Supplements or Steroids?

[Slick]

I was chatting to a good guy who has been giving me some training advice from time to time and most of it has made good sense. I knew he did a bit of weight training in his youth as well as cycling at a good level. Long story short, during a recent conversation, he told me that he has been taking a combination of tablets and injections for years, although it's now at a much reduced rate to what it was in his youth. His rationale for taking it is that men lose natural stores of steroid as they get older and it's simply, topping up what we used to call natural levels when we were younger. I politely rejected his kind offer, but it did leave me wondering how wide spread the use of steroids amongst amateur athletes and guys of a certain age actually is. I also wondered if this was something anyone else had come across and if anyone was brave enough to be honest about it?

 

[vickster]

Did he not mean testosterone...a hormone...not a steroid...anabolic steroids can make you less 'manly' in the trouser department in fact

Hope he's done his research about the long term effects of anabolic steroids or he could end up with far more issues than he's 'solved'...e.g.
Common side effects with anabolic steroids may include:

• Severe acne, oily skin and hair.
• Hair loss.
• Liver disease, such as liver tumors and cysts.
• Kidney disease.
• Heart disease, such as heart attack and stroke.
• Altered mood, irritability, increased aggression, depression or suicidal tendencies.

oh and few more to show how fun they really are...

Physical effects
Effects of anabolic steroids in men can include:

• reduced sperm count
• infertility
• shrunken testicles
• erectile dysfunction
• breast development
• increased risk of developing prostate cancer
• stomach pain

In addition, both men and women who take anabolic steroids can develop any of the following medical conditions:

• high blood pressure (hypertension)
• blood clots
• fluid retention
• high cholesterol

Psychological effects
Misusing anabolic steroids can also cause the following psychological or emotional effects:

• aggressive behaviour
• mood swings
• manic behaviour
• hallucinations and delusions

He might want to have a read ... http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/anabolic-steroid-abuse/Pages/Introduction.aspx

and then checked over fully by his GP for liver, kidney and heart disease...

It seems pretty bloody stupid to abuse steroids in reality

 

[ColinJ]

It seems pretty bloody stupid to abuse testosterone in reality too!

 

[S-Express]

Did he not mean testosterone...a hormone...not a steroid...

Testosterone is a steroid...

 

[vickster]

Testosterone is a steroid...

Interesting, it's a hormone and steroid

 

[S-Express]

A steroid is an organic compound with four rings arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Examples include the dietary lipid cholesterol, the sex hormones estradiol and testosterone

 

[Slick]

The guy is in his 50's and says he's been doing it for years. He definitely used the term steroid. He recommended starting easy with Anovar 50 which is a tablet but reckoned to make any real difference you have to inject. I was quite shocked by his frankness, and it got me wondering.

 

[vickster]

The guy is in his 50's and says he's been doing it for years. He definitely used the term steroid. He recommended starting easy with Anovar 50 which is a tablet but reckoned to make any real difference you have to inject. I was quite shocked by his frankness, and it got me wondering.

What, whether he can still get it up?

 

[S-Express]

Anyway, I wouldn't just go necking steroids randomly without having some kind of problem for which steroid treatment is prescribed.

 

[Slick]

What, whether he can still get it up?

Not my bag man.

 

[fossyant]

How old are you ? Don't do it if you plan on having a family.

I take testosterone due to a dodgy operation and my levels are still less than optimal. Without replacement I crashed to about a 1/4 of the norm following surgery. I'm on a maximum dose and still only 3/4 of normal.

It's also illegal without a medical need. Without proper blood testing you should not take it as it can quickly cause heamocrit to rise and anything over 54 can lead to strokes and heart attack.

The injections are very painful after for about 5 days. I had these every two weeks. Even the nurses cringed when they saw the needle size as it's oil based. I've moved to gels now as these give slightly better levels.

Don't even think about it unless there is a medical need.

 

[Slick]

How old are you ? Don't do it if you plan on having a family.

I take testosterone due to a dodgy operation and my levels are still less than optimal. Without replacement I crashed to about a 1/4 of the norm following surgery. I'm on a maximum dose and still only 3/4 of normal.

It's also illegal without a medical need. Without proper blood testing you should not take it as it can quickly cause heamocrit to rise and anything over 54 can lead to strokes and heart attack.

The injections are very painful after for about 5 days. I had these every two weeks. Even the nurses cringed when they saw the needle size as it's oil based. I've moved to gels now as these give slightly better levels.

Don't even think about it unless there is a medical need.

I didn't. The encounter just made me wonder, who does.

 

[fossyant]

Those that abuse it usually take a shed loads of other stuff to balance it. You also risk conversion to oestrogen and it's a complex balance. I'd personally rather not take it but I feel shocking without it (constantly knackered) which lead me to get my full bloods done.

 

[winjim]

Interesting, it's a hormone and steroid

Hormones can be anything, they don't really have a defined chemical structure although a lot of them are steroids. A steroid does have a defined chemical structure, but not all steroids are hormones, for example cholesterol is a component of lipid membranes. Testosterone is an anabolic steroid hormone.

 

[Slick]

Those that abuse it usually take a shed loads of other stuff to balance it. You also risk conversion to oestrogen and it's a complex balance. I'd personally rather not take it but I feel shocking without it (constantly knackered) which lead me to get my full bloods done.

Yeah, that's one thing I noticed, the guy in question sounded like a very knowledgeable chemist. How do you keep on top of the balance, is it just how you feel or bloods?