Oxandrolone & Weight Loss
Oxandrolone is a steroid hormone used to treat patients suffering from severe weight loss after trauma, and dosage varies by age and treatment. Athletes have also used it to gain muscle mass. This steroid is dangerous to patients with certain pre-existing conditions and can cause a number of detrimental side effects.
Other People Are Reading
-
Identification
-
According to bodybuilding.com, Searle pharmaceuticals first developed the steroid hormone oxandrolone in 1964 and sold it under the brand name Anavar before discontinuing production in 1989. Several other pharmaceutical companies now manufacture the drug, in both the United States and elsewhere. Oxandrolone is derived from the naturally occurring steroid hormone testosterone, and like testosterone, exhibits both anabolic (tissue building) and androgenic (masculinizing) effects.
Indications
-
In addition to disfigurement, patients with severe burns often lose a high amount of skeletal muscle mass. They additionally suffer from fatigue, suppressed immune function and their body can no longer heal wounds properly. Because oxandrolone exerts anabolic (tissue building) effects on muscles, doctors have used oxandrolone to alleviate the weight loss and accompanying fatigue in burn patients of all ages.
Additionally, many diseases (such as late-stage AIDS, Muscular Dystrophy, cancer, hepatitis and Lou Gehrig's) cause muscle wasting. Oxandrolone is also indicated to help patients suffering from these conditions retain their existing muscle mass or build new muscle tissue. Because oxandrolone promotes bone density, doctors have also prescribed it to treat patients with osteoporosis.
Finally, doctors have taken advantage of oxandrolone's ability to stimulate appetite and weight gain in patients recovering from surgery, chronic infection, and trauma.
-
Dosage
-
The study conducted by the Department of Surgery at the University of Texas Medical Branch and the Shriners Hospitals for Children in Galveston, TX, (resource one) gave burn victims .1mg oxandrolone per kilogram of body weight twice daily. The pharmaceutical information website rxlist.com reports that dosages of 2.5 mg to 20 mg daily for two to four weeks is indicated for adult patients using oxandrolone to gain weight after surgery or trauma. Additionally, they report that the dosage for elderly patients is 5mg daily.
Illicit Use
-
Bodybuilding.com reports that both male and female bodybuilders and athletes consider oxandrolone a popular and safe alternative to other testosterone derivatives. At low dosages, oxandrolone shows minimal androgenic effects, and unlike testosterone, does not convert to estrogen (which can cause the development of male breast tissue).
According to bodybuilding.com, users experience lean muscle gains that provide increases in strength without bloating or water retention. These effects of oxandrolone make it a popular choice for athletes who compete in weight classes, as they will gain muscle and strength, but not so much that they can no longer compete at their desired weight.
Warnings
-
The pharmaceutical website, drugs.com, reports that patients suffering from prostate or breast cancer, hypercalcemia (high levels of calcium in the blood), or the kidney disease nephrosis should not take oxandrolone. Oxandrolone use can also interfere with the activity of anticoagulants and blood thinners.
The FDA has classified oxandrolone as a Pregnancy Category X drug, which means that it is known to cause birth defects (including infertility) in unborn children. Women who are pregnant should not take this drug.
Dangers
-
Drugs.com reports that using oxandrolone can lead to peliosis hepatitis, a sometimes fatal condition in which blood-filled cysts form inside the liver and/or kidneys. Oxandrolone is also difficult for the liver to break down, which causes liver toxicity and alters liver levels.
Users have reported allergic reactions to this drug that range from vomiting, nausea, stomach cramps and diarrhea to muscle pain, fever, headaches and jaundice. Oxandrolone can change blood serum cholesterol levels, which may result in arteriosclerosis, clotting problems, stroke and congestive heart failure.
Bodybuilding.com reports that users taking high dosages of oxandrolone have experienced masculinizing effects which include a deepened voice, excess body and facial hair, acne, oily skin and altered libido. Women are particularly prone to these changes, and may also suffer from disrupted menstrual cycles and an enlarged clitoris, while men may experience erectile dysfunction.
-
