With Steroid use becoming all the more widespread, the probability for both lifters and non-lifters to experience the effects of these substances is skyrocketing as well.
On the surface, using these drugs would seem a no brainer. Almost double the energy you currently have, enhanced strength & muscle building potential, 2-3 times less the recovery time needed after sessions, as well as bonus benefits like increased libido. But if it were all sunshine and rainbows, everyone would rush to their pharmacist to start their first cycle.
In fact, this post is intended to shed light on the 5 major highly neglected yet extremely critical side effects most users experience from Anabolic Steroids. And if you're still willing to inject TRT or any other drug in your blood after reading the following, I'm truly sorry for you.
The Need For Constant Medical Examinations
Getting yourself on steroids is like adding a Turbocharger on your car. Regardless of how well structured and tied together the build is, you still have to go through all the daily maintenance and constantly risk something breaking down.
Same goes for your body on Steroids. Blood exams on a weekly basis become a necessity, if you don't want to experience sudden irreplaceable damage to your health. And even then, something can always go wrong. It's like always living on the edge, praying that nothing you didn't take into account can mess you up to the point of no return.
Your Body Is Never The Same Again
Alright, fair enough. You might have gotten off these drugs and maintained a relatively healthy build, even better than your first truly natural frame. Even still, there are both internal and extrernal consequences that ought to be addressed.
Your body isn't used to this much testosterone production, and this hormonal imbalance is bound to bring a whole lot of mess. On the obvious side effects, infertility is one of the most common, even making you totally sterile. Certain others include indigestion, spots appearing all over your body, osteoporosis, eating disorders and even eye conditions like glaucoma.
Your body also ceases the natural production of testosterone when blasting steroids, so it'll take months of you having less testosterone than a female once you get off them before you get to recover – if you're ever fully recovered. Stop thinking about getting off these drugs at some point: you're much better off never taking up cycles in the first place.
The Mental Aspect
With all these raging hormones and constant changes to your body, it's only expected that your mental health will also start to diminish. Many users report severe cases of insomnia, losing quality sleep or not getting any sleep at all for many days in a week.
Not only that, the abrupt spark in testosterone once you get back on cycles can cause emotional breakdowns, short tempers and violent outbursts for a long time. It is not uncommon to see cases of depression caused by perceived body dysmorphia or mind-function shifts due to the hormonal imbalance. And here come the septic shocks and heart failures.
Intense Stress & Anxiety
With all that going on, it's only natural that most people using these drugs will experience daily and intolerable amounts of stress. Very few things function normally, you can't keep a steady mood, all the while losing sleep due to hormones raging. Not to mention constantly worrying about whether you'll be healthy enough to see another sunrise.
I don't know if that sounds appealing, but I think that's too high a price to pay just to look good & perform better. Which brings me to my next and final point:
The Illusion Of Improvement
While there's no doubt you'll become stronger, bigger and draw more attention than most people in your gym, but is that really all you're risking your life for?
A natural lifter can stay in the game longer, make a higher effort to achieve his training goals, all the while being able to enjoy a much better quality of life outside the gym.
I've seen countless doped Bodybuilders and strength athletes who got into using these drugs just to fill their insecurities by getting bigger. Now, they're obsessed with their looks and preserving their performance, unable to function normally outside of their safe zone (which will always remain the gym). Other than that, your social life gets worse, your relationships with others and yourself becomes lacking and you can't focus on any other areas of life. To me, that's a very poor way to live.
The tragic thing about this tale is that they're usually unable to fix the insecurities that resulted in them living this way in the first place. Most of them lack the confidence to put all that muscle into practical use or to defend themselves, so they just cover up in it, praying that nobody gets to disrupt this seemingly tough and monstrous image.
On The Side Effects:
Here's a quick summary of the potential – and very likely – side effects of taking these drugs. Starting with your internals, kidney problems / failure, a weakened immune system, liver damage, an enlarged heart accompanied by high blood pressure and constant fluctuations between cholesterol and blood sugar levels are some of the sweet gifts when opening the "Pandora's box".
If you happen to avoid the strokes and heart attacks from all that, the list still goes on. Genital damage even leading to infertility, as well as an irritated skin that produces bleeding acne is shared amongst more than 90% of users. Pair that with a highly irritable and unstable emotional condition, resulting in insomnia and –quite often– depression.
There's a fine line between working out to improve physically and mentally – and taking it to an unnatural level that is bound to backfire. If you don't learn to struggle to get what you want for yourself, don't expect to be fulfilled by getting it by vicious means. In this case, you either get your engine to run at its best performance through controlled acceleration, allowing it to run for its full lifespan – or you put some "boosters" on and constantly track its stats to make sure it gets to run another day. Being bigger, lean and outlifting everybody in the gym, while constantly battling hormonal and medical issues just to sustain their ego.
There are some influencers and "role models" out there promoting products and tips with the false promise that YOU will naturally look like they do, if you simply follow/buy what they have to offer. In an age full of deception, stay aware of what lies behind the beautiful image smashed into your face.
Yes, it's true that some people's organisms are overall better suited for Steroid use. However, tackling at least one of these things with these drugs is a nearly inescapable fate. If putting your and your future children's health at constant risk is something you're conscious of, but don't bother bashing drugs regardless, then I am deeply concerned for your cognitive health. I'd rather work harder and realize the potential given to me than pursue a false promise of glory and easy results, gradually poisoning my body and my mind.
I hope you're with me on that, and thank you for reading till the end. It was an honor to be featured in NaturalStrength, the most genuine source for natural athletes to pursue their passion for Strength and excellence. All the best for a life full of progress and fulfillment.
