Deca Durabolin is not a new name when it comes to anabolic steroids. Although used for a wide range of purposes, it poses a significant threat to health and can cause serious side effects in people.
Deca Durabolin is mainly used for medical purposes, such as treatment for inoperable breast cancer among others. However, its effect on lean muscles has made it a hit among bodybuilders too!
(I realize bodybuilding may be your jam, but making a break for it using Deca Durabolin is a big no-no. After reading the side effects of Deca, you will surely reinstate my opinion!)
How does Deca Durabolin react with your body?
This anabolic steroid is slow releasing and functions mainly in increasing muscle mass in your body. Deca Durabolin reaction of different substances like collagen, etc., are:
- It promotes nitrogen retention in skeletal muscles, which leads to increased muscle size.
- It promotes the mineralization of your bones.
- Deca Durabolin also promotes collagen synthesis that provides relief from chronic joint pain.
But do these reactions occur in your body without any problem?
Let’s find out…
What are the main side effects of Deca Durabolin?
Do not get fooled by the uses or potential benefits of Deca Durabolin because it can cause some serious trouble in your body.
The main side effects of this drug are:
- Increased BP
- Virilism– development of maille characteristics such as deep voice, facial and body hair (in women)
- Priapism– prolonged unstimulated erection (in men)
- Prostate enlargement and difficulty in urination (in men)
- Acne
- Insomnia- sleeplessness
- Aggression
- High hemoglobin levels
- Increased blood calcium and fat levels
- Altered libido
- Frequent leg cramps
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Bloating
Continue to the next section to find out more about the main side effects and others in detail.
A detailed list of side effects Deca Durabolin cause
You might want to sit down for this one.
Because as you can see, ehm, the list of side effects of Deca Durabolin is NOT short. They can be severe or mild, depending on people and their usage. We have mentioned the list of side effects down below, read along to find everything you need to know.
Liver
Prolonged use of this drug damages your liver a lot. Your liver will not be able to function as it normally does. Deca Durabolin’s side effects on the liver, when used for a long term in high doses, it causes serious impacts, including
- Peliosis hepatis or cystic vascularization of blood-filled cavities. This occurs when blood leaks from your hepatic veins and produces hard cystic material all over the liver. Although generally a rare occurrence, it is mostly a common Deca Durabolin side effect. Peliosis hepatis only causes mild dysfunction of your liver, but TBH you have to be cautious always. It may lead to liver failure too!
- Hepatic neoplasm and hepatocellular carcinoma, otherwise also known as a hepatic tumor or liver tumor. The main side effects of Deca Durabolin include liver abnormalities, which often lead to the growth of liver tumors. Know that these tumors are quite distinct from regular liver tumors! They occur mostly at blood vessels in the liver and remain silent until they reach the stage of abdominal hemorrhage, a life-threatening condition.
- ● Inflammation of liver cells and liver tissue death. This results in irreversible damage to your body.
Note: Do not fool yourself into thinking that you will get the tumor detected early on and will stop using Deca once this occurs, so your tumor disappears. Tumor shrinkage after withdrawal from Deca Durabolin is very rare.
Even at low doses, you are not safe from Deca Durabolin side effects. You can expect the following to occur even when you try to remain on the safe side and use small doses only
- Jaundice (includes yellowing of skin and eyes. This occurs when your liver is unable to break down bilirubin i.e., used red blood cells. Jaundice indicates weakened liver performance and needs to be treated immediately)
- Cholestatic hepatitis (injury to the liver, this changes your liver anatomy i.e., its shape)
- Abnormal liver function tests
Heart
Your heart is also not safe from the Deca Durabolin. For those of you who are experiencing edema (i.e., swelling in the body due to fluid retention), your risk of congestive heart failure is through the roof!
Deca Durabolin affects the performance of most of the organs which may cause increased blood pressure, heart attack, heart failure, and eventually death.
P.S. Do you know what heart failure is? Let go of the embarrassment if you don’t. Heart failure doesn’t mean complete stopping of the heart, rather it means your heart pumps blood slower (or inefficiently) than normal. This slow blood circulation affects your kidneys, which respond by retaining water and salt in your body (thus the unexplained edema occurs!)
Kidneys
Deca Durabolin affects your kidneys indirectly too. As I mentioned before, when kidneys do not get appropriate blood circulation, they tend to retain excess water and minerals in the body. These include phosphorus, sodium, chlorine, and potassium. This leads to edema or swelling of the body. Your body also excretes less calcium as a Deca Durabolin side effect.
Long-term users of Deca Durabolin also complain of decreased urine flow (this is quite painful and uncomfortable, guys. To tell the truth, you would not want that even for your enemies).
Muscle
Deca Durabolin is famously known for pumping up your skeletal muscles. It is considered to produce results similar to resistance training (you will get the hot bod without any work!)
However, does it occur without any consequences to your muscles?
Sadly, no.
Using Deca Durabolin for a long time will eventually cause swelling in your tissue i.e., edema, which can screw up the results you were hoping for. Be prepared to also have some INTENSE leg cramps. (Taking Deca Durabolin is NEVER a walk in the park.)
Bones
Deca Durabolin’s side effects on bone growth are quite severe.
Our bones, at the growing age, have epiphyseal centers from which our bone increases in size. This makes you expand in height from your childhood to an adult stage.
What Deca Durabolin does is that it fuses the epiphyseal centers in your bone. This can cause severe height limitations. This incomplete statural growth is a major concern when prepubescent children take Deca Durabolin.
Skin
Deca Durabolin’s side effects are not only limited to your internal organs, but this drug also messes with your appearance too. Using Deca Durabolin for bodybuilding can be quite dicey.
While you daydream of a lean muscular body to show off in your circle, the uncalled-for acne can make you hit the rock bottom more often than you can think.
Just imagine this, you finally start to show some of your arm muscles, or your belly is now hinting at abs, but all that’s visible is acne(painful and torrid to look at). Not worth the effort, eh?
This is exactly what I am saying. Know that not every person has the same effect. Some may develop mild acne (on face and body both, no exception!), while others have severe cystic acne breakouts which may even leave marks on your body and face.
However, one thing that is common for all is you will inevitably suffer from oily skin both on your face and scalp. (Yup. Greasy hair day, every day.)
You also become susceptible to rash and itching under Deca Durabolin. Although rare, some people have also reported the darkening of their skin color. (We are talking about high-dose long-term users here.)
Blood
Your blood composition also changes while you are on this drug. One of the main Deca Durabolin side effects includes abnormally high hemoglobin levels in the blood. This means you have increased red blood cells in your body. It also disturbs your blood clotting tendency, making you prone to stroke and sudden vein blockage due to clots.
Increased calcium and fat levels are occasionally reported by consistent use of Deca Durabolin.
Deca Durabolin decreases your HDL levels (good cholesterol level) and increases your LDL level (bad cholesterol level) in the blood.
Also, if you have metastatic breast cancer, you can suffer from osteolytic-induced hypercalcemia (it literally refers to bone wastage which increases your calcium levels in the blood).
Remember that anything out of the ordinary in blood composition is usually an indicator that there is something wrong in the body.
Brain
The hormonal function of the brain is primarily affected by Deca Durabolin. The brain is the most important part of our body as it signals every other organ to perform its function through appropriate hormone release. If this function gets disturbed, that particular organ starts behaving abnormally.
The biggest side effect of Deca Durabolin is that it reduces testosterone formation by affecting/ decreasing LH hormone production by the pituitary gland(found in our brain). Since the reduced testosterone levels are not compensated by Deca Durabolin, it can cause a myriad of side effects in men.
Not only this, but Deca Durabolin also inhibits the release of FSH hormone by the pituitary gland that is responsible for sperm formation. Decreased sperm count means your ability to become a parent becomes very low (it’s truly a downhill road after that).
Side effects on digestion
Side effects of Deca Durabolin on digestion are similar to other anabolic steroids. In some cases, you may experience nausea and vomiting. However, the highlight of it is decreased appetite.
While some people glorify the reduced appetite side effect, there is no guarantee that you will experience it too. This varies from body to body and it’s highly likely that you will never experience it while on Deca Durabolin (Sigh!).
Psychological side effects
The psychological side effects Deca Durabolin have on humans are extremely demeaning. They will further break your willpower to carry on in your struggle. The psychological effects are
- Having trouble sleeping or insomnia
- Addiction to Deca Durabolin
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Aggression
- Excitement
- Changes in libido
I mean, look at the psychological effects again.
Don’t they resemble the behavior pattern of a drug addict?
Because that’s exactly what you become when you continue taking high doses of Deca Durabolin without any break! The overexcitement and aggression will make it very hard for you to stop this drug once and for all.
Moreover, the withdrawal effects are not very pretty either. The withdrawal from this anabolic steroid takes an astounding 14 days(!), a period in which you will be constantly crippling for more. (It’s not a pretty sight for anyone, let alone the ones you love and care for. It’s better to sign up for a rehabilitation center to save your family from the trouble!)
Other side effects
The list of side effects of Deca Durabolin does not end here.
If you’re a diabetic patient, your glucose tolerance may be reduced further.
Besides, every user of Deca Durabolin complains of being tired. You can experience decreased energy episodes where you may not even want to get out of your bed for days.
Having occasional chills and mild fever is also considered normal while you are on this drug. Sensitive users might even have occasional bouts of abdominal bloating when using Deca Durabolin. (Expect the worst with Deca Durabolin. I am telling you guys; this anabolic steroid will make you experience some HORRIBLE things in your life.)
Side effects in females
Side effects of Deca Durabolin in females can be quite harsh. Virilization (i.e. development of male characteristics) is the most commonly observed side effect in females.
You should expect hoarseness in your voice or deepening of voice just like males. Excessive hair growth on the body and growth of facial hair like men can also happen to you. You will feel like you are slowly turning into a man due to hirsutism.
Irregular menstrual cycles, clitoris enlargement, and increased/decreased libido are also some of the Deca Durabolin side effects in females. If you stop using Deca Durabolin as soon as the side effects begin to show, there is a chance that the virilization effects may be reduced. Make sure you do not go overboard with Deca at all!
Side effects in males
The excruciating list of side effects in males due to Deca Durabolin may catch many of you off guard.
Using Deca Durabolin for extended periods can enlarge your breast and penis. Penis enlargement is mostly observed in elderly males, and it can obstruct normal urine flow. You also become a victim of priapism, i.e., erections for more than 4 hours without any stimulant. (The pain you may feel will be UNBEARABLE at times) Testicular atrophy (breakdown of testis) is also reported in some situations.
Not only this, Deca Durabolin reduces your ejaculatory volume and also decreases your sperm count, leaving you fertile (i.e., unable to bear children) in severe cases.
When should you call your doctor?
You should call your doctor right away if you feel the symptoms getting out of hand or they are not going away. Some of the red signs in which you should call your doctor right away are:
- Severe unexplained headache
- Indication of an allergic reaction such as swelling of the mouth, face, or skin, rash, constant itching, shortness of breath, inability to swallow, difficulty talking or focusing, and hives among others
- Indication of a liver problem such as jaundice, lethargy, loss of appetite, light-colored stools, dark urine, and upset stomach.
- Swelling in arms or legs, or sudden large weight gain.
- Signs of increased calcium in serum such as feeling tired, confusion, headache, bone pain, stomachache, etc.
- In males, priapism(prolonged erection) and enlarged penis
- In females, no periods, virilization, hirsutism(male-patterned facial hair growth), hoarse voice, etc.
Deca Durabolin interactions:
There are basically 3 types of interactions of every drug. For Deca Durabolin, you should know it’s:
- Drug-drug interaction
Deca Durabolin enhances anticoagulant action. It also interacts with
● erythropoietin (anemia medicine)
● insulin
● every medicine prescribed to diabetic patients - Drug-disease interaction
Deca Durabolin should not be given in case of
● Breast cancer in females with hypercalcemia
● Suspected or diagnosed breast cancer in men
● Suspected or diagnosed prostate cancer
● Kidney disease patients
● Porphyria patients (people with liver disorders) - Drug-food interaction
Deca Durabolin has no known drug-food interactions.
It’s important to understand these interactions of any new drug that you may use so that it may not cause potential damage to your body.
The final verdict
So, after reading Deca Durabolin’s side effects, it brings us to this:
Is Deca Durabolin worth the hassle?
Well, I think that’s for you to decide. You should consider all the pros and cons and then contemplate if this anabolic steroid is the best for you or not. Also, don’t forget to consult your doctor to stay within the safe limits, it’s always better to be safe than sorry!