19-Nor-DHEA
Also known as: 19-Nordehydroepiandrosterone, 19-Nor-DHEA, Estr-5-en-3β-ol-17-one, 19-Nor-5-DHEA
Lower numbers = closer to natural. Higher numbers = more enhanced.
Why this rating?
A grey-market oral prohormone that the body converts toward nandrolone (19-nortestosterone). Wikipedia classes it alongside 19-nor-5-androstenediol, bolandiol and bolandione as "orally active prohormones of nandrolone," and lists its drug class as androgen / anabolic steroid / progestogen. It is not "basically natty," since dosing reliably produces detectable nortestosterone/19-norandrosterone metabolites in urine and is WADA-prohibited at all times. However, the best available human evidence is not favorable: randomized, placebo-controlled 8-week trials of the closely related oral 19-nor-4-androstenedione/-diol (156 mg/day and even 344 mg/day) found NO significant change in lean body mass, strength, or performance versus placebo (Van Gammeren et al., 2001-2002). Oral prohormone-to-nandrolone conversion is inefficient, so real-world muscle-building potency looks far below injectable nandrolone and below what its banned status might imply. Rated 3: genuine suppressive/doping-risk steroid biochemistry without demonstrated muscle benefit at studied doses, well below true injectable AAS territory.
Overview
An oral "nor" prohormone marketed as a dietary supplement. Wikipedia describes it as a combined derivative of the anabolic steroid nandrolone (19-nortestosterone) and the prohormone DHEA, and groups it with the known orally active prohormones of nandrolone. It is intended to raise nandrolone levels in the body, delivering nandrolone-like lean-mass effects along with nandrolone's progestogenic side-effect profile.
Purpose & Use Cases
Nandrolone-Style Lean Mass
Aims to deliver nandrolone-like mass and recovery from an oral precursor, without an injection, though controlled 8-week human trials of closely related 19-nor andro compounds found no measurable body-composition or strength benefit over placebo.
Joint / Recovery Feel
Users seek the "wet"/joint-comfort feel associated with nandrolone. This is a community expectation extrapolated from nandrolone, not a verified effect of the prohormone.
Benefits
- Intended to raise nandrolone and support lean-mass gains without injecting
- A 19-nor steroid aromatizes only weakly (less estrogenic water retention than testosterone-type prohormones)
- Base compound (nandrolone) is not 17α-alkylated, so hepatic strain is lower than methylated orals
- Nandrolone has one of the more favourable anabolic-to-androgenic ratios among anabolic steroids
Good to Know
Controlled human trials found no measurable muscle or strength benefit
Randomized, placebo-controlled 8-week trials of the closely related 19-nor-4-androstenedione/19-nor-4-androstenediol (156 mg/day and 344 mg/day) found NO significant change in lean body mass, strength, or performance versus placebo, despite confirmed conversion to detectable nortestosterone metabolites in urine. Oral "nor" prohormones appear to convert too inefficiently at realistic doses to reliably build muscle, even though they carry genuine WADA-banned steroid risk.
It is a nandrolone prohormone, with nandrolone's progestogenic baggage
Wikipedia lists 19-Nor-DHEA among the "orally active prohormones of nandrolone" and classes it as androgen / anabolic steroid / progestogen. That progestogenic character is why it can cause "deca dick" and progesterone-driven gyno, which an aromatase inhibitor alone will not fix.
Finasteride works BACKWARDS on 19-nor compounds
Testosterone becomes the stronger androgen DHT via 5α-reductase, so finasteride helps the scalp on a test cycle. Nandrolone is the opposite: 5α-reductase turns it into the WEAKER 5α-dihydronandrolone, so blocking that enzyme with finasteride can leave MORE active nandrolone in androgenic tissue. Do not assume finasteride is protective here.
A prohormone, not a supplement: needs a test base and PCT
It converts to a real suppressive anabolic steroid, so a testosterone base (to prevent progestogenic sexual sides) and a proper SERM PCT are part of the protocol. Grey-market prohormone products are also frequently mislabelled.
Dosage Guidelines
| Experience Level | Dosage Range |
|---|---|
| Beginner | 100 – 150 mg/day |
| Intermediate | 150 – 250 mg/day |
| Advanced | 250 – 350 mg/day |
Commercial "19-Nor-DHEA / 19-Nor-Andro" products (e.g. Hi-Tech Decabolin, 75 mg/tablet) are labelled around 100-150 mg/day, and product guides commonly recommend 4- to 8-week cycles. Human research on the closely related oral 19-nor-4-androstenedione/-diol used 156 mg/day (low dose) and 344 mg/day (high dose) for 8 weeks, and NEITHER dose produced a measurable body-composition or strength benefit versus placebo. Conversion of the oral prohormone to nandrolone is inefficient, so a large fraction of any dose never becomes active hormone. These are product-label/community/research-protocol figures, not proven "effective" doses. Keep cycles short and run bloodwork.
No PK data for the oral prohormone itself; the active hormone nandrolone is long-acting when esterified, but the oral precursor is not well characterised.
Side Effects
Natural Testosterone Suppression
very commonLike nandrolone, it suppresses the HPTA and shuts down natural testosterone, worsened by its progestogenic antigonadotropic activity.
Run a testosterone base and a proper SERM PCT; confirm recovery with bloodwork.
Progestogenic Sexual Dysfunction ("Deca Dick")
commonNandrolone is a potent progestogen; progesterone/prolactin activity plus lack of androgenic support can cause low libido and erectile dysfunction.
Keep a testosterone base for androgenic support; a dopamine agonist (e.g. cabergoline) is used if prolactin symptoms appear.
Progesterone-Mediated Gyno
uncommonGynecomastia can be driven by progestogenic activity as well as by weak aromatization to estrogen.
A SERM (tamoxifen/raloxifene) for the estrogenic component; note an AI alone does not address the progestogenic component.
Lipid / Cardiovascular Strain
commonOral androgens typically depress HDL and can raise LDL.
Lipid panel before/during; omega-3 and citrus bergamot; cardio.
Product Quality / Mislabelling
commonGrey-market prohormone products are frequently underdosed, overdosed, or spiked with other steroids.
Third-party testing where possible; treat any product as unverified.
General Mitigation Strategies
Treat this as a genuine nandrolone cycle: run a testosterone base to avoid progestogenic "deca dick," keep cycles short, monitor lipids and blood pressure, and complete a full SERM PCT. A dopamine agonist (cabergoline) addresses prolactin-driven sexual sides; a SERM addresses gyno. Because nandrolone is not 17α-alkylated the liver risk is lower than a methylated oral, but many grey-market prohormone products are impure.
Post Cycle Therapy (PCT)
Treat like a nandrolone cycle. Standard SERM PCT (tamoxifen 40/40/20/20 or clomiphene 50/50/25/25). A testosterone base during the cycle mitigates progestogenic sexual dysfunction; cabergoline is used if prolactin symptoms appear. Confirm recovery with bloodwork (LH, FSH, total/free testosterone). Note: a short (10-day) human dosing study of the closely related norandrostenedione/norandrostenediol did not detect a change in the urinary testosterone/epitestosterone ratio, so the true magnitude of HPTA suppression from oral dosing at realistic doses is not well characterised. Treat PCT as a precaution given confirmed conversion to a progestogenic, suppressive steroid, not because long-term suppression has been directly measured.
How It Works
A 19-nor (estrane) steroid precursor that is enzymatically converted in the body toward nandrolone (19-nortestosterone), which then acts as an androgen-receptor agonist to drive protein synthesis. Nandrolone is also a potent progestogen (it binds the progesterone receptor at roughly 22% of the affinity of progesterone per the nandrolone literature), so this pathway carries progesterone-mediated side effects. Because a 19-nor steroid lacks the C19 methyl group, it aromatizes only weakly to estrogen, and it is reduced by 5α-reductase to the much weaker androgen 5α-dihydronandrolone rather than to a stronger DHT-type metabolite. Despite confirmed conversion to detectable nortestosterone/19-norandrosterone metabolites in urine, randomized placebo-controlled trials of the closely related 19-nor-4-androstenedione/-diol at 156-344 mg/day for 8 weeks found no significant change in lean body mass, strength, or performance versus placebo, at realistic oral doses, conversion efficiency appears too low to produce a measurable anabolic effect in controlled settings.
Hormonal & Androgenic Profile
The active hormone nandrolone has among the highest anabolic-to-androgenic ratios of the classical steroids (androgenic:anabolic listed around 1:3-1:16 in the nandrolone literature), but prohormone conversion is inefficient so delivered potency is far lower than injectable nandrolone.
As a 19-nor precursor it aromatizes only weakly, but nandrolone-type gyno can still occur at higher doses AND can be progestogen-driven, a SERM (tamoxifen/raloxifene) is often more relevant than an AI here. Human dosing trials of closely related oral 19-nor andro/diol precursors have also reported measurable rises in circulating estrogens from the precursor step itself, so gyno risk is not purely a high-dose phenomenon.
Nandrolone is reduced by 5α-reductase to the WEAKER androgen 5α-dihydronandrolone, so finasteride/dutasteride can paradoxically increase androgenic activity in scalp/prostate tissue rather than reduce it, the opposite of their effect on testosterone.
Oral androgen: expect HDL suppression and some LDL rise; the "wet" nandrolone profile can also raise blood pressure via water retention. Monitor lipids and BP.
Fundamentals
Reference on the practices relevant to 19-Nor-DHEA: how they are done and where they go wrong. Not a recommendation to use it.
Detection Times
No published detection-time data exists for the free oral prohormone itself. Its target metabolite, 19-norandrosterone, is WADA's standard urinary marker for any 19-nor steroid exposure (an adverse finding is flagged above roughly 2 ng/mL urine concentration) and has been shown to remain detectable for months, sometimes over a year, after injectable ESTERIFIED nandrolone (e.g. decanoate), because the ester slowly releases from fat depots. An unesterified oral precursor has no such depot, so its own detection window is expected to be much shorter (days, not months), but this has not been directly studied for this specific prohormone.
Legal Status
Grey-market prohormone / dietary-supplement product; prohormones and designer steroids are broadly targeted by US anabolic-steroid legislation (Anabolic Steroid Control Act 2004, Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act 2014).
Legal status varies by country and changes over time. This is a general summary, not legal advice.
WADA Status
Prohormones that convert to anabolic androgenic steroids are prohibited at all times under S1. Nandrolone (the active hormone) and its precursors are explicitly banned, and nandrolone's 19-norandrosterone metabolite is a classic doping-test marker.
References
- 19-Nordehydroepiandrosterone (19-Nor-DHEA) - Wikipedia
- Nandrolone (19-nortestosterone) - Wikipedia
- Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2014 - Wikipedia
- Van Gammeren et al. (2001) - Effects of supplementation with 19-nor-4-androstene-3,17-dione and 19-nor-4-androstene-3,17-diol on body composition and athletic performance (PubMed)
- van Gammeren et al. (2002) - Effects of norandrostenedione and norandrostenediol in resistance-trained men (PubMed)
- Colker et al. - Metabolism of orally ingested 19-nor-4-androstene-3,17-dione and 19-nor-4-androstene-3,17-diol in resistance-trained men (PubMed)