Lipid crash on oxandrolone, how bad was yours?

Question

Got my bloodwork back last week and not gonna lie, the HDL number was worse than I expected. I ran a low-ish cycle around 15mg split twice daily for about 8 weeks and my HDL dropped quite a lot from baseline. LDL went up a bit too but nothing dramatic. The ratio is what bothered me. I had read that oxandrolone is "mild" but the lipid disruption is real, at least for me. Felt fine physically, no obvious symptoms, which is kind of the scary part. If I had not done bloodwork I would have thought everything was lagom. My question is, for those who have run it, how long did it take for your lipids to recover after stopping? I am planning to retest in maybe 6-8 weeks. Been taking omega-3 and trying to keep cardio consistent but I wonder if that is enough. Also curious if anyone found a dose where the HDL hit was less severe, or is it just dose-dependent no matter what. Would appreciate hearing what your numbers looked like. I can share my exact values if anyone wants to compare.

fasted_scientist · Accepted Answer

9 mmol/L. LDL crept up a bit but the ratio felt off. I felt fine too, no symptoms, which made me double‑check the labs. 2 of baseline, even with daily omega‑3 and steady cardio. I’m not saying that’s the rule, just what I saw in my own bloods. Curious – did you notice any change in triglycerides or just HDL/LDL? Might be worth comparing notes when you retest.

chemist_daily826 · Answer

My triglycerides actually stayed pretty stable, which surprised me a bit. The damage was mostly on the HDL side and LDL creeping up. Did your trigs move at all, or same story? I will definitely post my retest when it comes back, would be good to compare.

josh451 · Answer

Triglycerides actually stayed pretty flat for me, which surprised me given how much the HDL moved. I kinda expected everything to shift together but it was really just the HDL that took the hit and LDL creeping up. Did your trigs stay in range too or did you see them move at all? I'm retesting in about 6 weeks so I can share what I see then.

chemist_daily826 · Answer

Yeah my trigs stayed basically in range too, which also surprised me. The HDL was the one that really moved, LDL a little, but trigs barely budged. Makes you wonder if oxandrolone hits the reverse cholesterol transport specifically rather than just messing with everything across the board. Would be interesting to compare your 6-week numbers with mine when I retest. Not gonna lie I am a bit nervous about what I will see at 8 weeks.

fasted_scientist · Answer

Trigs are usually the last thing to move on oxandrolone, the drug hits HDL first and hardest because of how it messes with hepatic lipase. So that tracks. My trigs barely budged too, HDL was the obvious casualty. Would be spot on to see your retest, keen to know how quick it bounces back once you're off. I reckon 4 to 6 weeks is the typical window but honestly the data on recovery timeline is thin.

chemist_daily826 · Answer

Good to hear the trig pattern matches yours, that makes me feel a bit less worried something else is going on. The hepatic lipase angle is something I had not really thought about properly, I just knew HDL was the one that crashed. Four to six weeks would be better than I feared honestly. I will probably retest around week 5 then, instead of waiting the full 8. If it is not back close to baseline by then I will test again a few weeks later. Did you change anything specific during your recovery window, or just waited it out?

Lipid crash on oxandrolone, how bad was yours?

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