What is Primobolan®?

Primobolan®, sometimes called Primo for short, is a brand name for methenolone enanthate, an anabolic steroid. Primobolan® is one of the few steroids that are available in both oral and injectable forms. Primobolan® is the brand name for an oral form of methenolone enanthate, and Primobolan Depot® is the brand name for an injectable form. Although the United States Food and Drug Administration has stated that Primo is not an approved prescription drug in the U.S., it has been used medically to help reduce breast tumors.

Primobolan® became very popular when Arnold Schwarzenegger, a bodybuilder who became an actor and later a politician, was known to use it as one of his main steroids early in his career as a competitive bodybuilder. Primo requires a more androgenic compound to gain maximum benefits, so it often was used along with additional steroids, such as Dianabol®. Primobolan® often is combined with testosterone to bulk up, lower the overall androgen dosage and minimize uncomfortable side effects.

Compared to the steroid Deca-Durabolin®, Primobolan® requires higher doses to achieve the same effects, so it generally is used with other forms of steroids. It can be used at higher doses than Deca, so it is easier to achieve maximum effectiveness. One of the most common side effects with Primo is alopecia, or the loss of hair from the head or body, so it is common to use hair loss products such as Finasteride® or Duesteride® in addition to Primobolan®.

The injectable form of Primo typically is preferred over the oral form because of its lower cost. Primobolan® is one of the most expensive steroids to obtain in its natural form. It also is the most commonly counterfeited steroid on the black market, especially in Mexico and Europe.

Professional athletes who have tested positive to using Primo have had their reputations severely tarnished and the legitimacy of their accomplishments questioned. Primo was one of the anabolic steroids for which Major League Baseball star Alex Rodriguez tested positive in 2003 while playing for the Texas Rangers. He had denied using steroids, but in February 2009, Rodriguez admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs because of what he called "an enormous amount of pressure" to perform.