Okay, one more thing. And I can't believe this myth still exists. There is no such thing as a "slow acting" steroid. It's in your bloodstream immediately. What do you think the first and second and third weeks dosage was doing when it was in you? Nothing? Waiting for your 12th injection?
Now as far as how long it takes to see results, yeah, that may take a while. And EQ isn't that powerful mg per mg compared to other steroids. But honestly, whenever I did a cycle , even Primobolan, which is very mild, I could see the difference in about a week. I would take on "the look." That doesn't mean pounds of muscle, but more hardness, fullness and vascularity. Now certain drugs , like Dianabol, have a reputation for being fast acting but that's because dianabol increases blood volume and water FAST. And mg per mg, it's powerful -- so you put on weight quickly. But the rate of actual muscle growth is the same. It isn't like some steroids have to "build up in the system." That's a complete fallacy and it's the cause of people wasting gear because they're not taining as hard as they need to because they think the drug "hasn't kicked in yet." Lose that thinking now.
Steroid esters are made up of the steroid molecule with a carbon chain attached to it. This carbon chain determines the half-life of the steroid, and solubility in the bloodstream. Each ester contains a different number of carbon atoms, and this is what sets them apart from one another.
Formate-1 carbon ester
Acetate-2 carbon ester
Propionate-3 carbon ester
Butyrate-4 carbon ester
Valerate-5 carbon ester
Hexanoate-6 carbon ester
Heptanoate-7 carbon ester
Enanthate-8 carbon ester
Octanoate-8 carbon ester
Cypionate-8 carbon ester
Nonanoate-9 carbon ester
Decnoate-10 carbon ester
Undecanoate-11 carbon ester
The more carbon atoms present within the ester, the less soluble the steroid is in the blood stream, and this causes the half-life to be higher than with an ester with fewer carbon atoms. The steroid itself is activated when these carbon atoms are removed. The esterase and hydrolysate enzymes work by cleaving off these carbon atoms from the carbon chain. Certain steroids have been known to cause injection pain and irritation. One example is testosterone propionate. This steroid will often times cause enough site irritation to cause localized swelling. Some people are more sensitive than others to this reaction, but in general, the shorter carbon chain steroid esters cause more injection pain. The less painful are the longer carbon ester chains such as decanoate, undecanoate, and cypionate.
Many people believe that 100mg of testosterone propionate contains 100mg of testosterone, and with this thinking, it is also believed that all testosterones, nandrolones, or any other steroid are equal in potency. The weight of the ester attached to the steroid must be taken into account. Testosterone suspension is not attached to an ester and 100mg will yield 100mg of testosterone. On the other hand, 100mg of testosterone propionate will contain only 74mg of testosterone and the other 26mg is made up of the propionate ester.
Steroid esters with a longer carbon chain weigh more than shorter esters such as acetate or propionate. With the longer esters taking up more space, there is less room for the steroid itself. Testosterone Enanthate contains 55% testosterone with the other 45% being made up of the enanthate ester. A typical 200mg dose of this steroid will yield 110mg of testosterone, while 200mg of testosterone propionate contains 148mg of actual testosterone. Steroid esters with a higher half-life than enanthate will weigh even more and even less of the steroid will be present.
It is recommended to schedule injection times based on the half-life of the drug taken. When dealing with long acting esters, levels of the steroid will generally build up over time. When the steroid has reached it’s half-life, half of the original dose is gone, and another dose will be taken. After a few months of this, the level of the steroid in the body can become extremely high. This is often very apparent with steroids like trenbolone enanthate, where levels become high enough after time to cause unbearable night sweats and insomnia. Some of the side effects from high blood levels of other drugs are not always immediately noticed as they are with trenbolone, but there could be long-term problems. Most people do not intend for levels of the steroid taken to get to an extremely high level, but this can be avoided by simply taking a lower dose of the steroid.