Hard89,
This is an interesting topic that's been fairly hotly debated over the years:
How does oxymetholone interact with your estrogen receptors?
Luckily, it's the topic of my next evolutionary research paper for 2019, so I'll share a few details here.
Basically, Oxymetholone (OXY) is a dihydrotestosterone-derived drug - with an addition of 2-hydroxymethylene (2-H).
Simply put:
Oxymetholone = 17 beta-hydroxy-
2-hydroxymethylene-17 alpha-methyl-5 alpha-androstan-3-one
However, without 2-hydroxymethylene, it becomes:
17 beta-hydroxy-17 alpha-methyl-5 alpha-androstan-3-one -- which is mestanolone.
This in itself should be a good enough reason not to cause estrogen problems, but
let's keep reading --
This particular addition of 2-H gives oxymetholone unique characteristics when compared to other dht-derived steroids like anavar, primobolan and winstrol. Although both come from the dht-derived (17beta-hydroxyandrostan-3-one) family, they work completely different. And while studies haven't made any direct link between 2-hydroxymethylene and the odd behavior of oxymetholone, I suspect 2-H is the culprit behind the differences in this steroid class.
Let's face it, it's a commonly known fact that anavar/winstrol/primobolan/masteron are usually used for cutting and anadrol for bulking. Yet, they come from the same family tree - how interesting.
confused? keep reading.....
Now here comes the "fun" part :
As I metioned earlier, oxymetholone is a dht-derivative, which has only 1 modification (not taking into account alkylation). This chemical structure cannot convert to estrogen. In addition, oxy is not a progestin, at least not by any studies that we have. Furthermore, it doesn't show any viable progestogenic activity.
So, why do many bodybuilders (not all of course) who take anadrol feel bloated, get gynecomastia or gynecomastica-symptoms and feel like they are taking a high dbol dose+? --
all signs of estrogenic activity it would seem?
Due to lack of scientific evidence, the only true explanation I could find is oxy has some kind of an ability to stimulate the estrogen receptor. How? I honestly cannot tell you, but the interesting news is that no one in the industry knows for sure either. (obviously there are many theories) Therefore, this is still open for debate, and it's unlikely we'll get any scientific data on this going forward.
With all this in mind, I would be careful trying to tie a dose of an aromatase inhibitor (AI) with side effect control for oxy. Oxy doesn't stimulate the aromatase enzyme, so you need to consider alternatives here.
P.S. Anecdotally, there seems to be negative interaction between tamoxifen and oxymetholone use. I've seen it reporter over the years on a regular basis, so you should think through before taking the tamox route.
P.P.S. I welcome further discussion about the impact of 2-hydroxymethylene on possible estrogen receptor stimulation, if that's even possible?
Thank you for your continued support of Evolutionary.org!
Yours in Sport,
Albert Wolfgang (WPA)
Chief Researcher and Administrator