Every regular bodybuilder always has the idea of juicing up with steroids, since most think that after putting in all the required work to sculpt their bodied, they need to reap the rewards.
As a matter of fact, most steroid users are just regular guys who just want to bulk up, according to findings published in Endocrine Reviews. The actual numbers of steroid users are hard to come by, though estimates suggest that up to 20 percent of men who do recreational strength training have taken anabolic steroids at some point in their lifting history.
One of the common reasons bodybuilders choose to use anabolic steroids is in hopes of more rapid muscle gains from their workout program. It can actually be very tempting if you workout and see other guys at the gym taking them with huge results.
However, just because steroids are popular doesn’t make them safe. Here are some of the terrible consequences and side effects of steroids every bodybuilder must know.
Uncontrolled Acne
Steroids tend to affect your skin by causing your oil glands to produce more fat and cholesterol, which makes your skin greasier and also prompting your skin to ramp up production of bacteria. A combination of these can clog your pores and lead to pimples.
While the oil and bacteria production and the resulting zits that come with it, will go away after you stop juicing, you could be left with lifelong damage. Acne caused by steroids can be severe and it can also increase the risk for permanent scarring.
High Blood Pressure
The hormones found in steroids can cause your body to retain sodium and fluids within a matter of days. This helps to put extra stress on your blood vessels, which can lead to high blood pressure.
As a matter of fact, when researchers measured the Blood Pressure of regular steroid users, their numbers were, on average, 8 to 10 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) higher compared to men who didn’t take steroids.
Chronically high blood pressure can cause your heart muscles to stiffen, which can lead to heart disease or heart failure.
Even though the effects can be reversed within a few days of stopping steroids, if your heart muscle has already sustained damage, that could lead to a permanent increase in your diastolic blood pressure because your heart has to work harder to pump blood through your body.
Increased Risk Of A Heart Attack
Steroids can increase your low density lipoproteins (LDL or bad) cholesterol and lower your High density Lipoproteins (HDL or good) cholesterol.
Both of these can cause atherosclerosis, a condition when your arteries become more narrow with plaque which can lead to a heart attack. This happens because steroids alter the production of hepatic triglyceride lipase, an enzyme in the liver that’s responsible for cholesterol regulation.
Acting Aggressively
Steroids have the ability to make you irritable and aggressive. They can send you into a full-on rage and make you do things that normally you wouldn’t do. They can also make you more anxious, and you could end up responding violently in an effort to protect yourself.
The high levels of testosterone hijacks your central nervous system and suppresses the production of the feel-good neurotransmitter serotonin which makes you prone to feeling angry or stressed.
Growing Breasts
Male hormones can actually give you man boobs in some months. That’s because certain enzymes in the body can convert testosterone into estradiol (a form of estrogen), which promote the growth of breast tissue.
The worse part of things is that the results will be permanent, even if you stop using the drugs. Once your breast tissue expands, it’ll never go back to its original size.
Baldness
With time, you may notice some of your hair thinning within weeks or months after starting steroids. A High level of the testosterone hormone can induce alopecia, or baldness. And since anabolic steroids send your testosterone levels through the roof, they usually cause hair loss.
Testosterone is so good at causing hair loss that hair-restoring drugs like Propecia actually work by blocking the hormone. Once your hair is gone, it won’t come back—even after you stop using.
Infertility
All the extra testosterone from the steroids can shrink your testicles and reduce your sperm count. Too-high levels of the hormone can suppress the production of luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone, which are important precursors for the testicles to produce sperm.
Problems with sperm production affect almost half of all steroid users. While it is reversible, it can take months or even years for things to get back to normal.
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