Side effects of steroids

 What are steroids, what are its benefits and side effects ?

Steroids are synthetic or man-made medicines with properties like natural hormones produced in the body.The androgens are the male sex hormones produced by steroid glands in the male body. Steroids that are man made are misused called anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS). These male hormones produce effects similar to the effects of testosterone. Many use AAS to build muscle or increase strength and performance. All steroid hormones are derived from cholesterol. Male sex steroid hormone (testosterone) are produced by testis and female sex (estrogens and progesterone) are produced by ovaries and placenta during pregnancy. Testosterone has muscle making properties and estrogens promote development of female sexual characterstics.

Those who go to the gym will know the name of the steroid, but many people will hardly know what the steroid is and how to take it. It should be taken or not and if taken, how much should be taken. These are some questions that come in the minds of many people. Today I will discuss it in this article.

 Steroid definition:

Steroid is a type of medicine that was devised many years ago for the treatment of terrible diseases like cancer, but due to its muscle-making properties, it was  started taken by bodybuilders, athletes and sportsmen. Steroids have many valid medical uses. However, men and women taking steroids who use it to increase muscle do so illegally. People using steroids typically experience a rapid increase in muscle strength, performance enhancement and increased level of  endurance. Androstenedione or "andro," is a type of anabolic steroid. It is taken by athletes who want to build muscle. It is now a controlled substance due to suspected health risks and is available only by prescription. There is no evidence that it has any significant anabolic effect. The use of steroids for sports is completely illegal in most countries and some steroid drugs that are banned They are also illegal.

There are mainly two types of synthetic     steroids:

1. Corticosteroids

2. Anabolic steroids

There is a difference between anabolic steroids with corticosteroids, Anabolic steroids are mainly used to build up muscle. Corticosteroids are used to dampen hyperactive immune responses and thus reduces inflamation. Both are synthetic versions of natural hormones produced in the body. 

  How to take steroids:

Before running any steroid Cycle, it is very important for you to have complete information about how much Dose to take and how long is the cycle. If you do not know all these things, then first of all you should consult a doctor or a good coach who is certified in it.

Before starting the steroid cycle you will have to do some body tests so that you do not have problems later. For this, you have to be tested 3 times. First Test Steroid Before Starting Cycle, Second Test Steroid After Cycle Half Complete and Third Test Cycle Complete.

After the steroid Cycle Complete, you have to start PCT and after PCT is over, you get body test done once again. "Designer" steroids are sometimes produced to enable athletes to pass doping tests. Their creation and use are completely unregulated, so they endanger your life.

Athletes often consume steroids on a "trial and error basis" using information obtained from other athletes, coaches, websites or gym "gurus". As a result, they do not have access to good medical information and support that can keep them safe while using these drugs. You should not consume any such product at all.  Illegal steroids are obtained through the Internet and informal dealers like other illicit drugs. However, they may also be available through unscrupulous pharmacists, doctors and veterinarians.

 

Benefits of taking steroids:

Anabolic steroids have their place in legitimate medical world but they do have side effects. These are used to boost testosterone level in old aged men who have lost their ability to produce natural testosterone.

1.   It also helps in improving  Muscle by keeping  body fat low.

2.   Steroids increase our healing capacity with the help of which you can recover early after exercise. When you recover early, you can exercise that part again and again, as if you have worked on biceps today and you If you are on steroids, then you can apply biceps exercises tomorrow as it increases the healing capacity of our muscles.

3.   It helps in improving  muscle size. When  testosterone increases according to  body, the size of  muscles starts to increase and most of  bicep and leg muscles are the most improved.

4.   Anabolic steroids are synthetic hormones that can increase the body's ability to      produce muscle and prevent muscle breakdown.

5.   Some athletes take steroids in the hope that they will gain the ability to run faster, hit farther, lift heavier weights, jump higher or bear more.

6. Doctors use anabolic steroids to treat anaemia, arthirits and delayed puberty.

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Disadvantages of taking steroids:

Taking anabolic steroids doses can have the following side effects -

•      Acne can occur on the back and face.

•      Fluid retention (fluid retention) may cause discomfort.

•      There may be pain or discomfort while urinating.

•      Augmentation of male breasts, known as gynecomastia.

•      Red blood cell count may increase more.

•      Low "good" HDL cholesterol levels and "bad" LDL cholesterol levels can increase.

•      A sudden increase in hair growth or hair fall may begin.

•      Decreased sperm count and infertility can also occur.

•      Changes in libido may occur.

•      Mood swings, uncontrollable anger;  also called “Roid rage”

•      Cardiovascular problem

•      Sudden cardiac death (if not treated in time, sudden heart failure can lead to death) and heart attack (myocardial infarction) because of sudden change in body's cholesterol level.

•      Liver problems and other types of damage including tumors

•      Tendon rupture problem due to collagen degeneration

•      Osteoporosis and bone loss, such as steroid use affects the metabolism of calcium and vitamin D.

    Shrinking of testicles to half of their normal size

•     Adolescents taking it may stop their body's growth permanently.

•     In women - change in menstrual cycle, change in voice, increase in length of clitoris, increase in hair on face and body, shrinkage of breasts, Male pattern baldness, increased sex drive i.e. libido etc. Some of these changes may persist forever even after discontinuation of drug use.

•      There are other risks as well - Shrinking of testicles to half of their normal size, damage to the liver, increased feelings of aggression and hostility, mood and anxiety disorders, poor behavior, psychological dependence and addiction, etc.  People who abruptly discontinue AAS after using them for a long period of time may experience withdrawal symptoms such as getting sick, including severe depression.

 

      CYSTS IN LIVER                         

As you all know, all the interiors of our body are very important to keep us alive. The most important function is carried by our liver and kidney. Our liver removes all the toxic substances from our body. Our kidney is a filter system that helps in removing all the toxic materials that are made in human body. Kidney and liver damage is the first side effect of steroids. Doctors have noticed blood filled cysts formed on the outside of liver in people who used steroids for a long period of time. These cysts can rupture causing internal bleeding.

When we start taking steroid, there is a problem of hormone disorder in our body. Which is called Gyno, your chest tissue starts growing  which gradually takes the form of Man Boobs which is also known as Gynecomastia. 

Bloating is also a caused because of water retention, which is a side effect of anabolic steroids. This increases our water retention when we start taking steroids in large amounts. The biggest reason for this is because the rate of aromatization is increased. Aromatise is an enzyme that converts our testosterone to estrogen and estrogen increases water retention in our body. This leads to high blood pressure and kidney disease.

The use of anabolic increases the amount of protein in our body, which leads to the development of cellular tissue in our body, as a result of which the muscles of our body also grow.

There are mainly two processes of taking steroids:-

By capsule

By injection

This should be used by pyramiding stacking cycling.

We need to consult a good doctor or a good coach before taking steroids who are certified in their field of work.

Before using steroid, we need to get some examination done in our body, otherwise we may face troubles later.

Before taking steroids we have to go through three processes of investigation, the first process starts when we start taking steroids, the second process starts when we have completed half of the steroid process and need a third steroid when we have finished taking the steroid.

How steroids work :

Whenever you lift weights at the gym, your muscles fibers damage, but the body builds new muscles with "protein strands" that repair muscle fibers, as time progresses, this muscle strength increases with an increase in bulk, speed and endurance.

Muscle protein increases when the muscle protein synthesis exceeds muscle protein breakdown in thickness and in number.

Increasing this protein synthesis is controlled by a hormone called testosterone, to be specific its "free testosterone" that increases muscle mass.  This testosterone hormone is very important for muscle growth in our body.

This is why men have more muscle mass than women, because they have a higher amount of testosterone hormone in their body.

But this natural process takes time and lot of hard work, and most of the body builders, power lifters, weightlifters dont have that patience. Everybody wants to take a shortcut to success whether they have to pay a price for it. Steroids enhance the natural process of muscle building i.e protein synthesis and cellular repair. A normal person when worksout, it takes 48-72 hours to repair his muscle but anabolic steroids speed up that process so that it takes only 24 hours to repair those damaged muscles, so you can workout more frequently and recover faster again so that you can workout again. Not only that steroids can increase the performance of the muscles, they increase endurance, speed and size of the muscles.

Steroids easily enter the cell and close with the androgen receptor. At this point it easily moves into the nucleus and becomes attached to your DNA. At the same time, it activates hundreds of genes, so that they start doing protein synthesis in higher amounts and at the same time your protein breakdown starts in less quantity.

Because of this, your protein synthesis increases and by reducing protein breakdown, your muscle glows faster, in this way the steroid works.