Dihydroboldenone: The forgotten AAS
Dihydroboldenone (also known as DHB or 1-Testosterone Cypionate) is an injectable AAS and the 5-alpha-reduced derivative of Boldenone (Equipoise). In other words, DHB is to Equipoise what DHT is to Testosterone, but DHB and DHT are extremely different.
DHB is not a popular AAS by any means, but its properties are nothing short of spectacular. Many people describe DHB as “Trenbolone without the side-effects”, and by the end of this article you will understand why.
Even though in this article we will be focusing on DHB as an injectable, it is also worth noting that an oral version of this AAS known as methyl-1-testosterone exists. M1T is extremely powerful and toxic, but quite different from DHB. Oh, and the popular pro-hormone 1-Andro is actually a pro-hormone to 1-Testosterone/DHB.
BENEFITS OF DIHYDROBOLDENONE
Dihydroboldenone is a highly-anabolic, non-estrogenic and non-progestogenic AAS. On paper, this compound is very androgenic (after all it’s 5-alpha-reduced EQ) but in a good way.
It causes all the things we want from an androgenic compound like muscle hardness, vascularity, muscle dryness and increased sex drive, but without the negatives like hair loss, aggression, dry joints and acne.
Besides that, it builds more muscle and strength than your average AAS, so it can provide incredible results with no water retention in a lean bulking context as well as in a cutting/prep context. As a derivative of Equipoise (EQ), it may also improve cardio endurance in some users.
And the reason why people call it “Trenbolone without the side-effects” is that it does provide that crazy vascular, dry, 3D look that Tren is known for WHILE STILL keeping the user looking full and pumped 24/7.
Unfortunately, there have been no clinical trials on DHB and there is a limited amount of anecdotal data about it, so we have to rely on the information of those who have tried it.
SIDE-EFFECTS OF DIHYDROBOLDENONE
How come DHB is not a popular steroid if it has these amazing properties? For two reasons:
- Firstly, DHB is hard to come by. Very few companies carry (steroidify.com does).
- Secondly, most users get terrible PIP (post-injection pain) with it. Although some people claim that bad PIP is due to low quality DHB from bad sources.
In terms of side-effects, however, DHB is very mild. As I mentioned before, this is non-estrogenic and non-progestogenic, so side-effects like gynecomastia, water retention, moodiness, acne, lactation and sexual dysfunction are not going to occur.
It will also have no impact on one’s hair line or joints, plus it won’t grow the prostate like most androgenic AAS do.
It will shut-down testosterone production like every other AAS would, but not to the same extent as something like Trenbolone or Nandrolone.
The biggest concern with DHB is that, as an Equipoise derivative, it MAY cause a very serious increase in red blood cells, and it may be slightly nephrotoxic (bad for the kidneys). However, I have not seen any anecdotal evidence showing that this is the case.
HOW TO USE IT
DHB can be used for up to 16 or even 20 weeks at a time. The weekly dose should be between 300 and 500mg at most. The half-life is around 10 days, so it can be injected once a week for stable blood levels.
If you can’t tolerate the PIP, split your weekly dose into 3 small injections (one every other day) instead of once a week. Some people even resort to injecting tiny doses subcutaneously every day (such as 50mg).
Another very effective strategy to mitigate PIP consists in mixing both DHB and Testosterone (or another injectable) in the same bottle, or simply cutting your DHB shots with sterile oil to decrease the concentration of DHB mg per ml. Some users report that heating up the vial of DHB before drawing the oil with the needle also helps.
For side-effect mitigation, I would personally just stay very well-hydrated and use NAC to support kidney function (just in case DHB is actually bad for the kidneys).
All in all, DHB is an incredible AAS with a relatively mild side-effect profile that is too misunderstood and overlooked to have the reputation that it truly deserves. If you are an experience AAS user, you will definitely enjoy running this compound in both your bulking and cutting/recomp cycles.
