Oxandrolone lipid changes – anyone noticed HDL drop on low dose?

Posted by grinder265 in Safety & Side Effects - 16 points, 6 comments.

Hey folks, I ran a short 4‑week cycle of Oxandrolone at 20mg split twice daily (mostly for recovery between ultras) and just got my latest bloodwork back. My HDL seemed to dip about 8 points from baseline while LDL stayed pretty flat, and triglycerides didn’t shift much. I know the compound’s profile mentions HDL decrease as a common side effect, but I’m curious if others have seen a noticeable change at this dose or if it’s just noise for me.

Ngl I’m a bit wary because I rely on good lipid panels for endurance health. Has anyone tried adding something like omega‑3s or a low dose of niacin to counteract it, or do you just stop the cycle earlier? Also, any tips on timing the labs relative to the last dose?

Would love to hear what’s worked for you all without turning this into a medical advice thread. Thanks.

Comments

• quiet_ironman: I ran a 4‑week Oxandrolone cycle at 20mg split twice a day last spring for sore legs after long runs and my HDL fell about six points from baseline while LDL and triglycerides stayed steady. I started taking a fish‑oil capsule with meals and after a couple weeks my next panel showed the HDL creeping back up a few points – not a fix but it felt like it helped blunt the drop. I usually wait about two days after my last dose before drawing blood so the drug’s cleared enough that the numbers aren’t
• engineer_dan: "basically, omega-3s seemed to help quiet_ironman, interesting. I tried adding coq10 with meals but couldn’t tell if it made a diff. Anyone else test that? Na? 🧬"
• grinder265: "Yeah, omega-3s did quiet_ironman some. I’m trying 3g/day now, timing it with meals. Coq10 didn’t click for me yet, maybe I’ll test that next cycle. Anyone else tweak dose or add something like magnesium to balance lipids? Guess I’ll wait and see if HDL bounces back after stopping Oxandrolone next month."
• optimizer_early: I saw a similar HDL dip on my own 20 mg split dose, lasted about a week after stopping. Adding a daily fish‑oil softgel helped mine creep back up a bit, though CoQ10 didn’t change much for me. Do you wait a couple days before labs too? 🙌
• grinder265: I actually pulled labs 48 hrs after my last 20 mg dose and HDL was still down 8 pts. I’ve been taking 2 g fish‑oil daily for a week now and it’s nudged HDL up about 3 pts. Curious how long you kept the softgel before seeing a change.
• grinder265: Ngl it's wild that we both saw almost the exact same drop at 20mg. I did my bloodwork about a week after the last dose so the timing was different than your two day window. I havent tried coq10 yet but i might add it in. I'm gonna try the fish oil since you said it helped blunt the drop for you. Do you think the fish oil actually moved the needle or was it just the cycle ending?

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