Formebolone (Esiclene)
Hubernol, Formyldienolone, Formebolona
Forms: Historically oral and injectable forms; the injectable Esiclene was the one used by bodybuilders.
A 17α-methylated anabolic steroid once used in medicine. Bodybuilders injected it into small muscles because its irritant effect made them swell for a while.
Legal status: Named as a Schedule III anabolic steroid in the US; rarely if ever available as a licensed medicine today; 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
In bodybuilding it was used before contests as a 'site enhancer': the inflamed muscle looks fuller for a time. In the 1970s–80s it was studied as an anabolic in malnourished infants, children with growth delay and kidney patients.
What people seek and what studies show
Old studies showed anabolic effects: it limited protein breakdown in rats, raised protein synthesis in kidney patients and sped up growth and bone age in children. The local 'growth' after injection is inflammation and swelling, not new muscle tissue; no controlled study of this use exists.
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 4 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. Prescription medicines are listed only for a doctor to decide on, after tests — they have side effects of their own.
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).
No alcohol, no other liver stressors, limit oral steroids and their combinations, check liver enzymes.
How each option helps (6)
- Avoiding alcohol and other liver stressors — Removes a major extra liver stressor during oral steroids and other hepatotoxic drugs.
- Regular blood tests — ALT, AST, GGT and bilirubin show liver strain before symptoms; heavy lifting alone raises AST/ALT for days, and GGT helps tell muscle from liver.
- Ademetionine (SAMe) — Used for intrahepatic cholestasis in some countries, but trials are small and of low quality; untested in steroid users. Stopping the oral steroid matters most.
- N-acetylcysteine (NAC) — Restores glutathione; proven in paracetamol poisoning and helped in early acute liver failure of other causes, but untested in steroid users.
- TUDCA (tauroursodeoxycholic acid) — Improves bile flow in cholestatic disease; in steroid cholestasis only case reports, with failures in severe cases. Stopping the oral steroid matters most.
- Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) — A doctor may consider it to improve bile flow; in steroid cholestasis benefit is unproven and severe cases often did not respond. Stopping the oral steroid comes first. Has side effects of its own.
Sterile technique, never share needles, vials or pens; see a doctor for a hot, swollen site. If equipment was ever shared, test for HIV and hepatitis B/C and ask about hepatitis B vaccination.
What is unknown cannot be lowered, only avoided; tell your doctor what you have taken.
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.
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
- Yellow skin or eyes, dark urine, pale stools, intense itching, pain under the right ribs — see a doctor now; sudden severe abdominal pain with dizziness or fainting — call emergency services.
- A hot, red, swollen or pus-filled injection site with fever — signs of an abscess; see a doctor.
- 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
Data in women are absent. As an anabolic steroid it may cause virilization (deeper voice, excess hair, clitoral enlargement) that can be permanent.
Myth & fact
“Esiclene makes a lagging muscle grow.”
The extra size is local inflammation and swelling that fades; it is not new muscle tissue, and repeated injections add the risk of infection.
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