Are Gains More Permanent with Oral Steroid Cycles?

It is a fact that significant percentage of anabolic steroids in oral form come with lower estrogen level comparing it to testosterone, muscle gain is definitely easier to keep on the end of a steroid cycle when you compare it to regular injectable steroid cycle. With oral steroids your gain will be steadier as at the end of the cycle there will be less water retention/gain in comparison to lean muscle mass. Additionally, oral anabolic steroids have faster effects because of the build-up in the system faster then injectable steroids.

The only exception from above mentioned oral anabolic steroids with lower estrogen level is Anadrol, which still has a significant level of estrogen. With oral steroid cycle in higher dosage, you will not notice as high muscle gain during steroid cycle itself, but your muscle gain afterward will be more significant then it would be with injectable testosterone dose.

However, with the fact that oral anabolic steroids mostly don't have high estrogenicity it is still important to include certain therapy after the end of the cycle to prevent testosterone production boost that might cause an undesired after-cycle crash. Additionally, it is also a good idea to use helping drug along with oral steroids, such as Lagos (use one or two pills every day during a cycle).

Oral steroid cycle was quite a common practice among sportsmen (bodybuilders and other athletes) some 50 years ago, as even than it was known that with oral anabolic steroids (in the quantity that is even three times higher than usual therapeutic dose) muscle gain has longer lasting effect, and there is less water retention. Additionally, oral steroids were easier and more convenient for use, especially for first-time users.

Possible Problems with an Oral Steroid Cycle

Most important problem with oral anabolic steroids comes along with longer cycles (6 to 8 weeks), as these carry the real possibility of causing health problems. This is so because oral anabolics are the much higher risk for liver function. This is so because oral anabolic steroids have to go through the digestive system before being excreted to blood, which is putting a heavy burden on the liver to "prepare" them for the bloodstream.

Must Read: Liver Damage While On Oral Steroids

In this sense, oral anabolic steroids have much higher toxic quality than injectable steroids. Oral steroids can significantly change the balance between good and bad cholesterol levels, which can really raise the risk of heart problems?

With this risk in mind, it is a good precaution to check out cholesterol levels once in a while when you are using oral anabolic steroids in cycles that last for two months. Besides cholesterol check, it is also good to check: liver enzymes, blood picture, pressure, and take general health screening that will give clear picture how your body is handling this type of pressure on the liver.

In case your body is not handling oral anabolic steroids well, you can always switch to testosterone injections that are not putting stress on your liver and will not disturb lipid levels, even with the fact that your lean muscle gain will probably not be so permanent after the end of an injectable steroid cycle.

How to Maintain Muscle Gain Post-Cycle?

In order to restore natural testosterone levels and maintain muscle gain, it is good to apply certain post-cycle therapy.

There are several possibilities you can go about to achieve both desired goals. Clomid and Nolvadex are drugs that will help you restore the usual production of testosterone in the body.

You can combine these two, or just Nolvadex, which is both more effective and in some aspects better than clomid, as clomid has some side effects that Nolvadex luckily lacks (visual impairment and mood changes).