im very aware of this being my first post, and hence not being terribly trustworthy. as well as my lack of chemical knowledge, but since i came across this thread i figured i might as well weigh in with some ph experience.
first of all, most ph's are 17a methylated, i sadly dont know if this have the same effect as being alkylated. but my common sense, and low knowledge of chemistry tells me there's some connection (methylalcoloids).
second up, i have some experience with aas, namely sustanon 250. which was indeed effective. without going to much into pointless detail, i enjoyed it, and had very few sides. (a bit of back pain towards the end of the cycle, ordinary libido, and some strength gains).
after loosing my supplier, i decided to give ph's a try. did a bit of research, and ended up with stacking superdrol and cyanostane 20/40mg daily for 2 weeks, and 30/60mg for 2 weeks. although i wasnt seeing the same gains as with 750 mg of sustanon a week, i was seeing larger strength gains. (while admittedly not following my diet, or exercise plan as well as i should have). my liver took a bit of a bigger hit but was back to norman a few weeks later, i had some nausea for an hour or 2 briefly after eating the tablets, i had sore joints for the last 2 weeks, and i was horny as hell from day 3 and onwards. while making less mass gains, i ended up keeping a larger percentage of them after the end of my pct.
comparatively, sustanon ended up giving me roughly 7 kg's/15lb's, and the ph stack gave me roughly 5kg's/10.5lb's, with a slight decrease in body fat over a 2 weeks shorter cycle with heavier sides, and larger strength gains.
i guess what im trying to say, is something like: my research tells me that ph's should have an effect, but that since they're not as potent but just as toxic, dosages, and sides will have to be higher. my personal experience tells me that they do work, but that they end up being just as expensive. given that you will need a lot more supplements to protect your liver and joints (on occasion viagra), and a longer and more expensive pct. if i had the luxury of choice at the moment, i would probably go with a proper aas, but given the lack of supply, im willing to live with the extra sides and do it again.
im about to start experimenting with epistane, on a 50mg a day 5 week cycle, with a 3 day ramp up to the 50 mg's a day. and if anyone is interested, i will gladly share my experience.