What's up? I'm totally confused
Dan "Guru" Duchaine:*Although Colmid isn't the best of the anti-estrogens, it also has the dual function of mimicking luteinizing hormone, which stimulates gonadal testosterone. So, if you want to lower estrogen and raise testosterone or maintain a natural testosterone level during steroid use, Clomid, if found economically, is an attractive option. I believe the World Anabolic Review writers probably misread the warnings about Clomid and printed the duration of use for women. There are no adverse reactions with long-term use in men that I know of.
If a steroid user is looking for a pracrical estrogen blocker to prevent gynecomastia, Clomid is not the besto choice. In this case, the usual choices are either Nolvadex or Proviron. After recent discussions with one of my newsletter writers/researchers, Bill Roberts, I've come to believe Proviron might not be the terrible, androgenic steroid I always assumed it was. Bill Roberts has pointed out that the liver metabolizes Proviron into something with minimal androgenic action. Although on paper Proviron appears to be a classic androgen, its ultimate fate in the body is much more benign. In a future newsletter issue, I'll have Bill Roberts expand on this subject.
Questions and Answers with the*AAS GURU: Dan Duchaine
Question:*I'm a fighter as well as a bodybuilder. I gained 15 pounds using primobolan tabs, and I'm happy. However, next year I'll be competing in kickboxing. Can I pop one or two aggression pills before a fight? I'm normally laid back, and it's affecting my fighting instinct.
Dan "Guru" Duchaine:*Before I answer your question, I'd like to tell you that this is the kind of question I really dislike. The bodybuilding subculture doesn't need any more Type A individuals acting like assholes. Anyway, most of the benign, non-androgenic steroids have been quietly removed from the commercial market . The most plentiful steroids on the black market are the various testosterones, which are not considered anabolics but rather classic androgens.
There have always been some individuals who actually crave increased aggressiveness, and such behavior has been condoned within their peer group. The obvious examples are the overt contact sports like boxing. But football players (when they were not being tested), law enforcement personnel, and military recruits all requested androgenic steroids when I was a steroid dealer ten years ago.
As to this specific question: yes, there is such a thing as an "aggression pill." But I wonder if much of the "effects" are due to placebo. There has been a recent scientific study which validates this possibility. The obvious choice for Kickassabol is sublingual methyltestosterone, since it's an androgen and has an activity level of only about 20 minutes. Some powerlifters I know would pop them like PEZ just before each lift.
The next choice is the trade-named Halotestin. The generic name is fluoxymesterone. In its favor (or maybe not), it's more androgenic than methyltestosterone. But it's not in sublingual form, so absorption is slow. This is avail able in Mexico as Stenox in two-milligram tabs. I could cautiously recommend 10 milligrams of this drug, but it really doesn't get into the circulation swiftly like sublingual methyltestosterone does.
The current state of the art for commercial androgens is a liquid veterinary or al preparation called Checque Drops (mibolerone). An eyedropper is included in the packaging. Checque Drops is the most androgenic substance currently being sold. It's so powerful that it's taken in micrograms, rather than the usual milligrams. It's used in animal medicine to prevent female dogs from going into heat, and it's usually added to the dog's food.
The powerlifters who use Checque Drops use two full droppers, taken orally. Although some pain-tolerant individuals do inject the liquid, which is mostly propylene glycol, a solvent, it causes tremendous burning at the injection site. It also doesn't do wonders for your stomach lining, either, which is why we have seen a limit of two droppers full. I can't quite say if Checque Drops is terribly anabolic, because I have yet to see any powerlifter or bodybuilder use large amounts of it. However, we do know that Checque Drops will latch onto the steroid receptor tighter than even testosterone. Usually, the high-affinity androgens like dihydrotestosterone (DHT) or Proviron don't have any anabolic activity. In the mid-'80's, the black market DDR designer steroids relabeled Checque Drops as dihydrolone and sold it as a so-called East German injectable. The chief side effect was gynecomastia.
Although Checque Drops doesn't convert to estrogen, it's one of the very few steroids that cross reacts with progesterone (the other "female" hormone) receptors. It does not block the actions of progesterone but actually imparts progesterone-like activity at the receptor. So continual use of Checque Drops may cause swelling of the (male) breast tissue, just as estrogen does.
Even now, Checque Drops are used for powerlifting out-of-competition training. Within 20 minutes or so, 2 droppers of Checque Drops instill a noticeable psychological effect. So Checque Drops is my candidate for Kickassabol. But beside s the fact that its use and possession is illegal (even if you're a horny dog), I don't recommend it because the androgens are what usually generate the side effects that lead to all the horror stories that average people associate wi th steroid use.
Question:*I want to use 3 sustanon 250's a week. Should I space the shots out, or can I inject all of it at once? The sustanons are in preloaded syringes, and the needles are pretty big. How do I transfer t he contents into another syringe?
Dan "Guru" Duchaine:*There is no benefit to spacing out the injections. A total oil volume of three cubic centimeters is not an especially large injection. And Sustanon, which is a blend of various durations of testosterone, is so long acting that there is no "magic" in spacing the injections throughout the week. The standard Mexican Sustanon preload uses a 20-gauge needle. (For readers who are unfamiliar with needle sizes, the smaller the number, the bigger the needle diameter.) Most oil-based drugs are injected with a 21-gauge needle. The smaller the gauge (the higher the number), the more finger pressure needed to force the oil through the needle.
In practical terms, in a standard 3-cc syringe size, most steroid users can force oil through a 23-gauge needle by pushing with one hand. Some individuals can use a so-called vitamin needle of 25 gauge, but it entails using both hands to push the syringe plunger. Most vitamin needles do not use a screw-on connection between the needle and the syringe, and trying to force the oils through this combination generates so much fluid pressure (think of hydraulics) that usually the individual blows the syringe off the needle, and he's left with a needle sticking out of his ass, an empty syringe in his hand, and the oily steroids pewed about onto the worst of places. When I self-surrendered to prison in 1989, I was trying to do the same vitamin needle stunt outside the prison gate inside my friend's new Mercedes and sprayed 3-ccs of Sustanon all over his beautiful Palomino leather interior.
But you're right, the 20-gauge Sustanon needle is damn big. And since you're insisting on using three preloads a week, that would create three very big holes that will accrue muscle scar tissue. Here's how I used to do it, but first, I suppose I should give the standard warning of don't try this at home: my preference was a 23-gauge, 1-inch length. I would remove the plunger and hold it in my teeth. I held the empty syringe in my left hand, and I carefully plunged the Sustanon preload's contents into the open syringe top. I emptied two more Sustanons into the syringe, which filled it to the 3-cc limit. I then carefully and gently replaced the plunger right at the very edge of the syringe rim. I didn't want to push the plunger in too much at this point because I'd dribble steroid out of the needle end. Once the plunger was in position, I turned the syringe upside down (plunger pointing down). I gave the syringe a few shakes downward, and that moved the trapped air up! to the needle end. At this point I could push the plunger in more, removing the air from the syringe. And then I was ready to finalize my felony.
Question:*I've read that testosterone has great IGF-1 generating abilities, and Deca Durabolin is not nearly as good. Should I avoid Deca if I want to get maximum growth?
Dan "Guru" Duchaine:*Testosterone is a more potent anabolic than Deca Durabolin (nandrolone decanoate). It might be that a steroid's ability to aromatize into estrogen is tied into the IGF-1 elevation. Testosterone has more conversion to estrogen than Deca Durabolin does, even though Deca Durabolin is made from an estrogen . We know that the use of the estrogen blocker Nolvadex lowers IGF-1. And we knew years ago that something about Nolvadex was inhibiting muscle growth because I received many comments that bodybuilders grew better without Nolvadex.
So should you avoid a steroid which has less side effects than testosterone in your quest for ultimate growth? It depends on how old you are. From AIDS research, we now know that testosterone depresses the immune system. Deca Durabolin does the opposite (but not to any great degree). My recommendation is that from middle age onward (pick an age, I use age 40 as the starting point), men should use Deca Durabolin instead of testosterone, even in situations of testosterone replacement. We also should be realistic. After a certain age, both growth and IGF-1 are not secreted at their previous youthful levels. So does it matter if Deca Durabolin reduces IGF-1 production if normal levels in middle age and onward are already insignificant? No research on that question has been done. I have a feeling that IGF-1 production declines so much by middle age that its suppression from Deca Durabolin would have no effect.
Another point to make about testosterone use -- we don't have a blood test that can tell us which individuals are going to lose their hair from testosterone use. I have a close friend who is 60 years old and uses 600 mg of testosterone a week and has a full head of hair. And he has been using various steroids, including testosterone, for close to 30 years. As we can see in the professional bodybuilding ranks, some bodybuilders are losing a lot of hair to be able to compete at the over 250-pound body-weight mark. It would be interesting to interview a number of balding bodybuilders and ask them if they wished they had avoided the various baldness-causing steroids. Is the loss of hair just a small price to pay for greatness? That probably depends on if the individual has any kind of life outside of bodybuilding. If the person's whole self and peer esteem is completely centered around his body "looking awesome," then I imagine that hair loss is no big deal. But remember, when the person stops steroid use and muscle size decreases, the hair, of course, doesn't grow back.
Question:*One of the arguments against steroid use is that all the gains I would make would disappear once I stopped using steroids. Is this true?
Dan "Guru" Duchaine:*Yes, eventually, virtually all of the gains from steroid use would disappear. However, it would take years for that to happen. This is one of the reasons football players have not been getting smaller since drug testing began . Off-season, players don't get tested, and they can accrue enough muscle mass to "coast" though the playing season.
The same logic applies with drug-tested bodybuilding shows. A bodybuilder could swear on a polygraph that he hadn't used steroids for a year. Swell, except, during the year of being "clean," a good amount of steroid-generated muscle will still be there. Steroids are still the anabolic bargain. In the studies of geriatrics using growth hormone, all of the beneficial effects induced from the growth hormone went away within a matter of weeks. I predict that the same fleeting anabolism will happen with IGF-1. Clenbuterol's effects diminished even more rapidly. Many doctors don't want to admit it, but limited steroid use of a yearly, eight-week cycle would have virtually no adverse side effects and would probably vastly improve the health of the individual through the rest of the year. It would be interesting to put a group of bodybuilders on a mild short cycle and then track the decreases of muscle mass over the months after the end of the cycle. These results wouldn't surprise me, but I don't think the anti-steroid crowd would like to hear that steroid gains do last for a long time.
Question:*I've been using some liquid GHB from two different sources. Both taste bad, but one tastes more like paint thinner than the other. The powder never tasted this bad. What gives?
Dan "Guru" Duchaine:*As much as the FDA doesn't want gamma hydroxybuterate (GHB) being made, it's an absurdly simple compound to make. Just add water and lye to the lactone solvent, adjust the pH to 7, and it's done. And no, I won't give you the recipe again, and I won't tell you where to buy the lactone. The toughest part of the granular GHB refining process was turning the liquid into a solid. The drying gets rid of all the trace solvents that impart the petrochemical smell. The various new (underground) GHB producers don't have the esoteric equipment to dry the liquid. What is the difference between the different-tasting liquids you allegedly have? The fouler one of the two probably has a pH of slightly under seven.
A well-made liquid GHB is no more toxic than the dry form. And overall, GHB has virtually no toxicity. The problem is how to know if the particular GHB is a good one. The best you can do is scrutinize the packaging. One GHB on the black market has both contraindications and research listings included with the packaging. But don't get too worked up about GHB. It's not really an ergogenic aid. The corresponding rise of cortisol negates any positive effect caused by whatever slight growth hormone may have been caused by GHB use. GHB is a (mostly benign) recreational drug. Those who claim otherwise are just in denial.
08-29-2012*01:22 AM
Question:*I want to go to Mexico to get some Metformin which is available as Mellitron. Is this a good idea? Or can you suggest something better?
Dan "Guru" Duchaine:*I've mentioned recently that the FDA has approved metformin, a potent insulin agonist, for treatment of Type II Diabetes. The trade name is Glucophage. To remind you: metformin would be more potent in improving insulin sensitivity than either chromium or vanadyl sulfate. I think the problem will be that most American doctors will not prescribe Glucophage to a healthy athlete.
Should you acquire Mellitron in Mexico? No. Unfortunately, in scrutinizing th e Mellitron closely, I found that along with the metformin, there are also 125 milligrams of another drug, clorpropamide. This particular drug increases insulin secretion. This is something most people wouldn't want. We want to improve insulin sensitivity and at the same time lower insulin secretion. Mellitron won't lower insulin but increase it. However, if a bodybuilder uses injectable growth hormone, Mellitron would work well along with it. Large amounts of growth hormone make the receptors insulin resistant, and a slight insulin increase would be beneficial. Most metformins available in Europe would be the isolated compound.
Question:*I was steroid shopping in Tijuana and found some small blue bottles of methandrostenolone made by Ludwig Heun in West Germany (at least, that's what the bottle said). Is this stuff real?
Dan "Guru" Duchaine:*No. It's counterfeit. I happen to know the entire history of this counterfeit because I designed the bottle, label, and tablets.
Starting in 1985, I worked closely with a Tijuana pharmaceutical manufacturing company called Laboratory Milano. For many years, Laboratory Milano produced generic medications, primarily antibiotics, for Mexican drugstores. The laboratory was named Milano because the owner, Juan Machlis, purchased all of the raw materials through a procurement company based in Milano, Italy. Whenever a drug was needed, the procurement company would find a source of it and usually charge between 10% to 15% over wholesale cost.
When brand-name Dianabol and generic methandrostenolone were removed from the American market, several companies began making counterfeit versions, but all of them had problems. Some of the pills were so poorly made and so loosely held together that you could use them as blackboard writing chalk. Others were good but elusive, i.e., hard to find.
About the same time, an Indian crime family based in England began repackaging the Indian Pronabol 5 (methandrostenolone) tablets into small white bottles and labeled them as if the product were from Ludwig Heun Gmb H KG, West Germany. This was a very nice product, and I remember going to various hotel rooms near the Los Angeles airport to buy thousands of bottles from a bearded, turbaned old gentleman who looked like a diplomat. But as nice as the product was, I could never depend on consistent shipments.
So I persuaded Laboratory Milano to manufacture methandrostenolone to my specifications. I designed a tiny light blue bottle with a white metal cap. I supplied the Indian/English Ludwig Heun bottle label so Milano could copy it. I picked this label for two reasons: 1) On the black market, the brand had established itself as a good, reliable product, and 2) I wanted to avoid any ties or references to Mexican manufacture simply because, at the time, most steroid users distrusted any Mexican steroid product. The unfounded assertion was th at the Mexican drugs were not as potent as the European versions. Besides, calling it "Duchainabol" was out of the question.
Methandrostenolone was the first steroid produced by Laboratory Milano, and we made sure each tablet always contained at least six milligrams of the steroid. The cost for the raw materials and packaging was only $0.50 per unit, but we sold it for $4.50. After that, we made counterfeit versions (always with real steroids in them) of Lemmon testosterone cypionate and Lemmon nandrolone decanoate. This was a screw up on my part because testosterone cypionate and nandrolone decanoate were never made by Lemmon. I unknowingly had bought counterfeit steroids to duplicate!
The original source of our methandrostenolone was from Germany. We also purchased oxandrolone from Searle in England. This was ironic because Laboratory Milano and I duplicated the Searle Anavar exactly (the tablet mold cost us $10,000) and sold it for half the cost of what Searle sold it for wholesale to pharmacies. Searle became so frustrated over this (we sold the counterfeit Anavar to American pharmacies) that the Anavar bottle size was doubled to differentiate between ours and theirs.
All the steroid tablets were smuggled in bulk across the border and dropped off at various motel rooms around San Diego. The bottles and labels were made in Tijuana and legally exported to America. Mexican women would count tablets, load them into the bottles, and box them in packages of 100.
I stopped working with Laboratory Milano in the fall of 1986. From that point on, the company cranked up production and flooded the American black market. Just before the arrest of the major "players" (myself included), Laboratory Milano produced some unusual products which I had designed. One was a methandrostenolone with a diuretic and liver antitoxin added. Others included very powerful injectable versions of oxandrolone and oxymetholone. I can honestly say that these two exotic injectables are the most potent steroids I have ever used.
Since the breakup and prosecution of the Laboratory Milano conspiracy, the company has ceased all operations. Nevertheless, some of the former employees still have the ability to produce the various bottles, labels, and tablets of the various steroids. However, none of these current counterfeits have any steroid in them, the Ludwig Heun version included. So if you see any European steroid being sold in a Mexican pharmacy, it's a counterfeit with no active steroid ingredients.
Question:*Whenever I use clenbuterol, it works great for about two weeks. After that, I can use ten tabs a day and my temperature will hardly rise. What can I do about this?
Dan "Guru" Duchaine:*Clenbuterol is a beta-2 agonist. It attaches to the same receptor as your natural adrenaline and noradrenaline do. It has a very high bonding capacity to the adrenergic receptor. Whenever a drug fits well onto a cell receptor , the receptor becomes resistant to that drug. For example, the thermogenic effect of ephedrine seems to have a longer duration (though it's not as potent ) for two reasons: 1) ephedrine doesn't have a high receptor affinity, and 2) ephedrine is not beta-2 specific.
You might have heard about the newly discovered beta-3 receptors. The receptor is primarily a thermogenic messenger, and over half the thermogenic effect from ephedrine is from beta-3 stimulation. Although the thermogenic message is not as intense as the beta-2 message, beta-3 receptors are very resistant to down-regulation. Clenbuterol, however, has very little beta-3 stimulation.
Until some new synthetic beta-3 agonist is commercially available, the beta agonist of choice is still clenbuterol (although the stronger cimaterol is available as a research chemical in the U.S.). The rapid receptor sensitivity attenuation happens to all users, and the various dosage schemes (i.e., two days on, two days off) just aren't successful.
This attenuation and the lowering of above-normal body temperature are governed by two different mechanisms. I've written about one of them before: the shunting of T4 thyroid away from the active T3 form into the ineffective reverse-T3. Most of the thyroid in the body is the inactive T4 type. The active thyroid that actually fits onto thyroid receptors is a reduced T4, and reduced T4 occurs when one of the iodine atoms is cleaved off the molecule by a specific enzyme (deiodinase). Since we have no way of stopping the T4 from being transformed into ineffective reverse-T3 instead of
he active T3, and there's no such thing as injectable deiodinase (which would prevent the reduction), the best approach is to supplement the missing T3 with Cytomel, a synthetic T3.
The trouble is, it's likely a daily amount of Cytomel higher than 25 mcg would eventually stop the production of natural thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), and the up-regulation will take about 8 weeks. Then, when you go off Cytomel, your body's still laggin' in production of TSH. So now you know why almost everybody who stops taking thyroid (with the exception of the drug Triacana) gets fat. For eight weeks, the body doesn't need as many calories.
Up to this point, the Cytomel trick was only a partial solution. The second and major decrease of body temperature is caused by the down-regulation of the beta-2 receptor. The receptor actually is still in the cell but not in its usual place. The receptor must be at the outside of the cell surface to be available to the beta agonist. There is research showing that the antihistamine ketotifen (trade name Zaditen by Sandoz) in large dosages will up-regulate the beta-2 receptors. This is similar to the American Periactin (cyproheptadine). This class of antihistamine will cause drowsiness, hunger, and irritability, but you may think the negative symptoms are a small price to play.
Here are the particulars. Zaditen is only available in France in 1-mg capsules , 60 capsules to a box. It sells for 65.10 francs (about $12.25). Because of its appetite-stimulating and muscle-building properties, Zaditen is sold through some of the American AIDS buying clubs. The average price for it in America is $40 a box. The dose needed for the up-regulation of the beta-2 receptors is about 10 capsules (10 mg)--assuming you've been using 3 clenbuterol tablets (60 mcg) each day. Sigma Chemicals, the company that has all the bodybuilding goodies that we like but can't buy (including steroids), does sell ketotifen (the fumarate version is water soluble) in raw bulk form. Keep in mind that even when used with clenbuterol, which both reduces appetite and is more of a stimulant than caffeine, Zaditen will still cause sleepiness and hunger. Those aren't nice effects, especially if you're dieting.
Your final solution to sustain clenbuterol's action is to use both Cytomel (25 mcg) and Zaditen (10 mg) each day after using clenbuterol by itself for 2 weeks . You'll need only 60 mcg of clenbuterol for a very pronounced thermogenic effect, hypothetically speaking, of course.
Question:*I'm 45 years old, and I'm on testosterone replacement for low natural levels of testosterone--around 300-350 ng/dl. My doctor has prescribed testosterone cypionate (100 mg per week), and this has brought my testosterone level up to around 600 ng/dl. Should I switch over to your recommendation of Deca-Durabolin? Is the use of Deca-Durabolin instead of testosterone for this purpose a documented and accepted practice? One more thing: I'm using 21-gauge needles. Should I try to go to something thinner to minimize scarring?
Dan "Guru" Duchaine:*First off, it's nice to see you've found a liberal doctor. Most M.D.'s won't consider prescribing testosterone until they see your blood level of testosterone drop below 300 ng/dl. You appear to have an unusual metabolism. Most males of your age would not realize such a high testosterone elevation on only 100 mg a week. Usually a weekly 100-mg injection of testosterone would raise blood levels 100 ng/dl, at the most. What usually happens is that as males age, the ability to convert testosterone to estrogen (with aromatase enzyme) increases. The extra testosterone injected will more readily convert to estrogen and, at the same time, down-regulate the small amount of natural testosterone being produced. I have a strong feeling that your particular metabolism doesn't manufacture very much aromatase, so the small amount of exogenous testosterone you're using has better potential, as much of it stays as testosterone and doesn't down-regulate your own supply.
Since your injected dose is quite small (only half of what the World Health Organization is recommending for FSH "follicle-stimulating hormone" down-regulation), I can't see any real benefit for you to switch over to Deca-Durabolin. Although the nandrolones have a higher androgen-receptor-binding ability than testosterone, the anabolic effect is not equal, so you might have to raise the weekly dosage to about 200 mg to equal all the positive effects of testosterone cypionate.
In many other males, more than just 100 mg a week of testosterone is needed to generate an optimal blood level of between 500-600 ng/dl. At these higher a mounts, more testosterone is converted to dihydrotestosterone (which accelerates balding and swells the prostate) and estrogen, which would further down-regulate natural testosterone secretion. In these situations, when 200 mg or more of injected testosterone is needed each week, Deca-Durabolin is a nice option, as the DHN (dihydronandrolone) variant has a lesser affinity to receptors at the prostate and hair follicles. The nandrolones also don't convert as readily to estrogen (although it's not markedly different from testosterone).
Now that we know the various mechanisms of the enzyme conversions of testosterone, an enlightened M.D. could also prescribe both Proscar (using only a quarter of a tablet) and Nolvadex (10 mg) daily and would see both a higher blood level of testosterone and a significantly smaller testosterone dosage. I've reluctantly recommended Nolvadex (the most popular anti-estrogen) simply because most M.D.'s won't believe how Cytadren (at 250 mg a day) would work better for this purpose. Of course, the upcoming supplement "Flavone X" could work for the same purpose. However, if you're counting dollars, using Deca-Durabolin would be cheaper than using the combination of testosterone, Proscar, and Nolvadex. Too bad Primobolan Depot is not approved for use in the U.S. It could be a perfect testosterone replacement as it has absolutely no conversion to either estrogen or DHT. You might have heard of a new androgen replacement called MECE. It's very androgenic, so much so, only micrograms are needed each day. This steroid is simply a non-17 alkylated version of the veterinary Checque Drops (mibolerone). I find it hard to believe that researchers are taking this steroid seriously, as mibolerone is a potent progesterone agonist, binding to progesterone receptors and imparting progesterone actions (including sensitizing breast tissue).
Deca-Durabolin, as great as it is, is not mentioned in the literature as a testosterone replacement for middle-aged men. It's recommended for women with systemic lupus (and there is published research on this). The only drawback in using Deca-Durabolin for an androgen replacement is that with extremely low natural testosterone levels (less than 150 ng/dl), there might not be enough androgen action to reestablish libido. In my case, my blood testosterone level is 370 ng/dl, and I have more than adequate libido. I would choose Deca-Durabolin over a testosterone: my hairline is borderline, so why tempt fate?
As to your inquiry about needle gauges, yes, repeated weekly injections with a 21-gauge needle will eventually generate more scar tissue than a smaller needle would. Realistically (and I've tried all the gauges), the smallest gauge needle you can actually use to self-administer is a 23 gauge (I prefer the 1 inch length). But don't be surprised when your weekly shot takes 2-3 minutes to push the plunger all the way down.
Question:*Over the summer, I purchased a few hundred tablets of metformin from a European mail-order company. I started 2,000 mg/ day (one 500-mg tab with meals 4 times a day) and experienced a severe loss of appetite. After ten days, I ceased using the drug because I began to lose weight (muscle) and strength as a result of the lower calorie intake. Do you have any thoughts on this?
Dan "Guru" Duchaine:*I've gotten the same reports from other bodybuilders who comment on this loss of appetite. At least you got the dosage right. Most non-diabetics who use Glucophage (the American version of metformin) have been cautious with do sages and haven't felt any beneficial effects.
The conundrum is this: bringing the dosage up high enough (between 1,700 and 2,000 mg) generates better glycogen storage and a workout pump, but the loss of appetite makes it difficult to eat enough food. This food apathy is caused by metformin's slowing of gastric emptying. Such an effect would be nice to have while you're on a low-calorie diet. But on a maintenance or hyper-calorie diet, metformin would be a problem.
The simple solution is to make sure you eat calorie-dense foods. If there is a ny complaint (and it seems to be a very minor one) with the moderate to high-fa t diets (whether it be Isometric or Zone based), it usually is that the increase of dietary fat means less food to eat. This is the one instance where peanut butter is a guilt-free solution. So it seems logical that metformin and moderate-fat diets would compliment each other. Hunger from eating less carbohydrates is eliminated because of the slow release from the stomach (and from the small intestine, too), and the reduced carbohydrates will be prioritized for glycogen storage. The dietary fat is calorie dense.
If you're following a high-carb diet and won't consider switching to denser foods, the traditional approach for stimulating the appetite for athletes is the prescription antihistamine Periactin. Unfortunately, Periactin causes lethargy and irritability.
If none of the above solutions suit you, only use metformin when you're on a low-calorie diet. If you lower the dosage enough, your appetite will not be affected, but at the reduced dosage, the insulin sensitivity enhancement will be negligible.
Question: I plan on using insulin, the Humulin R kind, and was wondering if I should take vanadyl and metformin with it ?
Dan "Guru" Duchaine:*Vanadyl and metformin will affect the action of insulin in both good and bad ways. The good thing is less insulin is needed for the small amount of carbohydrates consumed. Increasing the effects of insulin at its lowest possible dosage is the ideal situation. the bad thing is that if you maintain the insulin dosage and food intake levels you had prior to adding vanadyl or metformin, you'd probably get some kind of hypoglycemic reaction, perhaps even go into a coma. The over-the-counter insulin is enticing because it's cheap and its usefulness is supported by stories from top professional bodybuilders. The underfunded and uninformed recreational bodybuilder, however, may suffer many adverse side effects. Even at moderately low daily dosages of Humulin R, visceral (interorgan) fat will accumulate. At best, this is cosmetically repugnant (men looking pregnant). At worst, visceral fat is associated with heart disease. This fat, at least in male bodybuilders, appears to be the last fat deposit lost when dieting.
Metformin was heralded, a few years back, as an "alternative to insulin", but neither type II diabetics nor bodybuilders have been raving about this drug. What little positive effect metformin has on insulin resistance occurs only at high dosages. We now have hopes for the next generation diabetic drug. Rezulin (troglitazone), recently available here in states. Since Rezulin's action appears to work on the insulin receptors (increasing their number) and not at the gut level like metformin, it looks like a possible bodybuilding drug. Increasing insulin receptors is a good thing, unless it happens on fat cells, too.
We don't have a formula for the reduction of insulin when using these insulin synergists. Half the usual dose? Less/more ? From my BODYOPUS experiments. I've found a glucometer isn't accurate blood glucose indicator for readings under 120 dl/ml. I wouldn't try this stack.
Question:*You're always cutting edge. What's the next bg thing in bodybuilding drugs ? I mean, beyond DNP and insulin, what floats your boat ?
Dan "Guru" Duchaine:*Injectable, once-a-year growth vaccasines-two are being worked on. One vaccine inhibits somatostatin, which is a trace hormone, mostly secreted in the hypothalamus. Somatostatin is a growth-hormone-inhibiting factor, one of the counter hormones which stops the secretion of growth hormone. The other vaccine is an antigen that causes the sama anabolic response through the same receptor stimulated by clenbuterol (and other beta-agonists). Clenbuterol is anabolic in animals in only very high dosages, and these dosages would be lethal for humans. The new antigen vaccine would stimulate the same anabolic receptor, nut it wouldn't cause any of the side effects. Both of these vaccines are being developed in the beef industry in Australia. I'll give you more information as it becomes available.
Question:*In your recent estrogen article, you mentioned Clomid (clomiphene) was safe for long-term use by bodybuilders. But in the World Anabolic Review, the authors say Clomid should be used for no more than 14 days and that it's a poor estrogen blocker. Also you gave Proviron (mesterolone) a poor mark while the World Anabolic Review claims it's one of the best estrogen blockers. What's up? I'm totally confused
Dan "Guru" Duchaine:*Although Colmid isn't the best of the anti-estrogens, it also has the dual function of mimicking luteinizing hormone, which stimulates gonadal testosterone. So, if you want to lower estrogen and raise testosterone or maintain a natural testosterone level during steroid use, Clomid, if found economically, is an attractive option. I believe the World Anabolic Review writers probably misread the warnings about Clomid and printed the duration of use for women. There are no adverse reactions with long-term use in men that I know of.
If a steroid user is looking for a pracrical estrogen blocker to prevent gynecomastia, Clomid is not the besto choice. In this case, the usual choices are either Nolvadex or Proviron. After recent discussions with one of my newsletter writers/researchers, Bill Roberts, I've come to believe Proviron might not be the terrible, androgenic steroid I always assumed it was. Bill Roberts has pointed out that the liver metabolizes Proviron into something with minimal androgenic action. Although on paper Proviron appears to be a classic androgen, its ultimate fate in the body is much more benign. In a future newsletter issue, I'll have Bill Roberts expand on this subject.
