Methasterone (Superdrol): Legal Status and Liver Risk
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Methasterone (Superdrol): legal status and liver risk

US status · Approval status · Half-life notes

What is methasterone?

Methasterone (sold as Superdrol) is an oral anabolic steroid, a 17-alpha-methylated form of drostanolone. It was sold in the US as an over-the-counter "supplement" in the mid-2000s, has never been approved as a drug, and is now a Schedule III controlled substance.

Also known as: Superdrol, methasteron, methyldrostanolone.

US products

There is no approved methasterone product, so there are no label strengths to list.

Approval status and how it is used

Anabolic steroids are Schedule III controlled substances in the US, and this one is named in the federal list (21 CFR 1308.13(f)). Having it without a valid prescription is illegal. DEA classified methasterone as an anabolic steroid in a 2012 final rule, which notes that FDA issued a warning letter in March 2006 over adverse health effects linked to Superdrol, and that liver toxicity with kidney failure had been reported with methasterone. It is on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List as an anabolic agent, banned in and out of competition.

There is no FDA label for people, so there are no label warnings to quote; the harms below are the ones the cited sources report. In five previously healthy people who used methasterone (Shah 2008), jaundice appeared about 2 weeks after they stopped and kept getting worse for several weeks before it cleared, about 12 weeks after they first came in. Other case reports describe severe cholestasis with kidney failure (Nasr 2009) and jaundice with a kidney disease called IgA nephropathy in someone who took a product sold as having no hormonal activity (Jasiurkowski 2006).

Methasterone has also turned up in products not sold as steroids: in 2012 to 2013, New York State found it in B-50 vitamin and mineral supplements linked to illness in about 16 people, one hospitalized with liver damage, and to severe virilization in a child (Tran 2023).

Methasterone half-life and time to peak

  • Half-lifeNot listed
  • Time to peak (Tmax)Not listed

We could not find a published human half-life or time to peak, so we do not list one. Figures quoted online usually come from animal studies or computer models.

How to track methasterone in Dose Track

  1. Add methasterone as a custom compound. Start typing its name and Dose Track fills in the details from its research library for you to check, and it sits next to everything else you take.
  2. Log each tablet when you take it, including split or fractional tablets, so your history shows exactly what you took and when.
  3. Set reminders on your own schedule, whether that is daily, weekly or every few days.
  4. Your log is stored on your phone and no account is needed. Data only leaves it for features you choose, like AI answers and lab reading.

How Dose Track handles peptides · Reconstitution calculator · Half-life calculator

DrostanoloneMasteron, Masterone OxymetholoneAnadrol-50, Anadrol MethandrostenoloneMethandienone, Metandienone 1-Testosterone (DHB, Dihydroboldenone)DHB, dihydroboldenone

Frequently asked questions

What is the half-life of methasterone?+
We could not find a published human half-life or time to peak, so we do not list one. Figures quoted online usually come from animal studies or computer models.
Is Superdrol legal?+
No. DEA made methasterone (Superdrol) a Schedule III anabolic steroid in 2012, so having it without a prescription is illegal, and there is no approved product to prescribe. WADA bans it in sport.
Is Superdrol hard on the liver?+
Doctors have published several cases of severe liver injury with jaundice after methasterone use, some with kidney failure (Shah 2008; Nasr 2009; Jasiurkowski 2006). In the five-case series, people recovered over about 12 weeks with supportive care.
Can I track methasterone in Dose Track?+
Yes. Methasterone is in Dose Track's research library, so when you add it as a custom compound its details are filled in for you to check. You can then log each tablet next to your other compounds, set reminders on your own schedule, and see your history next to your lab results. Your log is stored on your phone and no account is needed. Data only leaves it for features you choose, like AI answers and lab reading.

Sources

  1. DEA. Classification of two steroids, prostanozol and methasterone, as Schedule III anabolic steroids under the Controlled Substances Act. Final rule. Federal Register, July 30, 2012.
  2. Shah NL, et al. Methasteron-associated cholestatic liver injury: clinicopathologic findings in 5 cases. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2008;6(2):255-258.
  3. Nasr J, Ahmad J. Severe cholestasis and renal failure associated with the use of the designer steroid Superdrol (methasteron): a case report and literature review. Dig Dis Sci. 2009;54(5):1144-1146.
  4. Jasiurkowski B, et al. Cholestatic jaundice and IgA nephropathy induced by OTC muscle building agent superdrol. Am J Gastroenterol. 2006;101(11):2659-2662.
  5. Tran BN, et al. Androgenic steroids in over-the-counter dietary supplements: analysis for association with adverse health effects. Steroids. 2023;193:109199.
  6. 21 CFR 1308.13(f): Schedule III anabolic steroids. eCFR, October 2026.
  7. World Anti-Doping Agency. 2026 Prohibited List (S0 non-approved substances; S1 anabolic agents; S4.1 aromatase inhibitors; S4.4.1 metabolic modulators).

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