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Ex-Steroid Users Have Few Regrets
By William Llewellyn
Life is full of choices. Sometimes we make good decisions. Other times, we don’t. Time usually provides us the necessary perspective to evaluate our actions or inactions. What if we had done things differently? Do we really wish we had? We all hope to grow old and die free of regret, but alas; very few of us are actually lucky enough to make it through life without a few, at least. Doctors working at the Urology of Indiana center asked a very good question to a group of former steroid users, which I believe should be of interest to anyone concerned with the subject.1 How likely were they to regret their earlier decision to take steroids? Is it one of those things in life that many people look back on and wish they did differently? The answer may be surprising.
First though, let’s examine the group being asked. The study involved distributing a basic questionnaire to 382 men that were at the center receiving treatment for hypogonadism (low testosterone). This is, of course, a common issue with former steroid users. The men were an average age of 40. They were all asked to anonymously report if they regretted or did not regret their non-medical use of anabolic steroids, and if so, why. A total of 79 men filled out the survey. Of these, 15.2 percent expressed regret over the decision. The primary reason cited was infertility, a risk which they did not fully understand at the time they made the decision to use the drugs. The remaining 84.8 percent of respondents expressed no regret, even in spite of the possible association with their earlier use and current medical condition. Between 13 percent and 16 percent of the men had current fertility issues, a likelihood that was similar between men that did and did not regret anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) use.
Drug abuse is one of those areas where you expect to see a lot of regret from ex-users. Though hard for me to gain statistics on it, regret seems extremely prominent among former cocaine and heroin addicts, for example. In one study of smokers in four countries, approximately 90 percent regretted the decision to start smoking as well.2 You don’t get a much stronger regret percentage than that. The closest regret numbers I could find to the steroid survey were the likelihood of ever regretting a tattoo (14%), and the likelihood among 15- to 18-year-olds of ever having sex while drunk and later regretting it (17%).3,4
Anabolic steroid use likely has a low to modest level of self-reported regret, based on the fact that long-term serious health consequences, at least those tangible to the individual, are low to modest. This is, of course, not meant to suggest that anabolic steroid use is without potential harm. Even in this study, the men commonly reported issues such as increased aggression, mood disorders, erectile dysfunction, acne, fluid retention and dyslipidemia. These occurrences, however, were not associated (at least not significantly) with regret.
William Llewellyn is widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost authorities on the use of performance-enhancing substances. He is the author of the bestselling anabolic steroid reference guide ANABOLICS and CEO of Molecular Nutrition. William is an accomplished researcher/developer in the field of anabolic substances, and is also a longtime advocate for harm reduction and legislative change. He built the website anabolic.org, an extensive online database of information on anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs.
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References:
1. Kovac JR1, Scovell J, et al. Men regret anabolic steroid use due to a lack of comprehension regarding the consequences on future fertility. Andrologia 2014;Sep 15. doi: 10.1111/and.12340.
2. Fong GT1, Hammond D, et al. The near-universal experience of regret among smokers in four countries: findings from the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Survey. Nicotine Tob Res 2004;Dec;6 Suppl 3:S341-51.
3. The Harris Poll® #22, February 23, 2012. Samantha Braverman, Sr. Project Researcher, Harris Interactive.
4. Smith A, Agius P, et al. (2009). Secondary students and sexual health 2008: Results of the 4th National Survey of Australian Secondary Students, HIV/AIDS and Sexual Health. Melbourne: Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society.
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