Perhaps one of the most worrying side effects of prolonged anabolic steroid use are those related to the heart. Indeed, a startling amount of case reports associating anabolic steroid use and adverse heart events have been published in the literature [1]. Most frequently, this included myocardial infarction. While case reports obviously can’t establish anabolic steroid […]
Anabolic Steroid Articles
Our steroid articles provided detailed, practical information on how anabolic steroids are used to build muscle size, strength and otherwise improve physical performance. They cover topics such as the history of steroids, steroids in baseball, the medical uses of steroids including testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), the side effects of steroids and how to manage steroid side effects.
The Hepatotoxicity of Anabolic Steroids
It is well-known that anabolic steroids can be damaging for the liver (hepatotoxic). In particular, oral anabolic steroids with a specific chemical alteration are the usual suspects for this. This is reflected in the blood by increases in aspartate aminotransferase (ASAT) and alanine aminotransferase (ALAT). Both of these can increase due to damage to the […]
Measuring Kidney Function in Anabolic Steroid Users
The kidneys are responsible, among other things, for filtering the blood and producing urine. They do so by creating a filtrate from the large amounts of blood that are flowing through them. Usually, over a liter of blood passes through the kidneys every minute. If you subtract the nonfluid fraction of this, thus leaving you […]
Should You Take Tren? The Pros and Cons of Trenbolone as Described by Bodybuilders
I have never heard of an enhancement drug that is more polarising than trenbolone. Some love it, others hate it, and many have a love/hate relationship with it. What is there to love about trenbolone? And what is there to hate? The following are descriptions of trenbolone collected from forums, social media, and interviews with […]
Measuring and Treating High Blood Pressure in Anabolic Steroid Users
In my previous article I discussed how there’s an increased mortality and morbidity risk when systolic blood pressure increases beyond 115 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure exceeds 75 mmHg [1]. A rough indication in how much anabolic steroids tend to affect blood pressure is an increase of around 5 to 10 mmHg in systolic blood […]
Blood Pressure in Anabolic Steroid Users
Having a high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is one of the most frequent (contributing) causes of death and cardiovascular complications in the world. When measured, it’s split up into systolic pressure (the top number) and diastolic pressure (the bottom number). The systolic blood pressure is the highest pressure reached during contraction of the […]
Anabolic Steroid Chemistry: A Few Words on Esters and Some Other Common Chemical Alterations
There are a great many anabolic steroids which differ from one to another in various (subtle) ways. These differences, in essence, boil down to the underlying differences in chemical structure. In this article I’ll cover some chemical alterations that can be found in common anabolic steroids. I’ll also briefly cover what esters are. Whilst they […]
Treatment of Gynecomastia – An Overview of the Literature
In this article we’ll go over some of the (purported) treatments for gynecomastia in anabolic steroid users. As we’ve established in the previous article, the culprit of gynecomastia development in anabolic steroid users is an imbalance between androgenic and estrogenic action on breast tissue. If it develops during a cycle, it’s likely due to an […]
Gynecomastia: What the Literature Says About Prevalence and Hormonal Causes
Sex hormones play a pivotal role in the development of gynecomastia: the benign enlargement of breast tissue in men. It is an esthetically unpleasant side effect which might result from anabolic steroid use. It is very common in the general population, too. Notably, gynecomastia develops in a lot of men during puberty. An endocrinology textbook […]
How to Stop the Suffering Caused by Muscle Dysmorphia / Bigorexia: Treatment Options and Bodybuilder Attempts to Manage Symptoms
(Muscle dysmorphia part 2) Muscle dysmorphia, or bigorexia, causes a great deal of suffering. It consumes lives, it ruins lives, it can even end lives. In part 1 “What is muscle dysmorphia/bigorexia, and do you have it?” I discussed what muscle dysmorphia is and what might cause it. I compared current medical understandings of muscle […]