Deca-Durabolin (Nandrolone Decanoate): Facts and Risks

Deca-Durabolin, often just called "Deca," is a brand name for nandrolone decanoate. It is an injected steroid that was once used in medicine and is now popular with bodybuilders. This page explains what it is, its medical history, its legal status and its risks.

Quick facts

Key facts: Nandrolone decanoate is a long-acting steroid shot. In the United States it was approved to treat anemia caused by kidney failure, but every nandrolone product in the FDA's database is now listed as discontinued. It is a Schedule III controlled substance.

What nandrolone decanoate is

Nandrolone is a steroid closely related to testosterone. Its other name, 19-nortestosterone, explains the difference. It is testosterone with one carbon atom taken away.

Deca is nandrolone joined to a fatty acid with 10 carbon atoms. As the Endocrine Connections review explains, adding a fatty acid makes a steroid last longer after a shot.

Medical history

In the United States, the drug was approved for one use. Its FDA-approved label said it was for "the anemia of renal insufficiency." That means anemia caused by kidney failure. The label noted that it raised hemoglobin and red blood cell counts.

Today, every nandrolone product listed in the FDA's Drugs@FDA database is marked as discontinued.

How it is misused

Doctors who study steroid users call nandrolone a typical "bulking" steroid. In a Dutch study of 100 steroid users, 33% reported using it during a cycle. The review notes that a typical stack is built on injected testosterone, often with nandrolone, trenbolone, drostanolone or boldenone added.

Health risks

Its old US label had the same warnings as other steroids. It warned of blood-filled cysts in the liver (peliosis hepatis), liver tumors and cholesterol changes that may raise the risk of heart disease.

The FDA label for testosterone enanthate lists the serious problems reported in people who misuse steroids. They include heart attack, heart failure, stroke, liver damage and serious mental health problems such as major depression, mania, paranoia and aggression. Men can get shrunken testicles and become infertile. Women can get a deeper voice, more facial and body hair, male-pattern baldness and changes to their periods. In teens, bones can stop growing too early.

Large studies back this up. In a Danish study, men who tested positive for steroids had three times the death rate of similar men. A heart study found weaker heart muscle and more plaque in the arteries of long-term users.

Hormone problems can also last. A Danish study found that 27% of men who had stopped using steroids about 2.5 years earlier still had low testosterone.

Illicit products carry another risk. When Dutch researchers tested steroids used by 100 people, only about half held the drug named on the label, according to a review in Endocrine Connections. Some held no active drug at all.

Legal status

In the United States, nandrolone is a Schedule III controlled substance. It is named in the federal list of anabolic steroids, 21 CFR 1308.13. It is a federal crime to have or sell it without a valid prescription.

In sport, it is banned at all times, in and out of competition, by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Frequently asked questions

What is Deca-Durabolin?

It is a brand name for nandrolone decanoate, a long-acting steroid shot based on nandrolone.

Is nandrolone FDA-approved?

It was approved in the United States to treat anemia caused by kidney failure. Every nandrolone product in the FDA's database is now listed as discontinued.

Is Deca legal?

Not without a prescription in the United States. Nandrolone is a Schedule III controlled substance.

Does nandrolone affect testosterone levels?

Yes. Like all anabolic steroids, it shuts down the body's own testosterone production, and studies show low testosterone can last for years after stopping.

Sources

• National Library of Medicine, DailyMed: nandrolone decanoate injection label
• Rasmussen JJ, et al. Former abusers of anabolic androgenic steroids exhibit decreased testosterone levels years after cessation. PLoS One. 2016
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Drugs@FDA
• FDA-approved label: testosterone enanthate injection (Drug Abuse and Dependence)
• de Ronde W, Smit DL. Anabolic androgenic steroid abuse in young males. Endocr Connect. 2020
• Horwitz H, et al. Health consequences of androgenic anabolic steroid use. J Intern Med. 2019
• Baggish AL, et al. Cardiovascular toxicity of illicit anabolic-androgenic steroid use. Circulation. 2017
• U.S. Code of Federal Regulations: 21 CFR 1308.13, Schedule III
• World Anti-Doping Agency: Prohibited List