Q: I’ve enclosed an empty box of Oxitron 50 from Bratis Labs, which I purchased in Laredo, Mexico. Can you tell if it’s any good?

A: I’ve been getting a lot of questions about Bratis Labs lately, and yes, these products are legit, sort of. Bratis is not actually a real drug company, but an underground oral-steroid manufacturer. The feedback from other bodybuilders on the oxymetholone you sent has been excellent, just as it seems to be with the whole line, which includes Bratis’ versions of D-bol, Winstrol, Anavar, Primobolan and Nolvadex. I’m often hesitant to recommend underground operations, as you never know from one day to the next what will happen with their products. With all I’ve seen and heard about the company so far, however, it’s difficult not to recommend Bratis.

Q: I heard somewhere that it’s the impurities in steroids that cause the acne people sometimes get, and that clean products will not produce it. Is that true? A: Acne is related to androgen receptor stimulation in the skin, which triggers the sebaceous glands to secrete oils. As androgen levels rise, so do the output of oils and the likelihood of clogged pores. Products from the most thorough drug companies, with the highest quality control practices, can cause acne just as easily as any others. Your best bet is to try to keep your skin clean, which should help minimize the problem. If that doesn’t work, most bodybuilders opt for the prescription drug Accutaine, which lowers the sebaceous glands’ oil-secreting capacity. Q: I’ve just received an overseas price list with Goldline cypionate on it. Can you tell me if it might be real? A: I can tell you it definitely is not. Goldline cypionate hasn’t been made for some time. It was actually being manufactured for Goldline by Steris (a division of Schein) up until about 1998, when the FDA moved against Steris and seized the company’s inventories. There was a dispute over record keeping and the quantities of controlled substances manufactured and sold by the company. As a result, Steris no longer makes generic testosterone products, and the Goldline product was scratched as well. Q: I heard there’s a new Primobolan injectable about to be released in Mexico. It’s in a 10-milliliter vial, though, which sounds like a fake to me. Is it for real, or am I being lied to?

A: If you’re talking about the Ttokkyo item Primo-Plus 100, it’s most certainly for real. Ttokkyo is expected to release this product, which contains 100 milligrams per milliliter of methenolone enanthate, very shortly. It provides the first multidosed version of the steroid ever sold and should be much cheaper, comparatively, than single-dose ampules. They are expected to sell for under $100 in Mexico and probably around $150, give or take, on the U.S. black market. Ttokkyo has also been working on a 50-milligram Primo tablet, which has reportedly just hit the market in Mexico. It will also be a major improvement over the five-milligram tablets most commonly found at this time, as it is both more cost-effective and more convenient to use (two to three tabs a day are clearly much easier to deal with than 20 to 30).

Q: I keep hearing different things about what drugs I should use to restore testosterone levels postcycle. What’s best, Clomid, Nolvadex, Arimidex or HCG? My buddy keeps telling me all I need is Clomid. I’m confused.

A: An effective postcycle program consists of two absolutely necessary things, HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) and some type of anti-estrogen. HCG provides heavy luteinizing hormone stimulation to the testes, which should help restore testicular mass and normal testosterone-producing ability more quickly. Anti-estrogens help combat estrogen, which sometimes gets too high with HCG use, as the drug increases testicular aromatase. Although anti-estrogens (and aromatase inhibitors) are great testosterone boosters in normal situations, they don’t do much at all when used alone postcycle. That’s because they foster increased testosterone output by blocking the negative feedback of estrogens. No testosterone postcycle means no estrogen to block either (testosterone coverts to estrogen), which means you’re spending money on a drug for nothing.

Editor’s note: William Llewellyn’s new revised steroid book Anabolics 2002 is available from Home Gym Warehouse, 1-800-447-0008, or at www.home-gym.com. IM

Q: Everyone tells me that if I want to pack on a lot of mass, I should only consider using testosterone, Dianabol or Anadrol, but I’ve read that they can all cause gyno and fat gain. Are there any killer mass drugs out there that are not estrogenic?

A: While you can certainly make good gains on nonaromatizing compounds, it’s no coincidence that the best bulking agents are all estrogenic. Aside from the obvious added water weight estrogen brings, it also plays a couple of important roles in the body concerning muscle growth, including heightening the release of GH/IGF-1 and enhancing the use of glucose for tissue growth and repair. The lack of sufficient estrogen probably explains, at least in part, the weaker anabolic potency of compounds like Primobolan and oxandrolone.

Q: I really want to stay lean on my next cycle, and one of the things I’m looking at is estrogen buildup. What is my best option for an anti-estrogen?

A: The most common approach is to add Nolvadex to your cycle at 10 or 20 milligrams per day, which is sufficient for the needs of most athletes. If you truly want the lowest possible level of active estrogen, though, the anti-aromatase’meaning that it blocks the enzyme responsible for androgen-to-estrogen conversion’Arimidex would work a little better. It’s extremely expensive, however, costing as much as 10 times more than tamoxifen, and it may also be more likely to lower high-density-lipoprotein (HDL, the good cholesterol) values, as it interferes with estrogen action in the liver much more profoundly.

Q: I got Parabolan from a friend of mine in Europe about four or five years ago and loved the results I got from the cycle. He moved back to the States soon after, though, and I was never able to get Parabolan again. I’m told it isn’t made anymore. Are there any ways to get trenbolone, aside from those cattle pellets?

A: You are correct that Parabolan is unavailable, as it was taken off the market in 1997. Right now cattle implant pellets are the only source for real trenbolone, and, unfortunately, they can be a hassle to work with. I have heard that the Mexican firm Ttokkyo plans on releasing an injectable trenbolone product this year, however. It’s supposed to contain 75 milligrams of trenbolone acetate per milliliter, in a 30-milliliter bottle. That would be a nice alternative to the pellets, no?

Q: I purchased a steroid called Proviron, but a friend said I’d never gain any muscle on it. If it is a steroid, how can that be?

A: Proviron is basically an oral form of dihydrotestosterone, 1-methyl DHT to be specific. DHT and Proviron are both powerful androgens, but structurally they’re also very susceptible to the enzyme 3-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase. It’s present in high concentrations in muscle tissue and is responsible for converting DHT and Proviron to an inactive form. Ultimately, not much makes it to receptors in the muscles, which is why both steroids are poor anabolics. Proviron could provide some effect, but certainly there are better choices.

Editor’s note: William Llewellyn’s book Anabolics 2000 is available from Home Gym Warehouse, 1-800-447-0008, or visit www.home-gym.com. IM