Thread: New To This.

Hey all, Im Just wondering about Steroids.. as im still young 18. i dont plan on take them till im 20+ but i rather have all the info and make a informed choice other then some dude saying do this and could die.. i like to know how it works, What are the side effects, Can it be safe if not abused, ETC. Even The legal side of if your caught, how much and all that. just info so i know as much as possible. I live in Australia and ive heard custom's are tight as to get anything in.

Anabolic steroids are synthetic derivatives of the male hormone testosterone. The full name is steroids (the class of drugs) anabolic (involved in a building) androgenic (promoting masculine characteristics) These derivatives of testosterone promote growth of skeletal muscle and increase lean body mass.

The abuse of anabolic steroids outside the medical field began when several athletes seeking to improve performance. Today, athletes and others abuse anabolic steroids to enhance performance and appearance.

Anabolic steroids are taken orally or injected, and athletes and drug addicts often take them in cycles of weeks or months, rather than continuously, in patterns called cycling. Cycling involves taking multiple doses of steroids over a period of time, stopping for a while and start again.

In addition, users often combine several different types of steroids to maximize their effectiveness, while minimizing their adverse effects. This process is known as stacking (stacking)

Health hazards of steroids
Reports indicate that anabolic steroids increase lean muscle mass, strength and ability to train longer and harder. People who inject anabolic steroids run the risk of contracting or transmitting hepatitis or virus (HIV) that causes AIDS.

The major side effects of anabolic steroid use include liver tumors, jaundice (yellowing of the skin, tissues and body fluids), fluid retention and high blood pressure, severe acne and trembling.

Other side effects of steroids are
For men: shrinking of the testicles, reduced sperm count, infertility, baldness and breast development.

For women, facial hair growth, changes in or cessation of the menstrual cycle, increased the size of the clitoris, deepened voice.
For adolescents: growth halted prematurely through premature skeletal maturation and accelerated puberty changes.

The NIDA-supported research shows that aggression and other psychiatric side effects may result from abuse of anabolic steroids. Many users report feeling good about themselves while on anabolic steroids, but researchers report that the abuse of anabolic steroids can cause strange mood disorders, including manic-like symptoms and lead to violent episodes, even murderous .

Depression often is seen when people stop taking steroids, which may contribute to dependence. The researchers also suggest that many users may suffer from paranoid jealousy, extreme irritability, delusions, and impaired the trial stemming from feelings of invincibility.

Extent of Use of steroids
Monitoring the Future Study (MTF)
The Monitoring the Future study evaluates the use of drugs by adolescents and young adults across the country.

Due to the growing concern of professionals and the public from misuse and abuse of anabolic steroids by adolescents and young adults, were added several questions about the use of anabolic steroids at the Monitoring the Future study in 1989 to better understand the proportions the problem.

From 1989 to 1997 the prevalence of anabolic steroid use during the life of students of the senior year ranged from a maximum of 3% in 1989 and a 1.9% in 1996. The annual prevalence remained stable for this period.
In promoting 1997, 2.4% of students in high school seniors had used anabolic steroids at least once in life, which means an increase compared with the figure of 1.9% in 1996. Your use of anabolic steroids during the year preceding the survey has remained stable at 1.4% between 1991 and 1997.

In 1997, 1.8% of students in grade 8 and 2% of 10th graders had used at least once in their lifetime and 1% of 8th graders and 1.2% of those grade 10 in the last year. Besides the data on the use, the 1997 survey reported on the attitude of students in senior year regarding the use of steroids. The students' perceptions about how harmful it is to use steroids and trends of its disapproval of the use of these substances have remained relatively stable during the decade of the 90.

67.2% of students in high school seniors thought the use of steroids carries a great risk. 91.4% of these students said they did not approve of the behavior of people using steroids. 41.7% stated that for them was fairly easy or very easy to get steroids, a figure that represents a significant decrease compared with 45.5% for the 1995 cohort.