Oxandrolone
Anavar / Oxandrin; 2-oxa DHT-derivative (oral)
Evidence grade 3 of 5, Mixed. Read how the Atlas grades evidence.
The written rationale for this grade is still being prepared.
- FDA
- Formerly FDA-approved (weight gain after trauma/surgery/infection, corticosteroid catabolism, osteoporotic bone pain); US approval withdrawn 2023; Schedule III
- WADA
- Prohibited at all times (S1 Anabolic Agents).
Reference only. Not medical advice.
This is something to take to a clinician. The Atlas can tell you what is known about oxandrolone in general. It cannot tell you what is happening in your body, and the difference matters most for exactly the symptoms that bring people to this page.
Oxandrolone is an orally active DHT-derivative (a 2-oxa analog) with one of the strongest legitimate medical track records among AAS. It was FDA-approved (as Anavar and later Oxandrin) to promote weight gain after surgery, trauma, chronic infection or corticosteroid catabolism and for osteoporotic bone pain, and it is supported by controlled trial evidence in severe burn recovery and HIV-associated wasting. It is comparatively less hepatotoxic than other 17-alpha-alkylated orals but is still 17aa and still suppresses the HPTA and harms lipids. In June 2023 the FDA formally withdrew approval, citing that the risks were sufficiently serious to warrant removal.
The oral with the most genuine medical history, and the most overstated safety reputation.
What people take it for
These are the reasons people give for taking it. They are not effects it has been shown to have.
- Severe burns
- Controlled trials report improved lean-mass retention and recovery in severe burn patients under intensive medical care.
- HIV-associated wasting
- Studied to counter catabolic weight loss.
- Post-trauma/surgery weight gain; corticosteroid catabolism
- The former core FDA indications.
- Turner syndrome (adjunct)
- Studied as a growth-promoting adjunct in pediatric endocrinology.
How it is supposed to work
Oxandrolone binds the androgen receptor to drive nitrogen retention and muscle protein synthesis and to counter catabolism. The 2-oxa substitution (an oxygen replacing carbon-2) and 17-alpha-alkylation make it orally active and metabolically resistant; it does not aromatize.
A DHT-derived steroid in which carbon-2 of the A-ring is replaced by oxygen (2-oxa), plus 17-alpha-alkylation for oral activity. Non-aromatizing.
Less hepatotoxic does not mean liver-safe, or heart-safe
Oxandrolone's reputation as 'the safe oral' overstates the data. It is still 17-alpha-alkylated and can cause cholestasis, peliosis hepatis and (rarely) liver tumors; the FDA label warned of these. It markedly suppresses HDL, arguably more than some injectables relative to dose, and suppresses the HPTA. The 2023 US withdrawal reflects a regulatory judgment that its harms outweighed its benefits.
Safety in detail
This intervention involves significant physiological effects and requires evaluation and monitoring by a qualified physician. US approval was withdrawn in 2023; self-administration carries documented health risks.
- Marked HDL suppression and adverse lipid profile.
- 17aa hepatotoxicity: cholestasis, peliosis hepatis, rare liver tumors (per former label).
- HPTA suppression.
- Virilization risk in women.
- US approval withdrawn 2023 over safety; illicit supply is unregulated.
Replacement is not the same as a cycle
Approved medical dosing was supervised for catabolic illness. Physique use is supraphysiological and now wholly unsanctioned in the US following the 2023 withdrawal. No dosing guidance is provided here.
What it does to fertility
Suppresses LH/FSH and spermatogenesis. As a non-aromatizing oral androgen it reliably impairs fertility during use; recovery is generally better than with long-ester injectables but is not guaranteed.
What has to be monitored
The bloodwork this needs, and the reason it belongs with a clinician rather than a website.
- Liver function
- Lipid panel
- LH/FSH, testosterone
- Hematocrit
- Blood pressure
What people get wrong
Often said'Anavar is safe, even women and beginners can use it freely'
ActuallyOxandrolone is still a 17aa oral that strongly suppresses HDL and the HPTA and can cause cholestatic liver injury and (in women) virilization. The US FDA withdrew its approval in 2023 over safety. 'Mild' is not 'safe.'
Often said'Anavar does not affect the liver'
ActuallyIt is comparatively less hepatotoxic, but its label warned of peliosis hepatis and liver tumors; the risk is reduced, not absent.
Who profits, and who pushes back
Nobody is named here yet, because we have not done that work on this entry. Read that as unfinished. Somebody almost certainly sells this, and somebody almost certainly disputes it. Assume both until we have checked.
How we got here
Oxandrolone was introduced by Searle in the early 1960s as Anavar. After Searle withdrew it in the late 1980s, it was reintroduced as Oxandrin (BTG) for AIDS-era wasting and acquired robust burn-recovery evidence in the 1990s-2000s. It became the archetypal 'mild' oral in gym culture. In June 2023 the FDA formally withdrew US approval for all indications.
- 1964Introduced by Searle as Anavar
- Late 1980sSearle withdraws Anavar
- 1990sReintroduced as Oxandrin; HIV-wasting and burn-recovery use
- 1997-2003Burn-recovery controlled-trial evidence accumulates
- 2023FDA formally withdraws US approval for all indications
At a glance
- Class
- Oral 17a-alkylated DHT-derivative (2-oxa)
- Half-life
- ~8-10 hours
- Notable medical evidence
- Severe burns, HIV wasting
- US approval
- Withdrawn 2023
What this entry does not yet cover
What follows is unfinished work on our side, not a finding about Oxandrolone. A short entry is not a safe entry.
- Cost and market. We have not documented what it sells for or who sells it.
- Supply chain. We have not mapped where it is made.
- Who uses it. We have not documented the user groups.
- What could change. No forward-looking summary yet.
- How it compares. We have not set it against the alternatives.
- Children and teenagers. We have not checked what is known about younger people.
- What can go wrong. We have not written the risk line for this one. Read the safety section below rather than treating its absence as reassurance.
Sources
The studies below are named and described, but not linked. You cannot open them from here and check our reading against them, which means this page is our summary of the literature rather than a document you can verify. Weigh it accordingly until the links exist.
The studies that matter
Demling & DeSanti, oxandrolone in severe burn recovery1997-2003
Reported improved weight/lean-mass restoration in burn patients on intensive support.
Berger et al., oxandrolone in HIV-associated wasting1996
Documented weight gain in catabolic HIV patients.
FDA withdrawal of oxandrolone approval2023
FDA formally withdrew US approval, judging potential adverse effects serious enough to remove the drug from the market.