SARMS
SARMs (“Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators”) are synthetic compounds designed to activate the androgen receptor (AR) with the goal of being more “selective” than traditional anabolic steroids. They’re widely sold online for physique/strength goals, but they are not approved for bodybuilding use, and a major real-world issue is product quality and mislabeling—some products marketed as SARMs have been found to contain different drugs or mixed/unknown ingredients. SARMs can also suppress the HPG axis (lowering natural testosterone), which can create hormonal swings during use and especially after stopping.
In PFS/PSSD/PAS discussions, SARMs are often framed as a moderate-to-high caution category. There may be fewer widely shared “permanent worsening” stories than with some serotonergic drugs, but community reports still include significant flares/crashes and some accounts describing longer-lasting deterioration—particularly around discontinuation or attempted recovery (“PCT”). A major practical risk signal is that SARMs directly manipulate androgen receptor signaling and endocrine feedback loops, and the unregulated market adds uncertainty about what was actually taken. For many already-sensitized individuals, the combination of hormonal volatility and contamination/mislabelling risk makes SARMs an unfavorable risk–benefit tradeoff.
Crash Anecdotes (Community Reports):
https://www.reddit.com/r/PSSD/comments/miv16g/has_anyone_who_had_pssd_ever_try_sarms/
https://www.reddit.com/r/FinasterideSyndrome/comments/1cedacm/sarms_rad140/
How to Interpret This Page
This page summarizes anecdotal reports and community observations, not medical evidence. “Risk” here refers to how frequently severe or prolonged symptom worsening is reported, not to proven causation or population-wide probability. Individual responses vary widely, and absence of issues in some users does not rule out significant reactions in others.
Risk Signal Based on User Reports
Reports of Flares/Crashes and Unpredictable Outcomes (for PFS/PSSD/PAS):
Among individuals who already have PFS/PSSD/PAS, SARMs are often discussed as risky because they can produce large hormonal shifts (suppression during use and rebound dynamics after stopping) and directly alter androgen receptor signaling. Community reports include accounts of symptom flares/crashes, sometimes described as prolonged—especially around discontinuation or post-cycle recovery attempts. The unregulated supply chain adds a second layer of unpredictability: when products are mislabeled or contaminated, it becomes difficult to control exposure or attribute reactions to a specific compound.
For individuals without these conditions, SARMs are still associated with endocrine suppression and other adverse effects, and product quality concerns remain a major issue. Given the variability described in anecdotes and the inability to reliably verify contents and dose, many readers with PFS/PSSD/PAS consider avoidance—particularly during stabilization—the more conservative choice.
Evidence basis: Pharmacology of AR modulators and HPG-axis suppression; concerns about unregulated product mislabeling; anecdotal reports (online forums, self-reports); no controlled studies examining PFS/PSSD/PAS-specific outcomes.