ANABOLIC STEROIDSTHEY’RE NOT JUST FOR BODYBUILDERS ANYMORE

Tracy Weeks-Gariepy

IS IT A DRUG OR A HORMONE?

• WHILE MOST COMMONLY NAMED DRUGS (SUCH AS COCAINE, HEROINE, MARIJUANA, ETC) ARE PLANT-DERIVED, ANABOLIC STEROIDS ARE NOT.

• ANABOLIC ANDROGENIC STEROIDS ARE MALE HORMONE REPLACEMENTS• ANABOLIC: THE BUILDING AND GROWTH OF MUSCLE TISSUE• ANDROGENIC: PERTAINING TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF MALE CHARACTERISTICS• STEROIDS: A CLASS OF ORGANIC STRUCTURE CHARACTERIZED BY ITS SPECIFIC

COMPOUND, GENERALLY CONTAINING FOUR CARBON RINGS

Q: BUT AREN’T STEROIDS FOUND IN PLANTS TOO?

• A: YES, MANY FOODS CONTAIN STEROIDS! THOSE ARE NATURAL STEROIDS, AND NOT CONSIDERED A “DRUG” LIKE THE SYNTHETIC ANABOLIC STEROIDS ABUSED TODAY

ANABOLIC STEROIDS ARE ABUSED BY MEN AND WOMEN, FOR VARIOUS REASONS

BECAUSE OF ITS MUSCLE-ENLARGING EFFECTS, SOME BODYBUILDERS, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, HAVE BEEN TEMPTED INTO (OR ACCUSED OF) ABUSING ANABOLIC STEROIDS

BUT EVEN THOSE IN MORE TRADITIONAL PROFESSIONS LIKE FIREFIGHTING AND LAW ENFORCEMENT HAVE BEEN VICTIMS OF ADDICTION, BECAUSE OF THE PERCEIVED BENEFITS OF ADDED STRENGTH ON THE JOB

GROWING PROBLEM IN THE

MILITARY

“I WANTED TO GET STRONGER. I KNEW WE WERE DEPLOYING," ONE SOLDIER, WHO USED AN INJECTABLE STEROID AS HE TRAINED FOR AFGHANISTAN, TOLD INVESTIGATORS. "WE HAD THIS ROAD MARCH THROUGH THE WOODS [DURING TRAINING], AND I ALMOST FELL OUT, AND THEY HAD TO TAKE MY WEAPON ... I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN OVER THERE.“*

HTTP://WWW.SEATTLETIMES.COM/SEATTLE-NEWS/STEROID-USE-ON-THE-RISE-IN-THE-ARMY/

AN ARTICLE RELEASED BY THE SEATTLE TIMES IN 2010 STATED A NUMBER OF

INTERVIEWS AND RESEARCH THAT INDICATES ANABOLIC STEROID ABUSE IN

THE MILITARY IS ON THE RISE• IN ONE BATTALION INTERVIEWED,

SOLDIERS ESTIMATED THAT AT LEAST HALF OF THE BATTALION HAD TRIED STEROIDS

• SOLDIERS IN IRAQ ADMIT THAT STEROID USE IS OPEN AND UNADDRESSED OR INVESTIGATED

OK, SO WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?

• PEOPLE WHO ABUSE ANABOLIC STEROIDS MAY BE TAKING 10-100 TIMES THE LEGAL DOSE THAT DOCTORS PRESCRIBE FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS (CANCER, AIDS, ETC)

• USING AND/OR ABUSING STEROIDS DOES NOT CREATE THE “HIGH” THAT OTHER DRUGS DO, AS IT DOES NOT HAVE A DIRECT IMPACT ON DOPAMINE LEVELS. HOWEVER, LONG TERM ABUSE STILL NEGATIVELY IMPACTS THE BRAIN, AND CAN SEVERELY ALTER A PERSON’S MOODS AND BEHAVIORS

• SEVERE MOOD SWINGS LIKE THESE ARE SOMETIMES REFERRED TO AS “ROID RAGE”

SOME NEGATIVE SIDE EFFECTS DEPEND ON THE USER

MEN• ADDITIONAL TESTOSTERONE

IN THE SYSTEM, ESPECIALLY SYNTHETIC, CAN CAUSE THE TESTICLES TO SHRINK

• THIS CAN ALSO LEAD TO DECREASED SPERM PRODUCTION

• MEN MAY ALSO EXPERIENCE BALDNESS

• INCREASED RISK OF PROSTATE CANCER

WOMENALTHOUGH WOMEN HAVE SOME TESTOSTERONE IN THEIR BODIES NATURALLY, INCREASING THIS SYNTHETICALLY CAN LEAD TO:• MALE-PATTERENED BALDNESS• EXCESS FACIAL HAIR/BODY

HAIR• DEEPENED VOICE• ALTERATION OF MENSTRUAL

CYCLE

CHILDREN/TEENSINCREASING HORMONE LEVELS IN

CHILDREN AND TEENS WILL SIGNAL THE BODY TO STOP NECESSARY BONE GROWTH,

CAUSING• STUNTED GROWTH• STUNTED HEIGHT

ESSENTIALLY, THE LONG TERM EFFECT IS THAT TEENS WILL SEE THE OPPOSITE EFFECT FROM WHAT THEY WERE SEEKING.

STEROID ABUSE CAN BE LIFE-THREATENING

• MAJOR HEALTH EFFECTS OF STEROID ABUSE INCLUDE LIVER FAILURE, KIDNEY FAILURE, AND A NUMBER OF HEART-HEALTH ISSUES INCLUDING• INCREASED BLOOD PRESSURE• INCREASED SIZE OF THE HEART• CHANGES TO BLOOD CHOLESTEROL• INCREASED RISK OF HEART ATTACK

AND STROKE, EVEN AT YOUNG AGES

TREATMENT OPTIONS

• EVEN THOUGH ANABOLIC STEROIDS DO NOT CREATE THE HIGH THAT OTHER DRUGS DO, THEY CAN STILL BE ADDICTIVE

• SUDDEN DISCONTINUATION OF STEROID ABUSE CAN LEAD TO WITHDRAWAL, THEREFORE SOME PATIENTS HAVE REQUIRED MEDICINAL INTERVENTION/THERAPY

• BEHAVIORAL THERAPY HAS ALSO BEEN EFFECTIVE IN SOME PATIENTS

YOU DECIDE: SHOULD STEROIDS BE INCLUDED IN THE WAR AGAINST DRUGS?

SOME POINTS TO CONSIDER:• STEROIDS ARE NOT SOUGHT OUT FOR A “HIGH” AS THEY DO NOT AFFECT THE BRAIN AND BODY

THE SAME WAY OTHER DRUGS DO• STEROID USE APPEARS TO BE ON THE DECLINE WITH TEENAGERS, DOWN TO APPROXIMATELY 1.5%• STEROID USE IS ESTIMATED TO BE BETWEEN 1-6% OF ATHLETES• OUTSIDE OF PROFESSIONAL SPORTS, VERY LITTLE RESEARCH HAS BEEN CONDUCTED ON STEROID

USE, ABUSE, AND TREATMENT OPTIONSSO…

IS IT A NON-PROBLEM OR AN UNKNOWN PROBLEM?

REFERENCES

NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE (2006) RESEARCH REPORT SERIES, ANABOLIC STEROID ABUSE. RETRIEVED FROM: HTTPS://WWW.DRUGABUSE.GOV/PUBLICATIONS/DRUGFACTS/ANABOLIC-STEROIDSBERNTON, H. (NOV 20, 2010) STEROID USE ON THE RISE IN THE ARMY, SEATTLE TIMES. RETRIEVED FROM: HTTP://WWW.SEATTLETIMES.COM/SEATTLE-NEWS/STEROID-USE-ON-THE-RISE-IN-THE-ARMY/