One of the first problems discovered was a link between steroids and cardiovascular disease. Several studies began to show that athletes using steroids ran a higher risk of heart disease and sudden death. Today, researchers associate many heart risks with the use of anabolic steroids including cardiomyopathy, myocardial infarction, and cerebro-vascular accidents.
As far back as the early 1980s, a clinical physician named Dr. O. Lynn Webb, from New Castle, Indiana, demonstrated that even comparatively low dosages of steroids could elevate blood lipid profiles and put steroid users at risk for a heart attack. The athletes in Dr. Webb’s study were using 50-100 milligrams of Dianabol® daily, 100-200 milligrams of testosterone by injection per week, and 100-200 milligrams of nandrolone decanoate by injection per week. Mild dosages by today’s standards.
Levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) — the kind believed to protect against heart disease — ran 50 percent lower in athletes using steroids along with a significant rise in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) — the so-called bad cholesterol. For some athletes in Dr. Webb’s study, the residual effects of the steroids to the atherogenic blood lipid profile persisted for up to seven months after stopping steroid use. Based on his research, Dr. Webb estimated that anabolic steroid use can increase the risk of a heart attack by up to four-fold.
A similar study around the same time conducted by researchers Costill, Pearson and Fink, turned up similar results. Amazingly, these researchers noted a remarkable drop in serum HDL within just one to two days of starting steroids. And it didn’t matter which steroids were used. They all had the same negative affect on blood lipids. The conclusion of those researchers: “In light of the relationships reported between low levels of HDL cholesterol and the incidence of coronary artery disease, the administration of anabolic steroids to otherwise healthy men appears to be ethically and clinically inadvisable.” (Emphasis added)
Remember, this research was 20 years ago when dosages were considerably lower than today’s usage.
Fast-forward to the May 1997 issue of Muscle & Fitness and you are still reading the same thing. In an article entitled Steroid Ticker Terror, author and reproductive endrocrinologist Rob Zachow, PhD, states: “Anabolic steroids, even in therapeutic doses that are many times lower than the amounts used by some bodybuilders, generally cause a reduction in the HDL:LDL ratio. This type of imbalance can increase your risk of cardiovascular disease as much as six-fold.” That article also included a very telling chart of cardiovascular problems associated with steroid usage. I reproduce that chart for you here.
Liver Problems
Just as researchers have established a definitive link between steroids and heart disease, so too have they linked oral steroids with liver problems. (While injectable steroids seem to have less serious immediate effects on the liver, lesions of the liver have been reported after injectable nortestosterone administration, and also occasionally after injection of testosterone esters.)
Oral steroids can affect the liver in several ways. First of all, they interfere with the function of certain liver enzymes — increasing the activity of some while decreasing that of others. For example, steroid use can be associated with an increase in plasma activity of liver enzymes such as aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (AP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT). These enzymes are present in liver cells (hepatocytes) in relatively high concentrations, and an increase in plasma levels of these enzymes usually reflects cellular damage or at least increased permeability of the cell membrane.
Oral steroid ingestion can also lead to a toxic inflammation of the liver known as hepatitis. This happens as a result of steroids increasing the size of the liver cells, leading to a congestion of bile flow through ducts in the liver that empty into the gallbladder, where bile is stored. Bile blockage is referred to medically as cholestasis and is usually the result of high dosages of steroids for extended periods of time. Two steroids reputed to be at the top of the list in causing liver damage are Anadrol-50 and Halotestin.
One early visible sign of liver inflammation from oral steroid use is jaundice, which is characterized by a yellow discoloration in the skin and whites of the eyes caused by retention of bile.
Still another liver problem linked to steroid use is peliosis hepatitis, a disease consisting of blood-filled cysts in the liver, and sometimes the spleen. It is often not recognized until life-threatening liver failure or intra-abdominal hemorrhage develops. If left untreated, the blood-filled cysts can rupture, leading to death.
And of course, the worst liver problem of all from oral steroid use is cancer. Though some forms of steroid-induced liver cancer appear to be benign and reversible upon cessation, there are reports of steroid users who have died from liver cancer — particularly as a result of staying on steroids for prolonged periods of time. According to the Journal Of The American Osteopathic Association, one bodybuilder who took Anadrol-50 for five consecutive years paid the ultimate price when he died from liver cancer.
Cancerous Tumors
Cancer experts tell us that at any given moment in time, we all have dormant cancer cells in our bodies. Thankfully, these pre-cancerous cells are held in check for the most part by our immune system. However, certain known and unknown factors called carcinogens can trigger these cells to potentiate, leading to runaway cell growth and eventually tumor formation.
It doesn’t take an advanced science degree to figure out that anabolic steroids have all the makings of being carcinogenic. Just think it through. Here are drugs designed to promote muscle cell growth while at the same time, those who use them are consuming extra-large quantities of protein — the very nutrient craved by cancer cells. It’s just like waving a red flag in front of a bull. You’re just asking for trouble. If your immune system can keep up with your steroid abuse, then hopefully the pre-cancerous cells are held in check. But given any slight immune hesitancy and you can be looking at a full-blown case of cancer just about anywhere in your body. (There’s already been a causal relationship established between anabolic steroid use and the occurrence of kidney cancer [Wilms tumors] and prostate cancer.)
So you can either believe the distorted propaganda of the drug merchants who tell you that steroids are not dangerous, or you can listen to the facts and stop playing with fire.
Hormonal Imbalances
Many male athletes have difficulty getting their hormone levels to normalize once they come off a drug cycle. Such imbalances can lead to a variety of health problems including a prolonged impairment of testicular hormone function. Researchers have reported that in some cases, long-term suppression of testicular production of hormones can even lead to testicular problems that are irreversible.
One thing seems certain. Prolonged use of combined anabolic steroids (stacking) in relatively high doses is almost guaranteed to lead to gonadotropic hormonal imbalances. Gonadotropic hormones are hormones that stimulate the reproductive organs (gonads) and control reproductive activity.
In addition to testosterone, the two other main gonadotropic hormones are luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). Even a moderate decrease of gonadotropic secretion can cause atrophy of the testes, as well as a decrease of sperm cell production. Oligo-azoospermia (fewer than the normal number of sperm in the semen) as well as an increased number of abnormal sperm cells, often leads to infertility in steroid users.
But there’s still more trouble! One of the trickiest parts of steroid use for many athletes is how to keep their hormone levels balanced between drug cycles. Since steroids are derivatives of male hormone, there can be wide hormonal fluctuations between drug cycles, not only in testosterone, LH and FSH, but even in female hormone levels.
Aromatization — the process by which some anabolics are converted to the female hormone estrogen, can become a serious problem for some male users. In some cases, large imbalances of female hormone in males can even lead to an unsightly fatty enlargement of the breasts known as gynecomastia, or the more common street term bitch tits.
Disturbingly, most athletes attempt self-corrective treatment during these periods of hormone fluctuation, using a whole other shopping list of prescription pharmaceuticals in their attempts to get their hormone levels back to normal.
Roid Rage
Always looking for the sensational, the media have jumped all over this side effect, perhaps at times even finding it where it may not have been. Nevertheless, since testosterone is the principle male hormone and since males are known to be more aggressive than females, it has been concluded that an overabundance of testosterone causes aggressive and even hostile behavior. While the psychologists and scientists still debate it — most steroid users are quick to identify it as a major problem brought on from heavy steroid use. There are even reports of violent criminal behavior linked to steroid usage.
One steroid user who requested anonymity, told me that his roid rage got so bad that he could hardly drive his car without wanting to fight with every driver that even looked at him wrong. He told me a horror story about how one day he chased down a pickup truck with two male occupants because they cut him off the road. Thankfully he at least had enough sense to back off when they finally pulled over and pointed a gun to his head. But what made this situation even scarier was that he had his five-year-old daughter with him in the front seat of the car.
Another steroid user told me how the drugs made him feel totally invincible — tough enough to take on anyone, anytime, anywhere. Unfortunately, that also included his wife who — after one too many beatings, finally had him prosecuted for assault.
And don’t kid yourself. Female steroid users are not immune to roid rage. Here’s the dramatic way that former female bodybuilding champion Tina Plakinger described one of her episodes with roid rage.
“I became a raging fury, always itching for a fight. Once at a drive-through bank window, the woman in the car ahead of me seemed to be taking all day to complete her transaction. I became furious. I jumped out of my car, ran over to hers, yanked the poor woman out and began shaking her as I poured out verbal abuse. I actually had to be pulled off by others who came to her rescue. I even used to keep a club in my car and if I didn’t like the way someone was driving, I’d get out and threaten them at a red light.”
Other Psychological Problems
In addition to roid rage, there are several other psychological problems that can be brought on by steroid use. These include confusion, sleeping disorders, pathological anxiety, paranoia, and hallucinations.
For some people, quitting steroids doesn’t come without a price. Cessation of anabolic steroid use can lead to various psychological withdrawal symptoms including aggressive and violent behavior, mental depression, sudden mood changes, fatigue, acute psychosis and in the worst case — suicide. Some of these symptoms have been shown to last up to a year or more.
Tendon Injuries
Connective tissue injuries are far more prevalent among athletes today than they were just a decade or so ago. Some claim this is not a direct result of steroids but simply the result of heavier weights being lifted. There’s no doubt that athletes who lift heavy weights run a much greater risk of seriously injuring the connective tissue of their joints (cartilage, ligaments, and tendons). But there is definitely a pronounced increase in tendon injuries among steroid users. One of the reasons for this is the belief that muscles respond to steroids much quicker than tendons, thus making tendons more prone to injury.
However, there is some new evidence that steroids actually alter the tendons, making them more susceptible to injury. A research group in Bristol, England examined the effects of steroids and exercise on the cross fibers within tendons. They discovered that the pattern of these fibers in the tendons of rats on steroids was much tighter than normal and that the tendons were less rigid. They also observed that the steroid-affected tendons were more elongated than normal under stress and tended to reach their tearing point much earlier. From this, the researchers concluded that the tendons were not as strong and that it would take more effort to stretch them, leading to a greater likelihood of injury.
Risks To Women
Unfortunately, recent studies show a definite upturn in the use of steroids by women and young girls who are getting as much pressure as males to excel in athletics. Some even claim that female steroid use is “going through the roof.”
As bad as steroids are for men, they can be doubly as damaging to women. The reason for this is that all steroids are derivatives of male hormones thus making women not only more receptive to their effectiveness but also more susceptible to their dangers.
Just as in males, anabolic steroids can have a harmful affect on the reproductive system of women. Similarly, this is due to imbalances in the circulating gonadotropic hormones. An increase in androgens from steroid use, for instance, can inhibit not only a woman’s production of LH, FSH, but also of the female hormones estrogen and progesterone. This can lead to inhibition of ovulation as well as irregularities and cessation of the menstrual cycle.
Pregnant women who use anabolics run the risk of causing serious harm to their babies. For example, use of steroids by pregnant women may lead to growth retardation of the female fetus or to a congenital condition called pseudohermaphroditism in which a child is born with the external genitalia of one sex and internal sex organs of the other sex. Or even worse yet! Anabolic steroid use can even lead to fetal death.
In addition to such reproductive problems, females who use anabolic steroids can also experience growth of facial hair, male-pattern baldness, shrinkage of breast size, clitoral enlargement and deepening of the voice (you can never mistake it when you hear it).
Growth Hormone And Acromegaly
The use of human growth hormone (hGH) presents a whole new set of side effects in addition to many of those related to steroids. For instance, the worst side effect from this powerful drug is acromegaly — a deforming condition that causes muscle and bone disfigurement, a jutting forehead and an elongated jaw. While a few injections of hGH will not immediately cause acromegaly, prolonged use (even sporadically) increases an athlete’s risk of developing this condition.
Other hGH side effects include heart and metabolic problems, as well as growth of internal organs. Some speculate that this is why the abdomens of some bodybuilders bulge out like a pregnant woman even though there is no significant fat deposit in that region.
Yet, despite these serious irreversible dangers, hGH still remains the drug of choice among many competitive athletes.
Clenbuterol
Even though Clenbuterol is not an anabolic steroid, it has become quite popular on the black market with bodybuilders over the last 10 years. It is reputed to increase protein uptake into the muscles while helping to cut body fat. The drug has never been approved for use in America either for humans or animals. It is known to cause muscle tremors, accelerated heart rate, headaches, dizziness, nausea, fever and chills.
GHB
(Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate)
Here’s another non-steroid drug that continues to be popular with bodybuilders despite its proven potential to kill. Make no mistake about it — GHB can kill you, especially since the lethal dose for GHB is unknown and can vary in different people. It is also popular in nightclubs where it is used as a sedative drug that can cause an alcohol-like high. Adverse effects for GHB include daytime confusion, headaches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, sleepwalking, central nervous system disorders, seizures, depressed respiration, and coma.
Insulin
Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels. It is used by some bodybuilders because of its reputed ability to stimulate the uptake of amino acids into muscle tissue. It is administered by injection and an improper dosage can quickly lead to coma or death. Ironically, taking too much insulin can actually lead to more fat deposition.
Counterfeit Drugs
One of the more recent dangers to using steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs comes from the large amount of counterfeit drugs that have now flooded the market. Crafty crooks are mixing up all kinds of concoctions and selling them as steroids on the black market. Many of these bogus pills are hard to spot since they look just like the real thing and are even fraudulently labeled with the names of popular brands of steroids. Be forewarned that it’s “buyer beware” since none of these counterfeits are manufactured to any official standards and a good number of them may even contain adulterated and harmful material. Some authorities estimate that at least 80 percent of the steroids now being sold to athletes are counterfeit. Large-scale counterfeit operations have been noted in Britain, Holland, and Thailand.
The Unknown Side Effects
Since just about everyone who uses illegal performance-enhancers stacks them (uses multiple drugs simultaneously), we need to say a few words about the combined harmful effects of these drugs. The truth is that no one really knows what happens inside the body when multiple drugs are taken simultaneously. Even the companies that market them never test for such multiple usage. This means that when you are stacking you are really on an experimental “crap shoot.” I shudder just to think of the potentially harmful effects of mixing anabolic steroids with pure testosterone, growth hormone, insulin, clenbuterol, thyroid hormone, diuretics, IGF-1, Synthol, estrogen suppressors, and on and on.
One of the first problems discovered was a link between steroids and cardiovascular disease. Several studies began to show that athletes using steroids ran a higher risk of heart disease and sudden death. Today, researchers associate many heart risks with the use of anabolic steroids including cardiomyopathy, myocardial infarction, and cerebro-vascular accidents.