Side-Effects of Steroids

If you’re thinking of using anabolic steroids you need to understand there are possible anabolic steroid side effects you may have to deal with. As with all side effects pertaining to all drugs, many of the side effects of steroids are largely individually based, as well as based on your own education and understanding. Many of the possible steroid side effects can be prevented, many can be reversed once use is discontinued but you need to have a grasp of not only the possible steroid side effects but how anabolic steroids work as well. If this isn’t a topic you’re familiar with, referring to anabolic steroids in general, be sure to brush up and do a little digging once you’re through here and then come back and read it again. If you don’t understand how anabolic steroids work the side-effects of steroids are not going to make a lot of sense.

Frequent Anabolic Steroid Side Effects

Many anabolic steroids aromatize and this can lead to a few unwelcome steroid side effects; most notably Gynecomastia but it is within this aromatizing effect many experience unwanted water retention as well. Your best bet for combating this nasty steroid side-effect is through the use of an aromatase inhibitor during your cycle, as well as performing a proper post cycle therapy. Many anabolic steroid users escape the “Gyno” monster during their cycle only to have it knock down the wall after the cycle due to excess estrogen buildup. Make sure you use adequate medications such as Clomid or Nolva after your cycle to not only prevent these types of steroid side effects but to implore proper recovery as well.

Other common steroid side effects revolve around cholesterol and blood pressure. However, many times and by “Many” we mean most of the time these issues can be avoided by eating properly, as well as supplementing your diet with the necessary means of proper function. Almost all anabolic steroid users will experience a drop in their HDL cholesterol (Good Cholesterol) and like Gynecomastia this is avoidable or easily remedied. Many anabolic steroid users will find supplementing with fatty-acids to be their saving grace.

As it pertains to the side effects of steroids and high blood pressure, more times than not this is due to oral anabolic steroid use; not always but more times than not. If you fall prey to this effect the solution is simple; stop using oral anabolics. If you have blood pressure issues without oral anabolic use then unfortunately anabolic steroid use may not be for you. It should also go without saying; if you suffer from high blood pressure before anabolic steroid use you should forgo use until the issue is under-control.

Testicular shrinkage is one of the steroid side effects most are familiar with. When we take anabolic steroids our natural testosterone productions comes to a stop. Due to this shortage in production our testicles shrink; they have no reason not to. If this is a concern there isn’t a lot you can do about it if you choose to use anabolic steroids; it is one of the side effects of steroids largely accepted as inevitable for the male user. That said, once use is discontinued and your natural testosterone production begins again, your testicles will return to their normal size.

Irreversible Steroid Side-Effects

With the possible side effects of steroids we’ve discussed so far, all are avoidable or reversible but there are those that once they’re there, they’re there to stay. Perhaps the most common is that of hair-loss; if you are someone who was going to go bald anabolic steroid use can speed up the process and once you lose your hair, short of a transplant there’s no getting it back. However, if you are not susceptible to baldness, generally you are in the clear. The most prevalent irreversible side effects of steroids fall within usage of female anabolic steroid users. While females are susceptible to many of the same steroid side effects as men, they are also prone to some unique unto their own; such as dreaded masculine effects. These steroid side effects are reversible if caught early on and if abuse is not implored but once they are allowed to set in, often there is not a lot that can be done.

When speaking of irreversible steroid side effects we would be remised if we did not bring up Gynecomastia yet again. Although it is easily preventable, if it is allowed to set up shop and not dealt with then it is there to stay. If you reach this point the only way you can have it removed is to physically have it surgically removed.

The Side Effects of Steroids and Responsibility

When it comes down to the side effects of steroids the end results will be up to you. Use, not abuse is the key. More often than not, horrific anabolic steroid side effects are due to irresponsible individuals who not only abuse outright but further have no understanding or education behind anabolic steroid use. Understand one thing, although many of the steroid side effects you hear of are blown out of proportion or are for a better word an outright lie, side effects of steroids are real but they are also manageable and avoidable.

STEROIDS HALF LIFE AND VERSUS HALF LIFE

STEROIDS HALF LIFE AND HOW IT WORKS

Anyone new to steroids may be wondering what Steroid half life means, even some experienced steroid users may also be wondering what half-lives means. So here in simple terms you can read and hopefully understand all about steroid half life's and what this term means.

Basically every drug has a half life, steroids included. If for example, you were to inject 1000mg of testosterone cypionate once weekly, for 10 weeks, how would you know when you were "off"? Would you be "off" when you had finished your last dose? You would be able to calculate this from the half life of testosterone cypionate. The half life of testosterone cypionate is around 12 days. This means that 12 days from your last shot of 1000mg of testosterone cypionate (Time to start PCT? You decide.), your blood levels of testosterone cypionate will contain 500mg of the steroid. Another 12 days from then, i.e. 24 days from last dose, your blood levels will contain 250mg of the steroid. This amount then keeps halving every 12 days. At 48 days (almost 2 months) from your last dose, your blood levels will still contain 67.5mg of testosterone cypionate.

Therefore you can clearly see that when you finish your cycle, even though you are not putting any steroids into your body, you may think that you are now "off", however you still have, and will still have for some time after your last dose, "active" blood levels of the steroid. Therefore you can plan what to use, how long for, and how long off your cycle, based on these half life's.

Below a list of half-life's of the most commonly used steroids, esters and ancillary compounds.


Oral steroids Drug Active half-life

Anadrol / Anapolan50 (oxymetholone) 8 to 9 hours
Anavar (oxandrolone) 9 hours
Dianabol (methandrostenolone, methandienone) 4.5 to 6 hours
Winstrol (stanozolol) (tablets or depot taken orally) 9 hours
Depot steroids Drug Active half-life
Deca-durabolin (Nandrolone decanate) 14 days
Equipoise 14 days
Finaject (trenbolone acetate) 3 days
Primobolan (methenolone enanthate) 10.5 days
Sustanon or Omnadren 15 to 18 days
Testosterone Cypionate 12 days
Testosterone Enanthate 10.5 days
Testosterone Propionate 4.5 days
Testosterone Suspension 1 day
Winstrol (stanozolol) 1 day


Steroid esters Drug Active half-life

Formate 1.5 days
Acetate 3 days
Propionate 2 days
Phenylpropionate 4.5 days
Butyrate 6 days
Valerate 7.5 days
Hexanoate 9 days
Caproate 9 days
Isocaproate 9 days
Heptanoate 10.5 days
Enanthate 10.5 days
Octanoate 12 days
Cypionate 12 days
Nonanoate 13.5 days
Decanoate 15 days
Undecanoate 16.5 days


Ancillaries Drug Active half-life

Arimidex 3 days
Clenbuterol 1.5 days
Clomid 5 days
Cytadren 6 hours
T3 10 hours


Active Life versus Half Life

The confusion comes from the 2 terms being used synonymously when they should not be. "Half-life is not a reference for the total time a drug will be found active in the body. It may take several half-lives before the drug is completely inactive."

Half-life: The period of time required for the concentration or amount of drug in the body to be reduced to exactly one-half of a given concentration or amount.

Example: The half-life of anavar is 9 hours+/- (9 hours after oral administration of 50 mg of anavar, 25mg is still present in the body).

Active life: Refers to the period in which the amount of a drug in the body is enough that it will still produce the desired effects for which it was administered. Or conversely, inhibit natural recovery of normal bodily function. It is dose dependent.

Young Britons Risk Health by Injecting Steroids

Healthcare services should do more to help a growing number of young people in Britain who face health risks by injecting steroids or other performance or image enhancing drugs.

Conservative estimates suggest almost 60,000 people aged between 16 and 59 in England and Wales have used anabolic steroids in the last year, according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

Many needle and syringe programmes have reported an increase in the number of steroid users, particularly among men aged 18-25, in the last few years, fuelled by increasing pressures to look good, NICE said in a study.

It wants these people to be offered sterile equipment to reduce the spread of blood-borne viruses and infections from contaminated needles.

"Since we last published our guideline on needle and syringe programmes in 2009, we've seen an increase in the use of image and performance enhancing drugs such as anabolic steroids," said Professor Mike Kelly, director of the NICE Centre for Public Health

"We've also heard anecdotal evidence that more teenagers are injecting these drugs too.

"We're updating our guideline to make sure all of these groups of people are considered in the planning and delivery of needle and syringe programmes," Kelly said.

David Rourke of the Arundel Street Project, a needle and syringe programme in Sheffield, said: "We run a weekly clinic for steroid users but we have people coming through the door on a daily basis, with at least seven new clients a week.

"We know there are many more people out there who are not using needle and syringe programmes because this group of users do not see themselves as drug users," he said.

"Traditionally they are more sexually active than users of heroin or crack, so there is more potential for the spread of infections through sex," added Rourke.

Anabolic Steroids Help The People Suffering From HIV/AIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization (WHO) reports on HIV/AIDS, disclosed in January 2006, have articulated that AIDS has estimated killed more than 25 million people since it was first recognized on June 5, 1981, making it one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history.

Certainly, AIDS is now a pandemic, with an estimated 38.6 million people living with the disease worldwide. AIDS caused an estimated 2.4–3.3 million deaths, of which more than 570,000 were children in 2005. There are over 1 million people living with HIV or AIDS in the United States.

HIV/AIDS is chronic wasting disease. The suffering from HIV/AIDS can experience chronic wasting syndrome – a significant and unintentional weight loss. Often, physicians use anabolic steroids to help the people with chronic wasting syndrome – HIV/AIDS. There are a number of benefits of anabolic steroids when they are given to the HIV/AIDS patients.

The people suffering from chronic wasting syndrome (HIV/AIDS) experience substantial loss of body weight including both muscle and fat. Anabolic steroids do the job needed to counteract the effects of wasting. One of the natural effects of anabolic steroids on the HIV/AIDS patients is promotion of their cell growth and tissues. Anabolic steroids help to increase lean body mass, increase appetite, and increase strength of the HIV/AIDS patients. Thus, if used properly, anabolic steroids can help increase the re-growth of muscle tissues, and overall increase in lean body mass.

HIV/AIDS related chronic wasting may also cause Lipodystrophy, which is not necessarily weight loss disorder, rather it is a redistribution of fat in the body. Often fat is lost from the face, arms and legs, and it gets accumulated the back of the neck and around the abdomen. It can also lead to diabetes, hypertriglyceridemia and liver problems. However, anabolic steroids do not directly help treating lipodystrophy; they do help to reduce the fatty deposits caused by lipodystrophy.

Oxandrolone is one of the anabolic steroids that have been approved by the FDA to help counteract AIDS-related chronic wasting. Currently, it may not be a mainstream treatment because studies have revealed that the most effective dosages for AIDS-related chronic wasting are higher than the FDA approved dosages, but the drug started showing great benefits to its users.

What is the Right Age to Start Using Steroids

At what age should you be, before you consider using steroids? This question is not as easily answered as you may think it is. You cannot randomly just pick an age and say that this is the point at which you can now start to consider using anabolic steroids.

    Between the ages of 12 and 26 a male's hormone levels are on a steady rise until the age of 26. This is when these levels slowly start to decline until they are almost nonexistent by the ripe old age of 40.

    When puberty starts in males at the age of 12 there is a huge flux in hormonal patterns in the body, which cause the growth of male characteristics, . These hormone levels increase by themselves so much that they can be compared to that of a mild steroid cycle. Therefore trying to add to what the body is doing on its own by adding in exogenous (outside) Anabolic Androgenic Steroids (AAS) is very counter productive.

    Whenever any extra amount of anabolic steroids is added to the body, the body recognizes this extra level through a feedback loop in the human body known as the Hypothalamus. Once the Hypothalamus recognizes the increase in hormones which happens usually between 14 and 21 days, the body will shut off its own production of hormones until these levels decrease, along with increasing hormones to decrease these extra levels in the body (cortisone, estrogen). Cortisone and Estrogen are 2 hormones in the body that BBs do not need any extra. The easiest way to try to explain this without getting to complicated, is that the more anabolic steroids you put in your body, the more your body will try to lower those levels. When this happens BBs get all the side effects that are normally associated with anabolic steroids use, gynecomastia (growth of fatty tissue underneath the breasts in males), hair loss, kidney damage, liver damage, and high blood pressure, just to name a few).

    Before you consider the use of anabolic steroids you should have already reached your genetic potential. What is your genetic potential? To figure this out you should first look at the weight, height and build of other members in your family. Is this exact, no, but it is somewhere to start. If every male on both sides of your family is approximately 5'7" and weighs between 150lbs and 170lbs and they are all bald by the age of 25, then it would be a good guess that you will also fall somewhere in those ranges by the time you stop growing. Now with working out and eating correctly for 4 years lets say, you would be able to put on 15 or more pounds of muscle tissue (that would mean you now weigh 165-185 lbs.). This is what your genetic potential would be. Now if you started to use steroids at that point, 165-185 lbs you may be able to put on another 15-20 lbs (180-200lbs). If you had started using when you were 125 lbs., and gained 25lbs through the use of steroids, you would still be well short of what you could have gotten naturally (150lbs as compared to 180-200lbs), and now it will be much harder to try to gain another 30-40lbs.

    So for a starting point lets say that you need to be at least 18 years of age before you consider using steroids. Now that we have a starting point, lets look at a few other factors that should be considered. Steroids DO NOT IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM makes up for a good diet and workout program. Most people who use anabolic steroids feel that this is the time where they can be a little more relaxed in their workouts and diet. Actually this is when they should be even more strict. So before you can think of using at the age of 18, you will need 3 more solid years of good training and eating habits. Minor changes in diet and workouts can result in great gains in mass and muscle as well as strength.

    No matter how much assistance you get from anabolic steroids, without proper nutrition and workouts you will be lucky to have any gains at all, let alone keep them after the cycle is over. The goal of using any substance, legal or not should be that after you stop using it you don't loose all of that which you have fought to get. What would be the point of spending all that money (steroids are not free) to gain that 30lbs when you will loose it after the cycle is over anyway?

    So the better question to ask instead of when can I take steroids, should be, what can I do to get all that I can out of my body without needing steroids?. In order to calculate my progress, I need to talk with my family and doctors, before I try to make a choice like that.

    We will start with the age range of 14-16; this is when your hormones are raging. Your body is in full swing of making the best steroids that you can ever get, and it does all this without you even needing to do a single thing. At this point you should start with a solid exercise plan and a basic supplement plan in addition to the regular food that you need to be eating on a regular basis.

    For workouts focus on the basic compound movements (Bench Press, Squats, Deadlifts, Barbell Curls, etc.) Working out 4 days a week with at least 8 hours of sleep a night is a great start. Add to that the extra protein that you should be taking and you will definitely start seeing a difference in your body. As for supplements, at this point all I would suggest is a good Meal Replacement Shake, multi-vitamin and creatine. Any shake will work, just add 2 shakes a day to the 3 solid meals that you should already be eating. Creatine has more benefits then I could start to explain in this article, but what I can say is that it will help your strength, muscle, speed, and recovery without any negative side effects.

    By the age of 16-18 you will have had most of your growth spurts and you will be ready to change a few more things in your overall plan. You workouts can become a little more specialized as you start using different exercises. As for your nutrition program, all that I would think of adding now would be something such as extra glutamine before bed and maybe a ZMA supplement. You still don?t want to take anything that would alter what your body is doing on its own, so using ZMA and glutamine is just what you need.

    Somewhere between 18 and 21 you should be just about done growing, so what should you do differently now? Add more protein! You should be getting at the very least, your body weight in grams of protein per day! And that?s at the very least! By now you will have been working out consistently for quite a while and should know your body very well. What will work and what won?t work should be old news. There isn?t really anything new to add to what is already a great program, other than Tribulus and maybe a pre-workout supplement such as Ultimate Orange. After this point, you can start to consider the use of steroids. What about them? Are they as terrible as everyone seems to think they are? As long as they are used correctly, I don?t think so. When considering their use, I feel that orals should be used as late as possible. These are most harmful on the body and therefore should not be used for a very long time.

    Another thing to consider, other than the side effects I have already spoken of, is your sex drive. Some anabolic steroids will make your sex drive almost nonexistent and will have a big effect on your sperm count. These drugs in particular should try to be avoided. That leaves mild anabolics. Although they are the safest to use, they are expensive, illegal, and require the use of a needle. Which most first time users do not want to use.

    I told you that this is not something that should be passed off very easily; you shouldn?t have to make the mistakes that most of us make by using steroids to early in your life. If used correctly, I think they are fine, but look at what it takes in order to use them correctly. Have you been working out for 5 years straight without more the 2 weeks off every 6 weeks? Do you eat every 2-3 hours, 6 times a day without missing a meal? Do you get 8 hours of sleep every night? This is something that can have a huge effect on your body for the rest of your life, so don?t make that choice in 10 minutes. Good luck and keep growing.

What Are the Uses of Tamoxifen for Men?

While estrogen is often a hormone more associated with women, there are several reasons why tamoxifen, a drug used to block the effects of estrogen, may be used to treat men. Men who get breast cancer are often treated with a course of tamoxifen. It can also be useful to stop or reverse a condition called gynecomastia, where the breast tissue of adolescent boys or men grows and sometimes becomes uncomfortable. Another use is tamoxifen for men who take anabolic steroids, in order to block the large amounts of estrogen produced by their bodies once they stop taking them.

One of the primary uses of tamoxifen for men is the treatment of breast cancer. While this type of cancer is fairly rare in men, the type that most men get involves tumors that are estrogen receptor-positive, meaning that estrogen encourages their growth. Since tamoxifen is a selective estrogen receptor modulator, or SERM, it helps to keep estrogen from binding to the proteins on these tumors and therefore inhibits their growth. It can be used in situations where the cancer is in early stages, and also when it has progressed and metastatized to other parts of the body.

Doctors also use tamoxifen for men who suffer from gynecomastia, where the breasts become enlarged and often sore or tender. This condition can occur in boys during puberty or in grown men, and may be the result of a number of causes, including normal pubertal hormone shifts, taking certain medications, or treatment for other conditions like prostate cancer and HIV/AIDS. The cause may also simply be unknown. Though gynecomastia can resolve on its own in adolescent boys or may go away when medical issues resolve or drugs are discontinued, it may require treatment if it persists for an extensive period of time or becomes too uncomfortable or embarrassing for the patient. This is where a course of tamoxifen can be helpful, though it should be taken fairly soon after gynecomastia sets in, as it is typically not helpful when the condition has been present for a year or more.

One other possible use of tamoxifen for men is stopping certain negative effects of anabolic steroids. Bodybuilders and other athletes who take anabolic steroids to improve performance suppress their production of the hormone androgen, and their bodies may compensate by overproducing estrogen. This can lead to anabolic steroids induced gynecomastia and other negative effects, which tamoxifen can help block.

Deca Durabolin Use And Abuse - How To Use Safely

If you want to use an anabolic steroid that is effective and affordable besides being safe and free from side effects of steroids and performance enhancing drugs, Deca Durabolin, which is also known as Deca and Nandrolone decanoate, will be an ideal choice for you. More info

Deca Durabolin has an active life of 14-16 days and is detectable over a period of 16-18 months. Belonging to the category of anabolic-androgenic steroids and classified as a 2.16 anabolic steroid, Deca is a highly effective drug that is available in different forms such as creams, pills, capsules, and gels. Medically, the drug is advised to stimulate immune system enhancements and offer dramatic relief to HIV/AIDS patients and even treat specific blood disorders as part of the adjuvant therapy. This steroid is used by sportsmen to benefit from the improved recuperation time between workouts, protein synthesis, and nitrogen retention.

Moreover, this steroid is admired as its use even for long anabolic steroids cycles does not result in side effects like oily skin, male pattern baldness, and prostate complications. If that was not all, Deca use is considered of great use to mask minor joint pain and old nagging injuries besides reducing the inflammation of soft tissues and promoting masculine (secondary sexual) characteristics, including growth of the vocal cords, testicles, and body hair. This steroid is commonly used in doses of 300-800 mg per week by men and 50-100 mg per week by women or in doses of 600 mg per week for 12-16 weeks by men for bulking cycles and 400 mg per week for 12-16 weeks by men in cutting cycles.

A popular Deca Durabolin cycle is all about using Dianabol-30 mg every day for week 1-3 and then 40 mg every day for week 4-6 and complementing it with Sustanon 250 mg every week for week 1-12, Clomid 50 mg every week for week 10-12, and Deca Durabolin-200 mg for the first week and then 300 mg per week for 2nd and 3rd weeks, and 400 mg every week for 4th and 5th weeks, and 300 mg every week for the sixth week. Overdosing or use of low grade or abuse of Deca Durabolin can lead to side effects such as may even cause heart attack, edema, prostate enlargement, menstrual problems, liver toxicity, liver damage, and gynecomastia (female-like breasts). It may even cause elevated blood pressure, shrinking of the testicles, bone age advancement, bad effect on cholesterol levels, increased aggression, oily skin, acne, clitoral hypertrophy, infertility, and sexual dysfunction and therefore it is best to use it only after a qualified medical practitioner has authorized its use after evaluating all medical reports and history.

Steroids over 40

Let’s face it. At around 40 we all start to see signs of aging. It can’t be denied any longer at that point. You aren’t ready to be old. Some of us have been athletes all of our lives and are not ready to be fat and happy sitting in a sports bar watching ball on a wide screen. You want to keep going. So you seek a reason why you feel sub-par. Finally after seeing about a dozen doctors you run into one that tests some endocrine values and low and behold you find that your testosterone has tanked. You are told a normal 30 year old athletic male might test at 700 ng/dL and you are something like 220 ng/dL. Not only that but your IGF-1, a marker for GH release is in the bottom of normal range. So the doc asks have you used and anabolic steroids in the past? Have you had a blow to the head? Are you exposed to any toxins at your job etc etc. Oh shit!! Your manhood is diminishing. No wonder you look at young women like they are all your daughter and the wife just seems to nag at you without even speaking. You’re turning into an old man. You want to chase pkids out of your yard and keep their football. The doc says there is a number of treatments and he rattles off a bunch of antidepressants, a few vitamins, Cialis and then mumbles something like testosterone injections and crèmes and your ears perk up. Hell no you say to yourself. I’m not growing old just yet, at least not while there are androgens that come in little bottles.

    There are two general groups of performance enhancer users over 40. The first group are, through reasons other than past anabolic steroids use, have suboptimal testosterone or are hypogonadal. The second group are past or present habitual users of AAS. One would think that group one is the more responsible of the two and would diligently go about administration of their prescribed testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) never really venturing over their scripted 100 or 200 mg/w of testosterone. Not really. Testosterone seems to push the risk taker button in men and that includes bumping up the dose, blast and cruise etc.. ect. This sort of “old virgins” population can take a fair amount of compound compared to the second population since they have not been taxed by AAS in the past. The “old virgins” can get away with it for a while but age also catches up with them. So essentially, both populations can be treated pretty much the same.

    The young tend toward experimentation. It’s not unusual to see a user in his 20s on 2 or more grams of AAS along with insulin and GH plus cycling with peptides. This is really the nature of man to experiment and take risks. He will do what he can get away with in the pursuit of his goals and performance enhancement is no different. Of course, the level of risk varies from individual to individual. Some have more of a self preservation instinct than others. The older male is usually a little different. He has seen the effects of abuse in performance enhancement or other areas of life and has learned from his and other’s mistakes. So, in approaching his performance enhancement, in the end, usually the older user will be looking for results more akin to optimal health, well being and a decent amount of lean muscle mass rather than to become a huffing puffing acne laden mass monster, which is more often the somewhat misguided goal of his younger counterpart.

    The natural or past/present AAS male user over 40 has noticed a loss in vitality, tendency toward carbohydrate sensitivity, loss of sex drive, a notable loss of strength and muscle mass, difficulty losing body fat, achy joints and some other unfortunate and concerning signs of age and all signs of low testosterone (Harman 2005). This state is far different from the youthful male that is at or close to the peak of his athletic and sexual prowess and wishes to further excel. Where the young man has an all or nothing, live fast, balls to the wall, immortal attitude, the older man has the wisdom of past experience and wishes to restore his youthful vitality and maybe even be a little better in some ways than in his peak years. Unlike his youthful counterpart, he realizes his mortality since he has witnessed his own slow but undeniable decline. He does not wish to hasten his own end and differs from the young man who can not imagine that the end can even come since he has no frame of reference. So, how can the older male approach his enhancement whilst avoiding real health risks? First we must understand the health risks and especially those that are more so risks to older populations.

    So what are these risks? They include:
    1. Pesky acne and or oily skin
    2. excessive sweating
    3. estrogenic effects such as gynecomastia and water retention
    4. dihydrotestosterone effects such as male pattern balding (MPB) and benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH)
    5. elevated red blood cells (RBCs)
    6. elevated blood pressure (BP)
    7. organ stress
    a. liver stress
    b. heart enlargement
    c. kidney damage
    8. poor lipid profiles
    9. joint pain and osteroarthritis
    10. cardiovascular affects

    Just about all of these are increased risks for older compared to younger men so the former must take additional precaution when approaching performance enhancement. The overriding actions one can use to limit these side effects are moderation, observation, correlation and corrective action. Moderation means starting out with a reasonable dose of a limited number of compounds, like two. Observation means observe the positive and negative effects these limited number of compounds have on health and well being. Correlation means being able to correlate the positive and negative effects to their cause i.e. is it the drug or something else that has changed. Corrective action means changing the dose or dropping the drug if the effect is correlated with the drug. If there are no side effects and very little positive effects it may be necessary to increase the dose. If the converse is true the dose should be reduced. For instance let us say you start out with 400 mg/w of testosterone with 0.5 mg of adex every other day. After 3 weeks or so the user should make some observations and it would not be out of the question to have some blood work done. Acne, oily skin and excessive sweating are noted. This is observation. These are associated with excessive testosterone. This is correlation. The dose is decreased to 300 mg/w. This is corrective action.

    So, let’s talk about enhancers. These include the following categories: AAS, hGH, and GH axis active peptides. There are other more exotic classes but these will suffice for this article. Along with performance enhancers there are three other indispensable components that should be optimized. These are exercise, diet and rest. Arguably these three components are much more important than the performance enhancer category. It is possible to optimize exercise, diet and rest to increase vigor and present a more youthful sense of well being without any enhancers at all. Interestingly, the attainment of just that sort of state with exercise, diet and rest is the goal and adding enhancers is just that,.. to enhance that state of well being to accent that provided by exercise, diet and rest.

    AAS can be broken down into five major subclasses for our purposes here. These are the testosterones, the mild injectables, the harsh injectables, the harsh orals and the mild orals. Below are descriptions of the major compounds of each subclass along with a suggested dose range for use in older men. All of these are lower than what is usually prescribed in discussion boards and far lower than the current trends in competitive bodybuilding but, in my opinion, they are more suitable for the goals and safety of the older user.

    The testosterones: are the older users main tool. Testosterone is what we are missing for the most part. It is THE MALE HORMONE that evolution or God or whoever or whatever you believe in has deemed to be what makes a man a man. In our youth we make 7-10 mg a day of this stuff . Useful preparations of testosterone include Testosterone enanthate, testosterone cypionate, Sustanon and testosterone propionate. The first three can be thought of as medium to longer acting preparations. The later is a shorter acting preparation. There are some other preparations that are either longer or shorter acting but these will suffice here. Also, there are several testosterone crèmes available but transfer to those you are in physical contact with, such as spouse, girlfriend and children makes these less desireable in my view. Typical doses of testosterone for the older athlete are 100 to 500 mg/w where 100-150 mg/w is considered a replacement dose yielding physiologic levels.

    The mild injectables: have had some of the androgenic component of testosterone removed. These are clinically termed attenuated androgens (Cicardi, Castelli et al. 1997), which gives you an idea of their intended use. They are anabolic or tissue building and are great for the older lifter that needs a boost in recovery and muscle mass. The common mild injectables include nandrolone decanoate, nandrolone (Deca durabolin), phenyl propionate (Durabolin), Drostanolone propionate (Masteron), methenolone enanthate (Primobolin) and boldenone undecylenate (Equipoise).

    - The nandrolones are very anabolic and convert to estrogens at a much lower rate than testosterone (Townsley and Brodie 1970). The dihydrotestosterone equivalent metabolite of nandrolone actually has less affinity for the androgen receptor than the parent compound so BPH and MPB is less of a concern with these compounds compared to an equal dose of testosterone. It does have a tendency to increase RBCs excessively (Bozzini and Alippi 1971; Gorshein, Murphy et al. 1973) in some users so hematology should be monitored when on this drug. 200-400 mg is a good range for this drug.

    - Drostanolone propionate or Masteron is not as anabolic as nandrolone on its own but is very synergistic with testosterone. It will make 100 mg of testosterone feel like 200 mg. It is a DHT derivative and has distinct CNS activity meaning it is a mood elevator. It also enhances libido or sex drive. So for the older user wishing to boost mood and enhance sex drive it is a nice addition. It also seems to make a pump last longer and make the muscled look more full. It does not aromatize so added estrogen control is not a concern with this drug. It can lead to BPH so this should be considered. 100-300 mg/w should be plenty.

    - Methenolone enanthate or Primobolin is considered the Cadillac of anabolic injectables by many users. It is highly anabolic with a very low side effect profile. It is often faked so difficult to obtain and very expensive. For those that are prone to side effects it is probably the most side effect free AAS ever made. 400-600 mg is appropriate

    - Boldenone undecylenate or Equipoise is a veterinarian steroid. It was briefly available for human use in Europe but was removed because it caused erythrocytosis and polycythemia in too many users. This should be a concern and hematology should be monitored with use of this drug. Otherwise it is a fairly mild compound that results in slow accumulation of lean mass. It aromatizes to estrogen at about ½ the rate of testosterone so it will contribute somewhat to estrogenic side effects in some users. It will also convert into a DHT derivative, dihydroboldenone, which is more porent than the natural form. However there is little convertion to this metabolite so DHT-like side effects are not usually a problem. 200-400 mg/w is appropriate in older users.

    The harsh injectables: have retained a fair amount of androgenic component but have significantly higher anabolic activity compared to testosterone. Unfortunately, they are tough on the older user and should only be used sparingly. AAS in this category are the trenbolones, which are available in acetate, enanthate and cyclohexylmethylcarbonate esters. Parabolin, containing the cyclohexylmethylcarbonate ester, was the only one available for human use. Typically at doses over 200 mg/w, or even less in some users, night sweats, shortness of breath and aggression can become problematic. Older users often have even less tolerance of these compounds. If these compounds are used they should not be incorporated for more than 6 weeks and, in my opinion, at 100-300 mg/w and adjusted to tolerance.

    Mild orals: include Oxandrolone (Anavar), stanozolol (Winstrol) and Chlordehydromethyltestosterone (Turanabol). There are others such as Primobolan acetate and some designers but the three listed above will suffice for the purposes of this article. It is important to note that most orals are C17 alkylated, which makes them sopmewhat toxic to the liver and also have a negative impact on blood lipids. Anavar, Winstrol were approved for human use whilst Turanabol is more of a dirty little Eastern German secret that finally got out. None of these aromatize so estrogen control is not an issue with these compounds. All are DHT derivatives but seem to have at least some of this activity attenuated. However some users do demonstrate DHT side effects especially MPB so these should be monitored with use. All provide a distinct anabolic action.

    - Anavar is very mild and has been used in the treatment of a number of debilitating diseases including wasting syndrome in AIDS (Berger, Pall et al. 1996; Berger 2000; Grunfeld, Kotler et al. 2006). It seems to be well tolerated at relatively high doses up to 80 mg/d in HIV treatment. The drug is useful in a leaning phase as it has been shown to reduce fat mass in clinical studies. A great use for this drug is on a keto diet along with a testosterone base along with an Aromatase inhibitor (AI). 30-80 mg for up to 6 weeks is probably appropriate.

    - Winstrol is also a non-aromatizing compound with high anabolic potential. It is used in the treatment of hereditary angioedema. It increases the production of C1 inhibitor which modulates clotting, fibrinolytic and complement cascades (Burge 1983; Jentsch-Ullrich, Leuner et al. 1998). What this means is less extracellular fluid is allowed to leak into it’s normal spaces leading to a much more lean and dry look (Sloane, Lee et al. 2007; Delgado, Saborido et al. 2010). It also leads toward very sore joints probably for the same “drying” reasons. Dosing can be complicated by joint soreness. Many users try to titrate the dose against the joint issues. Also, the British use raloxifene concurrently with Winstrol, which seems to offset the pain. Raloxifene is a SERM used for treatment of osteoporosis so probably has positive action in the joint and bone tissue thus elevating pain. NSAIDs also seem to help. There is some evidence that the joint pain is also related to increased release of inflammatory cytokines so NSAIDs may counter their release. Doses are in the 20-30 mg range. Younger users seem to tolerate higher doses but this is one AAS that older users tend to tolerate less. However, if it is well tolerated the pronounced anabolism and reduced extracellular fluid provide a very appealing cosmetic effect.

    - Turanabol is very similar to Anavar but stronger. There is a definite muscle hardening effect 20-40 mg should cause few ill effects. Soreness in the joints should be monitored. As older users more often suffer with joint issues this can be a concern as with Winstrol.

    The harsh orals include methandrostenolone (Dianabol) and oxymetholone (Anadrol). Both can cause estrogenic side effects albeit by different mechanisms or routes. At high dose both can lead to significant side effects such as hypertention, gynecomastia and other estrogenic effects including severe water retention. Fluoxymesterone (Halotestin) is another harsh oral but does not aromatize.

    - Dianabol was the main drug used in bodybuilding and strength sports in the 50s, 60s and 70s. It was and is still very effective. But we have to realize that it was the first attempt at development of an attenuated androgen for use as an anabolic so it is far from perfect. As mentioned above, it aromatizes significantly and to a more powerful estrogen than estradiol, which is responsible for the characteristic water retention of this drug. This can be more detrimental in the older user where more often water retention may be a preexisting condition or the propensity thereof is increased. Effective doses of this drug can be as low as 10 mg. Dose range is 10-30 mg for up to 6 weeks. Water retention, BP, and hematology should be monitored with this drug. As with all orals liver and blood lipids are a concern.

    - Anadrol provides fast temporary gains in strength and size. It does not aromatize but appears to act unchanged on the estrogen receptor. Therefore estrogenic effects can not be prevented with an Aromatase inhibitor (AI). Use of a SERM like tamoxifen may be useful but appreas to be complicated by the possibility that Anadrol may stimulate the progesterone receptor (PR) and tamoxifen can upregulate the PR in some tissues. Side effects can be dramatic and include lethargy, flue like symptoms, tachacardia, high blood pressure, high red cells, liver toxicity and severe water retention. In my opinion there is no use for this drug for the older user. Other options should be considered before use of this compound. Dosages are on the order of 50-100 mg/d and for no more than 4 weeks.

    - Halotestin provides a potent hardening effect, at least in part, through modulation of glucocorticoid signaling. There is also a significant temporary increase in strength. There is very little water retention. However, this drug is hepatotoxic, leads to high BP and negatively effects blood lipids. It is difficult to tolerate for most at more than 20 mg/d and this is sure to be no better in older users. Use should be limited to no more than 4 weeks.

Healthy Workout For People Over 60

At the age of 60, the body is mostly incapable of building large quantities of new muscle. For the most part, pre-existing muscle tissue may get larger, but the overall quantity will probably not increase. Recovery is also much slower due to reduced absorption rates of nutrients.

The body is also beginning to enter a fragile state in which joint related injuries are common and take a long time to recover from and many times, complete recovery is not possible. Any injury past the age of 60 is probably going to be pretty serious.

The main goal of working out should be to build some strength and reduce the risk for disease (primarily heart disease). Therefore, a workout should simply be to get the blood flowing and to build some strength without causing any serious injury in the process.

Workout Plan

    The first step in creating a workout plan if you are over the age of 60 is to understand the condition of your body. A 60-year-old person who has been sedentary their whole life will obviously be in a different situation than a former marathon runner. It is also important to acknowledge any past injuries to the joints and to attempt to minimize the amount of stress being put on those joints.

    Exercises to avoid:

        Dips*
        Bench Press*
        Free-Weight Squats
        Deadlifts
        Pulling or Pushing Movements Behind the Head*
        High Impact Cardio or Plyometrics

        * High Risk For Shoulder Injuries

    The best overall workout would be a simple circuit-training routine that incorporates lifting movements that allow the weight to be easily controlled, which thus reduces the risk for injury.

    The general format is to create a total body workout in which you move from one exercise to the next. High repetition exercises are also necessary to build strength while minimizing the risk for injury. Since this is a total body workout, try to focus on compound movements that involve many different body parts. Here's what a workout should look like:

    5 minute low-intensity, low-impact cardio warm up. Use an elliptical, recumbent bike, or walk on a treadmill.

    After warming up, start off your workout with a series of compound upper body movements. After that, move to a lower body movement, and then finish up with some core exercises.

    The final part of the workout is to move back to the cardio machines to keep the blood flowing and the calories burning. 10-15 minutes of post-workout cardio is good enough. This cardio should be low to moderate intensity.

    Here's the workout:

TERMS YOU'LL NEED TO KNOW
Failure - That point in an exercise at which you have so fully fatigued your working muscles that they can no longer complete an additional rep.

    5-Minute Cardio Warm-Up

    Upper Body

        Dumbbell Bench Press: (turn arms inward at the bottom of the movement) 10-20 reps
        Pull Ups: 10-20 reps
        Triceps Extensions: 10-20 reps
        Dumbbell Biceps Curls: 10-20 reps

    Lower Body

        Leg Press: 10-20 reps
        Calf Press: 10-20 reps
        Leg Extensions: 10-20 reps
        Leg Curls: 10-20 reps

    Core

        Exercise Ball Crunches: To failure
        Leg Raises: To failure

  
    Post-Workout Cardio

        A workout should not last any longer than 45 minutes.

        Only do one cycle the first time you workout to see where your conditioning. The average person will only be able to handle one cycle. If you absolutely run out of energy and you feel light-headed, then stop and let yourself recover. At that point, only continue if your body feels normal and regulated. Otherwise, call it a day and go home.

        Try to workout 2 days a week and go walking on a few of the days in between workouts.


What Are Some Good Supplements For People Over 60?

Glucosamine, MSM, chondroitin, and collagen are all good supplements that will promote joint health. Anyone over the age of 60 should consume as many of these nutrients as possible to protect their joints. Some dietary supplements contain all four. Consult your phisician about anabolic steroids use. Anabolic steroids sagnificant rise testosterone level in man body.

Make sure you are careful with working out, and don't push yourself if you experience pain in your joints or if you feel sick. At the age of 60, you want to get a good workout in while protecting your body at the same time.

Supplementing protein shakes is unnecessary and pointless. At this age, the body can't digest and absorb protein easily, which will result in excess bodily waste and weight gain from supplementation.

5 Testosterone Myths

Thanks to stories about doping athletes, the words "testosterone" or "anabolic steroids" create unsavoury associations. However, testosterone is a key hormone that has numerous important and beneficial functions in men. In fact, if it weren't for testosterone, all little boys would be born with a labia instead of a scrotum! In adults, testosterone is important for normal sexual function, sperm production, as well as muscle development and tone. In my work as a urologist at Men's Health Boston, I treat men with infertility (i.e., vasectomy reversal) and sexual problems. Many of these men are diagnosed with low levels of testosterone, or what I call "low T."

Low testosterone can also cause chronic fatigue, depression, and reduced muscular/athletic performance. Treatment with testosterone can improve erections and sex drive, restore muscle and reduce fat, and increase energy and motivation. I have written a book, Testosterone for Life (McGraw-Hill), to help men figure out if they have low testosterone, and if so, how best to obtain treatment. New evidence suggests that normal testosterone levels are important for reducing the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and men with normal levels live longer than men with low T. However, stories about cheating athletes and muscle-crazed bodybuilders have given testosterone a bad name, and have created a number of myths. Here are five of the most common testosterone myths.
1- Testosterone is an illegal drug
Nope; testosterone is a perfectly legal prescription medication. It is also a key hormone present in every man that is responsible for fetal development of the male genitalia, the physical changes that occur during male puberty, and that contributes to a variety of functions in the adult man including sperm production, erections, sex drive, muscle tone, and bone health, among others. Testosterone is only illegal when it's used without a physician’s prescription. However, many sports organisations have strict rules regarding substances such as testosterone that may influence athletic performance. Athletes who violate the rules of their sport are cheating, and lying about it to Congress may lead to prison time.
2- Testosterone is a steroid, and steroids are dangerous
Testosterone is a steroid, but that doesn’t make it dangerous. In fact, we’re all naturally loaded with various kinds of steroids. The word "steroid" simply refers to a molecule with a “backbone” of four rings of carbon —  examples include estrogen, progesterone, cortisol, and even cholesterol. Clearly, when an athlete tests positive for “steroids,” no one is concerned that he injected himself with cholesterol. In the sports world, the word “steroid” is shorthand for an “anabolic steroid hormone,” meaning steroids that specifically act to build muscle and bone, like testosterone. Whereas testosterone has been shown to be relatively safe, even at high concentrations, there is almost no information at all about the safety of the newer “designer” steroids produced to escape detection in drug testing.
3- Testosterone causes uncontrollable violent behaviour
There is absolutely no reliable evidence that testosterone causes “’roid rage” or any type of violent, aggressive or uncontrollable behaviour. No violence, aggression or unpredictable behaviour has been seen in studies where men were administered testosterone, even at extremely high doses. In fact, the opposite appears to be true; many men with low testosterone describe being more irritable, or having a short fuse, and this often improves with normalisation of testosterone levels. A recent patient treated with testosterone told me that his wife found him “unbearable” to be around before he was diagnosed with low T and subsequently treated; “I’m a nicer guy now,” he said.  
4- Testosterone causes prostate cancer
New evidence conclusively shows that men with higher levels of testosterone are at no greater risk of developing prostate cancer than men with low testosterone. Moreover, treating men with testosterone has not been shown to cause any increased risk of prostate cancer either. The basis for this myth originated from studies in the 1940s in which men with metastatic prostate cancer showed benefits when they were castrated. It appears that the only men at risk for prostate cancer growth with higher testosterone are men who have already been castrated. An exciting, but controversial, development is the use of testosterone to treat symptomatic men with low testosterone who have undergone prior therapy for prostate cancer (I have a special chapter on this in my book, Testosterone For Life).
5- Higher testosterone causes baldness
On average, men with male pattern baldness have the same testosterone levels as men with a full head of hair. Baldness seems to be genetically determined. The confusion arises because medicines like finasteride (Propecia) that block conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) can prevent or treat baldness. Since only very small amounts of DHT are needed by the scalp to do what the genes tell them to do (in this case, lose hair), men who are pre-destined to pull a Kojak will do so whether their testosterone concentrations are high or low.

Preventing Steroid-induced Osteoporosis

One of the side-effects of taking steroid tablets in the long term is an increased risk of developing osteoporosis (thinning of your bones). This is known as steroid-induced osteoporosis. Using a high-dose steroid inhaler in the long term may also be a risk. Various things can be done to reduce your risk of developing steroid-induced osteoporosis. These include lifestyle measures such as stopping smoking, reducing your alcohol intake and increasing your exercise levels. You should also make
sure that you have adequate amounts of calcium and vitamin D and sometimes supplement tablets may be needed. Medicines to prevent steroid-induced osteoporosis may also be prescribed for some people. Note: never stop or reduce your steroid treatment unless your doctor tells you to do so.

Why are steroid medicines taken?

Steroids may be taken to treat many different conditions. They work mainly by reducing inflammation and so are used to treat various conditions where inflammation occurs. For example: some autoimmune diseases; some types of muscle, skin, and joint diseases; asthma, etc. Steroids are also used to treat some cancers. The outlook (prognosis) for a number of diseases has improved, sometimes dramatically, since steroids became available.

Steroid medicines are sometimes called cortisone or corticosteroids. They can be taken in many ways. For example, as tablets by mouth, via inhalers to deliver steroid into your lungs, or by creams to rub on to your skin. Long-term steroid medication is needed to treat some conditions and keep symptoms under control. Unfortunately, this long-term treatment can have side-effects. There is often a balance between the risk of side-effects against the symptoms and damage that may result from some diseases if they are not treated with steroids. Note: long-term treatment with low-dose steroid inhalers or steroid skin creams does not carry the same risk of serious side-effects as long-term treatment with steroids.

What is steroid-induced osteoporosis?

One of the side-effects of taking a steroid medicine in the long term is that it can increase your risk of developing osteoporosis. The steroid lowers your bone density and increases your risk of developing a fragility fracture.

If osteoporosis is thought to be due in part to taking a steroid medicine, it is known as steroid-induced osteoporosis. In fact, the use of steroid medicines is one of the leading causes of osteoporosis. Between 3 and 5 in 10 people who take steroid medicines in the long term will develop a fragility fracture because of osteoporosis if nothing is done to prevent this.

In general, when we are talking about steroid medicines that can cause steroid-induced osteoporosis, we are talking about long-term treatment (for three months or more) with prednisolone tablets. As mentioned above, long-term treatment with steroid creams does not carry the same risks of steroid-induced osteoporosis. However, long-term use of high doses of inhaled steroids may also increase your risk of developing steroid-induced osteoporosis. For this reason, the dose of steroid in an inhaler is usually kept to a minimum so that it is just high enough to keep your asthma or other respiratory problem under control.

Note: if you are taking long-term high-dose steroid inhalers, your should discuss your risks of developing osteoporosis with your doctor. The rest of this leaflet focuses on long-term treatment with steroid tablets.

What can be done to prevent steroid-induced osteoporosis?

There are a number of things that can be done to reduce your risk of developing steroid-induced osteoporosis if you are taking steroid tablets for three months or more. These may be things that you can change yourself in terms of your lifestyle, as well as treatment with medicines or other measures that your doctor may suggest.
Stop smoking, limit alcohol intake and exercise more

Certain lifestyle factors (as described in the list above) can increase anyone's risk of developing osteoporosis. If you already have one risk factor for osteoporosis (being on long-term steroid tablets), then it is especially important to try to reduce your number of other risk factors.

Chemicals from tobacco can get into your bloodstream and can affect your bones, making bone loss worse. If you smoke, you should try to make every effort to stop. Also, you should try to cut down on your alcohol intake if you drink more than three to four units of alcohol daily. Separate leaflets called Tips to Help you Stop Smoking and Alcohol and Sensible Drinking give further details.

Exercise can help to prevent osteoporosis. The pulling and tugging on the bones by your muscles during exercise helps to stimulate bone-making cells and strengthens your bones. Regular weight-bearing exercise throughout life is best, but it is never too late to start. This means exercise where your feet and legs bear your body's weight, such as brisk walking, aerobics, dancing, running, etc. For older people, a regular walk is a good start. However, the more vigorous the exercise, the better. For most benefit you should exercise regularly - aiming for at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise or physical activity at least five times per week. Excessive exercise such as marathon running may not be so good. (Note: because swimming is not weight-bearing exercise, this is not so good for preventing osteoporosis.)

Muscle strengthening exercises are also important. They help to give strength to the supporting muscles around bones. This helps to increase tone, improve balance, etc, which may help to prevent you from falling. Examples of muscle strengthening exercises include press-ups and weight lifting but you do not necessarily have to lift weights in a gym. There are some simple exercises that you can do at home.

Ensure an adequate calcium and vitamin D intake

Calcium and vitamin D are important for bone health. Your body needs adequate supplies of vitamin D in order to absorb (take up) the calcium that you eat or drink in your diet. If you are on steroid tablets for three months or more, your risk of steroid-induced osteoporosis can also be reduced by making sure your body has enough calcium and vitamin D.

The recommended daily intake for calcium in adults over the age of 50 is at least 1,000 mg per day. Everyone aged over 50 years should also aim for adequate amounts of vitamin D daily (800 IU). Protein is also important in your diet and one gram a day of protein per kilogram of your bodyweight is recommended. Briefly:

Calcium - you can get 1,000 mg of calcium most easily by:

    Drinking a pint of milk a day (this can include semi-skimmed or skimmed milk); PLUS
    Eating 50 g (2 oz) hard cheese such as Cheddar or Edam, or one pot of yoghurt (125 g), or 50 g of sardines.

Bread, calcium-fortified soya milk, some vegetables (curly kale, okra, spinach, and watercress) and some fruits (dried apricots, dried figs, and mixed peel) are also good sources of calcium. Butter, cream, and soft cheeses do not contain much calcium.

Vitamin D - there are only a few foods that are a good source of vitamin D. Approximately 115 g (4 oz) of cooked salmon or cooked mackerel provide 400 IU of vitamin D. The same amount of vitamin D can also be obtained from 170 g (6 oz) of tuna fish or 80 g (3 oz) of sardines (both canned in oil). Vitamin D is also made by your body after exposure to the sun. The ultraviolet rays in sunshine trigger your skin to make vitamin D.

Unless your doctor is sure that you have an adequate intake of calcium and have enough vitamin D, they may prescribe calcium and vitamin D supplements if you are taking long-term steroid tablets. If you are unsure about whether you should have calcium or vitamin D supplements, ask your practice nurse or GP.
Take the minimum dose of steroids possible for the shortest period of time

In general, the higher the dose of steroid tablets taken in the long term, the higher your risk of developing a fragility fracture. However, saying that, there is not really a safe dose of steroid tablets because even low doses can increase your fracture risk. Talk to your doctor about the dose of steroid tablets that you are taking. Could the amount of steroid be reduced? Is there another way that the steroid medication may be taken rather than as tablets by mouth? For example, steroids applied to the skin or inhaled into the lungs may be possible to treat some conditions. Taking the steroid medication in another way may help to reduce the effect of the steroids on your bones.

How long a course of steroid tablets do you need? You should also discuss this with your doctor. The course of treatment should be as short as possible. However, as mentioned already above, there is often a balance between the risk of side-effects from taking steroid tablets against the symptoms and damage that may result from some diseases if they are not treated with steroids.

Adult Steroid Users Seek Muscles Not Medals

The majority of non-medical anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) users are not cheating athletes or risk-taking teenagers. According to a recent survey, containing the largest sample to date the typical male user is about 30 years old, well-educated, and earning an above-average income in a white-collar occupation. The majority did not use steroids during adolescence and were not motivated by athletic competition or sports performance.

The study, conducted by a collaboration of researchers from around the country coordinated by Jason Cohen, Psy.D. candidate, used a web-based survey of nearly 2,000 US males. Whereas athletes are tempted to take anabolic steroids to improve sports performance, the study suggests that physical self-improvement motivates the unrecognized majority of non-medical anabolic steroids users who particularly want to increase muscle mass, strength, and physical attractiveness. Other significant but less highly ranked factors included increased confidence, decreased fat, improved mood and attraction of sexual partners.

Although often considered similar to abusers of narcotics and other illicit drugs (e.g., heroin or cocaine), non-medical AAS users are remarkably different. These users follow carefully planned drug regimens in conjunction with a healthy diet, ancillary drugs and exercise. As opposed to the spontaneous and haphazard approach seen in abusers of psychotropic drugs, everything is strategically planned to maximize benefits and minimize harm. "This is simply not a style or pattern of use we typically see when we examine substance abuse" said Jack Darkes, Ph.D., one of the authors. "The notions of spontaneous drug seeking and loss of control do not apply to the vast majority of AAS users," added co-author Daniel Gwartney, M.D.

"These findings question commonly held views of typical AAS users and their underlying motivations," said Rick Collins, one of the study's authors. "The focus on 'cheating' athletes and at risk youth has led to irrelevant policy as it relates to the predominant group of non-medical AAS users. The vast majority of AAS users are not athletes and hence, are not likely to view themselves as cheaters. The targeting of athletes through drug testing and other adolescent or sports-based interventions has no bearing on non-competitive adult users."

The study concludes that these AAS users are a driven and ambitious group dedicated to gym attendance, diet, occupational goals and educational attainment. "The users we surveyed consider that they are using directed drug technology as one part of a strategy for physical self-improvement within a health-centered lifestyle," said Collins. "Effective public policy should begin by accurately identifying who's using steroids and why. We hope our research - the largest adult survey of non-medical AAS use we know of - is a significant step forward in that direction."

Hormone Effective for Steroid-Induced Osteoporosis

The synthetic parathyroid hormone teriparatide is an effective treatment for glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis, a form of bone loss seen in patients treated with steroids, according to a study funded by the manufacturer.

Patients with glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis who took teriparatide for 36 months had greater increases in bone mineral density and fewer vertebral fractures than those treated with alendronate, a bisphosphonate osteoporosis drug sold as Fosamax, an online article in Arthritis & Rheumatism reported.

Subjects at high risk of fracture associated with sustained glucocorticoid use who received teriparatide had significantly greater increases in spine and hip BMD compared with subjects receiving alendronate during the 36 months of therapy.

Patients with glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis treated with teriparatide also experienced significantly fewer new vertebral fractures, most occurring during the first 18 months, with no significant difference between groups in the incidence of nonvertebral fractures."

Glucocorticoids are used to control inflammation in patients with autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and Crohn's disease, as well as inflammatory conditions such as asthma.

However, long-term use of glucocorticoids such as prednisone, prednisolone, dexamethasone, and cortisone can result in reduced bone mass and strength, increasing fracture risk.

In the new study, participants were randomly assigned to receive injectable teriparatide (20 µg/day) plus oral placebo (150 subjects) or oral alendronate (10 mg/day) plus injectable placebo (144 subjects). They were also given supplements of calcium and vitamin D.

In addition to seeing greater improvements in bone mineral density and fewer vertebral fractures, subjects who took teriparatide saw significant increases in levels of biomarkers of bone turnover, including N-terminal type I procollagen propeptide (PINP), osteocalcin (OC) and C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX).

More patients who took teriparatide (21%) had elevated predose serum calcium concentrations compared with those in the alendronate group (7%)"Our data indicated that teriparatide is efficacious and generally well tolerated for treating subjects with glucocorticoid-induced [osteoporosis] and should be considered as a therapeutic option for subjects at high risk of fracture," the authors concluded.

They noted that the study had a high dropout rate, with 44% of patients leaving during the three years, which might have reflected the severity of the disorders being treated and the propensity for the patients to have other diseases. However, there was no difference in dropout rates between the two study groups.

Preventing Steroid-induced Osteoporosis

What is steroid-induced osteoporosis?

One of the side-effects of taking a steroid medicine in the long term is that it can increase your risk of developing osteoporosis. The steroid lowers your bone density and increases your risk of developing a fragility fracture.

If osteoporosis is thought to be due in part to taking a steroid medicine, it is known as steroid-induced osteoporosis. In fact, the use of steroid medicines is one of the leading causes of osteoporosis. Between 3 and 5 in 10 people who take steroid medicines in the long term will develop a fragility fracture because of osteoporosis if nothing is done to prevent this.

In general, when we are talking about steroid medicines that can cause steroid-induced osteoporosis, we are talking about long-term treatment (for three months or more) with prednisolone tablets. As mentioned above, long-term treatment with steroid creams does not carry the same risks of steroid-induced osteoporosis. However, long-term use of high doses of inhaled steroids may also increase your risk of developing steroid-induced osteoporosis. For this reason, the dose of steroid in an inhaler is usually kept to a minimum so that it is just high enough to keep your asthma or other respiratory problem under control.

Note: if you are taking long-term high-dose steroid inhalers, your should discuss your risks of developing osteoporosis with your doctor. The rest of this leaflet focuses on long-term treatment with steroid tablets.

How do I know if I am at risk of steroid-induced osteoporosis?

If you are taking long-term steroid tablets, your risk of developing steroid-induced osteoporosis can vary depending on your individual situation. For example, your age, your sex, whether or not you have had a previous fragility fracture, or any other risk factors for osteoporosis that you may have.

If you have been taking or buy anabolic steroid tablets for three months or more, or if you are due to start a course of long-term steroid tablets, your doctor may suggest that you have a special scan of your bones, called a DEXA scan. DEXA stands for dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. It is a scan that uses special X-ray machines to check your bone density and look for any signs of osteoporosis. Bone density is low in osteoporosis. Depending on the results of this scan, and any other risk factors that you may have, your doctor will be able to determine your risk of developing steroid-induced osteoporosis. This will be used to decide if you need treatment with medicines to prevent it (see below).

Certain groups of people may not need to have a DEXA scan before making a decision to start treatment to prevent steroid-induced osteoporosis. For example, older people, or those who have had a previous fragility fracture. This is because their age and/or the fact that they have had a previous fragility fracture puts them at increased risk of having a fragility fracture if they take long-term steroids, no matter what their bone density is.

There are a number of things that can be done to reduce your risk of developing steroid-induced osteoporosis if you are taking steroid tablets for three months or more. These may be things that you can change yourself in terms of your lifestyle, as well as treatment with medicines or other measures that your doctor may suggest.
Stop smoking, limit alcohol intake and exercise more

Certain lifestyle factors (as described in the list above) can increase anyone's risk of developing osteoporosis. If you already have one risk factor for osteoporosis (being on long-term steroid tablets), then it is especially important to try to reduce your number of other risk factors.

Chemicals from tobacco can get into your bloodstream and can affect your bones, making bone loss worse. If you smoke, you should try to make every effort to stop. Also, you should try to cut down on your alcohol intake if you drink more than three to four units of alcohol daily. Separate leaflets called Tips to Help you Stop Smoking and Alcohol and Sensible Drinking give further details.

Exercise can help to prevent osteoporosis. The pulling and tugging on the bones by your muscles during exercise helps to stimulate bone-making cells and strengthens your bones. Regular weight-bearing exercise throughout life is best, but it is never too late to start. This means exercise where your feet and legs bear your body's weight, such as brisk walking, aerobics, dancing, running, etc. For older people, a regular walk is a good start. However, the more vigorous the exercise, the better. For most benefit you should exercise regularly - aiming for at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise or physical activity at least five times per week. Excessive exercise such as marathon running may not be so good. (Note: because swimming is not weight-bearing exercise, this is not so good for preventing osteoporosis.)

Muscle strengthening exercises are also important. They help to give strength to the supporting muscles around bones. This helps to increase tone, improve balance, etc, which may help to prevent you from falling. Examples of muscle strengthening exercises include press-ups and weight lifting but you do not necessarily have to lift weights in a gym.

Ensure an adequate calcium and vitamin D intake

Calcium and vitamin D are important for bone health. Your body needs adequate supplies of vitamin D in order to absorb (take up) the calcium that you eat or drink in your diet. If you are on steroid tablets for three months or more, your risk of steroid-induced osteoporosis can also be reduced by making sure your body has enough calcium and vitamin D.

The recommended daily intake for calcium in adults over the age of 50 is at least 1,000 mg per day. Everyone aged over 50 years should also aim for adequate amounts of vitamin D daily (800 IU). Protein is also important in your diet and one gram a day of protein per kilogram of your bodyweight is recommended. Briefly:

Calcium - you can get 1,000 mg of calcium most easily by:

    Drinking a pint of milk a day (this can include semi-skimmed or skimmed milk); PLUS
    Eating 50 g (2 oz) hard cheese such as Cheddar or Edam, or one pot of yoghurt (125 g), or 50 g of sardines.

Bread, calcium-fortified soya milk, some vegetables (curly kale, okra, spinach, and watercress) and some fruits (dried apricots, dried figs, and mixed peel) are also good sources of calcium. Butter, cream, and soft cheeses do not contain much calcium.

Vitamin D - there are only a few foods that are a good source of vitamin D. Approximately 115 g (4 oz) of cooked salmon or cooked mackerel provide 400 IU of vitamin D. The same amount of vitamin D can also be obtained from 170 g (6 oz) of tuna fish or 80 g (3 oz) of sardines (both canned in oil). Vitamin D is also made by your body after exposure to the sun. The ultraviolet rays in sunshine trigger your skin to make vitamin D.

Unless your doctor is sure that you have an adequate intake of calcium and have enough vitamin D, they may prescribe calcium and vitamin D supplements if you are taking long-term steroid tablets. If you are unsure about whether you should have calcium or vitamin D supplements, ask your practice nurse or GP.

The Physical Side Effects of Using Steroids for Males

Steroids physically affect the body in a number of ways. Steroids affect males differently than females. The drugs produce different side effects in different people. It is important to know that steroids such as testosterone are produced in the body, and many of the changes produced by steroids are simply amplifying what occurs naturally within the bodies of all people. For example, all men have breasts, but the use of steroids can cause them to become enlarged beyond what is considered normal.

Overall Side Effects

Two of the major side effects of the use of steroids is an increase in both body weight and an increase in strength. These are among the primary reasons that men use steroids. A result of steroid use is muscular hypertrophy, or increase in size, from the stimulation of protein synthesis. This process can help the development of muscle tissue and reduce the amount of recovery time needed after weight lifting. However, some of the negative effects from using steroids include bloating and acne. The steroid user may gain weight, but some of this is attributed to water retention and bloating. Steroids also affect the heart. The heart is a muscle, and steroid usage can causes changes in the heart. One of these changes is a decrease in HDL cholesterol and an increase in LDL cholesterol, resulting in overall raised cholesterol. Many of the physical side effects of steroid use aren't seen by the human eye and affect the body on the inside.

Reproductive Side Effects

Testosterone (a steroid) is naturally produced in the testes of males. When the body is acquiring testosterone from an outside source, it will reduce the amount produced naturally. When this substance is introduced to the body in unnatural amounts and in unnatural ways, it can result in the testicles shrinking, lowered sperm production and impotence. In addition, men may experience enlarged breasts, frequent erections and unusual hair growth and loss. Steroid usage can also lead to an enlarged prostate and can increase the risk of prostate cancer. Men can also experience infertility as a result of steroid usage. In addition, the male sex drive may undergo changes.

Side Effects in the Central Nervous System

In addition to looking different, steroid users will also feel different. Many of these side effects won't manifest themselves to others, but some of them will in some men. Behavioral changes and psychosis are common. This psychosis is drug-induced and results in a loss of contact with reality, leading to poor judgment, violence and impulsive acts. Steroid users will often abuse other substances in an effort to counteract the side effects of steroid usage. Many steroid users will suffer from depression as a result of using the drug. This depression can be so severe as to lead to suicide. Steroid users may be antisocial and avoid contact with other people, even though their steroid usage could improve their appearance in the eyes of others. 

The Influence of Anabolic Steroids on the Reproductive System

Steroids can have negative effects on male and female reproductive systems. Testosterone has a more serious impact on the female body, because women have less testosterone than men. Accordingly feedbacks steroids in both sexes will be different.

Exterior changes

Some of the side effects of steroids consumption can be seen with the naked eye.
Men: In addition to increasing muscle mass is the development of tissues and muscles of the chest. Reducing the size of the testes is also one of the side effects. There may be changes related to the change of hair, and for the worse, and hair loss.
Women: The women's body changes occur in a slightly different form. Steroids cause hair growth on the face and chest, and, on the contrary, lead to the loss of hair on the head. In women, excess steroids converted to male sex hormones. Is a reduction of the size of the breast and clitoral enlargement. The use of steroids leads to a deepening of the voice.

Hormonal changes

At the consumption of steroids is a series of hormonal changes.
Men: is erectile dysfunction and sexual function, decreased testicular function and sperm count, which ultimately can lead to sterility of the testes. When excess steroid use man may become impotent, can also cause problems with urination. According to research in rare cases were identified with prostate cancer.
Women: There is a disruption of the menstrual cycle. Moreover, there may arise a problem of infertility.
Both men and women should follow the changes of sexual desire: an increase or a loss of desire. Hormonal changes in the body, will inevitably affect the condition of the skin, causing the appearance of acne and acne scars.

Long-term exposure

Many side effects of steroid use cause irreversible reactions. The emergence and development of reproductive disorders affect the rest of your life. Furthermore, discontinuation of steroids does not mean the return of the body to its normal original state. Women continue to suffer from hair loss, the size of the clitoris may never return to its previous state. Sometimes just using a plastic surgeon men can regain a normal breast size. Remember, the longer a person anabolic steroids, the longer it takes the body to recover and return to their normal state.

The Physiological Role of Testosterone in the Male Body.

The problem of declining fertility and potency particularly acute rises in our society today, because people are very intense hard life full of stress, the effects of environmental factors, it is all happening against the background of malnutrition, bad habits and physical inactivity. We can not ignore the effects of this for the sole reason that they accumulate slowly, silently creeping gradually deteriorating health.

Back in the mid-19th century, Charles Brown, Sekar, the great French scientist, he observed himself not only an increase in potency at the age of 75 years, but the telltale signs of a significant rejuvenation of the organism as a whole, it has emerged that after injecting extracts from the testes of monkeys. It was the beginning of a close examination of sex hormones in science, today it is these effects of testosterone are the subject of attention of gerontologists concerned with the problem of active longevity extension of humanity.

Science has long known about the hierarchy of the regulatory systems of the body: any disruption in the body begins with the brain: on the bark or the hypothalamic-pituitary region. The above mentioned negative factors directly affect the higher echelons of regulation.

Hence the limitation of any hormone replacement therapy: it makes an artificial shortage of substances and do not address the root cause of the problem occurred. A failure by reducing the potency and fertility begins with pituitary region: reduced secretion of luteinizing hormone, which controls the production of testosterone by the testes. Meanwhile, testosterone acts on the whole organism.

Let us examine the physiological role of testosterone.
Male sex hormones (androgens) to have a biological effect on almost all body tissues, initiating the processes of synthesis and construction. That is all androgens, including testosterone, is an anabolic hormone.

Thus, the main effects of testosterone are:
-Stimulation of genital organs and central nervous structures (the hypothalamus and pituitary glands) of male pattern;
-Stimulation of body hair distribution of male pattern;
-Stimulation of linear growth of the body, stimulating muscle development, the development of the larynx and thickening of the vocal cords;
-Stimulation of red blood cell formation and distribution of adipose tissue in male pattern;
-Stimulation of the formation of sperm cells with FSH and LH (pituitary) the entire process of sperm formation takes about 74 days, after which the sperm is transported through the epididymis to the urethra close within 12-21 days;
-To establish the male psyche and sexuality.


The secretion of testosterone is not constant, but occasionally, that is the cause of significant fluctuations in its level in the blood. Maximum secretion occurs between 2:00 and 6:00 o'clock in the morning, and the minimum - at about 13:00. In the body there are only 2% of circulating free testosterone. About 68% of testosterone are associated with the transport of blood protein albumin, and another 30% - with a specific binding globulin sex hormones.

In the peripheral tissues by the enzyme testosterone 5-alpha-reductase is converted to its active metabolite most - dihydrotestosterone.

Decomposes testosterone in the liver and through urine and bile excreted.
The normal level of testosterone in healthy men in the first half of the day is 12-40 nmol / l.

The testosterone level less than 10nmol / l probably testifies for the deficiency of the hormone. Border data (between 10-12 nmol / l) requires clarification and further examination.

Together with the definition of the level of free testosterone is usually necessary to determine the level of binding globulin sex hormones (SHBG).

The decision to undergo a course of anabolic steroids - it is always a very important decision. Absolute contraindications to the use of steroids are prostate cancer and breast cancer. This is due to the fact that these tumors are generally hormone-dependent, i.e., arising due to hormone imbalance in the body, and their high performance. Steroid use in such cases leads to a sharp deterioration and prognosis.

Osteoporosis in Men

Osteoporosis is a disease that causes the skeleton to weaken and the bones to break. It poses a significant threat to millions of men in the United States.

Osteoporosis is called a “silent disease” because it progresses without symptoms until a fracture occurs. It develops less often in men than in women because men have larger skeletons, their bone loss starts later and progresses more slowly, and they have no period of rapid hormonal change and bone loss. However, in the past few years the problem of osteoporosis in men has been recognized as an important public health issue, particularly in light of estimates that the number of men above the age of 70 will continue to increase as life expectancy continues to rise.

How Is Osteoporosis Diagnosed in Men?

Osteoporosis can be effectively treated if it is detected before significant bone loss has occurred. A medical workup to diagnose osteoporosis will include a complete medical history, x rays, and urine and blood tests. The doctor may also order a bone mineral density test. This test can identify osteoporosis, determine your risk for fractures (broken bones), and measure your response to osteoporosis treatment. The most widely recognized BMD test is called a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, or DXA test. It is painless a bit like having an x ray, but with much less exposure to radiation. It can measure bone density at your hip and spine.

It is increasingly common for women to be diagnosed with osteoporosis or low bone mass using a BMD test, often at midlife when doctors begin to watch for signs of bone loss. In men, however, the diagnosis is often not made until a fracture occurs or a man complains of back pain and sees his doctor. This makes it especially important for men to inform their doctors about risk factors for developing osteoporosis, loss of height or change in posture, a fracture, or sudden back pain.

Some doctors may be unsure how to interpret the results of a BMD test in men, because it is not known whether the World Health Organization guidelines used to diagnose osteoporosis or low bone mass in women are also appropriate for men. Although controversial, the International Society for Clinical Densitometry recommends using separate guidelines when interpreting BMD test results in men.

What Treatments Are Available?

Once a man has been diagnosed with osteoporosis, his doctor may prescribe one of the medications approved by the FDA for this disease. The treatment plan will also likely include the nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle guidelines for preventing bone loss listed at the end of this fact sheet.

If bone loss is due to glucocorticoid use, the doctor may prescribe a medication approved to prevent or treat glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis, monitor bone density and testosterone levels, and suggest using the minimum effective dose of glucocorticoid.

Other possible prevention or treatment approaches include calcium and/or vitamin D supplements and regular physical activity.

If osteoporosis is the result of another condition (such as testosterone deficiency) or exposure to certain other medications, the doctor may prescribe several anabolic steroids. Anabolic steroids are largely used in treatment of testosterone deficiency and are used as a part of testosterone replacement therapy. Thus anabolic steroids had a positive exposure in osteoporosis treatment.