Anabolic Steroids
Samantha Sonday, 2
What are anabolic steroids?
synthetic variants of the male sex hormone testosterone
anabolic-androgenic steroids (abbreviated AAS)—“anabolic” referring to muscle-building and “androgenic” referring to increased male sexual characteristics
Legally prescribed to treat the following medical diseases: Steroid hormone deficiency (like delayed puberty), and for people who have the loss of lean muscle mass (from cancer and aids).
- Abusers usually get it illegally, and the usual illegal doses given to abusers is around 10 to 100 times higher than what doctors would prescribe to patients who need it
Nicknames for the drug?
Gym Candy
Pumpers
Stackers
Weight Trainers
Gear
Juice
How is it taken?
Taken orally through tablets and capsules
Injected into muscles
Applied to skin through creams or gels
Effects for Men:
Short-term
Reduced sperm count
Damage to the heart
Impotence
Difficulty or pain while urinating
Long-term
Liver disease or liver cancer
Development of breasts
Shrinking of the testicles
Effects for Women:
Women - If a woman uses steroids, some "masculinization" effects may occur:
Short-term
Breast reduction
Excessive hair growth
Long-term
Deepened voice
Abnormal menstrual cycles
Effects for BOTH men and women:
Short-term
Acne
Fluid retention
Rapid weight gain
Increased blood pressure and cholesterol levels
Insomnia (inability to sleep)
Headaches
Reduced sexual functioning
Increase in muscle size
Swelling of feet and ankles
Improved healing
Improved appetite
Blood clotting difficulties
Heart attacks
Clotting disorders
Cardiovascular, liver, and reproductive organ damage
Premature heart attacks and strokes
Reduced sexual functioning
Stunted growth in adolescents
Increased chance of injuring ligaments, tendons and muscles
When injecting: bacterial infections, abscesses, cellulitis, and HIV/AIDS
Increase in muscle size
Signs of Abuse:
Big guts or distended stomach
Preferential development of the upper body muscles, especially lats;
Gynecomastia (extra fat surrounds the nipple- meaning female features)
Stretch marks and/or acne;
Unreasonably fast body transformation.