How Britain’s got hooked on steroids: 500,000 are now addicted to muscle-enhancers
Many men continue to abuse steroids despite knowing that they have serious, life-limiting and potentially lethal side effects, according to findings to be presented in Lyon, at the European Society of Endocrinology annual meeting, ECE 2019. The study findings indicate that men using anabolic steroids to improve strength and physical performance are often aware of the side effects but choose to continue taking them. This raises serious concerns not only for their own health but that of future generations, since side effects are known to damage sperm as well as increase the risk of sexual dysfunction, heart disease and liver damage.
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- It is estimated that almost a quarter of a million people in the UK have tried the drugs, which are commonly used by males attempting to quickly build muscle mass or boost athletic performance.
Men who suffer from body dysmorphic syndrome will often be obsessively checking their appearance in the mirror, comparing themselves with others, excessively grooming and working out in the gym. Using anabolic steroids results in muscular growth and development above and beyond what is possible solely from good nutrition and weight training. Anabolic steroids are prescription-only drugs that are often taken illegally. This study makes several recommendations to any support services that might interact with people who use AAS.
Anabolic steroid use disorder
And worryingly, an increasing amount of people – mostly young boys – are becoming hooked on steroids. One of the most reliable ways to know more about your testosterone levels is through a test. This can be taken with your doctor or from the comfort of your own home with an at-home lab test. With this in mind, testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is often considered for those living with the condition in order to help reverse these unfavorable symptoms.
Use of anabolic steroids can therefore lead to multiple harmful physical side effects with shrunken testicles and male breast growth probably the most well known. An excess of androgens resulting from steroid use can also lead to male-pattern baldness, severe treatment resistant acne as well as altered libido. In men, prolonged exposure to anabolic steroids results in infertility, a decreased sex drive, shrinking of the testes and breast development.
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However, a 2016 survey conducted by researchers from Liverpool John Moores University in conjunction with Public Health Wales, including Mr Kean, found the vast majority of IPED users who responded reported using steroids. If you want to reduce your health risks, then don’t take anabolic steroids. But if you are supplementing then understand more about how blood testing and health screening can help manage your risk. Anabolic steroids are class C drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
What does this mean for society and supporting AAS-users?
Anabolic steroids are class C drugs, which can only be issued by pharmacists with a prescription. Little blue pills can help overcome ED problems and some athletes use them to ‘flush’ steroids from their body. But after a while these pills of whatever type and colour become less effective. To get and maintain an erection blood needs to flow unrestricted through the penis.
This can develop in a number of different stages in a man’s life and can bring with a number of symptoms such as muscle loss, loss of sex drive, and erectile dysfunction. Testosterone is naturally produced by the testes in men and works to stimulate the development of male characteristics. As this primary hormone plays so many important roles, men who have low testosterone levels, or hypogonadism, may consider testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). Dr Lykhonosov’s now plans to investigate how to treat hormonal imbalances and disorders caused by steroid abuse.
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Dr Mahmood’s patients tend to be aware of more common issues with steroid abuse such as erectile dysfunction, reduced sperm count and infertility. (One study found men who use steroids have a 90% chance of becoming sterile). “But what people seem less aware of is the other, possibly more serious, stuff – the mental health problems, high cholesterol, risk of blood clots, heart problems and heart attacks,” he adds.
Steroids here is used informally (and incorrectly) as a catch-all term for androgenic anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing drugs, such as growth hormone, insulin and thyroid hormone. However, what may not be as well known is that some of these substances – in particular, anabolic steroids – are used by a significant number of non-elite athletes. Most worrying is a recent trend towards increased use by teenage boys, not for gains in athletic performance, but to facilitate the development of a larger and more defined musculature.
In fact, men who use anabolic steroids are also more likely to be experiencing psychological symptoms, such as depression and low self-esteem. They also tend to have poor knowledge of health, have been brought up in families with a greater fixation on body weight, and have participated in more sport in their youth in an effort to change legalsteroids their size and shape. There is also a link between the use of anabolic steroids with eating disorders and substance abuse. Founder Aaron Carnahan travels around gyms in the Midlands and works alongside Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust offering expert advice on image and performance-enhancing drugs, including safer alternatives.
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If you’re concerned about any symptoms you may be experiencing such as weight gain or reduced muscle mass, it’s important to get in touch with a medical professional to know more. Serious health complications.In this article we’ll look at what anabolic steroids are and how they can potentially damage your health. Trenbolone is good at building and retaining muscle mass, rapidly increasing strength due to its high androgenic effects, says Baker.