We use essential cookies (authentication, your saved goals/stack) by default. With your permission we’ll also enable privacy-respecting analytics (Vercel Web Analytics, anonymous load-time metrics) and error-replay diagnostics (Sentry — DOM snapshots only when an error fires) so we can fix bugs faster. Learn more about cookies
Oxymetholone (Anadrol, Anapolon) — potent oral 17α-alkylated anabolic-androgenic steroid; DEA Schedule III controlled substance
A potent prescription ORAL anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) — brand Anadrol/Anapolon — and a DEA Schedule III CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE. It is FDA-approved for certain anemias, and it has real randomized-trial evidence in supervised muscle-wasting settings: it adds body weight and lean/body cell mass in HIV-associated wasting, raises lean mass and strength in older men, and increases haemoglobin and muscle mass in dialysis patients; a Cochrane review found it raises haemoglobin in the anaemia of chronic kidney disease. But it is 17α-alkylated and markedly HEPATOTOXIC — the dominant, headline harm: dose-related transaminase elevations in 27–43% of patients in the HIV trial, and (for anabolic steroids generally) cholestasis, peliosis hepatis with fatal liver rupture, and hepatic adenoma/carcinoma. It also sharply lowers HDL and raises LDL cholesterol, suppresses the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis, and virilizes. It is NOT a dietary supplement and NOT a longevity drug; non-medical bodybuilding use is illegal without a prescription and carries those liver, lipid, and endocrine harms unmonitored. Informational, harm-reduction entry only — not a recommendation.
Prescription medication — not a dietary supplement
Oxymetholone (Anadrol) is a prescription (or investigational) drug, not a supplement. It is included here for reference because people research and discuss it (often used off-label) — not as a recommendation. Take it only under a qualified clinician's supervision and only as prescribed; do not source it from grey-market vendors, where identity, purity, and dosing are unverified. The evidence below reflects its clinical trials.
What the evidence says
Most Oxymetholone (Anadrol) studies are mechanism or observational rather than RCTs that measure a clinical effect — keep findings provisional.
Most evidence is from high-quality meta-analyses and randomised trials published 1983–2017 with a typical study size of 1 participants.
Based on 11 studies · 1 meta-analysis · 8 RCTs · 1 total participants
Confidence
Moderate confidenceBy outcome
Oxymetholone is FDA-approved for anemias and has genuine randomized-trial evidence in supervised, catabolic settings — a phase III HIV-wasting RCT shows weight and body-cell-mass gain, RCTs in older men and dialysis patients show lean-mass/strength gains, a dialysis RCT and a Cochrane review (which itself judged the evidence limited) point to a haemoglobin increase. But it is a potent 17α-alkylated, markedly HEPATOTOXIC, DEA Schedule III controlled substance: dose-related transaminitis in 27–43% of treated patients in the HIV trial, plus (for AAS as a class) cholestasis, peliosis hepatis with documented fatal liver rupture, and hepatic adenoma/carcinoma; it also lowers HDL, raises LDL, suppresses the HPTA and virilizes. It is a prescription drug, not a dietary supplement or longevity drug, and non-medical bodybuilding use is illegal without an Rx — so it sits in the low-mid range, weighted up by real approved-indication evidence and down hard by the hepatotoxicity, the other harms, and the legal status.
Oxymetholone (brand names Anadrol-50 and Anapolon) is a potent oral 17α-alkylated anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) — a synthetic derivative of dihydrotestosterone, modified at the 17-alpha position so it survives first-pass hepatic metabolism and can be taken by mouth.
It is a prescription drug in the United States and a Schedule III controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act; possession or distribution without a valid prescription is a federal crime.
Its FDA-approved indication is the treatment of anemias caused by deficient red-cell production — acquired and congenital aplastic anemia, myelofibrosis, and the hypoplastic anemias due to myelotoxic drugs — where it stimulates erythropoiesis; it is also used to support red-cell production in inherited bone-marrow-failure syndromes such as Fanconi anemia and dyskeratosis congenita.
It is widely used off-label, and illicitly, by bodybuilders for rapid mass and strength because it is one of the most strongly anabolic oral steroids. Unusually for the compounds in this collection, oxymetholone has genuine randomized-controlled-trial evidence in supervised, catabolic-illness settings.
In HIV-associated wasting, a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled phase III trial in 89 eugonadal men and women (Hengge 2003, AIDS) found oxymetholone (50 mg twice or three times daily) produced significant gains in body weight (3.0–3.5 kg vs 1.0 kg on placebo) and body cell mass, with improved appetite and well-being.
In older community-dwelling men, a randomized placebo-controlled trial (Schroeder 2003) found 50 or 100 mg/day increased total lean body mass by 3.3–4.2 kg and raised upper-body 1-rep-max strength over 12 weeks.
In dialysis, a randomized trial in 43 hemodialysis patients (Supasyndh 2013, CJASN) showed oxymetholone increased fat-free mass and handgrip strength and decreased fat mass, and a double-blind trial in continuous-ambulatory-peritoneal-dialysis patients (Aramwit 2010) found it enhanced the erythropoietic effect of erythropoietin — raising haematocrit and haemoglobin — and improved nutritional status.
A Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis of androgens for the anaemia of chronic kidney disease (Yang 2014) found limited but consistent evidence that oxymetholone raised haemoglobin and haematocrit, and reviews of inherited bone-marrow-failure treatment (Calado 2017) note androgens including oxymetholone and danazol produce haematologic responses in up to ~80% of cases.
So the anabolic and erythropoietic signal in approved and supervised indications is real. The honest counterweight defines the compound, and the headline harm is hepatotoxicity.
Because it is 17α-alkylated, oxymetholone is markedly hepatotoxic: in the HIV trial, 27–43% of treated patients (vs 0–8% on placebo) had a greater than five-fold rise in liver enzymes — 'the most important adverse event was liver-associated toxicity'; the older-men and dialysis trials likewise recorded significant transaminase rises; the Cochrane review quantified large ALT/AST increases (ALT mean difference +54.5 U/L) and an HDL fall (−15.7 mg/dL) on oxymetholone.
Beyond reversible transaminitis, anabolic-androgenic steroids are tied to cholestasis, peliosis hepatis — blood-filled hepatic cavities that can rupture: a documented case of an aplastic-anemia patient on long-term oxymetholone who suffered spontaneous liver rupture and life-threatening hemoperitoneum requiring hemihepatectomy (Choi 2009) — and hepatic adenoma and hepatocellular carcinoma.
It worsens the lipid profile (low HDL, high LDL), suppresses the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis, and causes virilization (deepened voice, hirsutism, menstrual changes) that can be irreversible in women, plus marked water retention.
The score reflects genuine, randomized evidence in approved/supervised anemia and muscle-wasting indications set against pronounced hepatotoxicity (its dominant harm), an adverse lipid shift, HPTA suppression and virilization, plus the reality that this is a controlled substance, not a supplement, and that non-medical use for body composition is both illegal without a prescription and carries those same harms without medical monitoring.
Oxymetholone is a synthetic DHT-derived androgen that binds and activates the androgen receptor in skeletal muscle and other tissues, driving the strong anabolic, protein-sparing signalling that underlies its weight-gain and muscle-wasting effects.
Androgens stimulate erythropoiesis — increasing erythropoietin drive and red-cell production — which is the basis of oxymetholone's FDA-approved use in aplastic and other deficient-production anemias and its haemoglobin-raising effect alongside erythropoietin in dialysis.
The 17α-alkyl group that makes oxymetholone orally active also makes it markedly hepatotoxic (dose-related transaminitis, cholestasis, and — for AAS broadly — peliosis hepatis and liver tumours). The same androgenic activity lowers HDL and raises LDL cholesterol, suppresses the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis, virilizes, and causes water retention.
How Oxymetholone (Anadrol) works — from molecular targets to health outcomes. Click an edge to see supporting research.This visualization is in beta — pathways are being refined and expanded.
Avoid — a controlled-substance prescription drug, not a supplement; marked hepatotoxicity, adverse lipids, HPTA suppression and virilization, and illegal to use without a prescription.
High caution even when prescribed — virilizing effects (voice deepening, hirsutism, clitoral enlargement) can be permanent; discontinue at the first androgenic sign.
Major interaction — requires clinician-managed anticoagulant dose reduction and frequent INR checks.
Avoid entirely — androgenic; causes fetal virilization.
Oxymetholone markedly potentiates warfarin, raising INR and bleeding risk; anticoagulant doses often need substantial reduction with close INR monitoring under a clinician.
Oxymetholone is itself markedly hepatotoxic; combining it with other hepatotoxic agents or alcohol compounds the risk of transaminitis, cholestatic injury and peliosis hepatis.
Anabolic steroids can alter glucose handling and insulin sensitivity, potentially requiring antidiabetic-dose adjustment.
Stacking androgenic agents compounds hepatic burden, HPTA suppression and the adverse lipid shift; the combined risk is additive and uncharacterised in non-medical use.
Tip: Its most common adverse effect — dose-related liver-enzyme rises (>5× baseline in 27–43% of treated patients in the HIV trial). Approved use requires periodic transaminase monitoring; stop and seek care for jaundice, dark urine or right-upper-quadrant pain.
Tip: Anabolic-androgenic steroids as a class are linked to peliosis hepatis (which can rupture, causing life-threatening intra-abdominal bleeding), hepatic adenoma and hepatocellular carcinoma; risk rises with prolonged or high-dose use. There is no safe self-monitoring framework for non-medical use.
Tip: Lowered HDL and raised LDL cholesterol are consistent on treatment and work against cardiovascular health; reversibility depends on discontinuation.
Tip: Suppresses endogenous testosterone and virilizes — deepened voice, hirsutism, menstrual disruption and clitoral enlargement in women may be irreversible; it is also strongly estrogenic/fluid-retaining (oedema, hypertension). Stop at the first sign of voice change in women.
Oxymetholone (Anadrol) has an evidence score of 4.4/10 — emerging evidence based on 9 indexed studies, including 1 meta-analysis. A potent prescription ORAL anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) — brand Anadrol/Anapolon — and a DEA Schedule III CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE. It is FDA-approved for certain anemias, and it has real randomized-trial evidence in supervised muscle-wasting settings: it adds body weight and lean/body cell mass in HIV-associated wasting, raises lean mass and strength in older men, and increases haemoglobin and muscle mass in dialysis patients; a Cochrane review found it raises haemoglobin in the anaemia of chronic kidney disease. But it is 17α-alkylated and markedly HEPATOTOXIC — the dominant, headline harm: dose-related transaminase elevations in 27–43% of patients in the HIV trial, and (for anabolic steroids generally) cholestasis, peliosis hepatis with fatal liver rupture, and hepatic adenoma/carcinoma. It also sharply lowers HDL and raises LDL cholesterol, suppresses the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis, and virilizes. It is NOT a dietary supplement and NOT a longevity drug; non-medical bodybuilding use is illegal without a prescription and carries those liver, lipid, and endocrine harms unmonitored. Informational, harm-reduction entry only — not a recommendation. Representative study: PMID 25300168.
The commonly studied dose of Oxymetholone (Anadrol) is There is no legitimate non-medical dose. Oxymetholone is a prescription-only, DEA Schedule III controlled substance; this library does NOT provide a body-composition dosing protocol. For context only: the FDA-approved dose for anemia is 1–5 mg/kg/day (usual 1–2 mg/kg/day) under a physician, and trials used 50 mg twice or three times daily in HIV wasting, 50–100 mg/day in older men, and 50 mg twice daily in dialysis — all clinician-supervised with liver and lipid monitoring. That is not an endorsement of self-administration.. Individual needs vary — start at the lower end of the range and adjust based on how you respond.
Timing is flexible for Oxymetholone (Anadrol) — consistent daily use matters more than the time of day. Approved use is physician-directed dosing for anemia under supervision with liver-enzyme and lipid monitoring.
Oxymetholone (Anadrol) should be used with caution — talk to a healthcare provider before taking it. The most commonly reported side effects are hepatic transaminitis / cholestatic liver injury, peliosis hepatis / hepatic tumour (AAS class), adverse lipid shift (low HDL, high LDL). Use caution if any of these apply to you: Anyone seeking it for body composition or athletic performance without a prescription — a DEA Schedule III controlled substance; possession/use without an Rx is illegal, and it is not a dietary supplement; Pre-existing liver disease or elevated liver enzymes — 17α-alkylated and markedly hepatotoxic (transaminitis, cholestasis, peliosis hepatis); Known or suspected prostate or male breast carcinoma; hypercalcemia; nephrosis.
Epicatechin
Probably helpsDark chocolate flavanol with consistent human evidence for improved endothelial function and modest blood pressure reduction. Muscle-building claims are not supported in humans.
Oxandrolone (Anavar)
Mostly mechanism / observationalA prescription oral anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) — brand Anavar/Oxandrin — and a DEA Schedule III CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE. It has genuine randomized-trial evidence in FDA-approved, supervised muscle-wasting settings: it adds lean body mass, speeds wound healing and shortens hospital stay in severe burns, raises body weight in HIV-associated wasting, and modestly increases adult height in Turner syndrome. But it is 17α-alkylated and hepatotoxic (dose-related transaminase rises, cholestasis, and — with anabolic steroids generally — peliosis and liver tumours), it sharply lowers HDL and raises LDL cholesterol, and it suppresses the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis and virilizes. It is NOT a dietary supplement and NOT a longevity drug; non-medical bodybuilding use is illegal without a prescription and carries real liver, lipid, and endocrine harm. Informational, harm-reduction entry only — not a recommendation.
Nandrolone (Deca-Durabolin)
Mostly mechanism / observationalAn injectable anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) — brand Deca-Durabolin, the long-acting decanoate ester of 19-nortestosterone — and a DEA Schedule III CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE. It has genuine randomized-trial evidence in supervised, catabolic-illness settings: it adds lean body mass and weight in HIV-associated wasting, adds muscle mass and physical function in dialysis patients, and raises hemoglobin in dialysis anemia (a historic FDA-approved indication, since largely replaced by erythropoietin). But it suppresses the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis — and because it is a long-ester 19-nortestosterone with progestogenic activity, that suppression and the resulting sexual dysfunction ('deca dick') can be prolonged. It worsens the lipid profile (lowers HDL), is associated with cardiac remodelling/cardiomyopathy and premature atherosclerosis in long-term high-dose users, and virilizes. It is NOT a dietary supplement and NOT a longevity drug; non-medical bodybuilding/performance use is illegal without a prescription and carries real cardiovascular, endocrine and sexual harm. Informational, harm-reduction entry only — not a recommendation.
Stanozolol (Winstrol)
Mostly mechanism / observationalA prescription oral anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) — brand Winstrol — and a DEA Schedule III CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE. Its one approved indication is prophylaxis of hereditary angioedema (HAE), where decades of cohort and systematic-review evidence confirm it reduces attack frequency. But it is 17α-alkylated and hepatotoxic (cholestasis, and — for AAS as a class — peliosis and liver tumours), and it causes one of the most DRAMATIC HDL crashes of any drug studied — a classic crossover trial measured a 33% fall in HDL, a 71% fall in HDL2, and a 29% rise in LDL. It also suppresses the HPTA and virilizes. It is NOT a dietary supplement and NOT a longevity drug; non-medical bodybuilding ('cutting') use is illegal without a prescription and unmonitored. Informational, harm-reduction entry only — not a recommendation.
Explore: Best supplements for Athletic Performance
Reviewed by Dr. Baher Al Hakim · Last reviewed June 2026 · evidence from 12 studies · how we score · editorial policy
This information is for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before starting, stopping, or changing any supplement or medication.
Tap node to isolate • Pinch to zoom • Tap edge for research