Anabolic Steroid Abuse

Anabolic steroids are substances similar to the male hormone testosterone. They are used to promote masculine features, increase growth, build muscle tissue, and strengthen bones. Common anabolic steroid medicines include fluoxymesterone and nandrolone. All anabolic steroids available in the United States require a prescription and are used to treat conditions that occur when the body produces abnormally low amounts of testosterone, such as delayed puberty and some types of impotence.

Some people take legal dietary supplements that have certain steroid hormones also made by the human body. One such drug is dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). The body can turn DHEA into other steroid hormones, including testosterone, estrogen, and cortisol. People use it to try to make their muscles bigger. Whether such products actually work has not been proved. But if you take them in large amounts, they can cause the same side effects as anabolic steroids.

When anabolic steroids are taken without a medical reason, it is usually to improve performance in sports or to increase muscle size and reduce body fat. Some teens abuse steroids along with other drugs.

When these medicines are taken to supplement physical development, the dose is 10 to 100 times higher than when they are taken for medical conditions. They may be taken as a pill, an injection into a muscle, or a gel or cream rubbed on the skin. Often more than one of these drugs is used at the same time (stacking), or the drug is taken in a cycle from no drug to a high dose over a period of weeks to months (pyramiding).

Anabolic steroid use can cause a wide range of side effects affecting many systems in the body. Some of these effects can be permanent. Systems affected include the:

    Hormonal system. In men, anabolic steroids reduce sperm count, shrink testicles, cause male-pattern balding, and enlarge breasts. In women, they cause masculine effects, such as decreased breast size and body fat, enlarged clitoris, and a deeper voice.
    Musculoskeletal system (muscles and bones). A teen who abuses anabolic steroids may not reach his or her full adult height, because these drugs can stop bone growth before it is complete.
    Cardiovascular system (heart and blood vessels). Some anabolic steroids affect the level of fat (lipids) in the blood and may cause a heart attack or stroke, even in a very young person. Anabolic steroids also increase blood pressure.
    Liver. Anabolic steroids can cause liver cancer.
    Skin. Anabolic steroids cause oily skin and acne. Skin infections can occur if the person injects steroids. And an infection can become severe if the drug was contaminated with a virus or bacteria during its preparation.
    Brain. Anabolic steroids may cause irritability, homicidal rage, uncontrollable activity level (mania), or false beliefs (delusions).

Effect of anabolic steroids on sexual desire. Studying the effects and therapy.

Sexual desire (or libido) is mainly controlled by testosterone. Anabolic steroids can lead to an increase in libido. Increased libido may be a problem, because the use of androgens in high doses may also increase the likelihood of violence.

The more common problem is the state after the use of anabolic steroids as testosterone production in the body usually stops around for a few months. The concentration of testosterone in the blood stream is not sufficient to maintain a normal libido, so these hormonal disorders can cause loss of libido.

Very marked reduction in the concentration of testosterone can also lead to erectile disorders. In particular, the simultaneous development of data breaches weightlifting sports performance can deteriorate significantly, in connection with what is often a serious need for the re-use of anabolic steroids.

Studying the effects and therapy

Anabolic-androgenic steroids are likely to disrupt the normal function of the pituitary gland. A similar effect occurs in women who take contraceptive preparations. People who use anabolic steroids are very naslysheny on emerging issues, and some of them are turning to doctors.

According to the medical examination, the other obvious violations are usually absent, and patients can look like healthy people. There may be side effects associated with the use of androgens (e.g., acne, skin stretching portions, breast enlargement and possible traces of injections). As a result of prolonged use of androgens may experience a pronounced reduction in the size of the testicles.

Effect of anabolic androgenic steroids on reproductive function is largely dependent on the use of drugs, doses and timing of application. According to the hormonal studies, reflecting the testicular function, there may be typical violations. According to studies of seminal fluid, a significant proportion of patients may experience a complete absence of sperm. Other people violation can be expressed to a lesser extent.

The changes caused by the use of anabolic-androgenic steroids are reversible, but to restore normal sperm production can take a year. In most cases, the most effective and efficient method is to stop the use of anabolic androgenic steroids. A prerequisite for successful therapy is to understand the relationship between the person actually use and development of androgen disorders, as well as the realization that the recovery will take time.  Of great importance is to motivate patients.

Maintaining physiological concentrations of testosterone (ie, testosterone replacement therapy) may be required in the recovery phase, when there is heavy and prolonged hypothyroidism. However, there is a risk of abuse. Replacement therapy leads to a longer period of sperm production.

The use of anabolic androgenic steroids is not the only cause of male infertility. If the violation is apparently not related to the use of anabolic androgenic steroids or not marked recovery after cessation of anabolic-androgenic steroids, it is necessary to search for other causes of violations of sperm production.

Effect of Anabolic Steroids on Sexual Desire

For many years, anabolic-androgenic steroids have been the most commonly used drugs to improve muscle strength and mass, as well as athletic performance. In recent years, increased use of these drugs. Most people who use anabolic steroids are not professional athletes, and, unfortunately, many of them are teenagers.

When applying steroids people try to get the maximum anabolic effect (i.e. tissue growth promoting effect) and to minimize the androgenic effect is responsible for the development of male sexual characteristics. The ratio of the anabolic and androgenic effects of testosterone is 1:1. Others have used anabolic steroids, this ratio varies and may even exceed 30.

However, it is impossible to avoid the development of symptoms of virilization, which are largely dependent on the dose and timing of applications. To maximize the desired effects and prevention of side effects commonly used other hormones in combination with anabolic steroids such as to prevent the growth of mammary glands.

Anabolic Steroids have a significant effect on the function of the gonads. These effects manifest themselves differently in different people: some sperm production stops completely, others observed only minimal changes.


Testicular function and its violation

Testicular function is sperm production and sexual hormones, mainly testosterone. The normal production of testosterone allows the development of male sexual characteristics and also helps to maintain a high level of testosterone in the testicles (the concentration of testosterone in the testes is about 100 times higher than in the blood), which is necessary for normal sperm production.

The functioning of the testes is controlled by the pituitary gland. Anabolic androgenic steroids, which are introduced from outside disruption to normal operation pituitary gland. Native testosterone production in the testis is reduced, thereby reducing the concentration of testosterone, which leads to a decrease sperm production, until the complete cessation.

Effect of anabolic androgenic steroids on sperm production is familiar to doctors who treat infertility. According to these studies, about one in four people using anabolic steroids, there is no sperm production, about every second there is a decrease sperm production, compared with normal values, only a quarter of people who use anabolic steroids, have normal sperm production. Anabolic steroids also have an impact on the structure of the sperm.

Changes in sperm production, caused by the use of androgens, are usually reversible. However, to restore normal sperm count after applying high doses of androgens can take years. There is no precise information on how the use of anabolic androgenic steroids before puberty affect testicular function in adulthood. In this sensitive phase of anabolic androgenic steroids can cause severe, possibly irreversible, changes in the function of the testes.

More Young Men Using Steroids but do They Know the Harms?

A recent national survey has found two-thirds of young men who began injecting drugs within the past three years were, overtaking methamphetamine and heroin use.

Anabolic-androgenic steroids are synthetic forms of testosterone, the hormone that plays a key role in the development of male reproductive tissues as well as the development of secondary sexual characteristics, such as the growth of body hair and deepening of the voice.

Steroids have legitimate medical uses. They can be used as growth stimulators in children with growth failure and are given to people with chronic wasting conditions, such as AIDS, to help stimulate appetite and preserve muscle mass. But, when combined with exercise and a proper diet, steroids can help increase muscle size, strength, and help with the development of lean muscle mass.
Unknown extent

The Australia Crime Commission has reported that the number of steroid detections at the Australian border had increased by 74% in 2009-10, the highest recorded in the last decade. It also said the number of national steroid arrests had increased by 47%. A large number of detections involved small quantities, which suggest they are being imported for personal use.

It’s important to note that these numbers reflect what law enforcement detects and seizes. If we accept this as the tip of the iceberg, then it suggests that the use of steroids is increasing in our society. While steroid use has always been synonymous with bodybuilding, we have seen its use becoming increasingly acceptable among the average gym-going population. The figures in the just-released national survey attest to this.

But while we have a fair idea of who is using, there’s no actual profile of a typical steroid user in Australia. And the prevalence of steroid use varies depending on the group being surveyed.


Who uses steroids?

A large, general population survey of over 26,000 Australians found less than 0.1% had used steroids for non-medical purposes in the last year. To put this into perspective, around 10% of Australians had used cannabis in the same time period, 3% had used ecstasy and 2% had used cocaine. Since this survey was first conducted in 1993, this level of steroid use has barely changed.

Meanwhile, a survey of over 22,000 high school students in Australia found that around 2% of 12- to 17-year-olds had used steroids “without a doctor’s prescription” in an attempt to make them “better at sport, to increase muscle size or to improve your general appearance”. Slightly fewer students had used steroids in recent time periods, indicating that use was generally not regular. Those who had used steroids had also used a range of other substances, such as alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, ecstasy, and cocaine.

Surveys of men who have sex with men have found that around 2% in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane have used steroids in the past six months.

Some of 100 bottles containing illegal liquid steroids hidden inside sexual lubricant packaging seized by Australian Customs in Melbourne in 2008. AAP Image/Australian Customs

What all these figures tell us is that we aren’t looking in the right places. We are probably never going to get an exact number of the people using steroids. But who are they? From all the research that has been done in Australia, we know that the people who use steroids, and other drugs to enhance their image or their performance, are not the same.

They do tend to be male. They do tend to be aged in their mid-twenties to early-thirties, though there are men who are younger and older who also report using steroids. They tend to have completed high school and be employed full time. A sizeable number identify as bisexual or homosexual. They do tend to use other drugs such as cannabis, cocaine and ecstasy, although that may be better explained by their sexual orientation rather than their steroid use.

While steroid users may be alike in some ways and different in some ways, what appears to be common is why they use them. Each person who takes steroids will have their own motivation for doing so, but we can broadly place these into one of three categories: to get a better body, to be better at sport, or to be better at their job. Some of these reasons may cross over. Having more strength may mean that you perform better on the footy field, and if you are a security guard or a bouncer, having a better body may be advantageous at work.