Oxandrolone With Other Drugs

Oxandrolone was first introduced in the North American Market nearly 50 years ago. During the early days it was used to treat a variety of infertility disorders, anemias and those ill individuals in hospitals who were wasting away. However, the drug is not widely used in clinical medicine today. Oxandrolone has two major advantages compared to other anabolic steroids. It does not get converted into estrogen and it does not significantly influence the hypothalamic pituitary tract at low doses. What this means is that because it is not broken down to estrogen, males will not develop breast enlargement. Secondly, because it does not affect the hypothalamic pituitary axis, it does not affect the suppression of testosterone. This means that the individual taking Oxandrolone will not have such side effects like loss of libido, impotence or testicular atrophy- features that are commonly seen with other anabolic steroids.
Pharmacology
Oxandrin is a both an anabolic steroid and has all the properties of an androgenic drug. The actions of the drug are similar to those seen with testosterone. At low doses the drug has selective anabolic properties, but at high doses, it also has potent androgenic activity. When used at high doses, the drug can influence the hypothalamus and suppress the release of the Gonadotropins and this leads to a decrease in the synthesis of testosterone. Like all other anabolic steroids, Oxandrin also increases the levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol and decreases the levels of “good” HDL cholesterol. Oxandrolone is one of the few anabolic steroids which is not converted to estrogen at low doses.
Indications
The drug is rarely used in clinical medicine. In the past decades, it was used to treat individuals with a variety of anemias, weight loss in HIV patients and was once tried out as treatment for osteoporosis. However, the widespread abuse of this drug led Searle in 1989, to cease production of the drug. Today, the drug is made by Savient Pharmaceutical, under the trade name Oxandrin. Today, some physicians do prescribe Oxandrin to treat moribund patients gain weight after trauma, burns or serious infections. Sometimes it is combined with corticosteroids for the treatment of bone pain in cancer patients.
Dose

For use in patients for anemia or to help individuals gain weight, the adult dose is 2.5- 20 mg/day in 2-4 divided doses. Some individuals see a response with the lowest dose and others require a large dose. The duration of therapy is usually 3-6 weeks. The dose is increased gradually when no response is seen in the first 4 weeks. Oxandrin is available as a tablet in doses of 2.5 mg or 10 mg.

Like all anabolic steroids, Oxandrin also has some side effects. At the low doses, the majority of side effects are minor. The side effects at low dose may include some minor abdominal discomfort, nausea or diarrhea. However, at high doses the side effects include:
jaundice
rare hepatic necrosis
liver cancers
general malaise
testicular atrophy
hair loss
breast enlargement
stomach cramps, nausea, bloating
acne, oily skin
diarrhea
menstrual irregularities
testicular atrophy

The majority of these side effects are reversible when the drug is stopped.
Contraindications
There are a few conditions where Oxandrolone should not be used. These include patients with:

suspected prostate cancer
breast cancer in male or female
pregnancy
if there is evidence of hypercalcemia
allergy to anabolic steroids
Body builders
Many body builders take Oxandrolone. The drug is easily absorbed after ingestion and should be taken with a meal. The typical dose for men is one tablet twice a day. Females need to take only one tablet a day. The majority of body builders usually start at the low dose. Many athletes combine Oxandrolone with other drugs, since at low doses Oxandrolone has minimal side effects. It is often combined with dianabol, winstrol or anadriol. The duration of treatment is anywhere from 4-8 weeks. The exact dosage to begin treatment is variable but most experts recommend 5 mg total per day and gradually increasing the dose over 2-3 weeks.
Oxandrolone is heavily favored by women because it has minimal virilizing effects at low dose. However, if the dose is greater than 5 mg per day and if the duration of treatment is longer than 6 weeks, signs of musculanization will become evident. The weight gain by Oxandrolone is slow and gradual. Most body builders see weight gain after 3-4 weeks.