If you have taken SARMs, the blood tests that matter most are liver function (especially bilirubin), cholesterol (especially HDL) and your testosterone system (testosterone, SHBG, LH and FSH), plus a full blood count. Those are the areas where published case reports and clinical trials have documented harm. The safest choice is not to take SARMs at all. If you already have, a blood test shows what they are doing to your body.
Search for "SARMs blood test" and most of what comes back is written by people selling SARMs. This page is the opposite. It is a harm-reduction guide: what to test, when, and what the results mean. It does not give doses, cycle plans, product names, sourcing or "post-cycle" drug advice, and it never will.
Three things we want to say plainly. The safest option is not to use SARMs. A normal blood test does not make them safe, because a blood test can't see your heart structure, your blood pressure, your fertility or your mental health. And you can get help without being judged: your GP, the FRANK drugs advice service, and local needle and syringe programmes (for anyone who also injects anything, such as steroids) all see people who use performance drugs, and their job is your health.
If you are thinking about steroids rather than SARMs, our blood test before steroids guide covers the same ground for that group of drugs.
SARMs (selective androgen receptor modulators) are non-steroidal drugs that act on the same androgen receptor as testosterone. They were developed as possible treatments for muscle wasting and bone loss, with the hope of building muscle with fewer side effects than anabolic steroids. That hope has not been borne out in approvals: none has been licensed.
UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) describes SARMs as "experimental drugs that have not been approved for human use by any official medicines or healthcare product regulatory agency in the world". They are not licensed medicines in the UK.
UKAD's ingredient warning (updated April 2026) says the Food Standards Agency considers SARMs unauthorised novel foods, so they are illegal to sell or advertise as food or dietary supplements in the UK. Trading standards teams have seized products sold as "fitness supplements".
SARMs are on the prohibited list under S1, anabolic agents. Names UKAD lists include ostarine, ligandrol, andarine, RAD-150, S-23 and YK-11.
Anabolic steroids are a separate group of drugs and are Class C controlled drugs in the UK. NHS 111 Wales notes they can only be issued with a prescription.
In a 2017 study in JAMA, Van Wagoner and colleagues bought 44 products sold online as SARMs and analysed them. Only 23 (52%) actually contained a SARM. Seventeen contained a different unapproved drug, four contained no active compound at all, and only 18 had an amount of active ingredient that matched the label. That is one reason we suggest a broad check rather than testing only the one organ a forum told you to watch.
This table only uses research we opened and read. Clinical trials used small, pure, short courses under supervision; the people in case reports usually took far more. A 2023 systematic review found case-report patients typically took 4 to 10 times trial doses.
| Risk | What was found | Blood test that shows it |
|---|---|---|
| Liver injury | A 2023 review in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Hepatology analysed 12 published cases, all men aged 19 to 52. The pattern was "bland cholestasis": gradual jaundice, very high bilirubin (6.8 to 35.0 mg/dL in the cases tabled) and only mild rises in ALT and AST. Symptoms began roughly 4 to 12 weeks after starting in some cases. All 12 improved after stopping; none died or needed a transplant. | Bilirubin, ALP, GGT, ALT, AST, albumin |
| Liver, second review | A 2023 systematic review in the Journal of Xenobiotics (33 studies) found 15 liver injury cases, all male, mean age 33.5, starting with a hepatocellular pattern that "consistently converted to a cholestatic pattern". Mean peak bilirubin was 28.5 mg/dL, roughly 490 µmol/L in the units UK labs use. | Same as above, repeated |
| Lower HDL | The same review found HDL cholesterol fell in eight clinical trials across several SARMs. The falls were dose-dependent and reversed after stopping. | HDL, LDL, triglycerides, ApoB |
| Suppressed testosterone | In a 2013 trial, 76 healthy men took LGD-4033 or placebo for 21 days. Total testosterone, SHBG and HDL fell in a dose-dependent way even at very low doses; free testosterone and FSH fell significantly at the highest dose. Hormones and lipids returned to baseline after stopping. The review found testosterone suppression with several SARMs. | Testosterone, SHBG, free testosterone, LH, FSH |
| Thicker blood | One trial in the review reported haemoglobin or haematocrit rising by more than 3% in about 5% of patients, with a trend towards higher systolic blood pressure. The authors called the combination of lower HDL, higher haemoglobin and higher blood pressure "highly concerning". | Full blood count: haemoglobin, haematocrit |
| Muscle breakdown | Three cases of rhabdomyolysis were reported, though causality was uncertain because the people affected had trained very hard. | Creatine kinase (CK), kidney function |
| Beyond the blood | The US FDA warns of increased risk of heart attack or stroke, liver injury and acute liver failure, psychosis, sleep problems, sexual dysfunction, infertility and testicular shrinkage. | Mostly not visible on a blood test: see your GP |
Group the markers by the harm they can show. Each group below is something a published study has linked to SARMs, or something you need in order to read those results correctly.
Women who use SARMs should check the same liver, lipid and blood-count markers, plus testosterone, SHBG, LH, FSH and oestradiol. Androgenic effects such as voice changes or new hair growth may not reverse, so speak to a GP early.
| When | Why | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Before, if you are considering them | A baseline shows your normal, so later changes can be read properly. It also finds problems you didn't know about, such as already-low HDL, raised liver enzymes or high haematocrit, that make any use riskier. A normal baseline is not a green light. | Everything in the list above |
| While taking them, if you are | In the published cases, liver problems appeared weeks into use. Stopping was the main treatment. A check partway through can catch a rising bilirubin before you turn yellow. Any symptom in the urgent list below means stop and get seen, not wait for a test. | Liver function, lipids, full blood count |
| After stopping | About six to eight weeks after the last dose is a sensible point to see whether HDL, liver function and your own hormone production have recovered. If testosterone, LH or FSH are still low, repeat later and see your GP. | Liver function, lipids, testosterone, SHBG, LH, FSH |
A blood test can show a pattern; it can't diagnose the cause. These are common patterns and the sensible next step for each.
| Pattern | What it can mean | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| High bilirubin, ALP raised, ALT and AST only mildly raised | A cholestatic pattern, the one described in SARM liver injury reports | Stop and see a doctor the same day. Tell them what you took. Your GP can arrange repeat tests and a scan. |
| ALT and AST raised, CK very high, bilirubin normal | Muscle may be the source: AST and ALT are also found in muscle | Repeat after several rest days. Very dark urine with muscle pain needs urgent care. |
| Low HDL, higher LDL or ApoB | An unhealthier lipid profile; in trials the HDL fall reversed after stopping | Recheck after stopping. If ApoB or LDL stay high, read our ApoB guide and talk to your GP. |
| Low testosterone with low or low-normal LH and FSH | Your own testosterone production has been suppressed | Recheck after stopping. If it stays low or you have symptoms, see your GP. Don't self-treat with drugs bought online. |
| High haemoglobin or haematocrit | Thicker blood, which raises clot risk | Repeat well hydrated. If still high, see your GP. |
| High creatinine, low eGFR, normal cystatin C | Often muscle mass rather than kidney damage | Use the cystatin C-based eGFR. If both are abnormal, see your GP. |
| Everything in range | No harm shown in these markers today | Good news, not a safety certificate. Blood pressure, heart and fertility need separate checks. |
If you want everything on this page from one blood draw, Ultimate covers it: the full liver panel, cholesterol with ApoB and Lp(a), creatine kinase, a full blood count, kidney function with cystatin C, and testosterone, SHBG, calculated free testosterone, LH, FSH, oestradiol and prolactin. It is 140 biomarkers (139 for women), £399 including the blood draw at one of 103 partner clinics, or £29 extra for a home or office visit. Nationwide Pathology, a UKAS-accredited lab, runs the tests, and your clinician-reviewed report arrives within 4 working days of the lab receiving your sample. It reads every result together across systems, so a high bilirubin, a low HDL and a low LH are interpreted as one picture, not three separate flags.
Signature (230 biomarkers, £799 including the draw at Randox Health clinics, results in up to 12 working days) adds directly measured free testosterone and IGF-1. Most people checking the effects of SARMs don't need it.
Sources: UKAD SARMs ingredient warning · Mohideen et al., J Clin Transl Hepatol 2023 · Vignali et al., J Xenobiotics 2023 · Basaria et al., J Gerontol A 2013 · Van Wagoner et al., JAMA 2017 · FDA consumer warning · NHS 111 Wales, anabolic steroids
Liver function (ALT, AST, GGT, ALP and bilirubin), a full lipid profile with HDL and ApoB, total testosterone with SHBG, LH and FSH, oestradiol, a full blood count including haematocrit, and kidney function. Published case reports describe liver injury with very high bilirubin, and clinical trials report lower HDL and suppressed testosterone. Testing shows whether any of that is happening to you; it doesn't make SARMs safe.
SARMs are not licensed medicines in the UK. UK Anti-Doping says they are experimental drugs that no medicines regulator in the world has approved for human use, and that the Food Standards Agency treats them as unauthorised novel foods, so they are illegal to sell or advertise as food or supplements. They are prohibited in sport. Anabolic steroids are a separate group and are Class C controlled drugs.
Yes. A 2023 review in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Hepatology analysed 12 published cases of SARM-related liver injury, all in men aged 19 to 52. The typical pattern was cholestasis: jaundice and very high bilirubin with only mild rises in liver enzymes. All 12 improved after stopping. Jaundice, dark urine, pale stools or itching need a doctor the same day.
In trials, yes. In a 2013 study of LGD-4033 in 76 healthy men, 21 days of tiny doses caused dose-dependent falls in total testosterone, SHBG and HDL cholesterol, which returned to baseline after stopping. A 2023 systematic review found testosterone suppression across several SARMs. People using products bought online often take far higher amounts than trial doses.
A sensible point is about six to eight weeks after your last dose: recheck liver function, lipids, testosterone, LH and FSH, and repeat later if hormones are still low. In the LGD-4033 trial, hormones and lipids returned to baseline within five weeks of stopping, but those were tiny, pure doses for 21 days. If symptoms of low testosterone don't settle, see your GP rather than self-treating.
Not this kind. A health blood test measures how your body is responding (liver, lipids, hormones, blood count). It is not a drug screen and it does not detect SARMs. If you are a tested athlete, any SARM use is an anti-doping rule violation; ask UK Anti-Doping or your sport's governing body, not a blood test company.
Yes, if you can. GPs see people who use performance drugs and their job is your health, not judgement. Knowing what you took changes how they read a high bilirubin, a low HDL or a low testosterone, and they can arrange NHS follow-up such as a liver scan or a specialist referral.
Ultimate: 140 biomarkers, £399 including your blood draw. Liver, cholesterol with ApoB, hormones, blood count and kidney function, read together in a clinician-reviewed report within 4 working days. Klarna or Clearpay at checkout.
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