[Closed] steroids

What exactly do you expect to get from this thread?

All you need to know: http://www.outsideonline.com/fitness/Drug-Test.html

A six pack, buns of steel and loads of abuse

I'm not sure middle-aged skinny and/or fat cyclists are the ones to ask. Try muscletalk.co.uk.

While I usually avoid posting on vaguely medical threads like the plague, my medical* advice is that this is a really, really bad idea. Even if you can find a supplier, you will have no idea what you're actually taking and in what doses, and it's likely they won't either. The drugs you're talking about are a long, long way from being benign.

A six pack, buns of steel and loads of abuse

In terms of side effects, shall we start with premature cardiovascular disease and testicular failure?

*GMC number available on request, in case they're watching.

Mmm after a source 🙂

Just get on ukmuscle asking here is probably an indicator you shouldn't be thinking about them IMHO 🙂

In terms of side effects, shall we start with premature cardiovascular disease and testicular failure?

This.

I get 1-2 people per year referred to me because they want kids or at least a sex life and it isn't happening. If they stop the drugs some of them get lucky but some of them do not.

A six pack, buns of steel and loads of abuse

I can do a crate of beer, six cream buns and a mild ribbing*.

*insert joke here.

Our pet roidosaurus at work is now experiencing the side effect of not being able to turn the collar down on his workshirts as he's too beefcakey. That's possibly a core effect rather than a side effect though.

And to put your mind at ease he vouchsafes:
"No it doesn't ****ing shrink your cock you ****, that's absolute bullshit!
What the **** are you lookin' at? Eh? RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

[img] [/img]

OP in 11 days time...

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Of course not seeing your GP before taking steroids and asking random strangers is the wise choice. No not really.

I've known plenty of friends that have used in different degrees most have got much bigger and felt great then came off a course (6/8 weeks)and lost most of the size and felt like shit and then had to take an anti estrogen drugs and drugs to kick start your body's natural testosterone again. I've got a pal that's 40+ so his natural testosterone is very limited and he has a private doc that gives him test every two weeks plus growth hormone. He's lived in the US where low testosterone and growth hormone levels are treated as an illness. I.e Stallone got caught with both going into OZ by customs!!! His opinion is no one lives forever and why shouldn't he be able to look great and feel great and not feel tired with the testosterone and growth levels of a 21 year old. My opinion is as long as you read and understand the pros and cons. Your an adult and you make your own choice.

There's been a spate of (gorgeous) young male adult 'actors' recently dying through suspected cardiac arrests brought on by steroid abuse.

Depends if you want to live past 35 I guess with a normal temper.

I've got a pal that's 40+ so his natural testosterone is very limited and he has a private doc that gives him test every two weeks plus growth hormone. He's lived in the US where low testosterone and growth hormone levels are treated as an illness. I.e Stallone got caught with both going into OZ by customs!!! His opinion is no one lives forever

Where to start? Firstly, no-one does live forever, but why risk shortening your life or suffering unpleasant side effects (for example, testosterone replacement is associated with prostatic hypertrophy). Secondly, your friend has a doctor overseeing his 'treatment', which is a lot safer than a combination of one of the gym trainers/your mate/drugs you've bought off the internet. Thirdly, as a total aside, this is a demonstration of exactly why the US fee-for-service healthcare model is wrong (if you get a fee for tests/treatment, then human nature is to over-investigate/over-treat).

I'm over 40 what symptoms do I have to fake to get testosterone an hormones 🙂

Just kidding :-p

Wouldn't dream of it if you want to have children. Steroids and peps are not good for the swimmers. Google "steroid shutdown". Doing it "right" is not a simple thing with all of the other stuff you need to take with the steroids and the post cycle therapy (things like clomid).
Interestingly, you can buy steroids pretty easily on the internet. They aren't even expensive.
I'll never say never but I doubt I'll ever do any. Growth hormone on the other hand; I could certainly be tempted if the supply was guaranteed pharma quality and not cripplingly expensive.

Wrecker : in answer to your question yes it is crazy expensive £800+ per month plus steriods plus regular blood tests etc. And doing his own blood sugar tests every other morning. As some one above said I know an ex pro body builder who took growth for years and now has pain in his hands and feet at the joints/nuckles apparently it is a well know side affect of excessive growth hormone. Same as gigantism.
I don't agree or condone with it. but how many people in the world have been using steriods since the 1950s and died from it? And how many died from drinking or smoking.

GH is hugely popular amongst the celebs, and carpel tunnel is a common side. Cost wise, it does depend on dosing; I would imagine that the dosing of pro BBs is well in excess of 10iu's a day, whereas I'd want 4-5. Not keen on injecting though.
Apparently, it's proving very tricky to source. Lots of fakes going around.......

I am amazed at the sheer volume of people using steroids, and also what is realistically achievable without them. It's an eye opener.

Wrecker, his doc is London based and does his client visits in a new Lamborghini. Aparently he cannot supply enough to the rich and famous who see growth hormone as some kind of elixir of youth?

I never cease to be entertained by the irony of having a body the girls love but none of the equipment to keep them happy. Roids are for gimps! HGH fair enough but too expensive for most people and a side affect is hugehhands which is a bit bizzare.

HGH fair enough but too expensive for most people and a side affect is hugehhands which is a bit bizzare

And a big chin. And Obstructive Sleep Apnoea, potentially no driving licence, and no livelihood if you are a professional driver even if treated.

Realise now that I'm never going to get the body I want

Perhaps you just need to reconcile yourself to that fact?

I guess one thing worth mentioning is that you can get the body you want (assuming it doesn't look like the pics posted above) but it will be bloody hard work. I know a fair few people who are seriously "ripped", not body builder size but the kind of fellas who get some serious admiration at the beach. They don't hit the 'roids but they do treat going to the gym as a second job, 5 days per week, long sessions, very little life outside of it. So it is possible, not easy, but possible.

I have been well informed that the body builder look is outdated, the athletic look is where it is at with the ladies these days.

The 'you carry it well' look I am rocking will never be outdated though!

You have very warped ideas of being what it is to be happy if you think being muscley will make you more of a man. Your feelings of inadequacy is what you need to look at.

who see growth hormone as some kind of elixir of youth?

You have very warped ideas of being what it is to be happy if you think being [s]muscley[/s] fast on a bicycle will make you more of a man. Your feelings of inadequacy is what you need to look at.

Live and let live dude.

the athletic look is where it is at with the ladies these days.

when I was seriously into gymnastics I had a 6 pack. Weighed 40 ishkg an eating disorder and no periods to go with them, but a 6 pack. 🙄

don't think it's worth it personally.

I used to get my hair cut by a lad who'd been a competitive bodybuilder. Asked him once what sort of side effects he or his mates had had from steroids and he said "the only people stupid enough to do steroids are the bouncers and the lazy bastards who don't train properly - that stuff'll **** you up"

I thought, "clever lad"

he followed it up with "I used to use insulin & growth hormone though" - and this is 20+yrs ago 😯

Spent 20 years around bodybuilding and power sports before getting into cycling again.

I realised that I wouldn't get the body I wanted without drugs.

A couple of mates tried them. One had internal organ problems, the other got [i]seriously[/i] aggressive.

At that point I realised that the problem wasn't with my body, it was with my mind. Once I'd adjusted what I could realistically achieve with smart training and proper nutritional advice, turned out the body I had was much better than average, but nowhere near Mens Health standard, which was all it was ever designed to achieve.

The body producing less and less growth hormone is the reason we age (or so I understood)

Taking it might temporarily reverse some of the effects of ageing but declining production is not the reason why we age.

I could tell you lots of crazy tales of steroid abuse, from folk taking bull steroids to Thai growth hormone (intended for who knows what), some having to queue with smackheads for needles, and having to have operations to remove gristle between muscles (quite a few of them).

All I will say is I think most of them are idiots. Those on the test look purple, and those on the GH are taking god knows what...it's £170 a shot (too cheap) and most are going halves once a fortnight.

Interesting thread for a change.

I have used on and off over the years.

Steroids are not illegal drugs, in many cases the pharmaceutical grade stuff are legitimate meds used for hormone imbalances, male menopause, delayed puberty, hypogonadism, transgender reassignment etc etc

They are all either analogues of testosterone or compounds designed to mimic or improve on testosterone.
Coming off a cycle can see a period of time from weeks to months until your own endogenous testosterone starts flowing again...this can be sped up via the use of PCT (post cycle therapy) meds designed to get your testes making their own hormones again.
If the testosterone is low then you can suffer with erectile dysfunction....stuff like small dick, roid rage etc are grossly exagerated by the media, if you're and aggressive arse then you'll still be an aggressive arse on steroids....if you're not then you wont, steroids dont turn you into a psychopath.

Low doses are key, you'll see loadsof stuff on forums about using 1000mg a week of test...this is nuts, half or even a quarter of this once a week is fine and will not produce any of the other nonsense the media bangs on about like acne, gynocomastia (oestrogen rebound resulting in 'bitch tits' as the expression goes).

Cycle length can be as long as you like, once you start injecting exogenous testosterone your own production stops so it doesnt matter if you're on for 6 weeks or 16 weeks, the damage has been done so to speak and coming off is the same either way.
If you eat clean, take in some cardio and keep training post cycle then you'll keep a surprising amount of your gains...another myth is that you lose it when you come off, this is simply due to lazy users who dont enjoy training when they come off and let all their gains go.

Orals can be liver toxic, i have used oral compounds that have turned my pee dark/orange despite taking on 3 litres+ of water a day...not nice and did make me concerned about what was going into my body, i tend to use injectables only now as they are less harsh on the liver and kidneys.
Needles can be brought on ebay, perfectly legally, there are videos on how to do it right.
Sources can be found on 'eroids' website, like i said earlier they are not illegal drugs they are prescription only meds and being in possession of them is fine...what is illegal is supplying them without a prescription so the sites on the web selling them are breaking the law but you arent breaking the law in buying them....wierd i know, very much a grey area although i believe they have now made it illegal to order from outside the UK so find a UK source on 'eroids' which is easy enough.

I will get flamed for this post if not have it deleted but it sounds like you've made your mind up, do plenty of reading up, go for the odd blood pressure check with your GP and the general rule among long time users is that time spent on cycle should match time spent off cycle to keep things relatively healthy.

(enjoy, being on cycle is awesome...you'll feel like a rampant 17 year old again and lift like a hero in the gym, the body transformation is very satisfying)

You could also try peptides instead of steroids, they are legal and things like GHRP-6, GHRP-2 etc etc are cheap and stimulate your body into producing more growth hormone than it would otherwise, easier injection via the sub cutaneous route too.

Steroids are not illegal drugs, in many cases the pharmaceutical grade stuff are legitimate meds used for hormone imbalances, male menopause, delayed puberty, hypogonadism, transgender reassignment etc etc

You can't just go and buy them over the counter though.

You are aware, are you, that huge muscles aren't much use for anything other than looking like huge muscles?

Not so! They're ideal for displaying your ribbon collection..

[img] [/img]

If it's just the look you're after why not just do away with all the effort and go for some suitable implants?

Spend your money on a psychologist and a uksca accredited coach.
Ignore the sciency sounding guy trying to make it sound reasonable, it's just a version of reality to justify what he's done, still a very bad idea.

Steroids may be legitimate drugs for certain medical conditions, but that doesn't mean they're safe to use for recreational purposes. There's a reason why you can't buy them over the counter. I'd steer well clear.

Some interesting points. I haven't tried it and probably never will. If I had a source for hgh and knew it was a good source I probably would.
It seems there is a lot of myths and bad media About steroids which mainly comes from people abusing a drug which Is already a risk. I'd imagine if you're getting results it's addictive to take more and more.
I don't have some self esteem issue and feel the need to look like a gorilla like some people suggest.

This is an interesting watch on steroids.

Trailer

Full film

And I'm not.saying this is scientific research. Just an interesting watch

One thing that's not been said though is the importance of having low body fat before starting, less than 12%. The first time I took steroids the results where great, second time while 17% body fat I looked like a big red chipmonk.
The hormone oestrogen is stored in fat and will convert most of the test and that's where you will get side effects and they will be much less effective. You will look like a big puffy version of yourself. Diet right down first and then eat lots but eat clean while on.
Test enanthate you can inject less often, once a week even but you will hold more water.
Other test you will need to inject every third day.
Deca with test will make you grow quick but again it's bloat.

I haven't taken anything in a long time but if I were to do it again it would be short ester test, primabolan (if you can get it legitimately) low dose tren and 5iu of pharma grade hgh a day.
I wouldn't take as low as 250mgs of test as was suggested, it will work great for 8-12weeks but after that your natural test will totally shut down, the gear won't work and you will be a hormonal hitch.
All that said, don't ask on the internet or gym rats, bodybuilders are among the biggest liars on the planet. Find a competitive body builder you know and trust and ask him.

Interesting thread. I dont get the mentality of screwing with your body to get some bigger muscles though. I guess its upgradeitis on a different level.

I dont get the mentality of screwing with your body to get some bigger muscles though.

On some level (ignoring the fact that doping is illegal and unethical), I can see why professional sportspeople might risk their long term health/shortening their lives in order to feed an overwhelming desire to win. However, doing so for no other reason than vanity is utterly crazy.

The thing that gives it a bad rep is the abuse and the 'I'll take more I'll get bigger attitude'. When you consider that with the right genetics you can look like a men's health cover on less than 1000mgs of anabolics it's mad to think there are guys who will never win a show on 5000mgs of anabolics, 15-30iu of hgh, and large doses of insulin that will make them diabetic for life, bald, distended stomach, kidney failure, carpel tunnel ect..... It's like comparing a junkie to someone who did ecstasy once at a party.

Looks good and healthy.

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Doesn't

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I'll be honest if I looked like brad Pitt ill be happy!!

Yeah but Bradd Pitts full time job is being Brad and how much time do we reckon he spends training 🙂

You do realise that you can cut with steroids ?

With or without steroids getting into the shape of media images we see all the time is hard work.

Tbh men's health models are in good shape but nowhere near the size of a bodybuilder. You could obtain a mh body by diet an exercise if you so desired just gotta nail the diet which is tricky...

Oh yeah an I'm not getting into the dieting there's stuff for that an all ...it's not all steroids ya know 🙂

I don't have some self esteem issue

You know how stupid that sounds right?!!! 😆

TBH

I don't understand why why I can't go to the docs and get steroid injections in a properly controlled monitored way....

We have way more issues with Drink ,smoking and obesity related health issues but they don't stop you buying those things.

Have you ever noticed that all the cheap food offers are for crap 🙂

I think deviants post was good, it told of his own opinion and clearly he knows more than most on here.
Never going to get a positive reaction on this forum mind. Imagine if he went and put on a bodybuilding forum that he wanted to get into endurance cycling and was down to 65kg, they would like think it was horrific.

In short, you make your own choices in life.

You'll find a lot of cyclists on those forums. Mostly track cyclists but you'll find epo chatter from the endurance boys too. They're a broad minded lot.

Tbh I find the muscle forums good...

They aren't there to force you into it and TBH I think the OP would be slightly flamed but not totally roasted.

They sorta try and help people from doing stupider things.

I don't understand why why I can't go to the docs and get steroid injections in a properly controlled monitored way....
We have way more issues with Drink ,smoking and obesity related health issues but they don't stop you buying those things.

Put simply, there is a big difference between not stopping people buying booze, fags and KFC, and providing them on prescription, which is what you're suggesting. In any case, as you'll no doubt be aware, we don't have a limitless NHS budget, and as far as I'm concerned providing people with state-sponsored doping regimes is somewhere near the bottom of the priority list.

we don't have a limitless NHS budget

However, providing them on private prescriptions would at least mean they're getting them under proper supervision...

Dude of doom makes a good point. People are happy to smoke, drink and eat foods with all sorts of chemical additives. Eat meat that's pumped full of drugs and antibiotics but if you mention steroids people seem to be horrified.
Cortisone injections are common place and is that not a steroid?

Cheers yunki. Made me chuckle. I'll be shouting that all day now

Nice to see a good interesting debate with good points from both sides. Seems a rarity on stw

Cortisone injections are common place and is that not a steroid?

Hydrocortisone is indeed a steroid, but I'd argue they weren't commonplace. About the only indication is eg. joint injections to reduce local inflammation, and even then they're used cautiously because of the systemic side effects.

TBH

I don't understand why why I can't go to the docs and get steroid injections in a properly controlled monitored way....

You can, I'm sure private doctors offer this service. A lot of the leading men Hollywood bods are helped pharmacologically

@ratherbeintobago

Was thinking about private prescription type thing as opposed to nhs TBH.

I vaguely remember some ahem glamour model getting implants on the NHS...not sure where that fits on the priority list either 🙂

It's the support service of proper monitoring/supervision if there's a demand may as well offer the service to subsidise the nhs.

I don't understand why why I can't go to the docs and get steroid injections in a properly controlled monitored way

'want' and 'need' are two different things. If you need them, you can.

if you trained hard ( not neccessary for long (maybe 1 hour max) but hard ) consistently for 3 times a week with a progressive programme starting easy, then eat and sleep well, you'll be really surprised at the results your get and maintain. Also rest days are just as important as training days, so do not overdo it. Cycling is also good to combine. There's no reason you shouldn't be getting results by now. Will not happen overnight but your get their naturally and reap the health benefits. Plus if you cycle you wouldn't need to do any imo boring cv work and if you organise rest days well, your cycling strength will be brilliant. Have a look at different types of gym around you, not just the ones full of running machines. Take care of your joints and keep good form, to avoid injury. If you'll not getting the results at the moment get a decent no bs basic old school training book and read it or get a decent programme or trainer. What the [i]Other guys[/i] will be able to do though ( i expect )is prolly train harder for longer with less recovery, which if you think about it isn;t really doing your body any favours in the long run anyway imho and isn't really going to help with cycling much either. Aim to keep upping your intensity. Reminds me I must get back in shape. 😳

My mate used to take them Untill he grabbed his son by the scruff of the neck and nearly throttled him for shouting loudly on a Sunday morning.....his son is only 4 years old.

We get a small but steady stream of "gym-bunnies" through the cardiac cath lab having had a big heart attack and needing their arteries unblocked as an emergency. Steroid users seem to get accelerated heart disease (made worse by also using amphetamines and cocaine for fat-burning/recreation) such that they are presenting in their 30s and 40s instead of their 60s and 70s. The youngest I've seen was 27 - he had a massive heart attack and was left with 10% of his heart function 😯

I'm sure anabolic steroids aren't as dangerous as smoking, alcohol or some other recreational drugs, but I personally wouldn't take them, or advise anyone else that they were a good idea.

My two penneth.

I started going to the gym after realising that I wasn't getting out on the bike anywhere near enough and was losing fitness and expanding round the middle. I've been going for almost 3 months and am very happy with the progress I'm making. Fitness up, body fat down, muscle growth and definition improving. As I'm 48 I know that the targets I've set myself won't happen overnight.

Realise now that I'm never going to get the body I want without taking drugs

Unless you want to resemble The Hulk I'd question this. The fact that you are immediately (8 months isn't long) reaching for artificial assistance suggests a streak of laziness. Apologies if I'm wrong. Also have you looked at your diet and lifestyle outside of the gym? Changing both can have a *massive* impact. Do some research, it's fun. Also set some realistic short and medium term targets.

Good luck!

I agree with coyote,why not take your training 6 months at a time,set a goal and stick to it,if you don't like the idea of exercising then you really shouldn't put yourself through it,there are other training aids that will help you with your gains other than steds.

even 2 days a week with a mid week ride and consistency will do wonders and doesn't even need to be such hard graft for toning etc.Depends on your goals. Good luck. 🙂

Post a pic of what you look like now and another of what you'd like to achieve?

I'd try the Stronglifts 5x5 routine.....

It's nice an simple and you can get an app to keep track of weights so it's simples.
(I used to do do a complicated split in the gym but now do this when training at home as it requires less equipment )

it's old school just gotta watch your form but it's good,

With the right diet and the riding for cardio you'd get good results.

Surely all one has to do is eat KFC and Macdonald's burgers.

There should be enough hormones in there to grow some extra muscle with suitable exercise. 🙂

I've got a prescription for steroids that I've not picked
up because the side effects have put me off them. But I'm sure they are not the same kind.

I've got a prescription for steroids that I've not picked up because the side effects have put me off them. But I'm sure they are not the same kind.

You're right, they're not the same kind, but the thing with steroid hormones is that, in supranormal doses, they affect other systems as well as the ones they're meant to work on (hence why taking androgens leads to high blood pressure etc).

Been a gym rat this year for around 8 months now and weightlifting on and off for a fair few years. Realise now that I'm never going to get the body I want without taking drugs. I hate the idea as it seems like cheating and if I'm honest I don't have to bottle to do it anyway even if I could find a supplier.

Bit late to the thread but, my take:

8 months is, erm, how can I phrase this? It's not very long to go at the weights if you're serious.

Come back after a couple more years of training seriously and dieting properly (bulking and cutting) and then see where you're at and whether you want to play off the health risks against the strength/size gains.

Most folk are probably looking at about 5 years before reaching natural limits, so 8 months? It's like having a bit of a tickle at the iron and deciding it looks too difficult. Get real with the timescales and end results...

Gear? I've seen a few guys go a bit wrong from gear (worst one was a lost limb due to blood clotting but massive doses, terrible terrible diet, smoking and - my guess - some recreational abuse as well) BUT also seen the vast majority of guys will use smaller doses for some decent gains without seeming to have many problems (IANA doctor, I don't know any private short or long term effects, etc).

From memory gear will stuff about 20lbs onto you if you train/eat right and increase your lifts by something like 20% or 25%. Decide for yourself whether those numbers are worth it.

Can I just add that if you've been at this gym for 8 months and not even had a sniff of someone using and dealing the gear, then you are probably not at a hardcore body building gym. Is it a bit MTV and lycra at yours?

Even the manager at my local 'posh' gym (Nuffield Health) was on gear and had terrible acne to show for it.

Hire a personal trainer and a dietician.

Frankenstein - Member
Hire a personal trainer and a dietician.

For the kind of money people on this thread are talking about for growth hormones, this seems like a pretty good idea!

This is a great thread btw, really informative...

I guess one thing worth mentioning is that you can get the body you want (assuming it doesn't look like the pics posted above) but it will be bloody hard work. I know a fair few people who are seriously "ripped", not body builder size but the kind of fellas who get some serious admiration at the beach. They don't hit the 'roids but they do treat going to the gym as a second job, 5 days per week, long sessions, very little life outside of it. So it is possible, not easy, but possible.

I suppose everyones different but my housemate was paniagua (well, I guess the bodybuilding equivelent would be 800g of turkey mince and whey protein shakes for dinner) for ages and absolutely huge. His routine was 20-30min 4x a week. I went to the gym with him for a short time but ended up going on my own as his routine was just to efficient, just walked in, did the 4-5 things he'd planned to do, and walked out. The rest of his day was spent expending as little energy as possible. He then went on insulin/GH/steroids and got huge, but he was very big beforehand, so it is doable without it being a 2nd job.

When he started dopeing he did have to start doing more cardio morning and night though.

For the kind of money people on this thread are talking about for growth hormones