National Institute on Drug Abuse
Research Report Series

Anabolic Steroid Abuse

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What effects
do anabolic steroids have
on behavior?

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Case reports and small studies indicate that anabolic steroids, particularly in high doses, increase irritability and aggression. Some steroid abusers report that they have committed aggressive acts, such as physical fighting, committing armed robbery, or using force to obtain something. Some abusers also report that they have committed property crimes, such as stealing from a store, damaging or destroying others' property, or breaking into a house or a building. Abusers who have committed aggressive acts or property crimes generally report that they engage in these behaviors more often when they take steroids than when they are drug-free.

Anabolic steroids have been reported also to cause other behavioral effects, including euphoria, increased energy, sexual arousal, mood swings, distractibility, forgetfulness, and confusion. In the studies in which researchers administered high steroid doses to volunteers, a minority of the volunteers developed behavioral symptoms that were so extreme as to disrupt their ability to function in their jobs or in society. In a few cases, the volunteers' behavior presented a threat to themselves and others.

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What can be done to
prevent steroid abuse?

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Early attempts to prevent steroid abuse concentrated on drug testing and on educating students about the drugs' adverse effects. A few school districts test for abuse of illicit drugs, including steroids, and studies are currently under way to determine whether such testing reduces drug abuse.

A more sophisticated approach has shown promise for preventing steroid abuse among players on high school sports teams. In the ATLAS program, developed for male football players, coaches and team leaders discuss the potential effects of anabolic steroids and other illicit drugs on immediate sports performance, and they teach how to refuse offers of drugs. They also discuss how strength training and proper nutrition can help adolescents build their bodies without the use of steroids. Later, special trainers teach the players proper weightlifting techniques. An ongoing series of studies has shown that this multicomponent, team-centered approach reduces new steroid abuse by 50 percent. A program designed for adolescent girls on sports teams, patterned after the program designed for boys, is currently being tested.

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What treatments are effective
for steroid abuse?

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Few studies of treatments for anabolic steroid abuse have been conducted. Current knowledge is based largely on the experiences of a small number of physicians who have worked with patients undergoing steroid withdrawal. The physicians have found that supportive therapy is sufficient in some cases. Patients are educated about what they may experience during withdrawal and are evaluated for suicidal thoughts.

If symptoms are severe or prolonged, medications or hospitalization may be needed.

Some medications that have been used for treating steroid withdrawal restore the hormonal system after its disruption by steroid abuse. Other medications target specific withdrawal symptoms�for example, antidepressants to treat depression, and analgesics for head-aches and muscle and joint pains.

Some patients require assistance beyond simple treatment of withdrawal symptoms and are treated with behavioral therapies.

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aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!
Makes me feel like punching the next doctor I see! and I haven't even started my cycle yet !
-Stew

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I see some keywords here...STUDENTS...PARENTS..Obviously some of the younger crowd (can you say teenagers?), as well as some adults, do not have the mental maturity to handle the ups-and-downs that these hormones can bring. I saw a bit on TLC (the TV program) about a week ago, where this guy was in the hospital...seems he tried to commit suicide after he learned that he had destroyed his liver, and stomach lining...from three years of (obvious) oral steroid use. He was 19. It is idiots like these that give the gear a bad name.

a juicer (who is an asshole anyway) commits a crime. he gets caught and then in court he blames his act on his "addiction" to anabolic steroids which made him crazliy insane and aggressive to get sympathy from the jury or judge. then the case is documented and the press gets ahold of it and publicizes it. now the anti-roid people have some fuel to add to thier fire.

the same thing happens to first time street level crack dealers. they get popped with like 10 or so grams while they are standing on the corner dealing and they tell the judge they have a drug problem to gain sympathy and get an easy drug treatment program, with adjudication withheld, where they have to take a piss test every week instead of a drug conviction.

its playing the system and when juicers do it , it hurts our reputation with everyone who doesnt know about us and what we do.

AJC1977's philosiphy:

"Roid-rage" is only an excuse for an asshole to become an even bigger asshole.

As for steriods i have learned to accept my lifestyle within a small, yet supportive community, and what others think beyond it can do as they wish.

What a crock of shit...!

I have not really done what most would call a cycle (being on medically prescribed HGH and testo) - but all I know is being on makes me feel better and puts me in a better mood. Maybe its the fat loss, muscle and strength gain that does it....or the increased sex drive. I recently went to my 20th reunion. A girl I use to know who had it all in HS (Pom Pon squad, rich dad, etc) got into crack about 10 years back and ended up in the worst part of Kansas City getting banged by a bunch of guys to support her crack habit. She was smoking crack every day for 2 years. She was a mess. Maybe SOME people on AS end up like that, but I doubt it is a percentage point of the number that make the big slippery slide on crack.