What Are Some of the Dangers of Using Steroids?
Steroids are a class of pharmaceutical hormones related to or derived from testosterone. They are used to treat a number of medical conditions, and athletes use them illicitly to enhance performance. Steroids are not indicated for use in patients suffering from certain medical conditions, and steroid use can cause a number of adverse side effects, including death.
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Identification
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Steroids are a class of pharmaceutical hormones related to or derived from the naturally occurring hormone testosterone. In humans, natural testosterone promotes an increase in skeletal muscle mass, improves bone density, produces sperm (in the testicles) and develops secondary male sexual characteristics during puberty. Some steroids also stimulate the production of red blood cells and increase the appetite. Synthetic steroids are characterized by their anabolic (muscle, bone and tissue building) or androgenic (masculinizing) effects and many exhibit both types of effect in varying degrees.
Steroids have a variety of medical uses in treating conditions that include anemia, osteoporosis, hypogonadism (testosterone deficiency), breast cancer and diseases that cause muscle wasting (such as Lou Gehrig's and AIDS). In hormone replacement therapy, doctors use synthetic testosterone to improve the quality of life in men as they age, and steroids are used illicitly by athletes and bodybuilders looking to increase strength, build muscle mass, recover from heavy training periods and improve endurance.
Contraindications
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Patients should consult a doctor before using steroids if they suffer from pre-existing heart disease, prostate cancer, breast cancer, hypercalcemia (increased calcium levels in the blood) or kidney disease.
Steroids can alter the effects of blood thinners and anti-coagulants, and patients taking these drugs should discuss using steroids with their physician. Also, as some steroids can alter blood sugar levels, diabetics might have to adjust their insulin dosage.
Certain steroids (including testosterone, stanozolol and nandrolone) are classified as Pregnancy Category X, which means they cause birth defects in fetuses and should not be taken by pregnant women.
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Hepatotoxicity
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Steroid use can severely damage the liver. Their use can result in a potentially fatal condition called peliosis hepatitis, where blood filled cysts form in the liver or spleen. Steroids can also alter liver levels.
Certain steroids are modified by a process called 17-alpha alkalization (the attachment of an alkyl group), which makes it difficult for the liver to break them down, and thereby making the drug's effects last longer. However, this puts tremendous stress on the liver and kidneys.
Circulatory System
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Steroid use can elevate cholesterol levels, and steroids (such as boldenone and Winstrol) can increase red blood cell counts to a dangerous level, possibly resulting in stroke, hypertension and/or congestive heart failure. Users have also experienced arteriosclerosis and the hardening of arteries, conditions which may lead to cardiac arrest and stroke.
Other Physiological Side Effects
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Under normal conditions, resistance-training and exercise produces incremental gains over time and a muscle's connective tissues can adjust to this slow development. Athletes who use steroids often experience rapid strength and muscle gains, and this accelerated growth can put tensile strain on the ligaments and tendons that results in injury.
Steroids can cause a number of allergic reactions, including muscle cramps, headaches, nausea, vomiting, fever, diarrhea, stomach pain and jaundice (yellow skin). Certain steroids (including testosterone) can cause the body to retain excess water, which can damage the kidneys.
Because steroids can cause early closure of a bone's growth plates, steroid use during adolescence can lead to improper development and short stature. According to Dr. Gary Wadler of the New York University School of Medicine, "Once these growth plates are closed, they cannot reopen, so adolescents that take too many steroids may end up shorter than they should have been."
Psychological Side-Effects
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Use of steroids can lead to adverse psychological effects that include thoughts of suicide, moodiness, irritability, depression, paranoia and aggression (so-called "roid rage"), and users may become psychologically dependent on the drugs and experience withdraw symptoms when they attempt to stop using them.
Sexual Dysfunction
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Certain steroids cause the development or enhancement of masculine effects, including a deepening of the voice, acne, oily skin, excessive facial and body hair, and male-pattern baldness.
Steroids exert these androgenic effects more prominently in women and can also cause changes in libido, altered menstrual cycle and an enlarged clitoris, which may be irreversible.
Some steroids (particularly testosterone) undergo a natural conversion called aromatization, which converts them into estrogen. In men, this process can cause impotence, erectile dysfunction and gynecomastia (the development of male breasts) in men, which may require surgery to correct. While taking steroids, men may also suffer from testicular atrophy, low sperm count and an enlarged prostate, which may make urination difficult and exacerbate prior prostate conditions (including prostate cancer).
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