How to Eliminate AAS from Sports!!

Millard

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20+ Year Member
I have the solution for eliminating AAS from sports! Everyone knows drug testing has been a huge failure. Well, let's just completely eliminate it from all competitive sports at the professional, amateur, high school levels. No more drug testing!!

Instead, after exhaustive research, I came across the scientifically documented, doctor-approved solution. It is so simple. And so inexpensive. You won't believe how ignorant we've been all these decades. There's no need to spend several hundred dollars on testing urine samples or even consider more invasive doping procedures such as blood testing.

The solution for eliminating anabolic steroids in sports is so simple, you can simply "eyeball" an athlete and determine whether they are using AAS or not.

But wait, I can't take credit for this breakthrough finding. I must give credit to Dr. Harrison Pope at Harvard Medical School. With his genius and insight, the "integrity" of sports will be saved!! The problem of doping is SOLVED!

Please see the PDF attachment for all the details...

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Vol. 3, No. 12 / December 2004

Bodybuildings dark side:
Clues to anabolic steroid use


http://www.currentpsychiatry.com/2004_12/1204_Pope.asp
Watch for telltale behavioral and physical signs of this most-secretive substance abuse.

Harrison G. Pope, Jr., MD
Professor of psychiatry
Harvard Medical School

Gen Kanayama, MD, PhD
Research fellow
Harvard Medical School

Anabolic steroid use by athletes and body-builders has captured public attention but remains poorly understood by most physicians. This is not surprising because users of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS):

rarely seek treatment or disclose their drug use
frequently distrust professionals.

If you are a clinician who regularly sees male adolescents and young men, you need to become familiar with and watch for this often-secret form of substance abuse. This article provides the groundwork for that understanding, starting with the story of Aaron a composite patient whose case represents experiences and verbatim quotes from AAS users known to the authors.

Case report: I feel invincible
At his first visit, Aaron, age 18, told the psychiatrist he had no complaints but was coming to please his parents. I have a lot of arguments with my Dad, he said, and they keep thinking something s wrong with me.

The patient was very muscular and dressed in baggy sweats that masked his body proportions. He was appropriately groomed and darkly tanned but displayed some acne. The clinician guessed he weighed about 175 lbs and stood at about 65 inches, with very low body fat. Although superficially confident, he seemed restless, somewhat anxious, and guarded as the interview progressed.

Aaron admitted he experienced prominent mood swings. During rage outbursts, he had damaged objects and put his fist through the wall. There's holes all over the wall of my room,
he joked.


He also had assaulted a motorist in a traffic altercation, then left the scene.
Did you hurt him? the clinician asked. Somewhat sheepishly, Aaron responded, Well, I bought the newspaper and kept checking the obituaries for about 2 weeks afterwards.


He spoke with pride about his weightlifting, which was the focus of his life. He revealed that he was preparing for a body-building contest in 2 months. The psychiatrist asked him about use of supplements protein shakes, creatine, and andro (androstenedione) all of which Aaron acknowledged. The psychiatrist then gently asked about anabolic steroid use (Box 1).

Initially, Aaron strongly denied using AAS. The psychiatrist persisted, pointing out that no information would be disclosed to his parents, and asked again using colloquial terms from the AAS subculture: Anybody who is prepping for an untested contest in a couple of months is going to be on a cycle. Come on, what are you taking?

Eventually it emerged that Aaron had taken five 8- to 20-week AAS cycles (courses), during which he had stacked (combined) various injectables such as IM testosterone and orals such as methyltestosterone (Table 1). His current cycle included:

a blend of testosterone esters (Sustanon), 500 mg IM once a week
boldenone (Equipoise), a veterinary AAS normally used for horses, 200 mg IM per week
oxymetholone (Anadrol), 50 mg orally per day.

His friends had taught him to self-inject AAS at age 15; he admitted that he was also occasionally self-injecting the opioid analgesic nalbuphine intravenously because of pain in my delts from military presses.

During his cycles, Aaron experienced hypomanic symptoms, including euphoria, prominent irritability, increased libido, decreased need for sleep, and grandiosity. I feel invincible, he said. His aggressive outbursts had worsened with increasing AAS doses; in addition to attacking the motorist, he also had been physically violent with his girlfriend. She's scared of me when I'm on juice,he conceded.

During the withdrawal phase after stopping each cycle, Aaron described prominent depression with anhedonia, hypersomnia, loss of libido, and suicidal ideation. I once almost jumped off a bridge after my fourth cycle, he admitted. I couldn't wait to get on my next cycle to feel good again. His depressions were also characterized by body-image obsessions; he would regularly spend at least 1 hour a day examining his musculature in a mirror, and sometimes refused to go out in public because he was getting too small.

Perhaps most disturbing was his increasing use of opioids. In addition to self-injecting nalbuphine, he also ingested oral opioids such as oxycodone almost daily. He mentioned that several of his friends in the gym had progressed from injecting nalbuphine to injecting morphine or heroin, and he knew two bodybuilders who had died from apparently unintentional opioid overdoses.

Aaron said his parents, teachers, and non-bodybuilding friends were unaware of this history. He claimed his parents were proud that their son had apparently eschewed drugs and alcohol to pursue a healthy athletic lifestyle.

Recognizing AAS use
In our experience with treating substance abusers, we find that AAS users may be the least likely to disclose their drug use to clinicians. In a recent study,1 20 of 36 AAS users (56%) reported they had never revealed their AAS use to any physician. When asked to rate their trust in sources of information about AAS, 17 of 42 AAS users (40%) said they trusted information from their drug dealers at least as much as information from any physician they had seen.

Some expressed contempt for physicians as geeks or pencil-necks who could not comprehend the body-building lifestyle. They gave doctors high marks on knowledge of tobacco, alcohol, and ordinary street drugs but much lower ratings on AAS knowledge. Other investigators have shown that many clinicians are unfamiliar with AAS.2,3

AAS users embrace these beliefs for two other reasons. First, to admit to AAS use is to admit that one's muscularity and physical prowess is the result of taking a drug; there is no comparable motivation to withhold information about, say, one's use of marijuana or cocaine.

Second, AAS users are much less likely than other substance abusers to view their behavior as pathologic. We have argued that our culture is partially to blame.4 Americans pay to watch 300-lb football linemen and AAS-using movie stars. Makers of cars, computers, and electronics do not hesitate to advertise their products as on steroids, but they would never claim their products were on cocaine. In this climate, it is easy to forget that AAS use is an illicit substance abuse.

To overcome these treatment obstacles, we recommend that you:

Become as knowledgeable about AAS use as you are about other forms of substance abuse (see Related resources).
Approach AAS users as you would any other substance abusers as individuals at risk for potentially serious medical and psychiatric consequences.
Maintain a high index of suspicion when evaluating any muscular young male patient, even if he initially denies AAS use.

AAS use can often be suspected by looking at the patient as he walks in the door. Using what we call the fat-free mass index (FFMI) to calculate muscularity (Box 2), we have shown that a lean man can achieve only a certain amount of muscularity without using drugs.5 Although this finding needs to be replicated elsewhere, in our experience a man is almost certainly lying if he:

is relatively lean (with approximately 10% body fat)
displays an FFMI >26
and claims he has not used drugs.

If a patient has an elevated FFMI and other cues suggesting AAS use (Table 2), gently but persistently question him if he denies using these drugs.

Treating AAS-associated syndromes
When you have established a history of AAS use, you will be far better prepared to anticipate and possibly treat its associated syndromes. Discussion of these effects is beyond the scope of this paper; for details, see reviews of AAS-associated medical effects,3,6 psychiatric effects,6,7 and general treatment principles.8 We focus here on the four scenarios clinicians encounter most often in practice and offer some pragmatic suggestions.

Forensic cases. AAS users almost never voluntarily seek help to stop their drug use. Such a request would be somewhat analogous to a girl with anorexia nervosa voluntarily asking for help to gain weight. We are unaware of any rehabilitation centers, clinics, 12-step programs, or the like for AAS users there is no demand for them.

Thus, an AAS user may first come to clinical attention through legal channels. For example, if an AAS user committed a violent crime while experiencing hypomanic effects from these drugs, he might be required to undergo random urine testing as a condition of probation. This may be reasonable, provided that the tests are unannounced and urine is always collected under direct observation.

Monitoring clinicians may serve as little better than policemen, although sometimes it is possible to forge an alliance with the patient.

Depression. Exogenous AAS administration suppresses endogenous testosterone production through feedback mechanisms involving the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis.3,6 Thus, during a long cycle, the user's testes may shrink to half their normal size and stop producing testosterone and spermatozoa.

If the user then stops AAS rapidly, he may plunge into a profoundly hypogonadal state associated with symptoms of major depression. In a field study of 77 steroid users (71 male and 6 female),6 (7.8%) reported they attempted suicide during AAS withdrawal.9 Depression associated with AAS withdrawal may prompt users to resume AAS quickly, triggering a syndrome of AAS dependence.6,10,11

Fortunately, AAS-withdrawal depression is usually self-limited and responds in our experience and that of others12 to standard antidepressants. We recommend aggressively treating such depressions, as doing so may prevent resumption of AAS use and eventual AAS dependence.

Body-image disorders. AAS users often report body-image disorders, especially muscle dysmorphia a form of body dysmorphic disorder where individuals become preoccupied with the belief that they are not adequately muscular.13,14 Anxieties about muscularity are a risk factor for subsequent AAS use15 and a major contributor to AAS dependence.8,11

Body dysmorphic disorder responds to pharmacologic and cognitive-behavioral interventions.3,16 Young men showing pathologic concerns about their muscularity or displaying related body-image pathology may benefit from prompt treatment before they are tempted to use AAS.

Progression to opioid dependence. An ominous development among American17 and British18 AAS users is a growing tendency to use opioids. In two studies of individuals with opioid dependence,19,20 7% to 9% reported beginning as AAS users, then learning about opioids from fellow bodybuilders and often buying their first illicit opioids from the person who had sold them AAS. Most learned as teenagers to use needles to inject AAS intramuscularly, so beginning to using opioids intravenously was only a small step.

In the last 5 years, we have become anecdotally aware of numerous AAS users who developed heroin addiction requiring repeated inpatient detoxification or who died of unintentional opioid overdoses. We suspect this phenomenon is under-recognized and urge clinicians to watch for it.

References


1. Pope HG Jr, Kanayama G, Ionescu-Pioggia M, Hudson JI. Anabolic steroid users attitudes towards physicians. Addiction 2004;99:1189-94.

2. Dawson RT. Drugs in sport the role of the physician. J Endocrinol 2001;170:55-61.
3. Kutscher EC, Lund BC, Perry PJ. Anabolic steroids: a review for the clinician. Sports Med 2002;32:285-96.
4. Pope HG Jr, Phillips KA, Olivardia R. The Adonis complex: the secret crisis of male body obsession. New York: Free Press, 2000.
5. Kouri EM, Pope HG Jr, Katz DL, Oliva PS. Fat-free mass index in users and non-users of anabolic-androgenic steroids. Clin J Sport Med 1995;5:223-8.
6. Brower KJ. Anabolic steroid abuse and dependence. Curr Psychiatry Rep 2002;4:377-83.
7. Pope HG Jr., Katz DL. Psychiatric effects of exogenous anabolic-androgenic steroids. In: Wolkowitz OM, Rothschild AJ (eds). Psychoneuroendocrinology: the scientific basis of clinical practice. Washington. DC: American Psychiatric Publishing, 2003:331-58.
8. Pope HG Jr, Brower KJ. Anabolic-androgenic steroids. In: Galanter M, Kleber HD (eds). American Psychiatric Publishing textbook of substance abuse treatment (3rd ed). Washington DC: American Psychiatric Publishing, 2004:257-64.
9. Malone DA Jr, Dimeff R, Lombardo JA, Sample BRH. Psychiatric effects and psychoactive substance use in anabolic-androgenic steroid users. Clin J Sports Med 1995;5:25-31
10. Kashkin KB, Kleber HD. Hooked on hormones? An anabolic steroid addiction hypothesis. JAMA 1989;262:3166-70.
11. Brower KJ, Eliopulos GA, Blow FC, et al. Evidence for physical and psychological dependence on anabolic androgenic steroids in eight weight lifters. Am J Psychiatry 1990;147(4):510-2.
12. Malone DA Jr., Dimeff RJ. The use of fluoxetine in depression
associated with anabolic steroid withdrawal: a case series. J Clin Psychiatry 1992;53:130-2.
13. Pope HG Jr, Gruber AJ, Choi PY. Muscle dysmorphia: an
underrecognized form of body dysmorphic disorder. Psychosomatics 1997;38:548-57.
14. Olivardia R, Pope HG Jr, Hudson JI. Muscle dysmorphia in male weightlifters: a case-control study. Am J Psychiatry 2000;157:1291-6.
15. Kanayama G, Pope HG Jr, Cohane G, Hudson, JI. Risk factors for anabolic-androgenic steroid use among weightlifters: a case-control study. Drug Alcohol Depend 2003;71:77-86.
16. Phillips KA. Pharmacologic treatment of body dysmorphic disorder: a review of empirical data and a proposed treatment algorithm. Psychiatr Clin North Am 2000;7:59-82.
17. Wines JD Jr, Gruber AJ, Pope HG Jr, Lukas SE. Nalbuphine hydrochloride dependence in anabolic steroid users. Am J Addictions 1999;8:161-4.
18. McBride AJ, Williamson K, Petersen T. Three cases of nalbuphine hydrochloride dependence associated with anabolic steroid abuse. Br J Sports Med 1996;30:69-70.
19. Kanayama G, Cohane G, Weiss RD, Pope HG Jr. Past anabolic-androgenic steroid use among men admitted for substance abuse treatment: an underrecognized problem? J Clin Psychiatry 2003;64:156-60.
20. Arvary D, Pope HG Jr. Anabolic steroids: a possible gateway to
opioid dependence. N Engl J Med 2000;342:1532.


Related resources


Pope HG Jr, Brower KJ. Anabolic-androgenic steroid abuse. In: Sadock BJ, Sadock VA (eds). Comprehensive textbook of psychiatry (8th ed). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (in press).

Yesalis CE (ed). Anabolic steroids in sport and exercise (2nd ed). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2000.

The Taylor Hooton Foundation. Started by the father of a high school athlete who committed suicide during a depressive episode apparently precipitated by AAS withdrawal. Includes links to related Web sites. http://www.taylorhooton.org/about.asp. Accessed Nov. 10, 2004.

Disclosure

The authors report no financial relationship with any company whose products are mentioned in this article or with manufacturers of competing products.
 
First off, this geek has taken five cycles and is 175lb? That is sad, I don't care how bad your genetics are or whatever. I would like to see his training and nutrition...probably an Arnold's encyclopedia workout at best, and 3 cans of tuna and some rice for food :rolleyes:

Second, anyone who uses painkillers because they worked out so hard is a pussy, plain and simple. I am sorry if this offends anyone, but no weightlifter needs any kind of opiate or xanax or any of that crap...this only gives a bad name to AAS users, and allows homos like Dr. Pope to spew this crap on a regular basis. There should be no association of steroid users with users of these crackhead drugs, but people like this help draw this inaccurate association. Not to mention, the kid was probably using 95lb for military presses at 175lb...oh the pain!

Also, Pope seems to be surprised that bodybuilders do not trust their physicians...why in the hell should they? I am fairly confident that I know more about AAS than nearly all physicians in this country (besides the few who actually deal with them), and if I were on a cycle on of the LAST people I would ask for advice is the family doc...he will often know little more than anyone else as this stuff isn't covered much in med school. Most docs in reality aren't great critical thinkers, and they are just as easily influenced by the garbage that is put on TV as every other person.

The kid was punching holes in his parents walls and stuff? He needed a good ass beating and no car or dates, not a f'ing shrink! For anyone reading this, if you ever read anything by Dr. Pope, IMMEDIATELY dismiss it as false, as nothing he says is true, or at least proven in any substantial form. He is truly a sorry individual.
 
Find out your FFMI

I whipped up a spreadsheet to find your FFMI. Can't figure out how to attach it. Excel is not supported. Any help?
 
CyniQ said:
I whipped up a spreadsheet to find your FFMI. Can't figure out how to attach it. Excel is not supported. Any help?
Cool! I've enable XLS extensions
 
Find your FFMI

It's a little crude but I think it works.

I think that did it.

Plug in your weight in lbs. Height in inches, and your bf%

Let me know what you think
 
CyniQ said:
It's a little crude but I think it works.

I think that did it.

Plug in your weight in lbs. Height in inches, and your bf%

Let me know what you think
Damn, I'm busted LOL!

31.12

(Thanks for this!)
 
I thought it'd be fun. I have a breathalizer too. Friends come over, get wasted, then we all blow to see how drunk we are. It's a blast.

I think I have to cry bullshit on that formula though. BF% accounts for very little. What matters most is your H/W ratio. The good doc says the presence of mass with low bf is evidence of aas. But his formula really doesn't show that. Unless I messed up on my sheet (I don't think I did. I checked my results against his examples and I'm only a point off. A result of rounding the conversions I think.) But, I'm no mathematician. If you're 250 @ 6'1" with a bf of 10% you get 32.62. Same stats 20% bf is 32.59
 
I don't think that spreadsheet works bro. I typed in 250lbs, 70" and 10% and I got 35.97. When I changed it to 65%BF it only changed to 35.77. I think it's off.
 
just as a side niote to support the fact that drug testing does not work...
I played college football for 4 years, and was drug tested 3 of those years... guess what, I was using and played my odds coming out on top 6 out of 6 times (tested once reg season, and once prior to post season)...
not all specimine are tested... about 1 in 20 are tested, randomly, so just a bit of food for thought...I personally am getting a kick out of this steroid media BS...It reminds me of the "shark attack" scare a couple years ago, when that kid was attacked in FL... trust me as a annual visitor of New Smyrna Beach, FL (shark bite capital of the US) this happened all the time, the media just thought they would blow the common incidents out of proportion...this tactic keeps us, the US society, from hearing real diplomatic and world events, it is a method used to keep the simple minded (not meant in a negative way) and mondaine entertained with "TV junk food"... shark attacks, michael jackson, and "steroid epademics" are the new opium of the people, MEDIA IS THE NEW RELIGION: dictating to society what our opinion is and what popular opin should morally be, only ther is no moral lession or any positive energy, only intollerance...institutionalized discrimination...and and adgenda that strictly follows the wants, needs, norms, values, and most importantly goals of the "haves"...

I've ranted too much, good night...

/FT
 
administrator said:
Damn, I'm busted LOL!

31.12

(Thanks for this!)
Admin, how did you only get 31? You must be one tall SOB if youre only scoring a 31 at your weight. I scored a 32.
 
Weatherlite said:
I don't think that spreadsheet works bro. I typed in 250lbs, 70" and 10% and I got 35.97. When I changed it to 65%BF it only changed to 35.77. I think it's off.

You're right WL. I just realized what the problem is. Your BF needs to be expressed as a whole number, not a percentage. e.g. Your bf is 10%. You would plug in 10, not .1

The cell is formated as a percentage. Change it to general numbers and it should work.

Thanks alot for catching that. It works much better now.

Or here it is again.
 
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