Q: My mom just got some Prednisone pills. On the package from the pharmacy, it says they are steroids. If I snuck a few of these, would I be able to make a cycle out of them and gain some size? I’ve never done steroids before, but I’d like to try. These came from her doctor so I can’t get busted for them!

A: I think you misunderstand the term steroid. There are several classes of steroids. One is anabolic/ androgenic steroids, which is what the world of bodybuilding uses, one is female hormones, such as estrogen and progesterone, and another is a group called “corticosteroids”, which is a class of steroids used for anti-inflammatory action. That’s the one your mother was prescribed. Prednisone is a corticosteroid, not an anabolic steroid, so it’s not going to help you add size to your physique. Corticosteroids are produced by the cortex of the adrenal glands and they are any steroid that has to do with the adrenal cortex. These include steroids that influence the key processes of the body, such as carbohydrate and protein metabolism, electrolyte and water balance, and functions of the cardiovascular system, skeletal muscle and kidneys. Drugs like hydrocortisone (cream or pill) prednisone, dexamethasone and glucocortoids have major anti-inflammatory effects on the body. They can come in topical creams and eye drops that allow the tissue to heal wherever they are applied. Inhaled steroids, as in Albuterol and other inhalants, do anti-allergy work by suppressing the inflammation response in the lungs, nasal passages and airways of the throat. People who have been prescribed corticosteroids are often surgery patients who need the extra cortisol to combat the stress of an operation, infection or trauma of some kind. Corticosteroids also act on the immune system by blocking the production of substances that trigger allergic and inflammatory actions, such as prostaglandins. They are even used, at times, for aid in emotional problems because of their stress fighting abilities, or injected into a joint for pain and inflammation relief. Many uses for corticosteroids exist, but building muscle is not one of them. In fact, much bodybuilding and training research concludes that the presence of cortisol is undesirable in terms of building mass and retaining muscle. At the conclusion of an AS cycle (anabolic steroid cycle) the body is often flooded with cortisol—the body’s response to attempting to repair the damage done and to reintroduce cortisol into the body after having had it suppressed during an AS cycle. They are not cooperative steroids. I hope that answered your question and that you don’t raid your mom’s pill stash—she probably needs it, whereas you don’t!

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