As you probably know, many persons use Steroids for different reasons. Some people use these drugs for medical reasons. This usually goes for such type of steroids as corticosteroids. Others use meds with steroids for sports purposes (to gain mass, lose fat, and improve results in sports). So many people are wondering: “how long do steroids stay in the body?” They need an answer to this question because they may need to avoid possible interaction with other medications (in case of corticosteroids) or make a steroid cycle properly (in case of using anabolics in sports). In addition, sportsmen need to know the time of steroid elimination to pass anti-doping control successfully. So let’s try to give the answer.

Half-life of anabolic steroids

To find out how long it takes to remove steroids from the body, you first need to be aware of such a definition as the half-life. The half-life is the time it takes to remove half the drug from the body. Different steroids have different half-lives. For example:

• Stanozolol – about 24 hours;
• pills of Winstrol – about 8 hours;
• Masteron (in the form of propionate) – 2-3 days;
• Masteron (in the form of enanthate) – 2-3 days;
• Primobolan (in the form of tablets) – from 4 to 6 hours;
• Primobolan depot (injection) – 10-14 days.

A lot of athletes use testosterone medicaments. These drugs have different half-lives depending on the ether. For example, testosterone cypionate is usually half-eliminated from the body 16 days after injection. Testosterone acetate half-life is 48 hours, testosterone propionate – 72 hours. Therefore, athletes who are subject to anti-doping control choose testosterone with simple ethers instead of complex ones.

Elimination of anabolic steroids

Of course, you should understand that the half-life is not equal to the period of complete elimination of the drug from the body. There are several factors that can affect the period of complete elimination.

They can include the amount of water consumed, the speed of your metabolism, your steroid tolerance.

Here is a complete list of factors:

1. Type of the medication. As you have already understood, some steroids are excreted faster than others. Testosterone without ether can be completely removed from the body within 24 hours, however, enanthate can remain in the body for several months.

2. Properties of the steroid. Some drugs can be found in the urine but to find other steroids you need to do a blood test.

3. Dosage and duration of use. The longer you use a steroid, the longer it will be removed from your system. The same applies to dosages. The higher the dosage, the more stress your body is in to withdraw a large amount of the drug. Thus, if you exceed the recommended dosage, you slow down the time of excretion of the anabolic drug.

4. Form of the drug (oral or injectable). Oral drugs quickly enter the bloodstream and are quickly removed from the body. They are alkylated which means that they can be processed by the liver. However, injection steroids very slowly enter the bloodstream and the body takes them out for a very long time.

5. Features of steroid metabolism. Some drugs have resistance to metabolism. They not only remain in the body for a long time but also create traces in natural fluids. For example, Trenbolone has a long half-life and also creates markers that are present in the urine for a long period of time (even a few weeks after the end of the drug).

6. Fat solubility. Steroids belong to lipids so they can dissolve in fats. Therefore, fat deposits on the body absorb the remains of steroids that can remain there for months (for example, Deca can be detected one year after the last use).

There are several formulas for calculating the elimination period, however, they are very complex. Therefore, it is best to refer to the list that was made based on the experience of thousands of bodybuilding.

So, the average time to remove steroids from the body is:

• Anadrol – 2 months;
• Andriol – 7 days;
• Dianabol – around 5 weeks;
• Testosterone (in cypionate form) – 3 months;
• Testosterone enanthate – 5 months;
• Winstrol (tabs) – 21 days;
• Winstrol (injectable form) – 9 weeks.

We focus your attention on the fact that this is the average lead time. The period in your particular case depends on the factors that were described above.

Half-life and elimination of corticosteroids

What are corticosteroids? These are steroid hormones produced by the cortical substance of the adrenal glands (glucocorticoids, mineralocorticoids, androgens); participate in the regulation of metabolism, in the development of adaptive reactions of the body. Synthetic analogues of these hormones are available in pharmacies. They are used to treat allergic rashes, various dermatitis.

Here is a list of indications for the use of corticosteroids (incomplete list):

• atopic dermatitis;
• psoriasis;
• chickenpox;
• different forms of lichen (for example, shingles and pink);
• urticaria (hives);
• red lupus (the lips on which the sores are formed);
• vitiligo (a deterioration of skin pigmentation associated with immune problems).

Corticosteroids can have a long half-life, medium half-life, and short half-life. The longer the half-life, the longer the elimination of corticosteroid from the organism.

Corticosteroids with a long half-life (36-54 hours) include the following medications:

• Betamethasone;
• Dexamethasone (approximately 56 hours).

Corticosteroids with a medium half-life (18-36 hours) include the following medications:

• Methylprednisolone;
• Prednisolone (approximately 36 hours);
• Prednisone (approximately 36 hours);
• Triamcinolone;

Corticosteroids with a short half-life (8-12 hours) include the following drugs:

• Cortisone;
• Hydrocortisone.

The time of complete elimination of these drugs depends on the dosage, the form of the drug, the characteristics of the drug itself and many other factors. As in the case of anabolic drugs, the injection form is eliminated longer than the oral one.

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