Deca Durabolin is a popular steroid among female bodybuilders. They take a much lower dosage on average than men of course, usually around 50mg weekly. Women with a dosage of up to 100 mg/week usually experience no major problems with Deca Durabolin. At higher dosages androgenic-caused virilization symptoms can occur, including deep voice (irreversible), increased growth of body hair, acne, increased libido, and possibly clitorihypertrophy.

Women who experience disturbance even at a weekly dose of only 50 mg/week of Deca-Durabolin, are often better off taking the faster-acting Durobolic (nandrolone phenylpropionate). Unlike the long-acting Deca Durabolin, when Durobolic (nandrolone phenylpropionate) is administered once or twice weekly in a dosage of 50 mg, no concentration of undesired amounts of androgens occur.

Since most female athletes get on well with Deca Durabolin 50 mg +/week dose, it is usually combined with Oxandrolone 10 mg +/day. Both compounds, when taken in a low dosage, are only slightly androgenic so that masculinizing side effects only rarely occur. Deca Durabolin, through its increased protein synthesis, also leads to a net muscle gain and Oxandrolone, based on the increased phosphocreatine synthesis, leads to a measurable strength gain with very low water retention.