WHAT IS DECA DICK AND HOW WE CAN COUNTER IT? (PART 1)
It’s not a secret that in nowadays era of chemical warfare nandrolone is the second most popular steroid in the world which is only topped with everyone's beloved testosterone.
Considering nandrolone’s popularity there is a lot of information on the internet and due to this fact, unfortunately, a ton of myths and misunderstandings about this steroid also occur. I would like to clear most of these confusions and make sure that by the time you will end reading this article, you will understand a lot more about the nature of this compound.
What do we actually know about nandrolone? Nandrolone, also known as 19-nortestosterone, is an androgenic and anabolic steroid which is actually one of the most well-studied steroids for today. It’s usually produced in two esters: nandrolone decanoate and nandrolone phenylpropionate(they do have their slight differences but it is mostly about the half-life of the ester).
Nandrolone is estimated by many as one of the best anabolic steroids which has many profound effects on human physiology and it has to do with the nandrolones affinity to androgen, estrogen, mineralocorticoid, and even progesterone receptors(the latest is believed to be its flaw but nandrolone has a much lower affinity to progesterone receptors than progesterone itself and this is why it’s not really an issue).
However today we are not discussing this steroid’s bright side. We are doing quite the opposite indeed. Let’s get started.
One of the most popular and notorious facts about this steroid is a rather unpleasant side effect which is known as “Deca Dick”(DD).
DD is a form of erectile dysfunction(ED) caused by different changes in hormonal balance and imbalances in neurotransmitters.
It is often thought that the main reason why people get DD is a raise in prolactin commonly seen amongst nandrolone. Although nandrolone has the potential of raising prolactin(testosterone is also capable of producing high prolactin but higher dosages are usually required, combining the two of them at high dosages usually leads to the worst outcomes), and high prolactin at the same time has the potential to crush someone’s libido and strongly delay ejaculation time, it doesn’t mean that prolactin is the villain behind the DD phenomenon.
If prolactin was to blame then the introduction of dopaminergic agents/D2 receptor agonists would have always been the ideal solution. However many people take bromocriptine and cabergoline and yet they safe somewhat vulnerable to DD. Please keep in mind that 0.25-0.5mg of cabergoline a week is enough for most people to hit the bottom of the reference range for prolactin. Still, it doesn’t always fix DD(if it does you were probably lucky and your weak erection was simply due to high prolactin).
Well, maybe then another feminine hormone is to blame? What about estrogen? It is also known to decrease libido when there is too much of it, maybe the problem could be solved with a simple aromatize inhibitor(AI)?
Let’s make sure we don’t forget about the fact that nandrolone indeed itself has its estrogenic properties(sensitizes estrogen receptors which are vice when dealing with estrogen related side effects) and is also prone to aromatization but the content of estrogen it provides is different than what we get from testosterone.
There are free molecular forms of estrogen: estrone(E1), estradiol(E2) and estriol(E3). The one which is the most biologically active and is responsible for estrogenic side effects is E2. Nandrolone doesn’t convert to E2, but part of it(about 20-25%) aromatizes to E1(not an issue most of the time). However, if you stack testosterone with nandrolone your E1 can now be converted to E2 via the 17β-HSD metabolic pathway. And now you are sitting with a double “estrogen sandwich” which will affect your mood and libido 9/10 times.
Is it reversible? 100%. You can just take an aromatize inhibitor and “calm down” your aromatize enzyme. But… was it the mighty DD itself? Still no. Has nothing to do with it.
Most people don’t understand that DD is not about estrogen or prolactin, it’s not even about dopamine. Surprisingly enough it’s about 5α-reductase.
Yes, this one specific enzyme is responsible for testosterone conversion to dihydrotestosterone(DHT). Keep in mind that DHT is also responsible for the production of many neurosteroids that have a positive impact on anxiety and depression. Nandrolone however can’t give you DHT because it is turned into dihydro nandrolone(DHN) after interacting with 5α-reductase.
DHN is somewhat similar to DHT and most people state that it’s a good metabolite since DHT wreaks havoc on someone’s follicles and is mostly viewed as the number one reason of male pattern baldness(which is by the way only partly true but that’s a topic for another article). It might be tempting to see one molecule as evil and try to canonize the other, so let’s just say that both of them have their own good and bad properties. Well, when it comes to neurotoxicity DHN is actually the villain.
The penis tissue needs androgenic stimulation to function properly and if it lacks DHT then you can experience the symptoms of ED. Yes, and the excessive amounts of DHN can easily substitute DHT in androgen-dependent tissues and there we have, congratulations, it’s a Deca Dick.
So as you see DD is not caused by progesterone, estrogen, or prolactin. It doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that it’s a 19-nor. It has everything to do with 5α-reductase, DHN, and DHN/DHT ratio.
What is there to do about it? The most obvious answer would be to do simply raise the dose of DHT and thereby counter the effects of DHN. It probably would sound okay but there are definitely better ways to do it. I would try to break that down in the second part of the article. See you soon. Take care.
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