Sustanon 250 Side Effects

When it comes to using testosterone steroids we have two main options: use a single ester on its own, or take advantage of the benefits of Sustanon 250 which contains four esters in the one formula.

Your choice won’t change the results you get for the most part, because you are still taking a testosterone steroid.

In other words, they’re both the exact same steroid. And that means the side effects profile will be the same. So if you’ve previously used any other testosterone steroid, you will know what to expect with Sustanon 250.

Sustanon 250 is a popular choice with bodybuilders, but not everyone prefers this combination blend and some will maintain that a single ester testosterone makes it easier to keep on top of your testosterone levels. Others find that the less frequent injections required with Sustanon make it worth using.

This is what you need to know about using Sustanon 250, including what specific side effects to be aware of and how to deal with them if they do arise.

Author’s Note: The following guide is based on my personal experience and does NOT promote the illegal use of steroids (PEDs).

What is Sustanon 250?

Sustanon 250 is unique in that it is a formula combination of four ester variants of testosterone. All four contain the exact same testosterone hormone, but with different esters attached.

What is the point and the benefit of this approach, you might be wondering? Isn’t one testosterone steroid enough?

The idea is that Sustanon 250 combines both fast acting and short lived with slower and longer acting esters so you get immediate and sustained optimal levels of the testosterone hormone.

This design was of course intended for medical purposes for the treatment of low testosterone, where the combination of short and long esters allows for just one injection every three or four weeks. When bodybuilders use Sustanon 250, injections are more frequent but can be as little once per week if desired.

The four different esters and their associated amounts and approximate half life in Sustanon 250 are:

• Testosterone Phenylpropionate (60mg) – 2.7 days
• Testosterone Propionate (30mg) – 4.5 days
• Testosterone Decanoate (100mg) – 6 days
• Testosterone Isocaproate (60mg) – 9 days

The name Sustanon 250 simply comes from the total amount of the four combined esters: 250mg of testosterone.

You can expect to see the same results from Sustanon 250 as with any other testosterone steroid because the attached esters have no bearing at all on the activity of the hormone.

Sustanon 250 simply provides you with another option for using testosterone which is unique and much more convenient than separately combining multiple different esters yourself.

What does Sustanon 250 do?

The effects of Sustanon 250 will be identical to those of any other testosterone steroid, the difference being in the time and duration.

Sustanon 250 will start working quickly because its fastest ester has a very short half life, therefore the hormone is quickly released after injecting.

This gives you the benefit of being able to see noticeable results early on in your cycle. If we compare this to the use of a sole slow acting ester like Testosterone Enanthate which can take two weeks or more to start delivering benefits, the advantages of Sustanon 250 become clear.

These are the main effects and benefits you can look forward to when using Sustanon 250:

• Muscle size: Expect big increases in lean muscle when Sustanon 250 is used with a suitable diet and intensive weights training for the duration of the cycle. You need to be consuming enough quality calories to support tissue growth, with resistance training causing the required cycle of muscle damage and repair that leads to muscle gains. On a Sustanon 250 only cycle you could be gaining 20lbs of weight, and the majority of this should be able to be maintained post cycle. Some water weight is to be expected but it should not be severe with Sustanon 250.
• Strength: Big boosts to strength is one of the most desirable benefits of Sustanon 250. You’ll be able to lift heavier, and this obviously leads to more substantial muscle gains in a shorter period of time.
• Recovery: The damage to muscle tissue resulting from heavy weights training is accelerated with Sustanon 250. You will notice this recovery turnaround is shortened, allowing you to work the same muscles more regularly with less downtime.
• Endurance: At the point you would normally become fatigued, Sustanon 250 will allow you to keep operating at an intensive level. This extra stamina and endurance, combined with more strength, once again takes training to new levels and accelerates those gains because you’re fitting more and more into every workout session.
• Muscle preservation: You can include Sustanon 250 in a cutting cycle purely to support preservation of existing lean tissue while on a low calorie fat burning diet. Sustanon 250 provides this anti-catabolic protection that helps you avoid loss of body condition during cutting phases.

All of these core benefits of Sustanon 250 are brought upon by the increased red blood cell production that comes about with higher testosterone levels, combined with improved protein synthesis and nitrogen retention. Keeping a positive nitrogen balance is critical to staying in an anabolic state to build and maintain muscle.

Sustanon 250 will also boost output of the powerful anabolic hormone IGF-1.

Unlike some of the very popular single ester testosterone steroids like enanthate and cypionate, Sustanon will start delivering noticeable benefits much sooner in the first week of the cycle thanks to the inclusion of fast acting esters.

Short-Term Side Effects

The short term side effects of Sustanon 250 will be the same as you would expect from any other testosterone steroid. The main difference here will be how quickly any side effects might develop, compared to when you use solely a large ester compound that takes some time to kick in.

With Sustanon 250, testosterone levels you get a fast response with the shortest ester of the four being Testosterone Phenylpropionate with a half life of under three days. This makes it possible to start experiencing side effects within the first week when high doses are used.

Men will often be able to tolerate quite high levels of testosterone and not always experience notable side effects, but this is an individual response and each person will have their own experience, particularly when it comes to androgenic related side effects that are heavily dependent on genetics.

Short term side effects of Sustanon will almost always subside within a few weeks of stopping the steroid, once the slowest ester clears the system. Some effects like hair loss can become permanent, and testosterone suppression can be alleviated quicker with the implementation of PCT.

Acne, water retention and cholesterol changes should in most cases subside on their own in due course.

Estrogenic Side Effects

Estrogen related side effects can develop with higher doses of Sustanon 250 as the process of aromatization causes testosterone to convert to estrogen.

These are the types of side effects steroid users will be familiar with and include gynecomastia and water retention. In cases of more severe fluid retention, an increase in blood pressure can develop as well.

There should be no reason for Sustanon 250 to suffer with fluid induced high blood pressure because with sensible control measures through the use of SERMs, water retention is normally quite simple to keep to a minimum.

Diet can also play a role, with a reduction in carbohydrates and salty foods assisting in keeping fluid down. Clearly this will also help greatly with your physique by reducing the appearance of bloating.

Androgenic Side Effects

With testosterone’s powerful androgenic rating of 100, any male with genetic sensitivities to androgens can see themselves developing some of the more undesirable exterior side effects of Sustanon 250.

While this isn’t likely at lower doses, the more you raise your dosage the higher chance you may experience one or more of the following androgenic side effects:

Acne and oily skin

Increased sebum production can lead to acne breakouts. This can include not only on your face, but some guys will have breakouts across the shoulders and back as well as other areas.

You won’t really know the extent of this side effect until using Sustanon for the first time. But if you were an acne sufferer in your teenage years then chances are you’re more likely to breakout on during a Sustanon cycle. This is one of the those harmless steroid side effects that can nevertheless cause distress in cases where the acne becomes more severe.

Hair loss

Male pattern baldness is a genetic trait that some men will inherit. If your father or grandfather has MPB then there’s a high risk you too will be destined to lose hair as you get older.

Sustanon can bring on this effect much earlier than you would have otherwise experienced it, and once again it’s higher doses that will raise the risk. When testosterone is converted to DHT and when DHT levels rise too much, it can affect the hair follicles and normal patterns of hair growth.

The hair follicles can shrink, causing the hair to fall out. Some steroid users who are sensitive to DHT can find that a DHT blocker like Finasteride can help reduce the severity of hair loss.

Body hair growth

Testosterone is the stimulator of body hair growth as men go through puberty and beyond and Sustanon can cause this to continue. Like all androgenic effects, each male will differ with some having little no extra hair growth, while others will see more pronounced growth.

Hepatotoxic Side Effects

One of the best things about testosterone steroid injections is that they present no stress to the liver. So Sustanon 250 is not going to cause changes to your liver enzyme values.

Sustanon 250 will often be used in a stack and this can include oral steroids which are toxic to the liver. Oral steroids pass through the liver on ingestion, while injectables like Sustanon 250 do not.

HPTA and Endogenous Testosterone Production Side Effects

Any testosterone steroid you use is going to bring about a reduction in normal testosterone production, and just how far this goes will depend on your Sustanon 250 dosage plus your individual health factors. This will only cause a problem once your Sustanon 250 ends and the longest acting ester clears your system.

Once your body detects that the external source of testosterone is no longer being provided, it will start producing the hormone again. But this is a slow process when it’s left to be done naturally. During that time, you are almost certain to suffer with some level of low testosterone symptoms.

These will impact your quality of life, and also make it difficult to keep the gains you worked so hard for during your cycle. To avoid these complications, post cycle therapy will speed up the process of restoring natural testosterone function.

The best PCT drugs to use are usually in the SERMs category – Clomid and Nolvadex. PCT usually runs for four weeks and once finished, your natural testosterone function should be back to its normal level.

If you don’t implement PCT then you’re virtually certain to suffer with considerable discomfort from low testosterone, including: loss of muscle, fat gain, lack of energy, lack of focus, low libido, poor sleep, depression and the list goes on.

Every Sustanon 250 user should have a PCT ready to go. This can include Clomid, Nolvadex and HCG.

When using Clomid, a common dose is 50mg daily for 2 weeks, then dropped to 25mg daily for another 2 weeks. Nolvadex is effective at 40mg daily for the first 2 weeks, then reduced to 20mg daily for the last two weeks.

Either of these will often be combined with Human Chorionic Gondatropin (HCG) to trigger the production of testosterone HCG will often be taken for 8 weeks for PCT purposes somewhere in the range of 500iu and 1000iu each day.

Cardiovascular Side Effects

Some of the scariest side effects of anabolic steroids in general are the cardiovascular related effects. This includes negative changes to cholesterol levels and increased blood pressure.

There are two ways that blood pressure could increase when you’re using Sustanon 250:

• When your cholesterol level rises
• When there is excessive water retention

Sustanon 250 is unlikely to impact cholesterol to the same severe level as some other steroids do, but it’s possible that HDL (good cholesterol) can decrease.

This becomes a higher risk when you use an aromatase inhibitor drug to combat estrogenic side effects. In this case, it’s possible that HDL cholesterol will decrease, while you also get an increase in bad cholesterol (LDL).

For this reason, a SERM is recommended for the purpose of controlling estrogenic side effects instead, as they are not known to cause cholesterol issues.

Whether you still choose to use an AI or if you go with a SERM, a cholesterol friendly diet is a must while using Sustanon 250. Primarily this means including omega 3 fatty acids and minimal sugar and processed foods containing saturated and trans fats.

Your workouts should also include regular cardiovascular training like treadmill running.

Is Sustanon 250 Safe?

Sustanon 250 is deemed safe for its intended medical use in treating low testosterone conditions in men. When it comes to using Sustanon 250 for performance purposes and at high doses, it’s never possible to declare it completely safe.

Testosterone is certainly considered the “safest” or at least the most tolerable steroid for men to use for bodybuilding, simply because you’re using an unaltered hormone that your body naturally produces – albeit at much higher doses.

The main risks to be cautious about with Sustanon 250 involve its potential to impact cholesterol, blood pressure and therefore cause some stress to the cardiovascular system.

Then there’s the general risks that come with all injectable steroids: you need to be sure you’re buying high quality Sustanon 250 that has not been made in unhygienic labs where contamination and injection can become a real risk.

So while no anabolic steroids can ever be considered safe when we are using them at high doses for bodybuilding, Sustanon 250 and testosterone in general would be thought of as the least risky of all steroids.

FAQs

What happens when you stop taking Sustanon 250?

When you stop Sustanon 250 the longest acting ester will slowly clear your system and after a few weeks the anabolic effects of the steroid will come to an end.

Your natural testosterone levels will likely be very low, so PCT will be essential to stimulate normal testosterone production and avoid suffering the many side effects of low testosterone.

How often should Sustanon 250 be injected?

Most bodybuilders will inject Sustanon 250 twice weekly, splitting the weekly dose into two injections.

Sustanon 250 is known to be a painful injection for some users so injecting a smaller amount at each administration can help reduce discomfort.

Some users like to inject three times weekly, and others go as far as to do it every other day due to the fact that the shortest ester has a half life of under three days.

Is Sustanon good for beginners?

Sustanon 250 is not the most ideal testosterone steroid for beginners because the different half lives of the four esters can make it difficult to work out where your blood levels are at.

Despite this, many beginners do use Sustanon 250 and enjoy the effects of multiple esters and having the option to inject once per week if desired (even if it’s not the most recommend strategy).

What are the side effects of Sustanon 250?

The possible side effects of Sustanon are the same as all other testosterone steroids: water retention, gynecomastia, high blood pressure, testosterone suppression, hair loss and acne.

Higher doses raise the risk of these side effects, and genetics will play a major role in whether you suffer acne or hair loss.

Is Sustanon the same as testosterone?

Yes, Sustanon 250 is the same as any other testosterone steroid. You get the same benefits as well as the same side effects. The only difference is that Sustanon 250 contains four different esters in one which each have a different half life, making it possible to inject less frequently if you choose.

Final Thoughts

Sustanon 250 is an effective steroid. We know that because we know that testosterone does everything you expect it to and it does that without some of the really harsh side effects that some of the other steroids cause.

But that doesn’t mean Sustanon 250 is without risks. To get the results most of us really want, we need to be consistently using it at higher doses – well above medical patients are prescribed.

The injections are also some of the more painful among steroids and doing this two or three times every week for 12 weeks has turned into something I dread.