Androstenedione (andro)
4-Androstenedione, Androst-4-ene-3,17-dione, Androstenedione 4-androstenedione, 4-Dione
The original over-the-counter 'andro' prohormone: a natural precursor of testosterone and estrogen. Sold freely in the US in the late 1990s, it has been a controlled anabolic steroid there since 2005.
Legal status: A Schedule III anabolic steroid in the US since 2005, no longer sold legally there as a supplement; status varies by country.
What it gives
What people use it for and what the sources report. Strength is a general category from the literature: mild, clear or strong.
Purpose
Heavily marketed as a natural alternative to steroids for testosterone, muscle and strength. Never approved as a medicine; today it appears mainly in gray-market products.
What people seek and what studies show
In a randomized trial in young men doing weight training, it did not raise testosterone and added no strength, muscle-fibre growth or lean mass over placebo. In men aged 35–65, testosterone rose briefly and returned to baseline by 12 weeks, again with no training benefit. Estrogens rose consistently, and at higher intake testosterone rose only in some men.
Effects
Evidence: Limited human data — some human studies, small or short
Sought effects by goal (as reported)
Possible side effects
Possible does not mean certain: whether they appear depends on dose, duration, individual response and monitoring. Below — what to watch for and how to notice it early.
7 possible side effects
level · how often it is reportedWhat the levels mean
Level: general category from the literature, not your personal risk
How often
- common
- reported often
- possible
- reported in some people
- rare
- reported occasionally
How to lower the risks
For 5 of 7 possible side effects there are specific ways to lower the chance: everyday measures, supplements and options a doctor may consider. For the rest — general advice. No measure removes a risk completely.
Check estradiol by blood test before acting on symptoms; keep salt and body fat in check.
How each option helps (2)
- Regular blood tests — A sensitive estradiol test shows whether water retention or nipple tenderness really comes from high estrogen.
- Working with a doctor — Prescription estrogen control is safer when adjusted by lab results than by guesswork.
Avoid combining several oral steroids; regular cardio, soluble fiber (psyllium), less saturated fat and alcohol; if LDL/ApoB stay high, a doctor may consider a statin. Omega-3 only lowers triglycerides.
How each option helps (8)
- Regular blood tests — A lipid panel with ApoB shows how far HDL has dropped and LDL risen — changes you cannot feel.
- Working with a doctor — Interprets lipids and ApoB and decides whether a statin or other therapy is warranted.
- Avoiding alcohol and other liver stressors — Alcohol raises triglycerides; its small HDL bump does not lower heart risk.
- Regular cardio training — Raises HDL a little and lowers triglycerides; it cannot offset a steroid-driven fall in HDL on its own.
- Berberine — Placebo-controlled meta-analysis: LDL about 0.5 and triglycerides about 0.4 mmol/L lower; HDL unchanged. Trials are mostly small; no statin substitute.
- Citrus bergamot — Pooled small trials show lower LDL and triglycerides, but certainty is low to very low; it is no replacement for statins.
- Omega-3 (fish oil, EPA/DHA) — Clearly lowers triglycerides but does not fix the steroid HDL drop, the main lipid harm; DHA-containing oils may even raise LDL slightly.
- Psyllium husk fiber — Lowers LDL by about 0.2–0.3 mmol/L (roughly 5–10%), also on top of doctor-prescribed statins; no effect on HDL.
Check hormones before and after; if they stay low, see an endocrinologist.
How each option helps (2)
- Regular blood tests — LH, FSH and testosterone show how deep suppression is and whether natural production has recovered afterwards.
- Working with a doctor — Assesses how deep suppression is and guides recovery afterwards, including fertility testing.
Products obtained without a prescription are often fake, mislabeled or non-sterile, and there is no way to check at home. For legal supplements, look for third-party testing (Informed Sport, NSF).
React early: see a doctor at the first lump, check estradiol and prolactin.
How each option helps (1)
- Working with a doctor — Early assessment of breast-tissue growth allows treatment before the change becomes permanent.
What is unknown cannot be lowered, only avoided; tell your doctor what you have taken.
Stop at the first voice change and see a doctor — early stopping matters.
How each option helps (1)
- Working with a doctor — Steroid labels say to stop at the first mild signs (hoarse voice, facial hair, clitoral growth) to prevent permanent change; checks catch them early but do not make use safe.
Check-ups and blood tests
Which tests and check-ups to do and when. This is a guide — agree the exact schedule with your doctor.
Which doctors can help
Get medical help at once if
- A painful lump under the nipple or nipple discharge — see a doctor early, while it can still regress; a hard, painless or fixed lump, skin dimpling or bloody discharge — see a doctor promptly.
- Deepening voice, new facial hair, clitoral enlargement — stop and see a doctor: changes can become permanent. (women)
In an emergency, call your local emergency number.
For women
In postmenopausal women a single intake raised testosterone sharply, with peak values above the normal female range in half of them, while estrone also rose. Repeated use can cause acne, hair growth and other virilizing changes, some of them permanent.
Myth & fact
“Andro is a natural alternative to steroids that raises testosterone.”
In a JAMA trial it did not raise testosterone or add muscle or strength, but estradiol rose and HDL fell. US law has classed it as an anabolic steroid since 2005.
Combinations
No specific combination notes for this substance yet. The stack check still adds up side effects that several substances share.
Sources
Possible side effects by body system, combinations, how to lower the risks and which tests to do — free.
Open the stack check