Anabolic Steroids

A Threat to Mind and Body

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Abusing Anabolic Steroids

Who Takes Them-and Why?

Today it is not only the college football player or the professional weightlifter or the marathon runner who may use anabolic steroids.

It may be an 18-year-old who loathes his skinny body. Or a 15-year old in a hurry to reach maturity.

Or a policeman who wants more muscle power on the job.

And the use of anabolic steroids is not confined to males. Professional and amateur female athletes-track and field competitors, swimmers, bodybuilders-feel the pressure to triumph, too.

Increasing numbers of adolescents are turning to steroids for cosmetic reasons. In a 1986 survey, as many as 45 percent of 200 high school users cited appearance as a primary reason for taking steroids.

Young people who use steroids defy easy categorizing. They come from cities and rural areas, from poor families and wealthy ones. They are of all races and nationalities. The common link among them is the desire to look, perform and feel better at almost any cost. Users-and especially the young-are apt to ignore or deny warnings about health risks. if they see friends growing taller and stronger on steroids, they want the same benefits. They want to believe in the power of the drug.

How Prevalent is Use?

Surveys and anecdotal evidence indicate that the rate of nonmedical steroids use may be increasing. In 1990, a NIDA survey of high school seniors showed that nearly 3 percent-5 percent of males and 0.5 percent of females-reported using steroids at some time in their lives. The same survey showed that steroids were used within the last year by nearly as many students as crack cocaine and by more students than the hallucinogenic drug PCP.

Use among college females appears to have increased somewhat. A study of 11 universities in 1984 found that steroids users were reported in only one women's sport-swimming-at a rate of 1 percent. In a follow-up survey in 1988, 1 percent of women in track and field and basketball also reported taking steroids.

Use among adult or professional athletes has not been well documented, although anecdotal evidence clearly supports the suggestion that anabolic steroids have enjoyed popularity among football players, weightlifters, wrestlers, and track and field competitors, among others.

Megadosing

Anabolic steroids are usually taken in pill form. Some that cannot be absorbed orally are taken by injection. The normal prescribed daily dose for medical purposes usually averages between 1 and 5 milligrams.

Some athletes, on the other hand, may take up to hundreds of milligrams a day, far exceeding medically recommended dosages.

Operating on the erroneous more-is-better theory, some athletes indulge in a practice known as "stacking." They take many types of steroids, sometimes in combination with other drugs such as stimulants, depressants, pain killers, anti-inflammatories, and other hormones.

Many users "cycle," taking the drugs for 6 to 12 weeks or more, stopping for several weeks and then starting another cycle. They may do this in the belief that by scheduling their steroids intake, they can manipulate test results and escape detection. It is not uncommon for athletes to cycle over a period of months or even years.

Blending. Mixing different drugs. Bulking up. Increasing muscle mass through steroids. Cycling. Taking multiple doses of steroids over a specified period of time, stopping for a time and starting again. Doping. Using drugs and other nonfood substances to improve athletic performance and prowess. Ergogenic drugs. Performance enhancing substances. Megadosing. Taking massive amounts of steroids, by injection or pill. Plateauing. When a drug becomes ineffective at a certain level. Roid rages. Uncontrolled outbursts of anger, frustration or combativeness that may result from using anabolic steroids. Shotgunning. Taking steroids on a hit-or-miss basis. Stacking. Using a combination of anabolic steroids, often in combination with other drugs. Tapering. Slowly decreasing steroids intake.