Long-Term Side Effects:

-  Hypertension

-  Heart Disease

-  Liver Damage

-  Eating Disorder

-  Elevated Cholesterol

-  Stunted Growth

-  HIV (from sharing needles)

Short-Term Side Effects:

-   Headaches

-  Nosebleeds

-  Acne

-  Stomach pain

-  Increased heart rate

- Increased blood pressure

- Fluid retention

- Muscle tightness

- Muscle cramps

- Tendon problems

- Moodiness

There are some pretty serious side
effects on the above list, however, not everyone that takes steroids
experiences every side effect listed and this is by no means a comprehensive
list. The side effects depend on what type of steroid you’re taking, whether or
not you are stacking the substance, and the duration of use.

-  Anabolic steroids are synthetic derivatives of the male hormone testosterone, which
promote the growth of skeletal muscle and increase lean body mass.

-  You can administer the drug in one of two ways: Orally by taking a pill or by injection using a needle

- Side effects of using steroids can include liver damage, heart disease, delusions, elevated cholesterol, and hypertension just to name a few.

- Steroids are taken in cycles of weeks or months rather than continuous use.

- Steroids are often “stacked.” Stacking steroids is the practice of taking more than one at the same time in order to maximize the benefits of a particular drug and to minimize the side effects.

- Anabolic steroids can increase your endurance, strength, and lean muscle mass.

- Short term negative effects of using steroids can include moodiness, headaches, nose
bleeds, acne, stomach pain, increased heart rate, fluid retention, and muscle cramps.

• Anabolic steroids are a compound or a group of artificial hormones, which are usually derived from testosterone that can produce many physiological effects. These effects can include an increased protein synthesis, strength, muscle mass, and bone growth. Basically the steroids increase protein synthesis within the cells which results in a buildup of cellular tissue, especially within the muscles.

It is no secret that anabolic steroids have some advesrs side effects.  However, even with this concern many people still take them in order to achieve goals that might not be obtainable otherwise. Some of the long term risks of using this drug include

• Unsafe changes in cholesterol
• High blood pressure
• Liver damage

Steroids might also affect conditions pertaining to hormonal imbalances
such as gynecomastia, which is the abnormal development of large mammary glands
with cause increased breast size.

There have been many arguments, even by the commissioner of the NBA David Stern that
basketball players do not benefit from steroid use. His argument consists of several different points. Below is a couple of those points.

Two good reasons why NBA players to not need to use steroids

• The movements NBA Players make are much different than that of an NFL or MLB athlete.
• NBA Players do not need bulk. They need lean, flexible muscle to perform at a high level

Convsersley there are arguments that try to prove the commissioner, and any other advocates that say there is no steroid problem in the NBA, wrong. Arguments such as:

• NBA athletes can jump higher, run faster down court, and move quicker if they used the drug.
• Every athlete can benefit from being stronger
• Steroids do not necessarily make you huge if you take the right type

There are absolutely bigger and stronger athletes in the NBA today than there was 30 years ago. However, that could be contributed to better diets that have been discovered as
well as new technology implemented into newer workout routings. Nonetheless,
the argument about steroid use in the NBA will surely continue for a long time
to come.

• Physical Appearance

Everyone wants to get that stellar
ripped body. However, it is extremely hard for to obtain those that hard
chiseled and ripped looked. It takes a lot of time and dedication to get your
body in that kind of shape. Not to mention the diet that you have to follow.
Therefore, people turn to anabolic steroids in order to greatly increase the
speed of that process. This is why many people use the drug. It makes it so
much easier to get that body you’ve always wanted, with half the time
investment and half the work.

• Athletic Performance

The drug is used in almost every sport in
order for athletes to gain that competitive edge and potentially make loads of
cash that they would have otherwise not been able to make because they would
not have been performing at such a high level.

• Strength Gains

Some people simply want to become
stronger.  You can absolutely become
stronger with just natural gains, however it may take a while before you are
noticing sizeable jumps in the amount of weight you can bench press. Therefore,
people turn to steroids in order to get huge gains in strength in short amounts
of time.

Five hundred people who used steroids
were surveyed with most of the users using steroids merely to help their
physical appearance. Almost all of the users that were surveyed declared that
they experienced adverse side effects from using the substance. Even knowing
their health was at risk though did not stop or even slow down their use of
steroids.

The breakdown of users that participated in the survey was as follows:

• 99.2% reported subjective side effects to using steroids
• 78.4% were non-competitive body-builders and non-athletes
• 99.2% self administered their injections
• 13.0% of those reported unsafe administering practices such as re-using needles and sharing needles
• 60.0% reported using at least 1000mg of testosterone per week

The survey proved that steroid use
becomes such a prevalent part of people’s lives that health concerns do not
matter much to them. Users of the substance believe the benefits outweigh the
negatives.

These alternatives work because they generate effects to your body
similar to anabolic steroids. A few reasons one might choose a steroid
substitute is because

• They are legal. Because they can’t be converted
  into hormones until ingestion this makes them legal to take.
• Steroid alternatives are also cheaper than
  purchasing the real thing.
• If you get your hands on a good product they can
  have very close to the same effect as anabolic steroids and these effects can
  last up to a year. However, with some of these alternatives you get what you
  pay for. Some of them do not work very well and/or last very long. Some of them
  only stay in your system for as little as a few hours.

There is also health risks related to using alternatives as well. The
risks aren’t just related to the real thing. Therefore, just as using the real
deal a lot of research is most definitely a must prior to taking the substance.
Just because something is legal does not make it safe to take.

- Marion Jones – United States Track and Field

- Ben Johnson – Canadian Sprinter

- Mabel Fonseca –Puerto Rico Wrestling

-Szymon Kolecki - Polish Weight Lifter

- Antonio Pettigrew- United States Sprinter

These athletesare only a fraction of the Olympians that have been caught using steroids or
some other performance enhancing drug. So this raises the question why do
Olympic athletes use steroids and how do some of these athletes pass the drug
tests prior to the Olympic Games?

Well, Olympic athletes use steroids for the same reason any other athlete would.

• Steroids are known to increase performance.
  Therefore, athletes will do almost anything to be the best at what they do and
  win, and in the case of the Olympics, take home a gold medal.

So how are these athletes that take steroids passing the drug screenings? Well, there are
many different types of steroids available on the market today, and one of
these is called tetrahydrogestrinone, or THG. THG was known as the “clear,”
because prior to the 2000 Sydney Olympics this drug was undetectable by the
standard drug screenings. This is how Olympians such as Marion Jones and
Antonio Pettigrew passed their drug screenings and were able to compete. The
use of this new drug was only discovered because an anonymous coach sent in a
used syringe to the U.S. officials in the fall of 2003. No doubt that there has
since been a drug new drug screening required by the Olympic officials that can
now detect the use of THG.

1) This first rule applies to buying steroids in
general. However, it is especially important if you’re purchasing online and
it’s your first time to buy steroids. Make sure you know which steroid you are
going to purchase. There are different types of steroids available, and when
you’re purchasing online you may come across a website really pushing you to
purchase a specific type so they can profit more from your purchase. Do not let
that sales pitch fool you. Make sure you do proper research from other sources
prior to making your purchase so you get what you really need and not what they
want you to buy.

2) This tip is one of the most important things to
look for when buying steroids on the internet – Ensure you are purchasing from
a legitimate source. There are so many websites out there that just want your
money so they sell you the product without giving you all the proper
information. This is also why step number 2 is so important. Before you
purchase from a company you should already know what you’re looking for and
know how it’s going to affect you. If what they say is different from what you
already know then you probably should not purchase from them. Also make sure
the company is credible. Do some additional research on them and make sure they
are selling legitimate product. Also keep in mind that what you are purchasing
is illegal so make sure it’s from a trustworthy source as well.

3) This last tip applies to purchasing steroids in
any situation. Make sure you know why you are buying the steroids prior to
purchasing them. If you have came across a website that is full of promises of
what steroids can do you for you, don’t be fooled. Yes, steroids can absolutely
help you in many different ways but there are costs associated with that help.
Make sure you know what kind of side effects is associated with taking the drug
and don’t take them because some online ad is trying to sell them to you.

-  Anabolic steroids are synthetic derivatives of the male hormone testosterone, which
promote the growth of skeletal muscle and increase lean body mass.

- You can administer the drug in one of two ways: Orally by taking a pill or by
injection using a needle

- Steroids are taken in cycles of weeks or months rather than continuous use.

- Side effects of using steroids can include liver damage, heart disease, delusions, elevated
cholesterol, and hypertension just to name a few.

- Steroids are often “stacked.” Stacking steroids is the practice of taking more than one at
the same time in order to maximize the benefits of a particular drug and to
minimize the side effects.

- Anabolic steroids can increase your endurance, strength, and lean muscle mass.

- Short term negative effects of using steroids can include moodiness, headaches, nose
bleeds, acne, stomach pain, increased heart rate, fluid retention, and muscle
cramps.