Steroid question [Archive] - Bodybuilding.com Forums

Bill Gates

04-05-2005, 01:39 PM

T-nation:

Chad Waterbury

Here are my thoughts:

My research and observations have shown that certain steroids, if taken properly, tend to possess minimal health risks. For example, male trainees who are past the age where Testosterone levels are optimal could benefit from low-dose steroid therapy. This "point" in life is very individualized, but as a gross generalization, I wouldn't recommend steroid therapy for anyone less than 30 years of age.

Oftentimes, such innervation isn't necessary until a male trainee reaches his forties or fifties. At that point, I only recommend dosages that raise Testosterone to the upper-range of normal, physiological levels.

It appears that most of the health-related issues that steroid therapy can impose is due to trainees utilizing large dosages that increase Testosterone levels well beyond physiological levels. I certainly hope that physicians will one day view Testosterone therapy in a similar manner.

CW

Douglas Kalman

Do steroids pose a health risk?

Any substance, when used indiscriminately or if used in the wrong person may pose a health risk. Let me give you an example, an overzealous resistance trained athlete decides that he wants to bulk up and get stronger for both an upcoming vacation and to feel better about his lifts in the gym. Without any real knowledge, somehow he gets his hands on various anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS). He logs onto the web and finds various webpages discussion how to use steroids and where to inject.

However, this gent does not really know anything about the purity of his AAS and anything about the aseptic technique for injections. So, without any real knowledge about what types of steroids to use, where to inject, how often to inject and how to train and eat while on a cycle, he makes his bum a pin cushion. His lack of knowledge ends up leading to abscesses that become necrotic and eventual hypogonadism as a result of using "fake gear". So, is there a health risk - you bet ya there is!

Whenever discussing these kinds of things we should also mention that in some people, the wrong exposure to a "toxin" may just turn on an oncogene leading to cancer or if you have a predisposition to low HDL ( a male risk factor for heart disease), the fact that some anabolics reduce HDL (the good cholesterol) may increase chances of developing heart disease. So, the exposure risk for heart disease may be a real one to consider when deciding to do a cycle (or ten). Again, indiscriminate, uninformed use is not smart.

I'm also of the opinion, that AAS can be used safely when used smartly and the person who wants to use, has clear and honest communication with their physician. However, in this country we are miles from that reality happening - more than likely, even those physicians that are familiar with AAS and how they work are scared off from discussing or prescribing them for fear of FDA/DEA concerns.

Perhaps one day, physician will be able to be more open about the use of AAS for health and mental well-being (geesh, if Botox and all of that plastic surgery can go on, why not body remodeling via controlled safe use of AAS?), but for now open communication is still the best bet.

Douglas S. Kalman MS, RD, FACN
Director, Nutrition & Applied Clinical Research
Miami Research Associates

David Barr

Does juice pose a health risk?

Of course! Sure, it's ridiculously overblown by the media (ongoing baseball inquiry, cough cough), but we're beyond that here. I mean hell, the site IS Testosterone! So let me take an alternative perspective and say that I think we, who are "in the know", may have gotten a little too complacent about these drugs over the past few years.

No, I'm not saying that they'll cause your liver to explode (probably just your kidneys), but we need to keep our biases in check. In other words, it's okay for us to know that these drugs are safe and effective when used properly, but we need to keep a realistic perspective on them and their legal status. Pushing too far too fast, in terms of how we try to educate people, could be disastrous.

Case in point: the baseball "scandal". Now only time will tell whether this has hurt or helped public perception, but it is this perception that holds all the keys to a future of educated, doctor supervised, androgen use. While I'm loathe to support the "easy way out", I believe that the inevitable androgen therapy to counter the obesity epidemic, will be the catalyst that changes public perception. We still need the laws to protect kids though. I mean, even I stunted my growth with a 13 day 4mgs of dbol cycle at the age of 18!

Can they be used safely?

"Steroids are dangerous!" puff, "They like shrink you're dick and stuff!" puff "Why would you ever do that to your body?! puff, cough cough

Sadly, this is an actual conversation I had with a smoker about the "dangers" of juice. After bringing up "The Alzado Fallacy", he became irritated at my use of logic and science to support my views and counter his ignorance. Now, I wasn't trying to force the drugs on him or anything, I merely brought up that one day I'll likely use these drugs to enhance my physique and overall health.

With each puff of his cigarette he became more red with rage that I wasn't seeing the "truth" - come to think of it, his "reddish glow" may have had more to do with his choice of addictive habits than anything. Ultimately he grabbed a BB mag, pointed to the pro on the cover and exclaimed: "SEE?! This guy doesn't need drugs to get huge! Why do you want to be a loser and use something that'll kill you?!"

This was the last straw, and I snapped back with "You're so ignorant, how can you even open your mouth about this?!" Unfortunately the customers didn't like this too much... oh, did I forget to mention that I was in the back room of a small store working as a stock clerk at the time? Well the boss quickly ran back, yelled at both of us and told me to go back out and stock shelves. I later found out that the store owner, who also smoked, had a little fun at my expense joking about how small my dick will be. I can hear them laughing and coughing and weezing to this day.

I guess the bottom line is that juice can be used safely and effectively... well, that, and people are morons. - DB

Cy Willson

Do Steroids Pose a Health Risk?

Well, just about all drugs have an inherent set of risks associated with use. Furthermore, when you begin taking amounts of a particular drug which results in blood concentrations far beyond what is desired therapeutically, in most cases, you're greatly increasing the chance for adverse effects.

Now, the question can really be viewed from several angles. It depends on the individual, the dose and the particular anabolic steroid you're talking about. So, from one end of the spectrum to the other with those above factors, side effects can range from negative alterations in blood lipids, decreased spermatogenesis, hepatotoxicity, hypertension (at least in part due to edema), suppression of endogenous testosterone, cardiac abnormalities, etc. Having said that, it's important for people to know that, as I've said before, just about anything (not simply drugs) can be toxic at a given dose.

Now, relative to many other drugs, anabolic steroids are much safer in an acute sense, with perhaps a couple of exceptions. In other words, if you sat me down and forced me to ingest either a gram of oxandrolone or methenolone, versus a gram of diphenhydramine, I'm of course going to choose one of the former. On the other hand, in a way, I almost wish that anabolic steroids did have at least some moderately severe adverse reactions for other reasons.

When anabolic steroids are used chronically however, side effects become a much bigger issue.

Can they be used safely?

Well, yes, I believe they can be used safely and it ties in to what I said above. If one realizes the potential side effects of the particular anabolic steroid(s) they are using, they can plan accordingly. If moderate dosages are employed, for relatively short periods of time and proper monitoring is done, they can be used safely.

Unfortunately, it requires an investment of time to acquire the necessary knowledge to safely use anabolic steroids outside of a clinical setting (i.e., for bodybuilding/athletic purposes) and many are unwilling to do so.

Furthermore, this lack of investments also tends to extend, in many cases, to the effectiveness of a cycle. Hence, the guy at the gym who has been using 4 grams per week of various anabolic steroids, yet his physique barely resembles an Abercrombie and Fitch model.

Anyhow, going back to what I said before, I almost wish there were something like severe diarrhea, vomiting, tremors, etc., after overdosing, in order to prevent some of the abuse. Many of these guys start out adhering to the advice of those who have invested time in to learning, but can often begin abusing them, whether it be using excessive amounts or using them for prolonged periods of time or both.

I also think this stems from the fact that they can't "feel" anything wrong with them and soon they begin to think anabolic steroids are these innocuous compounds which can do them no harm. It may sound ridiculous but I've seen and encountered it firsthand. I've had arguments on more than one occasion with guys in their 40's and 50's claiming that anabolic steroids are somehow completely innocuous compounds because they've been using for improperly for 10 years and they feel fine. A form of natural selection I suppose.

Anyhow, my answer is yes through all of that rambling, they can be used safely. - CW