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The New Steroid Underground II by Anthony Roberts
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The New Steroid Underground #2
by Anthony Roberts
A Boon for Underground Labs
By this time I'm sure you've heard about "Operation Gear Grinder." Just in case you've been living under a rock, that's the huge steroid-related bust last month where the United States DEA, working in conjunction with its Mexican equivalent, closed down several of the largest veterinary labs in Mexico.
The hope (I can only assume) of the DEA would probably be to close down the steroid pipeline from Mexico to the USA by eliminating the cheapest and most convenient source of steroids in Mexico.
So where does this leave the average American steroid consumer? Still in pretty good shape, surprisingly. I'd wager that most American steroid users are probably buying their goods from an underground lab (if they aren't being a quasi-underground lab themselves, by converting powder into steroids for personal use).
And that means that underground labs (UG's or UGLs as they're usually called) have been experiencing a surge in business. This also means that those underground labs have to create new and interesting products to compete with each other.
Dan Duchaine and Equipoise
I can remember when Dpharm came out with their Trenbolone Enanthate. They asked me to guinea pig a bottle of it for them before they released it to the general public. Since I was still standing after using it for a few weeks, it was released for sale. Now, several other labs are going to be releasing some new and interesting products. These will basically be new takes on an old standard: Equipoise.
Equipoise, produced by an underground lab
For those who don't know, Equipoise (EQ) was first introduced to the steroid world by Dan Duchaine in one of his Underground Steroid Handbook updates. He speculated that it would have a mechanism of action similar to Deca (Nandrolone Decanoate), and would probably give the user similar results, though with more strength and less weight gain.
Dan Duchaine
The first part wasn't totally accurate, but the second was a reasonable guess. In fact, if you took a good look at the EQ (Boldenone) molecule without the ester attached, and then compared it with the Dianabol (Methandrostenolone) molecule, you'd actually see more similarities than differences:
(Boldenone)
(Methandrostenolone)
Do you see the difference? If you answered yes, you either find Waldo every time you try, or you're a chemistry geek like me. The difference is that little broken line at the top of the Methandrostenolone molecule on the right/top side. See it now? It's a modification known as 17-alpha-alkylation, and it's what makes Dianabol an oral steroid and EQ not one.
Instead, EQ has an ester attached, which is a large fatty chain that allows it to be injected and released into your blood at a nice even rate. Actually, EQ was created in an attempt to make a long-acting, injectable Dianabol. It turns out that it was nothing like Dianabol in either results or mechanism of action.
The 3 EQ Variations
The three drugs we're going to look at are all "versions" of Equipoise, but don't necessarily act much like it, just like EQ doesn't act much like Dianabol.
First, we'll take a look at two different types of oral Equipoise (no, not just Dianabol). One version is being produced by British Dragon out of Thailand. This drug is Boldenone Acetate, and is just the Boldenone molecule with the addition of an Acetate ester.
But wait, doesn't adding an ester make the drug an injectable, not an oral? Well, sometimes yes, sometimes no. You see, the acetate ester was attached to Primobolan (back in the day) to create Primobolan tabs (Methenolone Acetate).
Primobolan Tabs (British Dragon) Primobolan Injectable (British Dragon)
So we know that the Acetate ester can be used to make a product orally available, but should it? Unfortunately, adding an ester to a compound to make it oral doesn't usually work when you're making an oral version. When we compare injections (subcutaneous implants, technically) of Trenbolone Acetate versus oral dosing of the same product, we find that the oral version is about 50 to 100 times less potent in terms of an anabolic effect as compared to implanting it.
Here's a look at what I'm talking about (the solid squares are the injectable version and the open circles are the oral version). Injected Trenbolone treatment was about 50 to 100-fold more effective in stimulating growth of androgen-dependent muscle tissue than was oral treatment:
Comparison of the relative potency of PO vs. SC dosing of TB on LABC weights in the Hershberger assay. SC dosing with TB was approximately 100-fold more effective in increasing LABC weight than PO TB. Relative potency estimate was based on the magnitude of the differences between the dose response curves where each route of exposure produced approximately equivalent effects. (Toxicological Sciences 70, 202-211. 2002)
So basically, this is why most male athletes found the old Primobolan tablets to be pretty disappointing in terms of generating an anabolic effect. The Acetate ester, when orally ingested, seems to be ineffective at helping the steroid survive the first pass through the liver. And this is why I believe we're not going to get much of an anabolic effect out of the new EQ tabs that are about to hit the market. They may, however, be a decent choice for women, but I think just like most estrified orals, they'll be disappointing for male athletes.
Next, we'll take a look at another form of "oral EQ" that's in the planning and production stage for one particular underground lab: Boldenone Undeclynate capsules. Why would this be different than the other oral EQ we just looked at? Well, Boldenone Undeclynate is actually oil at room temperature because of the very large fatty acid attached to it in the form of the Undeclynate ester.
Boldenone Undeclynate oil
This means that it can actually be placed into a capsule and absorbed by the lymphatic system. Really, you can take almost any estrified drug with a long enough fatty acid (ester) attached and do this. It just so happens that it's particularly easy to do with EQ because it's an oil (Nandrolone Decanoate, for example).
The product will then be absorbed through your small intestine via the lymphatic system instead of going through your liver, which traditionally is the route that 99% of all orals will take.
The lymphatic system is basically responsible for the (re)absorption of fluid from bodily tissue. And instead of using the liver as a filtration system, it uses the lymph nodes. But, in the digestive tract it can absorb oils and fats as well as other fluids (blood, water, etc.). This means that the steroid in question will be absorbed and sent into your blood readily, without being hepatoxic (liver toxic).
The problem here is going to be with dosing. Even a 50mg capsule (which is what's being planned by one underground lab in particular) will only provide around 30mgs or so of Boldenone because the ester takes up "space" out of the total mgs. So this means that you'll need to take at least five of these every day to get an appreciable anabolic effect. This oral version of EQ looks to be very promising... if high enough doses are taken.
The final version of EQ that's appeared on the underground scene is an injectable product that features Boldenone without an ester. This is a really interesting product since it's essentially a very fast acting version of the old standard injectable EQ. See, without ester, EQ is a very coarse powder, much like Testosterone, and can be used to make a suspension product – just like Testosterone suspension but with Boldenone instead.
Boldenone (Without Ester) Powder
And just like Testosterone suspension, this product will hit you within hours of injecting it. You'll experience the same effects of traditional EQ, but you won't have to wait for days for the injection to dissolve into your bloodstream. This product will also clear the body very quickly, and this is perfect for any athlete who's going to be drug tested. I predict many such athletes will be using Boldenone without an ester along with a fast acting version of Testosterone. They'll make some incredible gains in muscularity and strength.
There you have it: three new underground versions of an old favorite. Despite the crackdowns, the steroid world continues to revolve!
About the Author
Anthony Roberts has been researching anabolic steroids for over a decade and is the author of the new book, Anabolic Steroids: Ultimate Research Guide.
© 1998 — 2006 Testosterone, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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