Stanozolol
Also known as: winstrol, winny
The 'winstrol' steroid: the compound of the Ben Johnson scandal, known for joint dryness and severe lipid harm.
Legal status: UK: Class C controlled drug and prescription-only medicine. Supplying it (including to friends) and importing it by post are criminal offences; personal possession for your own use generally is not. Checked 2026-07-26.
Prohibited in sport: Yes — on the WADA Prohibited List.
Approved medical use: Has been licensed for hereditary angioedema; largely replaced by targeted modern treatments.
What it is
Stanozolol is a DHT-derived steroid available as both an oral tablet and an injectable suspension; unusually, both forms are 17-alpha-alkylated, so the injectable carries the same liver burden as the oral. It is the compound Ben Johnson tested positive for in 1988, which made it the most publicly recognised steroid in the world.
Its recognised medical use was in preventing attacks of hereditary angioedema, a rare condition; better-targeted treatments have since replaced it.
What’s claimed
- A hard, dry, defined appearance
- Strength gain without added weight
- Improved speed and athletic performance
What the evidence shows
Its anabolic and performance effects in humans are well-supported (Gold): it would not have been the drug of the most famous doping case in history otherwise. Two things the reputation omits: stanozolol produces some of the most severe HDL suppression of any compound studied, and the widely reported drying of the joints appears to be a real reduction in synovial fluid, which makes training heavy on it more injurious rather than less.
The risks
- Hepatic: 17-alpha-alkylation lets the compound survive digestion and is the same change that burdens the liver; raised liver enzymes, and in rarer cases cholestasis or peliosis hepatis.
- Lipids: exceptionally severe HDL suppression; among the worst documented for any anabolic steroid.
- Musculoskeletal: joint pain and dryness, with tendon injury reported during heavy training.
- Endocrine: suppression of the body's own testosterone production, with testicular atrophy and impaired fertility. Recovery is not guaranteed and can be slow or incomplete.
- Androgenic: acne, male-pattern hair loss in those predisposed, and in women virilising effects, deepening of the voice, facial hair growth and clitoral enlargement, some of which do not reverse.
What needs monitoring
- Full blood count, including haematocrit and haemoglobin
- Lipid profile
- Blood pressure
- Liver and kidney markers
- Testosterone and the wider hormonal axis: a doctor is the right person to arrange these tests and to interpret what they show.
Sources
- NHS. Anabolic steroid misuse — health risks and the law.
- GOV.UK. Controlled drugs: Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 drug classes.
- World Anti-Doping Agency. The Prohibited List.
- Pope HG, et al. Adverse health consequences of performance-enhancing drugs: an Endocrine Society scientific statement. Endocr Rev. 2014;35(3):341-375.