Since steroids were labeled as a controlled substance twenty years ago, a great deal of information has been dispersed about them, by people with various agendas. Until the late 1980s, steroids were used much more commonly among many different groups of people. They were easy to obtain, affordable, and many people just considered them to be common medicines along the lines of aspirin and Tylenol. Once they were banned for use without the use of a prescription, their use lessened, but there were still many individuals who found them to be very useful. In order to limit the amount of Americans that used the drugs- particularly among younger Americans – several ad campaigns were initiated which helped to spread information about steroids. The media ran with this information, and before long the general public was convinced of these “facts”. Let’s examine some of the more common misconceptions about steroids.
Steroids are easy to obtain
For many people, drugs like marijuana are easy to obtain. Everyone knows someone who is a user. Steroids are much, much harder to locate. Most users have to either place on online order to some unknown factory overseas, or ask their doctor, who is not at all likely to issue a prescription for it.
Steroids kill
Everything kills you, if you live long enough. Steroids cause temporary liver enzyme spikes, some rises in blood pressure, and altered HPTA function, which is reversible. These side effects are detrimental, but reversible as long as the user is healthy and the drug use is limited to 10 to 14 week cycles. Staying on AAS for years will cause major health problems. For the majority of users, short cycles cause no long-term issues. Seeing many bodybuilding greats from 40+ years ago at today’s bodybuilding expos, healthy and vibrant, is visual evidence of this.
Steroid cause “roid rage”
If you are a jerk, steroids make you a bigger jerk. Steroids do increase your testosterone levels, which will make you more aggressive. For some, these new levels of aggressiveness are personified in feelings of anger or frustration, louder than usual. Users may also feel a sense of pride or bravado at their new muscles, which may cause them to be a bit disrespectful to others as well. The image of a man taking steroids, turning green, growing 60 pounds and smashing phone booths is something out of television shows, nor reality.
Steroids have no “real” uses
Steroids were actually originally created for legitimate medical use. Many began in the barns and farms, as veterinary drugs used to help sick livestock retain their body weight. In the medical world, steroids have been used for decades to help patients with wasting diseases such as HIV, leukemia or cancer. The increased red blood cell count and greater muscle mass and weight associated with bodybuilding success help patients with many maladies live higher qualities of life.
Steroids are relatively safe compounds which are pretty hard to obtain. They have legitimate medical uses, as well as those of vanity used by bodybuilders. The more information people have about steroids, the more likely they will be to make an education decision regarding their use.