Drug Information - Steroids Addiction
Steroids
What Are They?
Ever wondered how those bulky weight lifters got so big? While some may have
gotten their muscles through a strict regimen of weight-lifting and diet,
others may have gotten that way through the illegal use of steroids.
Steroids are synthetic substances similar to the male sex hormone testosterone.
They do have legitimate medical uses. Sometimes doctors prescribe anabolic
steroids to help people with certain kinds of anemia and men who don't produce
enough testosterone on their own. Doctors also prescribe a different kind of
steroid, called corticosteroids, to reduce swelling. Corticosteroids are not
anabolic steroids and do not have the same harmful effects.
But doctors never prescribe anabolic steroids to young, healthy people to help
them build muscles. Without a prescription from a doctor, steroids are illegal.
There are many different kinds of steroids. Here's a list of some of the most
common anabolic steroids taken today: anadrol, oxandrin, dianabol, winstrol,
deca-durabolin, and equipoise.
Anabolic-androgenic steroids are man-made substances related to male sex
hormones. "Anabolic" refers to muscle-building, and "androgenic" refers to
increased masculine characteristics. "Steroids" refers to the class of drugs.
These drugs are available legally only by prescription, to treat conditions
that occur when the body produces abnormally low amounts of testosterone, such
as delayed puberty and some types of impotence. They are also prescribed to
treat body wasting in patients with AIDS and other diseases that result in loss
of lean muscle mass. Abuse of anabolic steroids, however, can lead to serious
health problems, some irreversible.
Today, athletes and others abuse anabolic steroids to enhance performance and
also to improve physical appearance. Anabolic steroids are taken orally or
injected, typically in cycles of weeks or months (referred to as "cycling"),
rather than continuously. Cycling involves taking multiple doses of steroids
over a specific period of time, stopping for a period, and starting again. In
addition, users often combine several different types of steroids to maximize
their effectiveness while minimizing negative effects (referred to as
"stacking").
Health Hazards
The major side effects from abusing anabolic steroids can include liver tumors
and cancer, jaundice (yellowish pigmentation of skin, tissues, and body
fluids), fluid retention, high blood pressure, increases in LDL (bad
cholesterol), and decreases in HDL (good cholesterol). Other side effects
include kidney tumors, severe acne, and trembling. In addition, there are some
gender-specific side effects:
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For men - shrinking of the testicles, reduced sperm count, infertility,
baldness, development of breasts, increased risk for prostate cancer.
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For women - growth of facial hair, male-pattern baldness, changes in or
cessation of the menstrual cycle, enlargement of the clitoris, deepened voice.
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For adolescents - growth halted prematurely through premature skeletal
maturation and accelerated puberty changes. This means that adolescents risk
remaining short for the remainder of their lives if they take anabolic steroids
before the typical adolescent growth spurt.
In addition, people who inject anabolic steroids run the added risk of
contracting or transmitting HIV/AIDS or hepatitis, which causes serious damage
to the liver.
Scientific research also shows that aggression and other psychiatric side
effects may result from abuse of anabolic steroids. Many users report feeling
good about themselves while on anabolic steroids, but researchers report that
extreme mood swings also can occur, including manic-like symptoms leading to
violence. Depression often is seen when the drugs are stopped and may
contribute to dependence on anabolic steroids. Researchers report also that
users may suffer from paranoid jealousy, extreme irritability, delusions, and
impaired judgment stemming from feelings of invincibility.
Research also indicates that some users might turn to other drugs to alleviate
some of the negative effects of anabolic steroids. For example, a study of 227
men admitted in 1999 to a private treatment center for dependence on heroin or
other opioids found that 9.3 percent had abused anabolic steroids before trying
any other illicit drug. Of these 9.3 percent, 86 percent first used opioids to
counteract insomnia and irritability resulting from the anabolic steroids.
Extent of Use
Monitoring the Future (MTF) Survey
MTF annually assesses drug use among the Nation's 8th, 10th, and 12th grade
students. Annual** use of anabolic steroids remained stable at under 1.5
percent for students in 8th, 10th, and 12th grades in the early 1990s, then
started to rise. Peak rates of annual use occurred in 2002 for 12th-graders
(2.5 percent), in 2000 and 2002 for 10th-graders (2.2 percent), and in 1999 and
2000 for 8th-graders (1.7 percent). Eigth-graders reported significant
decreases in lifetime and annual steroid use in 2004, as well as a decrease in
perceived availability of these drugs. A significant decrease in lifetime use
was also measured among 10th-graders for 2004.
Most anabolic steroids users are male, and among male students, past year use
of these substances was reported by 1.3 percent of 8th-graders, 2.3 percent of
10th-graders, and 3.3 percent of 12th-graders in 2004.
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