Anabolic Steroid Blog. InfoFitness.Net

Nandrolone (AKA 19-Nor-Testosterone or 19-Nor-Androstenolone) is an Anabolic Steroid. As the names suggests, it is related to Testosterone, a “male” hormone produced naturally in humans (male AND female) in varying quantities. All Anabolic steroids have “Androgenic” effects, which are the actions we commonly associate with Testosterone; masculinisation, aggression, virilisation, growth, but only up to a point, and with (serious!) reservations. Anabolic steroids also have “Anabolic” effects, those associated with growth of bone, muscle, red blood cells and mobilization of sugar. These are more the effects sought by athletes abusing this range off drugs. Although some Testosterone type anabolics are orally active, they undergo a very heavy Liver process, removing a lot of their action, and also stressing the liver. Serious abusers, or legitimate patients tend to have injections, or to take safer more orally compatible anabolics like Stanazolol (the drug found twice in Ben Johnston’s blood)

Anabolic steroids when used legitimately are used most often to stimulate some sort of growth, so are used in advanced osteoporosis, certain breast cancers, regeneration of red blood cells in kidney patients, puberty disorders, growth disorders, anemia, and to help gonad development (in males). Illegitimate use is focused on increasing muscle mass and strength, but will also increase red blood cell production, therefore blood thickness and oxygen-carrying capacity.

Nandrolone is produced in both males and females as a metabolite (by-product) of Testosterone, and studies have shown it can be elevated to a very detectable level. The studies however did NOT prove the elevated levels would exceed the IOC threshold for a positive test. They barely reached a quarter of this value.

The risks are something the takers ignore, or the suppliers say nothing about. Added to this is the fact that the IOC was able to find Nandrolone in over 14% of muscle-building supplements it tested, all claiming to be “natural”, “safe” or “steroid free” athletes’ health may be at risk simply by taking untested muscle or strength supplements.

The side effects are horrendous and are MORE likely to be serious the younger athletes take Anabolics. They include virilisation in males, early fusion of growing bones (stops growth) in teenagers, growth of breasts in males, androgenisation of females (loss of feminine sexual characteristics), Liver cancers, hepatitis, heart disease, cholesterol elevation, blood sugar elevation, epileptic fits, fluid retention, and ultimately heart-attack and stroke.

In defence athletes often ask why would anyone take Nandrolone when there are better illegal substances for middle-distance or endurance athletes? This is indeed debatable, and MAY suggest the taking has been more inadvertent, but maybe this last possibility is the exact reason they take it. They can suggest a defence saying it must have been in one of the supplements. Nandrolone helps muscle grow, and muscle stores glycogen, so no matter what the sport, if taken with the right type of training, it will improve endurance, strength and oxygen-carrying capacity.

Athletes should be VERY careful about what they take, and coaches more so. Remember health advice sites are rarely overtly commercial, but sites selling Ephedra, weight-loss and performance products are exactly that - commercial! You may receive a contaminated product in the post, but try chasing up the supplier! It’s a case of - if the substance is found in your system then you are guilty regardless.

Anabolic steroids are artificial (synthetic) versions of the male hormone testosterone that help build muscle. They also enhance masculine characteristics.

Because they can help the body to form lean muscle, they are sometimes used to treat AIDS wasting and weight loss, and doctors sometimes prescribe them to people experiencing fat loss from the limbs because of lipodystrophy. Testosterone supplements are also used to treat low testosterone levels which can develop in people with HIV due to HIV infection, some other infections, anti-HIV drugs and other medicines.

Anabolic steroids are also widely used by body builders and by many people who weight train at the gym.

Anabolic steroid treatment in people with HIV
The anabolic steroids have been studied as a treatment for AIDS wasting, and have been shown to be safe and effective, helping the formation of lean muscle mass. To be most effective, anabolic steroid treatment should be combined with a programme of resistance training.

Studies have been restricted to men because of concerns about the side-effects of steroid treatment for women.

There have been concerns that the use of anabolic steroids can depress the immune system. This has not been looked at in any great detail. The only study to examine this found that neither CD4 nor CD8 cell count were lowered in HIV-positive men with AIDS wasting treated with anabolic steroids.

Anabolic steroids can increase levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol, so their use should be closely monitored particularly if you are taking a protease inhibitor or have any risk factors for heart disease.

Testosterone replacement therapy in people with HIV
It is estimated that as many as 40% of HIV-positive men who are ill because of HIV have low levels of testosterone (hypgonadism). Low testosterone can result in decreased appetite, depression, poor metabolism of food, and sexual problems, including the inability to obtain and maintain an erection.

A blood test can tell if you have low levels of testosterone and your doctor may prescribe you either a short course of oral testosterone replacement therapy, testosterone patches, or testosterone gel.

Although testosterone is usually considered to be the male sexual hormone, it also occurs naturally in women. Testosterone patches have been examined as a treatment for AIDS wasting in women. It was found that weight and quality of life improved for some of the women, and the development of male characteristics was not reported.

Side-effects from testosterone replacement therapy are rare, but can include the shutting down of natural testosterone production, shrinking of the testicles, hair loss, increased sexual desire, and aggression. In women, male characteristics, such as the deepening of the voice, and facial hair may develop.

Anabolic steroid use for non-medical purposes
Anabolic steroids are often used by people who weight train to improve the effects of training and for aesthetic reasons. They are usually used in four-week cycles, followed by a period off “treatment.”

The use of anabolic steroids in this way is rarely medically supervised, and this may involve considerable health risks.

Health risks of anabolic steroid use
Anabolic steroids, and testosterone, can damage the liver, and severe liver problems including liver fibrosis, cirrhosis and cancer have been seen in long-term users of anabolic steroids. If you are being prescribed them by your doctor, your liver function will be closely monitored.

Acne, male pattern baldness, sexual dysfunction, the shrinking of the testicles, and the shutting down of natural production of testosterone can also be caused by anabolic steroids. Aggression, mood disturbances, stomach pain, an enlarged prostate and water retention can also develop as a consequence of steroid use. Breast enlargement in men, and the development of male characteristics in women have also been observed.

It you are buying steroids on the black market it’s unlikely that you can verify if they are genuine or be certain of their quality. Counterfeit steroids are common and may contain impurities that cause infections or abscesses.

When used in a non-medical context, anabolic steroids are often injected. Sharing needles to inject steroids involves the same health risks as sharing needles to inject recreational drugs, including HIV transmission, and infection with hepatitis C virus and hepatitis B virus.

Legal status of anabolic steroids
Anabolic steroids are a prescription only medicine. Although possession of anabolic steroids is not illegal, selling them is and can involve a fine and a prison sentence.

If you take part in any form of competitive sport, then it’s likely that the use of anabolic steroids will be banned, even if you are taking them for legitimate medical reasons.

Liver Function

AS may exert a profound adverse effect on the liver. This is particularly true for orally administered AS. The parenterally administered AS seem to have less serious effects on the liver. Testosterone cypionate, testosterone enanthate and other injectable anabolic steroids seem to have little adverse effects on the liver. However, lesions of the liver have been reported after parenteral nortestosterone administration, and also occasionally after injection of testosterone esters. The influence of AS on liver function has been studied extensively. The majority of the studies involve hospitalized patients who are treated for prolonged periods for various diseases, such as anemia, renal insufficiency, impotence, and dysfunction of the pituitary gland. In clinical trials, treatment with anabolic steroids resulted in a decreased hepatic excretory function. In addition, intra hepatic cholestasis, reflected by itch and jaundice, and hepatic peliosis were observed. Hepatic peliosis is a hemorrhagic cystic degeneration of the liver, which may lead to fibrosis and portal hypertension. Rupture of a cyst may lead to fatal bleeding.
Benign (adenoma’s) and malign tumors (hepatocellular carcinoma) have been reported. There are rather strong indications that tumors of the liver are caused when the anabolic steroids contain a 17-alpha-alkyl group. Usually, the tumors are benign adenoma’s, that reverse after stopping with steroid administration. However, there are some indications that administration of anabolic steroids in athletes may lead to hepatic carcinoma. Often these abnormalities remain asymptomatic, since peliosis hepatis and liver tumors do not always result in abnormalities in the blood variables that are generally used to measure liver function.
AS use is often associated with an increase in plasma activity of liver enzymes such as aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (AP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT). These enzymes are present in hepatocytes in relatively high concentrations, and an increase in plasma levels of these enzymes reflect hepatocellular damage or at least increased permeability of the hepatocellular membrane.
In longitudinal studies of athletes treated with anabolic steroids, contradictory results were obtained on the plasma activity of liver enzymes (AST, AST, LDH, GGT, AP). In some studies, enzymes were increased, whereas in others no changes were found. When increases were found, the values were moderately increased and normalized within weeks after abstinence. There are some suggestions that the occurrence of hepatic enzyme leakage, is partly determined by the pre-treatment condition of the liver. Therefore, individuals with abnormal liver function appear to be at risk.

The ones we associate with bodybuilding are anabolic steroids. They were initially developed by studying testosterone in males, and today they’re used…
It was more than 20 years ago when a doctor told Sandra Taylor that she needed to put her son on steroids. There weren’t public scandals about steroids then. No senator’s report indicting pro baseball players. No disgraced Olympic athletes giving up their gold medals. No pro wrestlers with their artificially sculpted bodies going wacko.
“The only thing I’d ever heard with steroids was, on a farm, sometimes they use them with animals,” said Taylor of Columbus. “You know, with racehorses.”
So she was surprised that the doctors wanted to use the controlled substance to treat her son’s asthma.
But steroid use didn’t yet carry the stigma it does today — particularly in recent months, in light of Olympic champion Marion Jones’ confession of steroid-assisted performance in her medal-winning games and Sen. George Mitchell’s report naming 88 pro baseball players purported to use steroids to enhance their pitching or batting.
On Jan. 7, a Tampa, Fla., father was sentenced to six years in a federal prison for injecting his teenage son with steroids in an attempt to make him a stronger, more powerful in-line skater.
and in Time magazine’s Feb. 4 issue Sylvester Stallone, star of the new

Use of non-prescription bodybuilding supplements aimed at increasing testosterone levels goes beyond bodybuilding. It is a growing trend among all varieties . . .
Building and maintaining an athletic, better than ’socially acceptable’ physique is a very difficult task these days. The majority of our food options are less nutritious, we have less personal time and our society promotes laziness like never before. There is evidence that all these things play a significant role in what leads to a fatter, unhealthy America. Many people believe it’s up to the individual to take responsibility for their own health and nutrition. However, as everyone knows, it takes time and effort to get noticeable results; staying motivated and focused is the key to success. and, fortunately for healthy men, testosterone boosters testosterone boosters may be able to help.

Testosterone boosters are only to be used by healthy male adults. Side effects can occur with abuse and therefore these products should only be taken while under the supervision of a doctor or other medical authority. You must be 18 or older to purchase.