How Deca Durabolin Nandrolone is Detected

Deca Durabolin, which is also known as 19-nortestosterone, is an anabolic steroid that, in very small quantities, is present in all of us.  You may also know Deca Durabolin by its commercial name Durabolin, under which it is sold as an ester. Today, there are many medical uses for Deca Durabolin one of which is treating osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. This anabolic steroid is also used to treat anemia.

Metabolism and Deca Durabolin
There are many positive effects of taking Deca Durabolin, some of which are muscle growth, appetite stimulation and increased red blood cell production and strengthened bone density. There have been numerous university research studies which have revealed Deca Durabolin to be effective in treating anemia, osteoporosis and some forms of neoplasia including breast cancer. Deca also acts as a progestin-based contraceptive.  Because of these medical breakthroughs, the U.S. FDA gave approval for the widespread use of Deca Durabolin in 1983.

Deca is not broken down into DHT and, as a result, there are some drawbacks to using Deca Durabolin.  To a certain extent, the negative side effects that are common to most anabolic steroids that appear on the scalp, skin, and prostate are reduced, but not entirely. Rather, Deca is broken down into a weaker androgen called dihydroDeca Durabolin. As a result, the lack of alkylation in the important 17α-carbon drastically reduces Deca’s liver toxicity. Despite side effects like gynaecomastia and reduced sex drive occurring at larger dosages, the estrogenic effects are mitigated because the drug is a progestin. If taken for lengthy periods, Deca Durabolin can cause erectile dysfunction and cardiovascular damage, as well as several other ailments caused from Deca’s effect of lowering levels of the luteinizing hormone. Erectile dysfunction may occur because of dihydroDeca Durabolin being in the penis.

Ways to Detect Deca-Durabolin
Deca Durabolin can be directly detected in the hair or indirectly detected in the urine by testing for 19-norandrosterone, which is a metabolite. The International Olympic Committee has set standards about the quantity of 19-norandrosterone in the urine that is allowed in sport competitions. If an athlete exceeds such limits, they stand to be accused of doping. The largest testing of Deca Durabolin among sports athletes came at the recent Vancouver Olympics where more than 600 athletes were asked to provide urine samples. Thankfully, no one tested positive. Until 2004, Deca Durabolin was available without a prescription as a dietary supplement.

1999 was a year when numerous professional athletes, including M. Ottey, D. Baumann and L. Christie tested positive for using Deca Durabolin. Needless to say, the detection method for Deca Durabolin was proved to be faulty the next year. There have been instances where athletes have mistakenly tested positive for using Deca Durabolin. If used excessively, the essential amino acid lysine (which is used to prevent cold sores) will cause “false positives” and the presence of metabolites from other anabolic steroids will cause incorrect urine test results to occur. As a result of the numerous overturned verdicts, the testing procedure was reviewed by Sport Authorities worldwide. Today, mass spectrometry is used to detect small samples of Deca Durabolin in urine due to its unique molar mass.