<header class="entry-header" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Arial; line-height: 14px; ">[h=1]Pitfalls of steroid use[/h]
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steroids in olympic
Steroids make the news quite often, but with the Olympic Games here again steroids and “doping” are back in the headlines. When a young girl from China, which happens to be one of the countries with a history of steroid use by it’s athletes, is able to beat Ryan Lochte’s record everyone wants to know how she did it.
What makes the Olympics different than other major sporting events is that they are watched by nearly everyone in every country, young and old over a 2 week period. During these 2 weeks kids and teens see thousands of ‘buff” athletes and think “I want to be like that”. Some of these kids will look to steroids to help them along. The problem with steroids is not only are they illegal they can have serious and dangerous side effects. Steroids fall into 2 categories, anabolic steroids and corticosteoids. Both have significant medicinal value as well as significant side effects. Anabolic steroids or AAS’s are the type used by athletes and body builders for their muscle building and masculine properties. The thing that makes them so potentially dangerous is that in order for them to be effective for those purposes they need to be taken in doses 10 to 100 times higher than the highest therapeutic dos given for treatment of a medical condition. Taking any medication 10 to 100 times the normal therapeutic dose significantly increases your chances of experiencing side effects. So before you consider using steroids to accomplish your goal you need to think about the potential consequences. First of all if your goal is to become an Olympian or a professional athlete steroids are illegal and you will be tested. If you are considering steroids for other reasons you need to carefully research the steroids you are considering and know the potential side effects.
One of the things that makes steroid use so dangerous is that many of the users take a combination of several different types of AAS’s and non-steroidal supplements to get the maximum effect. Long term steroid use affects several chemicals and pathways in the brain including serotonin and dopamine which have a significant effect on our moods and behavior. So while most steroid users say they feel good even great while taking steroids there are also severe mood swings that occur. These mood swings can become viiolent, known as “roid rage” as well as lead to paranoia, and delusions. Though steroids don’t become addictive in the same sense as a heroine user the body does develop a resistance requiring more and more of the drug to achieve the same effect. For this reason many steroid users will take them in an on – off cycle, taking them for a period of time then stopping for a period of time before starting again.
Long term steroid use/abuse can cause serious, irreversible health conditions as well including kidney failure, liver damage, and numerous cardiovascular problems like high blood pressure and enlargement of the heart and increase your risk of heart attack and stroke for all ages. That includes teens and young adults. There are also many side effects that may not be life threatening but also need to be considered if you are considering steroid use. In men that take steroids those would include a decreased sperm count and/or infertility so if you’re thinking about having children you need to take this into consideration. There is also an increased chance of developing prostate cancer. Men using steroids also tend to develop alopecia or baldness as well as breasts known as gynecomastia. Women that take AAS’s tend to develop male characteristics including facial hair and a deeper voice, they can also develop whats known as male pattern baldness. Women taking steroids will also usually notice changes or even cessation of their menstrual cycle. adolescents tend to have impaired growth, not attaining their expected height as well as accelerated puberty changes. If all that isn’t enough, for those users that use injectable steroids there’s also the risk of either contracting or giving hepatitis and HIV/AIDS.
If you are still thinking about trying steroids like it or not you reallu need to see your Dr for a complete physical. It’s important to know if you have any previously unknown health issues before beginning a steroid regime. Then research, research, research! Become informed, know what you’re taking and what to watch for.
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Steroids make the news quite often, but with the Olympic Games here again steroids and “doping” are back in the headlines. When a young girl from China, which happens to be one of the countries with a history of steroid use by it’s athletes, is able to beat Ryan Lochte’s record everyone wants to know how she did it.
What makes the Olympics different than other major sporting events is that they are watched by nearly everyone in every country, young and old over a 2 week period. During these 2 weeks kids and teens see thousands of ‘buff” athletes and think “I want to be like that”. Some of these kids will look to steroids to help them along. The problem with steroids is not only are they illegal they can have serious and dangerous side effects. Steroids fall into 2 categories, anabolic steroids and corticosteoids. Both have significant medicinal value as well as significant side effects. Anabolic steroids or AAS’s are the type used by athletes and body builders for their muscle building and masculine properties. The thing that makes them so potentially dangerous is that in order for them to be effective for those purposes they need to be taken in doses 10 to 100 times higher than the highest therapeutic dos given for treatment of a medical condition. Taking any medication 10 to 100 times the normal therapeutic dose significantly increases your chances of experiencing side effects. So before you consider using steroids to accomplish your goal you need to think about the potential consequences. First of all if your goal is to become an Olympian or a professional athlete steroids are illegal and you will be tested. If you are considering steroids for other reasons you need to carefully research the steroids you are considering and know the potential side effects.
One of the things that makes steroid use so dangerous is that many of the users take a combination of several different types of AAS’s and non-steroidal supplements to get the maximum effect. Long term steroid use affects several chemicals and pathways in the brain including serotonin and dopamine which have a significant effect on our moods and behavior. So while most steroid users say they feel good even great while taking steroids there are also severe mood swings that occur. These mood swings can become viiolent, known as “roid rage” as well as lead to paranoia, and delusions. Though steroids don’t become addictive in the same sense as a heroine user the body does develop a resistance requiring more and more of the drug to achieve the same effect. For this reason many steroid users will take them in an on – off cycle, taking them for a period of time then stopping for a period of time before starting again.
Long term steroid use/abuse can cause serious, irreversible health conditions as well including kidney failure, liver damage, and numerous cardiovascular problems like high blood pressure and enlargement of the heart and increase your risk of heart attack and stroke for all ages. That includes teens and young adults. There are also many side effects that may not be life threatening but also need to be considered if you are considering steroid use. In men that take steroids those would include a decreased sperm count and/or infertility so if you’re thinking about having children you need to take this into consideration. There is also an increased chance of developing prostate cancer. Men using steroids also tend to develop alopecia or baldness as well as breasts known as gynecomastia. Women that take AAS’s tend to develop male characteristics including facial hair and a deeper voice, they can also develop whats known as male pattern baldness. Women taking steroids will also usually notice changes or even cessation of their menstrual cycle. adolescents tend to have impaired growth, not attaining their expected height as well as accelerated puberty changes. If all that isn’t enough, for those users that use injectable steroids there’s also the risk of either contracting or giving hepatitis and HIV/AIDS.
If you are still thinking about trying steroids like it or not you reallu need to see your Dr for a complete physical. It’s important to know if you have any previously unknown health issues before beginning a steroid regime. Then research, research, research! Become informed, know what you’re taking and what to watch for.
