What are steroids?
Many kinds of steroids occur naturally in various hormones and vitamins. Anabolic Steroids are made in labs and are meant to act like the male sex hormone, testosterone. These types of drugs have muscle-building (anabolic) and masculinization (androgenic) properties.
Anabolic steroids aren't used very often for medical reasons. They are used mainly in farming to make animals gain weight and muscle. They are rarely used to treat humans. They are used to treat delayed puberty, some types of impotence, and for people that have wasting of the body, such as people living with AIDS or other diseases.
Steroid supplements
Steroid supplements such as dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) are converted into testosterone in the body. There hasn't been much research done on steroid supplements. But, if they are taken in large amounts, they probably have the same effects and side effects as anabolic steroids. DHEA is not sold in Canada, but is sold in the USA in health food stores and online.
Where do steroids come from?
You can only get anabolic steroids if your doctor prescribes them. Most steroids used by athletes are smuggled, stolen or made in illegal labs. Veterinary drugs are often used.
Are they legal?
Selling (trafficking) steroids is illegal, but having them is legal.
What do steroids look like?
Anabolic steroids come in the form of tablets, capsules, liquid that can be injected, or a cream or gel that can be rubbed into the skin.
Who uses steroids?
Most people who use steroids for non-medical reasons are athletes that believe these drugs will help them win. Bodybuilders and young men sometimes use them to increase the size of their muscles. The highest increase in usage has been among young women.
Some people take steroids because they have body image problems. They think that they are overweight and/or have small muscles, even when they are lean or muscular.
Sometimes people who have used steroids have been abused or bullied. They want to build muscles to feel safer and be able to protect themselves.
Are steroids dangerous?
Yes. Taking high doses of steroids can lead to:
- heart problems including enlarged heart, high blood pressure, blood clots, heart attack and stroke. Heart failure because of steroid use has happened to athletes younger than 30.
- aggression and violence ("roid rage"), negative personality change, mania and depression, and suicide. Users may feel depressed for up to a year after they stop using the drug.
- reduced fertility in both men and women
- hepatitis, liver enlargement and liver cancer
- reduced growth in children and adolescents, which affects size permanently
- ruptured tendons
- infectious disease from using shared or dirty needles (AIDS or hepatitis)
Are steroids addictive?
Yes, they can be.
Some people that use steroids:
- still take them, even after they cause bad physical or emotional effects
- spend lots of money and time to get the drugs
- have withdrawal symptoms such as:
- mood swings
- feeling tired, restless or depressed
- not feeling hungry
- not being able to sleep
- having a reduced sex drive
- wanting to take more steroids
What are the long term effects of taking steroids?
Some of the effects of steroids go away when the user stops using them. Others are permanent and stay forever. Effects of long-term use include:
- acne, cysts, oily hair and skin, and thinning hair in both sexes;
- feminization in men, including developing permanent breasts;
- testicle shrinking, having a hard time peeing, and a higher risk of prostate cancer;
- masculinization in women, including smaller breasts and lower body fat, coarser skin, larger clitoris, deeper voice, more growth of body hair, loss of scalp hair, and changes or the stopping of the menstrual cycle. If a woman uses steroids for a long time, some of the changes may be permanent;
- In children and teens, bone growth is stopped, and it prevents them from ever growing to full height;
- aggression and violence (but users' personalities go back to normal after they stop using steroids).
For more information about steroid use, click here: http://tinyurl.co.uk/jqqc
(material adapted from CAMH)