+ 5 The Bad Sides Of AAS
Let's take a look at the possible side effect associated with the use or abuse of AAS. I would like to begin with a rather more severe side effect, which is High Blood Pressure "HBP". HBP is caused by several effects product by the AAS. One would be the increase of red blood cells and an increase in hematocrit levels.(HCT for short, is the volume percentage of red blood cells in blood.) Side effects associated with HBP are rather serve. HBP can cause arteries to harden (Arteriosclerosis) and cause heart or stroke, which can lead to more health issues. HBP also can cause an enlargement of the heart, making the possibly of heart failure higher. HBP has also be associated with blindness. The next side effect I will like to touch on is the increase of Bad Cholesterol or LDL for short. LDL also increases the risk of Arteriosclerosis. When the walls of your arteries harden they become a better foundation for calcium and fats like LDL and triglycerides. This inturn clusters the arteries and slows the blood flow. It's also possible for arteries to clog completely leading to a heart attack or stroke. Another very severe side effect is Testicular Atrophy. TA is caused by the chemical imbalance of testosterone, due to the introduction of exogenous testosterone. When we introduces the hormone testosterone into our bodies, we are taking control of the vital function of our body. The new influx of testosterone will signal the brain to stop producing testosterone, in turn the testes shrink. If you don't allow them to return to a function state with proper pct and time off you can have permanent testosterone and erectile problems. Not only including ED, low sperm count, enlarged prostate and loss in sexual desire.Now moving on to Gynecomastia, or Gyno for short. Gyno is the development of female breast on a males body. This is caused by in the influx of the estrogen hormone. Estrogen is the female hormone or womens equivalent of males testosterone. I'll touch more on this in the short term effects. The final major side effect I would like to include in this article before proceeding with the less severe and short term side effects is the possibility for Liver malfunction. You can't live without a Liver, it's that simple. You only get one, remember that when you're stocking up on your orals, spend that extra 10 bucks and get that liv-52. It'll be the best 10 buck you ever spent. If your Liver malfunctions, due to a tumors or a cysts on the result of internal bleed caused by one or the other, you'll end up with sepsis and the possibility of death from a blood infection is very real. It is very important gentlemen, to maintain caution and discipline when using AAS.
Now some of the less severe side effects, can be depression, aggression, water retention and acne. I've believe from the studies and articles I've read, depression is mainly caused by the withdraw of emotional gratification the drug offers, such as an increase in self esteem. On the other hand the increase in aggression is brought on by in the increase of the main hormone testosterone. Water retention and acne is caused by the increase of the female hormone estrogen. When there is too much testosterone present in the body it is then amortize or converts to estrogen and the estrogen can bind to receptors in the beast and cause the propagation of breast tissue. Most estrogenic side effects can be avoid by the application of an AI or Aromatase inhibitor. AAS can produce many different side effects, some would be considered more severe than others. This however doesn't give us the right to take things lightly, If we first don't react negatively to the compounds. You should always maintain caution. It's not my intention to scare you, but to inform you. It is very important to educate yourself, with what your doing or considering doing... for every action theres a reaction...
- Bookmark
- 5
- 0
Umm HDL is good cholesterol. LDL and VDL are bad.
What high blood pressure or hypertension (HTN) does is that it stretches the arteries causing tears. The body then sends the repair men (platelets fibrin etc) to the site of the tear. Normally the arteries will heal themselves pretty easily. LDL, bad cholesterol, causes proliferation(rapid growth) and thickening of the arterial wall that was damaged. Because of the rapid growth of cells, there is an empty pocket in the lining of the arterial wall. The body sends cholesterol and fats to the pocket. Collagen, scar tissue, forms a layer over the fatty pocket resulting in plaque. The plaque interferes with the elasticity of the artery making it harder hence atherosclerosis, hardening of the arteries.
The plaque can eventually break over time. Just like a shark rock in a river, it'll be broken down from the pressure. This results in a clot being thrown causing a stroke, heart attack, DVT or infatction.
With the arteries being clogged, the heart has to work harder to pump blood. The heart has androgen receptors so it can grow from stimulus resulting in an enlarged heart. The enlarged heart eventually gives out result in sudden cardiac arrest.
HTN damages the kidneys too by reducing blood flow. The body is working to remove excess fluid to bring down the blood pressure so the kidneys are working over time to excrete everything. With the increased workload and pressure, the kidneys shut down
good explanation in laymen terms. +1
Great post.....cant stress enough how important bloodwork is prior to, frequently during and post cycle......aas sides are silent killers....you need to know whats going on in your body and react accordingly.......bp monitoring is critical also.......stay healthy everyone.
Bro, I wish the generation coming up would take heed of what you are saying. My trainer said to me this afternoon who is quite the champion that "nothing is worth wrecking your health for a $10 trophy." Those of us in our 30's and 40's and older came up at a time when steroids were difficult to acquire, ridiculously expensive and guidance on how to use them safely was precious and scarce.
This is only my opinion from my recollection but when I was a kid I couldn't afford to put together the massive stacks that the youth of today feed on and cycles were much more modest. No mail order roids, internet not built out, and no eroids. We certainly were not any smarter but circumstances being what they were probably accounts for many of us being still alive today who were AAS users 15-20 years ago. I did become a TRT patient before I was 30 from steroid misuse and eventually became sterile but did manage to start a family before that happened.
Catalyst on this site posted a piece recently about the gains you can get on simple safe cycles and I really do hope that the folks that responded to that post and claimed to agree with him were sincere. I don't think I could convince any young person today who looks at those of us that have been in the gym 15 and 20 years how modest our chemical use really is for most of the year. You get into contest prep - and that is a different ball game but those cycles are relatively short - they end - and if you have a shred of common sense you get reasonable real fast if you want any longevity.
No one wants to hear that it takes years to build a quality physique. They want it overnight and think that the key is juice and more juice and stronger and stronger compounds and they are blind to the truth and close minded to sage advice. So what can u do, my friend. You can write what u did on a big internet site for lots of people to read and ponder. You might even have reached a couple of folk and saved them from a boatload of misery down the road. And then, u can talk it out with your friends that respect u - those of them at the gym that are doing crazy things. +1 for the post bro.
I do often wonder what the "I wanna do Tren for my first cycle" crowd thinks when nothing significant really happens. They must be so confused . . . .
I feel bad for the ones, that run tren their first cycle... Theres a couple guys at my gym now doing that, I try to explain to them it's a terrible idea.. these guys are running 150 mg EOD, can you believe that brother, their in for some serious problems, and It sucks that you can only inform and can't enforce... Thank you for your input bro, it's always a pleasure to read your post. I always learn something.
eryximachusThere is a lot of bro science in here, besides Liv 52.
HDL = High Density Lipoproteins. A cholesterol molecule with a large number of fat molecules attached. A higher ratio of these is correlated with a lower risk of coronary artery disease. The inverse, with a higher ratio of low density lipoproteins - i.e. cholesterol with few fat molecules. Cholesterol is used to make cell membranes. You know how you drop oil in water and it makes a sphere? Every cell in your body is constructed of the stuff, with the fat molecules repeling water in a similar fashion. This is how your cells maintain their structural integrity in water.
This is a prime example of correlation does not equal causation. Evidence increasingly indicates that a high percentage of LDLs is indicative of either disease or damage. There are fewer HDLs in the blood because they are being used to construct new cells.
In general, it increasingly seems as if heart disease is caused by an as of yet unidentified pathogen, which the body attempts to fight in part by creating new cells, which uses up HDLs. As for AAS, if you're working out hard, and your body is making a lot of new tissue cells, HDLs will be used.
It is incorrect to state that estrogen is the testosterone of women. Both are sex hormones crucial for both males and females. How the body reacts to them varies depending upon your sex.
The psychiatric effects of AAS are poorly understood, but it's clearly there. At minimum, it appears to induce mania - simply look at all the juiced up bros on sites like this.
In short,
there are a lot of individuals in the community that need this reminder of the risks their taking +1
eryximachusThere is no evidence that liv 52 does anything other than affect the biochemical markers standard liver tests detect.
My Dr said the same about niacin and it's effect on lipids, just fools the blood work numbers.
Thanks to both of you. Good informative quick read. Oh course I have been reading and researching a lot since I discovered this site, so I already had some knowledge. Champ, great details, you definitely taught me something. +1
B4t- thanks for your story, I definitely want to take precautions not to end up in the same boat.
AnonWell done, buddy! I have some issues going on currently with the good ol' ticker, and I assure you, it's no fun. Don't have classical HBP, but I do have a low EF (ejection fraction), which means heart failure : (
Now, unlike a lot of other guys with this problem, I do not cycle in the classical sense. I know that I am prone to issues so I keep my intake low (on trt), and my compounds limited and low dosages, and only those that don't add a ton of water. It is a rarity that I use anything more than one other compound and I keep up on blood work and apts.
But even though I may feel great (hell, I do right now), I have to keep a close eye on my EF and my weight. My heart is not cut out for supporting a 215 lb body on a 5'10" frame. Just had a echo done yesterday, and the results were not good. My guess is that the eq I just started running is not agreeing with me so it's definitely out. Sucks to get shitty news, but I just have to be open to what the doc is telling me he sees (low ef, no structural abnormalities/ no damage to any valves/ or irregular beat) and take a step back and re-evaluate what I'm doing. Got a few things coming in for summer here, too, but that's all on hold as of now. I am not experiencing any symptoms either, which is very encouraging. But it's still fucking shitty news to hear. A couple of years ago I had my EF up to 50 on TRT only! That's basically a normal heart. Now, I gotta dial things back in and really weigh the benefits/risks of doing this shit even once and a while... blows, but I may have to change everything around.
Thanks for posting this, bud. You made it a lot easier to say that out loud. I know for a fact I'm only one of many that have this issue on any given board, at any given time. It's still a blow to hear it and wonder what the right call is. By the way, there is a genetic component to this issue for me, so I have been proactive over the last few years. Now, it looks like there is more work to do. Thanks bro. +1
Give them a vote if you find it helpful.Permalinkbest of luck to you, there's an article on here I think posted by gymchemist that talks about being diagnosed with heart failure took a regimen of supps while taking some down time and has bounced back more than expected, not sure it would apply to your situation but may be worth doing a search for.
Be really careful, sounds like your doing things the right way, but dont take any chances , you dont want to make a mistake your going to regret. good luck to you