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11/05/08
Quick question… What is the #1 side effect of anabolic steroids?
Acne? Nope.
Accelerated male pattern baldness? No sir.
Gynecomastia? Not by a mile.
The #1 and most prevalent side effect of steroids is natural hormone inhibition. In other words, your body’s endocrine system stops producing testosterone. When you stop taking steroids, your body produces little or no natural testosterone. Your brain, which is used to abnormally high levels of artificial testosterone, has sent a message to your testicles telling them to slow or completely halt production. You no longer produce testosterone like a male at your age should, and it’s likely you never will.
Okay, but this phenomenon only occurs with testosterone, but not anabolic steroids, right? Nope.
Any foreign hormone introduced to the body causes chemical changes, which alter the signals sent form, the brain, many controlling the stimulation of natural bodily functions. Some steroids have less of an impact, some have a greater impact. Generally, the more effective a steroid is at building muscle, the more impact it will have upon the body’s testosterone production. And the longer the cycle, the longer it will take for your body to recover, if it does at all.
What about professional bodybuilders? How do they recover?
Most bodybuilders that you see on the professional or top national stages will never produce testosterone naturally in their body again. They will be on artificial testosterone therapy for the rest of their lives. At some point, several years into their testosterone supplementation, their brain’s endocrine system finally shut down all testosterone production. Forever. Since it’s reasonable to assume they’ve been continually using high levels of artificial hormones for 5+ years.
Why is this side effect discussed so infrequently?
The #1 reason we don’t hear about this is money. What possible motivation would steroid dealers have for informing their users that prolonged use of this product could require, well, a lifetime use of this product? If every person who was about to run a cycle for the first time was aware of the level of health complexity and commitment they were about to undertake, a lot less of them would embark upon the journey at all. However, the most honest writers will acknowledge that unlike most other drugs, steroid use is very often a lifetime commitment. Or, at the very least, a commitment, which can extend months beyond the stages of actually, using a compound. Make your decisions wisely, and consider the long-term effects of these substances upon your body before taking the plunge!
