5 Reasons Not to Take Anabolic Steroids.
Steroid use and abuse is back in the news again with the recent release of the Mitchell Report, the result of a 20 month investigation into performance-enhancing drug use amongst professional baseball players. Disturbing but apparently not all that surprising news.
I guess, in a way, it’s kind of understandable why anabolic steroid use is so prevalent in the professional sports arena. And, let’s face it, they are all adults and in theory know what they are doing and what the risks are. But you have to wonder if they understand the full extent of what they are doing to their body and health.
Yes, performance-enhancing steroids can give you bigger biceps, triceps, and pecs. But in using them, you also get a whole lot more than you bargained for.
1. They cause serious health problems. Continual steroid use can cause liver tumors, heart disease, and a weaken immune system leading to internal bleeding, heart attacks, strokes, and viral infections.
2. They cause hormone imbalance, especially in teens who already have enough hormone imbalance going on to last a lifetime. Anabolic steroids will simply confuse the issue. Boys can end up with shrunken testicles, reduced sperm count, and breasts. Girls can become more masculine, with deeper voices, reduced breasts, and excessive body hair, including beards. Plus, steroids can stunt the growth spurt, resulting in staying short for life.
Let’s face it, getting through High School is difficult enough without having gender mix-up issues as well.
3. They are addictive. Steroid use can result in having to maintain an expensive drug habit. And withdrawal will hurt as users have to deal with mood swings, fatigue, loss of appetite, insomnia, restlessness, and steroid cravings. Many will also suffer depression (often for years following withdrawal) to such a degree that they might even decide that suicide is the only option.
4. They mess with your head. Initially, steriods can cause irritability and depression. Continual use can result in delusions and mania. And in the end, they can turn an otherwise meek and mild mannered person into a raging homicidal maniac, otherwise known as ‘roid rage’.
5. They are illegal. This doesn’t seem to bother users much. But here’s the facts. Anabolic steroids are classified as a controlled substance and as such, are only legally allowed to be sold by a pharmacist via a doctor’s prescription. If you obtain steroids any other way, you risk a jail sentence of up to five years.
And if all that doesn’t discourage you, then how about this…
You’ll get CAUGHT (witness Marion Jones, the Baseball League, etc) or DIE (Chris Benoit, Rob Garibaldi)
By the way, if you’re concerned about someone possibily using Anabolic Steroids, here’s a few resources that might be worth checking out: MedLine Plus, Anabolic Steroid Abuse, and NIDA for Teens
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POSTED IN: Abs, Addiction, Drugs, Health, Misc., Morning News, Pro Sports
4 opinions for 5 Reasons Not to Take Anabolic Steroids.
Fat Man
Dec 15, 2007 at 11:59 am
They can also cause shrinking in men, if you know what I mean. Not that that’s as important as some of what you listed, but it could be disastrous to some mens egos.
Liz
Dec 15, 2007 at 1:39 pm
Absolutely!!
Maria
Mar 11, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Can steroid use cause an increase in the chance of getting pancreatic cancer?
I had a friend who was a health nut. Perfect, heathy body, ate the perfect diet, never smoked, the only thing he did do was take steriods at one time. He was diagnosed at 48 with pancreatic cancer and died 39 days later. He was the opposite of everything that points to pancreatic cancer. Steroid use is the only thing I can think of that would cause this disease in this type of person.
Liz
Mar 12, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Hi Maria,
Sorry to hear about your friend.
To be honest, I don’t know if there is any connection between steriod use and pancreatic cancer. I haven’t seen any when I was research information on the dangers of steriod use.
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