Steroid Use
When we talk about steroids, it's important to understand that there are illegal anabolic steroids and those that are legally prescribed for certain medical conditions. For example, if a man has had a testicle removed, he may take oral anabolic steroids to replace testosterone. Or, if an adolescent male has a pituitary malfunction, he may be prescribed injectable steroids once he reaches puberty.
“If medically you're deficient in testosterone, it's completely justified to take it to replace what's missing,” says Dr. Richard Bebb, an endocrinologist active in the Men's Health Initiative of BC. “But, in the absence of that, the effect of testosterone on men is short lived. It only works when you're taking it. Many patients use testosterone for a period of time, and eventually stop it, so it's not something that's going to give you a lifelong benefit - it's just when you're on it.”
Because anabolic steroids increase muscle and muscle function, they are popular among athletes to improve sports performance. “Sadly, it has entered the general public's use as well,” says Dr. Bebb. “And, the use of anabolic steroids is becoming more and more common in high schools, in universities, and in certain vocations.”
Some of the effects of steroids may include:
- Testicular shrinkage. “Also, in most men, it will make sperm production go completely to zero,” says Dr. Bebb. “We believe that's reversible in the short term, but over many years, and in a man who's used testosterone for a lot of years, we really don't know whether it's fully reversible or not.”
- Liver damage. Anabolic steroids reduce the excretory function of the liver.
- Gynecomastia
- Erectile dysfunction
- Elevated blood pressure
- Increased risk of heart disease
“The next issue is the type of testosterone that's often used when men are using testosterone through the gym, or some other non-medically approved supply,” says Dr. Bebb. “The types that are used are not testosterone formats that we would use clinically in regular medicine, because they have adverse effects on your cholesterol and can often cause liver toxicity.”
Anabolic steroids are also dangerous because athletes don't know exactly where they are coming from. “Some of the testosterone that gets used has been produced somewhere in third world countries,” says Dr. Bebb. “You really have no idea about the purity and safety of that product that was not approved in a government certified and regularly inspected lab.”
