Primobolan is an oral anabolic steroid that is a little unique compared to many oral anabolic steroids. Before we go any further, it’s important we distinguish the difference between Primobolan and Primobolan Depot. Primobolan Depot is an injectable version of the hormone that is attached to the large/long Enanthate ester. Primobolan is comprised of the same active steroidal hormone in Methenolone; however, it is attached to the small/short Acetate ester and designed for oral administration. The Methenolone hormone was first released in 1962 by Squibb in both the oral Acetate and injectable Enanthate form. The hormonal compounds both carried the Nibal name, Nibal and Nibal Depot, but were very short lived products. In the mid-1960’s the giant German pharmaceutical company Schering would obtain the rights to the Methenolone hormone introducing it under the Primobolan name. Since that time, Primobolan has been well-known for being a European anabolic steroid. It has never been manufactured in the U.S. since the Squibb versions. An interesting note regarding the Methenolone Acetate compound, while primarily an oral steroid, Schering did manufacture it as an injectable at one time. However, the injectable version was discontinued in 1993. Any injectable Acetate form will strictly be found through underground labs, but even then it will be rare. Most underground labs that manufacture the Acetate version will do so in oral form. Many, however, simply stick the large injectable Depot version. Primobolan is considered one of the safest anabolic steroids on the market and it carries an excellent safety rating to back this claim. In fact, this steroid has been used successfully to treat underweight children and premature infants without damage. It is also prescribed for osteoporosis and sarcopenia. However, the primary purpose of Primobolan is treating muscle wasting diseases and prolonged exposure to corticoid hormones. It has also proven to be extremely effective in treating malnutrition. Playing an important role in therapeutic treatment plans, Primobolan is a very popular anabolic steroid among performance enhancing athletes. However, the injectable Depot version is far more popular as the oral version packs a much weaker punch. For bodybuilders, injectable Methenolone Acetate is the preferred form but a quality injectable Acetate version is very difficult to find. Further, the Methenolone hormone itself, while limited in oral form is one of the more commonly counterfeited anabolic steroids out there. It is also fairly expensive in many underground markets. This hormone is well-known for being one of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s favorites. How much truth is in that only he can say, but the story is enough for many to make inaccurate assumptions about his feelings on the hormone and how he used it. That we do know. It’s also been enough to keep the demand for this steroid fairly high, as well as plague the market with counterfeits. An important note on demand; the demand for this steroid is also high due to its very female friendly nature. This is one of the few anabolic steroids women can use with a high rate of success. Steroids like Primobolan and Anavar carry very low virilization ratings making them perfect for female use.

Primobolan Functions & Traits:
Methenolone is a derivative of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) or more specifically a structurally altered form of DHT. A double bond at carbon one and two is added to the DHT hormone, which in turn greatly increases the hormone’s anabolic nature. It also carries an added 1-methyl group that protects it from hepatic breakdown. The addition of the Acetate ester further protects it from hepatic metabolism. As an oral steroid, Primobolan is one of the only oral steroids that is not a C17-alpha alkylated (C17-aa) steroid. Lacking the standard C17-aa structure, this also means oral Primobolan is not toxic to the liver. However, while this is a bonus, most will find oral Primobolan to be a relatively mild or even a week steroid compared to many others in a performance enhancing capacity. Men will not experience the same level of anabolic activity compared to many anabolic steroids. Make no mistake, Primobolan has its place in a performance capacity, but most men will find the Depot version to be a better call. As for women, this mild nature is in part what makes it a fantastic choice. The Methenolone hormone carries several traits similar to many other anabolic steroids. This hormone will enhance protein synthesis (to a degree) and can have a moderate affect on increasing red blood cell count. However, the steroid carries three important traits that distinguish it more than anything else. Primobolan will dramatically improve nitrogen retention. This ensures a catabolic state is avoided and is also fantastic for building lean tissue. However, as mentioned this steroid won’t pack on a lot of size, keep that in mind. The hormone has also been shown to have an extremely strong binding affinity for the androgen receptor. Strong binding to the androgen receptor has been linked to direct lipolysis. Most all anabolic steroids enhance the metabolic rate, but Primo as it’s often known seems to support direct fat loss. When we consider this along with the dramatic enhancement in nitrogen retention, we can begin to see this is going to be a strong anabolic steroid for the cutting phase. The final important trait of Primobolan is its affect on the immune system. The Methenolone hormone has been shown to significantly enhance the immune system. In fact, it has been successfully used in treating those with AIDS. For such an individual, he not only gets an immune boost but direct protection from what is a muscle wasting disease. This same immune boost will greatly benefit the performance enhancing athlete during the cutting phase.

Effects of Primobolan:
Primobolan is used to treat muscle wasting diseases in some cases; however, typically only in mild cases or where an immune boost is a benefit. This steroid is not going to pack on mass like Anadrol or Deca Durabolin and most men will not have much use for it in an off-season bulking cycle. We can, however, make an exception for females. Women are far more sensitive to anabolic steroids and a little of a mild anabolic steroid can go a long way. Just as important, most women are not looking to gain 30lbs of weight overnight. Small, moderate increases in weight can often be transforming on their own. Keeping the mild nature in mind, most men who use this steroid for a true off-season cycle will be disappointed. Where Primobolan will truly shine is as a cutting steroid. In order to lose body fat, we must burn more calories than we consume. While absolutely necessary, this also puts our lean muscle mass at great risk. In fact, even if planned perfectly a fat loss diet will result in some lean muscle tissue loss unless an anabolic protectant is applied. Even with such protection a little tissue loss may occur, which should tell you how important an anabolic agent can be. The key to successful dieting is not simply losing weight, but losing fat while protecting your muscle mass; if these ends are not being met, your diet has not been successful. With a well-planned diet, Primobolan will help you achieve this goal. It has also been shown to have some fairly nice conditioning effects. Those who use Primo often appear harder and more defined. However, most will find the Depot version to be more efficient in the cutting phase, and this includes women. Primobolan is also well appreciated in athletic circles. A moderate boost in strength is very possible with this steroid. Strength can refer to power and speed, both key elements to successful athleticism. However, where this steroid will truly be useful is in the promotion of recovery. Muscular endurance will also be enhanced and while such traits won’t be as strong as they are with many steroids, any bump is better than no bump at all. Further, as it’s a mild steroid, the athlete will not have to worry with massive buildups in size. In some cases, a lot of added size can be detrimental to performance depending the sport or position. In other cases, it can bring a lot of unwanted attention to the individual with prying eyes.

Side Effects of Primobolan:
Primobolan does carry possible side effects, but its mild nature makes it one of the friendliest anabolic steroids at our disposal. This steroid will not carry many side effects commonly associated with many anabolic steroids. Of the ones it does carry, we will find they are often very mild and easy to control with responsible use. In order to understand the side effects of Primobolan, we have broken them down into their separate categories along with everything you need to know.

Estrogenic:
The side effects of Primobolan do not include those of an estrogenic nature. The Methenolone hormone does not aromatize and carries no progestin nature. This makes side effects like gynecomastia and water retention impossible with this steroid. The side effects of Primobolan will also rarely include any blood pressure related issues. High blood pressure is most commonly associated with excess water retention, which again is impossible with Primo. There is no need for an anti-estrogen medication due to Primobolan use. However, one may still be needed if estrogenic steroids are included in the stack.

Androgenic:
Although a mild steroid, the side effects of Primobolan can include strong, adverse androgenic reactions. Androgenic side effects include acne, accelerated hair loss in those predisposed to male pattern baldness and body hair growth. Very few should have a problem with acne unless they are very sensitive to acne to begin with. However, hair loss is a different story. If you are not predisposed to male pattern baldness there is no risk of hair loss. If you are predisposed, Primo is well-known for speeding up the process dramatically in many men. It is also important to note that 5-alpha reductase inhibitors like Finasteride that are often used to combat androgenic side effects will have little effect here. 5-alpha reductase inhibitors are used to inhibit the conversion of testosterone to DHT, which is brought on by testosterone’s reduction to DHT through interaction with the 5-alpha reductase enzyme. Primobolan is not metabolized by the 5-alpha reductase enzyme, there is no reduction to inhibit, it’s already DHT causing related inhibitors to have very little effect.

Although it carries a mild nature, the androgenic nature of Primobolan is strong enough to promote virilization symptoms in women. Such effects may include body hair growth, a deepening of the vocal chords and clitoral enlargement. While possible, such effects are strongly tied to individual sensitivity. Most women should be able to avoid virilization if they supplement responsibly. This will mean keeping the total dose and duration of use in a proper range. Please see the Primobolan administration section. Regardless of the dose, if virilization symptoms begin to occur you are strongly encouraged to discontinue use. If use is discontinued at the onset of symptoms, they will fade away rapidly. If the symptoms appear, are ignored and use continues they may very well become irreversible.

Cardiovascular:
Primobolan should have little to no affect on blood pressure in most healthy adults unless an underlying issue exists. Although high blood pressure is unlikely, it will always be a good idea to keep an eye on it.

The side effects of Primobolan can include cholesterol issues, especially HDL cholesterol suppression or reduction. It can also include increases in LDL cholesterol. Primo’s affect on cholesterol will be stronger than testosterone. It will also be stronger than the Nandrolone and Trenbolone hormone. However, it should be much less than most oral steroids. Healthy cholesterol levels can be maintained with this steroid, but it’s important that you give it a little effort. Ensure your diet is cholesterol friendly, high in omega fatty acids and low in saturated fats and simple sugars. Ensuring you implement plenty of cardiovascular activity into your routine is also important. As most will be using Primobolan during a cutting cycle this shouldn’t be too hard to do.

Testosterone:
All anabolic steroids suppress natural testosterone production. However, the rate of suppression often varies greatly from one steroid to the next. Although it does suppress natural testosterone production, Primobolan’s rate of suppression is much less dramatic than many anabolic steroids. In a therapeutic plan, it is actually possible to keep the total rate of suppression below 50%. This could be low enough to keep some from falling into a low level condition despite the reduction. However, performance level doses will be another story. Dramatic suppression is all but assured with such doses making the inclusion of exogenous testosterone extremely important. Men who do not include exogenous testosterone will more than likely fall into a low testosterone condition. Not only does this carry numerous possible bothersome symptoms, it is extremely unhealthy. Women, despite needing testosterone will not have a need for exogenous therapy when using Primobolan.

Once the use of Primo and all anabolic steroids has come to an end, natural testosterone production will begin again. You will find this is one of the easiest steroids to recover from when it comes to testosterone production. Most men are encouraged to implement a Post Cycle Therapy (PCT) plan once use is discontinued. This will speed the recovery process up. It will, however, not return you to normal on its own. This will still take time. However, a PCT plan will ensure you have enough testosterone for proper bodily function while your levels continue to naturally rise. Those who do not implement a PCT plan, while they may recover it will take far longer. There’s really no reason to forgo the PCT process if you’re going to be off cycle for any decent length of time.

An important note on natural testosterone recovery. Natural recovery assumes no prior low testosterone condition existed. It also assumes severe damage was not done to the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Testicular-Axis (HPTA) through improper steroidal supplementation practices.

Hepatotoxicity:
Oral Primobolan is not considered a hepatotoxic anabolic steroid. There is no data to support increases in hepatic stress or liver damage. In his Anabolics series, William Llewellyn notes that there has been one report of an elderly man who suffered from liver toxicity, failure and death. However, this is the only reported case for this steroid in more than 50 years. For this reason hepatotoxicity cannot be ruled out completely but it appears to be highly unlikely.