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Types of anabolic steroids

Anabolic steroids are of several types - oral, injectable, transdermal, and nasal sprays. The two most commonly used types of anabolic steroids, however, are the oral and injectable versions.

The oral anabolic steroids are taken by mouth and you can take them with food of milk if you tend to experience stomach upset anabolic steroids must be stored between 59º to 86º F (15º to 30º C) and you must keep them away from direct sunlight and moisture. You can take anabolic steroids in the bathroom, but do not store them there and do not freeze the liquid forms! Examples of oral anabolic steroids are Anabol and Oxymetholone. Beginners typically opt for oral compounds since they are more convenient to use and are faster acting than other types of anabolic steroids.

The injectable type of anabolic steroids, on the other hand, is generally slow acting when compared to orals. However, the injectable versions are well tolerated by the body since they are not alpha-alkylated (except for Winstrol Depot) unlike most orals. Injectable oral steroids, however, tend to stay longer in the system, and thus if you undergo drug testing it is better to plan your intake of this type of anabolic steroids to avoid detection.

Facts about steroids

These are the facts you need to know about steroids before you use these compounds. There are several misconceptions surrounding these compounds, and let's try to separate the myths from the facts about steroids.

First fact about steroids: Steroids do not cause psychological problems on its users. The term 'roid rage' has been coined because steroid use is allegedly causing paranoia and violent behavior on individuals. The fact that a study has been conducted in 1996 which indicates that supraphysiologic doses of steroids for 10 weeks do not exert any effects on the mood or behavior on healthy male subjects, debunks the myth of roid rage.

Another misconception about steroids is that they are exclusively used by athletes. The obvious fact about steroids now is they are widely used by different people involved in diverse fields - celebrities, models, teenagers, and even members of the military and law enforcement. Individuals who use steroids are those who want to have a good body or those who want to enhance their strength.

There is also this much-circulated misconception about steroids making the penis smaller. The fact is that steroids can make the testicles shrink but not the penis. This is because when steroids are introduced in the body, the testicles stop their production of testosterone thereby decreasing their size due to disuse.

Side Effects:

Anabolic Steroid Side Effects:

The inhibition of natural hormones is probably the most common and probable side effect experienced from the use of Anabolic Steroids. In almost all cases, adding a hormone into your body will send a message to your endocrine system to stop producing it. This is because your body wants to remain in a very balanced state -- called "homeostasis," if I remember my high school biology class correctly. To maintain homeostasis, the body wants to avoid having too much of any particular hormone. To achieve this, the body sends a message to the testicles to slow down, or even stop producing testosterone when there is too much circulating. Unfortunately, this happens when any kind of hormone is added into the body, so even if an athlete is not using testosterone, but is using other Anabolic Steroids, the body will still send this signal 99% of the time.

Liver damage is probably the most sensationalized of all Side Effects possible from steroid use. This particular problem as occurs with every steroid, and in every person who takes them. Nothing could be further than the truth. Most Anabolic Steroids which are ingested orally pass through the liver, which functions as the body´s filtration system. When something goes through the liver, it is broken down by various enzymes, and passed along into the bloodstream. Most research on orally administered Anabolic Steroids focus on the fact that liver enzymes are elevated following ingestion

The development of gynecomastia or feminization of the breast tissue in males is possible with Anabolic Steroids. This is due to an excess of estrogen being present in the body, through a process known as "aromatization" whereby androgens like testosterone are converted to estrogen. This excess estrogen then finds its way to the receptors in breast tissue and binds to them. This results in the possibility of female-like breast tissue, which must sometimes be removed by surgery. Most athletes experience itchiness of the nipples, followed by pain. Since this develops over several days, usually, the athlete usually has more than enough time to discontinue the use of the compounds, or to attempt to counteract the breast tissue development while remaining on the cycle. The two most common ways this is achieved by steroid users is either to use an anti-estrogen like Nolvadex or Arimidex in their cycle afterwards, to destroy the tissue that has developed.

Male breast development occurs in basically the same way as female breast development, and the use of Anabolic Steroids can result in this happening at a later stage in life for males. At puberty a surplus of hormones all combine to stimulate the growth and development of breast tissue.

The initiation and progression of breast development involves a variety of pituitary (and ovarian, in women) hormones, as well as various local mediators. As you can see from the following chart, testosterone has the ability to aromatize (convert to estrogen), and eventually become part of the cascade of hormones that eventually contribute to the development of breast tissue:

Anabolic Steroids can cause the Development of acne and the extent to which it is experienced can be due to a number of varying factors, with the particular steroids and exact dosages used

Increased aggressiveness is often claimed to occur with anabolic steroid use. Although it´s highly rare (less than 5%), significant psychiatric symptoms have been found in some steroid users, including aggression and increased violence, mania, and even psychosis.

Steroids can possibly cause men to start balding if they have a genetic predisposition towards Male Pattern Baldness.

This term refers masculinization, or development of male sexual characteristics that females could potentially suffer from steroid use. This side effect on women is often reversible after the cycle has ended. Some typical signs of virilization are the development of a deeper voice, hirsuitism (growth of excess body hair), enlargement of external genitalia (clitoral enlargement), and possible male pattern baldness, or acne on the face or body. This is all dependent, of course, on the compounds used as well as the dosages employed.

Steroids could cause enlargement of the prostate. In many cases, this enlargement is quickly remedied upon cessation of anabolic steroid use. The first period of prostate growth, occurs first during puberty and is as a result of the testicular secretion of androgens. During adolescence to adulthood, the prostate stays at this stage, despite the relatively high levels of androgens found in the body.

The kidneys can undergo more possible strain during anabolic steroid intake. Kidneys are involved in some of the filtration and excretion systems of the body, and as such, when a foreign substance is administered, they necessarily work harder.

It´s a common side effect of steroids to cause temporary sterility in both males as well as females. Steroids do this by disrupting the various hormones in women which potentiate the ability to have regular menstrual cycles. In men, steroids lower Follicle Stimulating Hormone to the point where normal production of sperm is not possible. This isn´t to say that nobody on a cycle has every conceived; quite the opposite, actually.

Sterility caused by steroids is temporary, of course, and generally reversible by treatment with Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators such as Nolvadex or Clomid , and/or human chorionic gonadotropin.