KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

I recently talked to an intelligent doctor (GP) who put it plain and simple. "It [steroids] is not all that bad, but in my opinion I would not use them [steroids] unless I was being paid to use it."
His rational was that there is not enough long-term research done on gear (and I beleive he is correct about needing more studies need to be conducted).

Since Steroids are in the same category as illicit drugs (in the US), the reaction will be the same as if you told your doctor that you want to use heroine.

They have spent at least 8 years of their lives doing nothing but studying and busting their ass reading books so there are not many doctors that have extensive lifting experience. This is one reason many just don't understand steroids and why they are against them.

E

oh yeah and one thing that really bothered me was when he told me that prescribing them is even heavily frowned on in the medical profession even for muscle wasting.

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Originally posted by E:
well like, side effects that manifest themselves like 5 years later. Shit about sterility, and inability to maintain muscle mass and shit. The exact reasons for causing baldness and crap all in medical terms. He threw all sorts of shit out at me.

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They try to scare you with sterility but it is temporary and only happens when using test. They do not even mention that there is a difference between the dozens of steroids. Also, doctors use low dosages of test for male birth control so I am sure that the men who do that would not do it they knew they would be permanently sterile. It is a lie or exaggeration of the truth.

The doctors lie to you. You need to accept that. Do you remember when they used to say Marijuana will make you go insane (back in the 1970s)? That was an outright lie!

The doctors also say that you do not keep muscle but they get that info from research studies that used non-athletic non-lifting subjects. Of course you will lose your muscle if you don't work out!!!!

Some of the stuff about baldness is true. It speeds up existing male pattern baldness (but it does not cause balding in people who are not pre-disposed to baldness).

Steroids Build Strength Without Hazards Over Short Term
By Denise Mann
Medical Tribune. August 15, 1996.

For the first time, a study has shown that high doses of steroids actually can help a person build muscle size and strength without causing side effects over the short term.

However, several researchers cautioned that the findings do not give the green light for athletes, recreational bodybuilders and others to abuse anabolic/androgenic steroids.

In the 10-week study of 43 men, those who participated in a weight-training program and received weekly injections of testosterone enanthate--600 mg-- increased their muscle mass and strength substantially compared with those who lifted weights regularly but did not take steroids.

And no negative effects were observed on mood or behavior in the men taking testosterone, the study authors reported in The New England Journal of Medicine (1996; 335:1-7).

"Our results in no way justify the use of steroids in sports, because such drugs have potentially serious adverse effects," wrote lead researcher Shalender Bhasin, M.D., of the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles.

However, steroids may be beneficial for the short-term treatment of patients with cancer-related cachexia, disease caused by HIV or other chronic wasting disorders, he said.

Previous research in humans used doses of steroids that were too small to show the drugs' effects on muscle, making the new study the first to prove what athletes have been saying for years, C. Wayne Bardin, M.D., of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in Bethesda, Md., wrote in an accompanying editorial.

"The fact that a large dose of testosterone did not affect serum concentrations of lipids and prostate-specific antigen levels or measures of mood and behavior should provide some short-term reassurance," he wrote.

Dr. Bhasin and colleagues compared muscle size, strength and fat-free body mass in men who received testosterone alone, testosterone plus exercise, placebo alone or placebo combined with exercise.

The men in the testosterone-plus-exercise group gained about 13.5 pounds of fat-free mass, and their triceps and quadriceps increased substantially in size compared with the men in the other groups, the study showed.

In addition, muscle strength in squatting exercises increased by about 38% and bench-press strength improved by about 22% in the men who exercised and received steroid injections. These improvements were markedly greater than the other groups, the researchers wrote.

"But [this] doesn't change doctors' bent on steroid use," said Peter Bruno, M.D., the internist for the New York Knicks basketball team.

Steroid use is still not appropriate for all of the 18- to 25-year-old athletes who take high doses of steroids for prolonged periods of time, Dr. Bruno said.

"The bottom-line is that short-term supraphysiologic doses of testosterone enanthate are well-tolerated without dramatic side effects," said William Bremner, M.D., vice chairman of the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle.

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Originally posted by Tim7332:
I dont know if I agree with that. I use to smoke pot quite often and I found myself disillusioned, confused, paranoid, and even hallucinating somewhat. I think drugs all effect people differently. Pot is not as harmless to the mind as the potheads claim it to be.

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Just so you know, I haven't smoked pot more than 2 times in my life so I don't even like the stuff.

Also you seem to be confused about what the term "insane" means in psychiatric jargon. What you described could be common side effects from NyQuil..lol.

Doctors fall into the "expert" category and carry a big diploma and a name plate that says "such-n-such, MD" and that is enough to intimidate most people.

He was giving you propaganda, pure and simple. There is a grain of truth in what he is telling you, but it's completely blown out of proportion. People have had serious kidney failure from taking normal amounts of tylenol, and yet it's one of the most widely used drugs around.

Read these boards, dude. What's the worst problem anybody is having? A little gyno? Blood pressure up a bit? These are serious issues but easily dealt with. Problems from injections? Learn proper technique BEFORE you inject.

I could go on, but you get the idea... THINK!