Looking for some feedback on an idea I had. I want to start my first cycle, but just checking if this will be any good.
I know the standard advice is 400-500mg of test-e and nothing else. I’m very reluctant to do this because of the risk of hair loss - test, after all, converting to DHT, and DHT leading to hair loss in those that are prone to it. Yes, I know not everyone gets the sides. No, I don’t want to risk being one of them since most men have the MPB gene to some extent. No, shaving my head is not an option.
What I’m proposing instead is a cycle comprised of a TRT replacement dosage of test (i.e. 100mg a week). This should keep my mood up and libido OK while I’m on cycle. Meanwhile, 300mg of deca will do the heavy lifting when it comes to gaining lean mass. Deca doesn’t convert to DHT, and so has a much more acceptable side effect profile for me.
I’d plan to run this for around 12 weeks, then stop the deca, keep the TRT dosage up for another 3 weeks to allow some time for the deca to clear, than run a Nolva PCT.
Any potential problems with this? Most of the deca horror stories seem to come from running it alone, but I’ll be supplementing a small dose of test - just enough to replicate something around natty levels, which won’t cause my hair to fall out (well, not any more than it would have done if I just kept training natty anyway).
From my experience, nandrolone cant be run without a DHT based compound, thats if you prescribe to the DHN displacing DHT theory which leads to deca dick. 100mg of Test will not produce enough DHT to offset DHN from deca.
IMO your best bet is probably low dose testosterone with EQ or Primo. If you do however go for nandrolone, use NPP instead of Deca.
If you don’t have enough DHT then you’ll have a full head of hair and a flaccid wang. I would personally not make that tradeoff.
Nandrolone is indeed very hair-friendly. And it’s a great mass builder. But it’s tricky to dose when you’ve got low or no testosterone. You should at least explore adding proviron to this if you’re hellbent on running it. The reasons a first cycle are always supposed to be test only are multiple. If you truly are concerned about your hair—and trust me man, I absolutely get it—then steroids simply aren’t for you. It’s a risk you take. But it’s a known risk. Will nandrolone give you ED that persists for months after your cycle? Maybe. Who knows? It’s an unknown risk. Hard to make that choice when given those two options.
What’s your hair like now? Because I am not at all prone to MPB and trt has not changed my hair one bit. If you’re in my camp then you’re probably fine. If you’re already seeing signs of losing it then I think you’re right to try to avoid testosterone and/or DHT drugs. But if that’s the case you’re really limited in your choices and you take on a different set of risks.
Personally, I’d take a few months of a depressed dick over significant hair loss. I accept others might see it differently. Not to put too fine a point on it, but it’s not like I’d anticipate getting laid much over the next 3 months anyway!
Wouldn’t pinning 100mg of test a week (i.e. around replacement natty levels) produce the same amount of DHT that I’d be producing naturally anyway? And so there should be no low DHT related sides, as the amount in circulation would just be what I had without any steroids anyway? My test levels would in theory be on TRT replacement levels - i.e. around natty levels or maybe slightly above, not clinically low.
My hair is norwood 2 on the scale, and I’m 28 years old. It’s been pretty stable at that level for quite a few years now, but clearly I am susceptible to some degree (as are the vast majority of men - after all it’s fairly rare to see an old guy with a full head of hair with absolutely zero hairline recession).
On paper, yes. But nandrolone changes that calculation. You need more DHT than you’d normally have, or so the theory goes. Keep in mind these are best guesses about what causes nandrolone related ED. Nobody knows for certain. And if you’re willing to make the tradeoff then you should do it. But first explore a cycle that has no testosterone and is all nandrolone based. Those actually seem to work better than low test/high nand.
I don’t realy understand why people still want to chance it with deca. I mean, there are so many drugs out there that don’t cause the dreaded deca dick, why do people still use it?
Do you mean potentially just running a deca/nandrolone only cycle, and skipping the test altogether?
Honestly I wouldnt mind that too much…like I say, dick problems wont really matter as there’s next to no chance of me getting a chance to use it over the next few months anyway.
Dude, you’re assuming a “few” months of a soft dick. Go read the countless stories of guys who are on year 1 or 2 of deca dick and still haven’t figured out how to get it back to normal.
Not worth the risk. If hair is that important, don’t do steroids. You seem adamant about the hair loss thing, and not the dick thing. I’d rather not risk years of potential ED problems, personally.
I’m inclined to say that he has a better grasp of his risk tolerance than we do. While I cannot imagine choosing that particular path, I think it’s fine to take it nonetheless. I suggest the OP looks for some logs or at least anecdotes about deca-only cycles and reads up on the pros and cons. They’ve been done before, will be done again, and despite being insane in my mind they exist.
No doubt. It just sounds as though his idea of “worst case scenario” is a flaccid dick for a few months. Whereas there’s countless stories of years of ED issues after deca. Although probably not all that common, it can be a long time issue.
