William Bennett William Bennett presents
Anabolic steroids- drugs that are structurally related to the cyclic steroid rings system and have similar effects to testosterone in the body. An increase comes in the increased use of Steroids as more Americans want to be stronger, faster and better...
What are Anabolic Steroids? What are anabolic steroids? Anabolic Steroids include the androgynous male sex hormone testosterone and dihydrotestosterone, and other agents that behave like sex hormones. Androgens stimulate the development of male sexual characteristics (such as deepening of the voice and beard growth) and development of male sex organs. Anabolic steroids stimulate growth in many other types of tissues, especially bone and muscle. It is because
Anonymous Steroid Story.
of this muscle increase that many people choose to
“At my gym, steroids were easy to get. I figured that they were no big deal, so I tried a cycle during my sophomore year wrestling season in high school. I bought a bottle of testosterone and a syringe. I only wanted to have one syringe in my house because a bottle and a syringe is pretty
What makes these drugs addictive?
easy to hide, but ten syringes would be pretty difficult, be-
Like alcohol or street drugs, the common signs of addiction may develop with the use of steroids. These include drug cravings, requiring more drug to get the same effect, and withdrawal symptoms should the drug be stopped. Steroid abusers typically spend large amounts of time and money obtaining the drugs, which is another indication that they may be addicted. A steroid abuser is someone who uses substances containing steroids to increase muscle mass. Individuals who abuse steroids can experience withdrawal symptoms when they stop taking steroids, such as mood swings, fatigue, restlessness, loss of appetite, insomnia, reduced sex drive, and steroid cravings. The most dangerous of the withdrawal symptoms is depression, because it can lead to suicide attempts.
needed to use a different needle every time I injected but I
cause I still live with my parents. Everyone told me that I thought I could just heat the needle up over a flame and it would be sterile. After a few weeks of shooting into my shoulder it started to get swollen and looked weird. Then one day at wrestling practice, the place on my shoulder where I usually inject started to hurt and feel hot. My coach looked at it, and he thought it was badly infected, so we went to the hospital. When I was there, I had to tell the doctor how I got the infection, and my coach found out that I was using steroids, and he told my parents. I got suspended from school for a week and the wrestling team for the rest of the season and all the kids in my school found out too. “
How do you use them? Steroids are taken two ways, orally or by injection. It is somewhat obvious that when you take the steroids orally you will have to do it by swallowing a pill, but the aftermath or the process is what is interesting. Whenever one ingests something orally, and it is absorbed by the GI tract, which is an organ system responsible for transporting and digesting foodstuffs, absorbing nutrients, and expelling waste, it must pass through the liver before it gets into the general circulation. This alkylation of the steroid molecule allows the steroid to survive this pass through the liver and enter our general circulation. The unfortunate part of this is that these groups seem to impart some liver toxicity to the steroid. Invariably, after several weeks of oral steroid use, you will see a rise in your liver enzymes. They most often return to normal after the use is discontinued. If you want to fully take advantage of AAS, which is anabolic-androgen steroids ,you’re going to have to use injectables. In fact, many very good cycles are only injectables. Briefly, you inject intramuscularly either an oil-based or water-based solution containing the steroid. Water-based are fairly short acting and need to be injected more frequently. Oilbased are generally longer acting (although this doesn’t apply to all) and need to be injected less frequently as the oil tend to slow the absorption of the steroid.
What is cycling? Cycling is probably the only relatively safe way to take anabolics. It involves alternating periods of use with non-use. The average cycle last 6 to 8 weeks followed by 2 to 3 weeks off. Bodybuilders and other athletes cycle to reduce the risk of side effects as well as pass drug tests in drug-tested contests.
How Many People Use Them? In 1994, 1,084,000 Americans, or 0.5 percent of the adult population, said that they had tried anabolic hormones, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. In the 18 to 34 age group, about 1 percent had said they tried them. For ages 35 and older, that figure went down to 0.2 percent. More men than women report using the drugs: 0.9 percent of men and 0.2 percent of women admitted to using anabolic hormones.
Do They Really Work? Despite what anti-anabolic groups say most athletes, coaches, and trainers, report significant increases in muscle mass, strength, and power from their use. A placebo effect is one thing but millions of people have used steroids since the late 1950’s. If the drugs were not effective they wouldn’t be as popular as they are.
How do they make you stronger? Anabolic steroids, or anabolic-androgenic steroids, are the synthetic derivatives of the naturally produced hormone testosterone. They promote the growth of muscle (anabolic effect) and the typical male characteristics of puberty (androgenic effect). When we lift weights heavier than what we're used to, we create tiny micro-tears in muscle fibers. The body's natural repair process repairs the tear and then overcompensates by adding bigger cells to build a stronger fiber — this is called muscular hypertrophy. Over time, this repeated process of teardown and rebuild will result in muscle growth. Natural testosterone is the body's main ingredient for this process, but anabolic steroids can serve as a supplement.
What happens when minors/teens take them? Steroids might help build muscle, steroids can produce very serious side effects. Using steroids for a long time can negatively affect the reproductive system. In males, steroids can lead to impotence, a reduction in the amount of sperm produced. This disruption can cause long-term problems with fertility. Here are a couple of side effects from take steroids, stunted growth in teens, liver tumors, abnormal enlargement of the heart muscles, violent aggressive behavior and mood swings, blood lipid abnormalities that contribute to heart disease, acne (or a worsening of acne), increased breast growth in males, especially teens, irreversible stretch marks, a heightened tendency for hair loss and male-pattern baldness, muscle aches. The user may have an increased appetite, which means they will feel hungrier than usual and therefore might eat more and then gain weight. Keeping to a well balanced diet may help. Another reason why your child might gain weight is due to increased fluid retention.
Why would people take them? One of the main reasons people give for abusing steroids is to improve their athletic performance. Among athletes, steroid abuse has been estimated to be less that 6 percent according to surveys. Another reason people give for taking steroids is to increase their muscle size or to reduce their body fat. This group includes people suffering from the behavioral syndrome called muscle dysmorphia, which causes them to have a distorted image of their bodies. Men with muscle dysmorphia think that they look small and weak, even if they are large and muscular. Similarly, women with this condition think that they look fat and flabby, even though they are actually lean and muscular.
Work Cited "Anabolic steroids." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. "Anabolic Steroids | CESAR." Anabolic Steroids | CESAR. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. "Anabolic Steroids." DrugFacts:. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. "Anabolic Steroids: MedlinePlus." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. "How Anabolic Steroids Make You Stronger – And How They Destroy You." Gizmodo. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. "Steroid Abuse: Read About Signs, Statistics & Treatment." MedicineNet. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. "The Complete Idiots Guide to Anabolic Steroids." The Complete Idiots Guide to Anabolic Steroids. Web. 26 Feb. 2016. Top 20 Steroids Questions!" Top 20 Steroids Questions! Web. 26 Feb. 2016. "The Testosterone Cyclone Steroid Cycle with FREAKY Before & After Pictures - BodyBuilding News EliteFitness.com." BodyBuilding News EliteFitnesscom. 2014. Web. 26 Feb. 2016.