Deca and Lp(a)

The question

Would the Lp(a)-lowering effect reported with nandrolone show up in my bloodwork? My earlier nicotinic acid experiment produced no meaningful Lp(a) change. The nandrolone literature offered another explanation to test against my own results.

Routine history

The Daily Stack log records nandrolone decanoate at 60 mg/week on July 22, 2026 and an increase to 100 mg/week on August 5. On September 23, I increased to 150 mg/week to test how Lp(a) would respond to the higher amount. The current entry is 150 mg weekly, with BE Compounds as the source.

Decision: successful

Lp(a) moved meaningfully lower. I consider Deca helpful for this marker and am closing this assessment as successful on September 22, 2026. Nandrolone remains in my Daily Stack. Future bloodwork will track whether the reduction persists.

What changed

January and July were nearly identical. September was 44 nmol/L below July: (187 − 143) ÷ 187 = 23.5%. The July-to-September comparison uses the Junction reports. These are blood collection dates, and all three results are reported in nmol/L.

The September value remains above the laboratory’s high category boundary of 125 nmol/L. The successful result is the reduction.

Why the connection makes sense

Deca refers here to nandrolone decanoate, an anabolic androgen. Human studies have reported lower Lp(a) during nandrolone use in strength athletes and several clinical populations. The 100 mg/week hemodialysis study is particularly relevant to the amount in my routine at the September 16 blood draw: its mean reduction reached approximately 23% at four months.

The proposed mechanism

The liver produces apo(a), the protein that attaches to an ApoB-containing particle to form Lp(a). The researchers proposed that nandrolone reduces apo(a) production by affecting gene transcription. Their concentration and apo(a)-isoform findings supported that explanation, but they did not directly measure liver gene activity. It remains the proposed mechanism behind the observed marker response. Mechanism discussion.

How I read the result

My Lp(a) reduction follows the direction reported in the literature and is meaningful enough to count as a successful personal result. Testosterone studies also show Lp(a) reductions, so the broader androgen context belongs alongside the nandrolone research. The bloodwork establishes the change in my circulating Lp(a).

Several studies also reported HDL decreases or other lipid changes. The cause of my own HDL decrease remains unresolved; this record does not assign it to nandrolone. The outcome assessed here is Lp(a).

Hartgens et al. · 2004

Effects of androgenic-anabolic steroids on apolipoproteins and lipoprotein (a)

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in 16 bodybuilders; 200 mg/week for eight weeks.

Lp(a) fell from 103 to 65 U/L in the nandrolone group, approximately 37%, versus 245 to 201 U/L with placebo, approximately 18%. The difference in change between groups was not statistically significant. The paper also reports a separate mixed-steroid study with a larger Lp(a) decline; that result cannot be assigned to nandrolone alone.

Full paper

Ghorbanihaghjo et al. · 2004

Effect of Nandrolone Decanoate on Serum Lipoprotein (a) and its isoforms in hemodialysis patients

Prospective study with 64 completers on hemodialysis; 100 mg/week for four months.

Mean Lp(a) fell from 40.6 to 33.1 mg/dL at two months and 31.3 mg/dL at four months, reductions of approximately 18.5% and 22.9%. Higher starting Lp(a) predicted a larger response. This study used the same weekly amount as my routine at the September 16 blood draw, in a different clinical population and without an untreated control group.

Sattler et al. · 2002

Metabolic effects of nandrolone decanoate and resistance training in men with HIV

Thirty men with HIV randomized to weekly nandrolone or nandrolone plus resistance training for 12 weeks.

Lp(a) decreased by an average of 7.3 mg/dL with nandrolone alone and 6.9 mg/dL with nandrolone plus training. Both changes were statistically significant. Both groups received nandrolone, so this was a comparison of added training, not a drug-versus-placebo trial. The Lp(a) changes reversed after the intervention ended.

Full paper

Mora et al. · 2001

Effect of nandrolone decanoate on the lipid profile of male peritoneal dialysis patients

Prospective study of 13 men on peritoneal dialysis; 200 mg/week for six months.

Median Lp(a) fell from 43 to 22 mg/dL, with a decrease in 10 of the 13 participants. The authors reported a mean individual percentage reduction of 41%; that is a different calculation from the change between the group medians. There was no untreated control group.

Full paper

Lippi et al. · 1997

Effects of nandrolone decanoate (Decadurabolin) on serum Lp(a), lipids and lipoproteins in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis

Nineteen postmenopausal women received weekly nandrolone for three weeks, with measurement at week four.

Lp(a) decreased significantly (p = 0.0003). This adds a short-duration observation in another population. The abstract does not provide the numerical Lp(a) change, so no percentage reduction is assigned here.

Full paper

Teruel et al. · 1997

Nandrolone decanoate reduces serum lipoprotein(a) concentrations in hemodialysis patients

Fourteen hemodialysis patients received 200 mg/week for six months to treat anemia.

Median Lp(a) declined from 19.8 mg/dL to 10.6 at two months, 8.7 at four months, and 7.1 at six months. The lipid changes were reversible after withdrawal. This provides a longer observation of the same direction of response.

Full paper

Reading the study numbers

Each study’s original units are retained. Older mg/dL and U/L results are not converted to my nmol/L values using a fixed factor. Percentage changes describe each study’s own results; they are not predictions for a particular person or weekly amount.

These testosterone studies provide context for androgen-related Lp(a) lowering. They are separate from the direct nandrolone studies above.

Marcovina et al. · 1996

Testosterone-induced suppression of lipoprotein(a) in normal men; relation to basal lipoprotein(a) level

Nineteen healthy men received testosterone enanthate at 200 mg/week. The nine with starting Lp(a) above 25 nmol/L had reductions of 25–59%; the lower-baseline group had no significant decrease. Levels returned to baseline after treatment stopped.

Zmuda et al. · 1996

Testosterone decreases lipoprotein(a) in men

Average Lp(a) decreased 37% with testosterone alone and 28% with testosterone plus the aromatase inhibitor testolactone. Persistence of the effect with aromatase inhibition supports an androgenic contribution independent of conversion to estradiol.

Berglund et al. · 1996

Hormonal regulation of serum lipoprotein (a) levels: effects of parenteral administration of estrogen or testosterone in males

In the testosterone arm, nine healthy men received 250 mg/week and Lp(a) fell approximately 20%. The findings support hormonal regulation of Lp(a) through liver-related pathways.