@Faustum
Dihexa cycling oral, nootropics and oxidative stress supplements, and blasting and cruising based off bloodwork
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
thank u very he;lpfulEveryone in here is arguing the wrong axis. "You'll lose IQ points" is actually the weakest claim there is, the direct human evidence for it is thin and confounded. So when someone says studies prove it tanks your IQ, they're overstating it, and that's probably why nobody here takes it seriously.
The part that actually matters for the brain is different, and it's the one nobody mentioned. Androgens shift the dopamine/reward system, and at 16 that system is in its most plastic phase, it's still calibrating what feels rewarding and how much risk feels normal. Adolescent AAS models show exactly this: more impulsivity, more risk-taking, more pull toward other addictive stuff, and it doesn't cleanly reverse when you come off. It's not "brain damage," it's that you can quietly recalibrate who you are in a direction you didn't pick, and you won't feel it happening. That last part is the whole problem.
Which is why "I'm on 400/100 at 16 and I'm completely normal" isn't what it sounds like. Of course he feels normal, that's what this effect looks like from the inside, nobody feels their own baseline shifting. Saying you feel fine is not evidence you're fine, it's just the absence of a symptom you couldn't perceive anyway. And the "who cares about IQ if you have muscles and girls" take is the same thing said out loud: you're betting your long-term wiring on what a 16 year old thinks matters right now. Think about that I know it's the usual "Parent Talk" but as someone that has been in the exact same shoes as you that now has a different view cause of how the brain develops in just a few years.
Fact is you can't see what your brain is like in 5-10 years time and neither can some imbecil forum larper that doesn't know shit. I'll post links to some scientific reviews.
Quick distinction before anyone runs with this. The human brain studies on AAS users (Bjørnebekk's group: lower brain volume, thinner cortex, accelerated brain-age markers, worse working memory and executive function) are correlational and cross-sectional, run on long-term heavy users, with the effect strongest in those who were dependent or had used for years. They don't prove a single moderate cycle causes that. So if I claimed "studies prove 300 for 7 months damages your brain," I'd be overstating it, and that's fair to call out.
The causal, mechanistic stuff (androgens shifting the dopamine/reward system via opioid signaling, adolescent rats showing altered decision-making and higher risk-taking) is animal models. Strong on mechanism, but it's not human and not your exact dose.
So there is no single human study showing "moderate dose causally lowers IQ." That study doesn't exist, and anyone who tells you it does is bluffing. What you actually have is two incomplete lines of evidence pointing the same way: correlational human data showing worse brains and cognition in users, and causal animal data showing why. Neither alone is a slam dunk. But "no perfect study exists" is not the same as "it's safe", and for a 16 year old you also stack the developmental angle on top, which none of this evidence makes look better for you.
Studies:
Structural Brain Imaging of Long-Term Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Users and Nonusing Weightlifters - PubMed
This large-scale systematic investigation of AAS use on brain structure shows negative correlations between AAS use and brain volume and cortical thickness. Although the findings are correlational, they may serve to raise concern about the long-term consequences of AAS use on structural features...Long-term Anabolic–Androgenic Steroid Use Is Associated With Deviant Brain Aging
High-dose long-term use of anabolic–androgenic steroids (AASs) may cause a range of adverse effects, including brain and cognitive abnormalities. We p…www.sciencedirect.com
Effects of anabolic-androgens on brain reward function - PubMed
Androgens are mainly prescribed to treat several diseases caused by testosterone deficiency. However, athletes try to promote muscle growth by manipulating testosterone levels or assuming androgen anabolic steroids (AAS). These substances were originally synthesized to obtain anabolic effects...ANABOLIC-ANDROGENIC STEROIDS (AAS) INCREASE SENSITIVITY TO UNCERTAINTY BY INHIBITION OF DOPAMINE D1 AND D2 RECEPTORS - PMC
Anabolic-androgenic steroid abuse is implicated in maladaptive behaviors such as impaired cognition in humans. In a rat model, our lab has shown that testosterone decreases preference for a large/uncertain reward in probability discounting. Other ...
You natrully have test, why would a little more decrease IQ…
testosterone is not significantly neurotoxic and there is no need to worry, with 19nors its another game but still mitigable
I think you will only lose IQ if you take an AI or somehow not have high estrogen. If you make it 200mg you will almost certainly not get brain damage due to this being like reasonably above TRT, 300mg idk. So my point is estrogen will reasonable counteract the brain damage you get from roids
