Thread: Insulin abuse?

LONDON - Doctors are encountering more cases of insulin abuse among athletes, according to a new report published in the British medical journal The Lancet.

The journal says body builders are using insulin to build muscle, combining it with steroids. It says insulin abuse may be widespread in sport.

The hormone vanishes quickly from the body, making it difficult to detect. It can be easy to abuse.

Dr. Richard Lynch, who practices in Yorkshire, England, wrote the report after treating a 31-year-old man.

"He was treated as a suspected diabetic coma and recovered fully from this event," said Lynch. "He explained to us that he acquired insulin from a friend because he was a body builder and was preparing for competition."

Doctors caution there's little evidence insulin can help athletes.

"The amount that's given once a day will likely have very little effect of increasing muscle mass yet at the same time puts the person at risk of a low blood sugar," said Dr. Lawrence Leiter, an endocrinologist in Toronto.

The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sports says there's little insulin use among athletes here.

"One would hope we're not seeing it in Canada because athletes recognize that there's a health risk…of abusing something when it's not needed medically," said Joseph De Penceir.

Still, others in the international sport scene are concerned.

"You can die. It's as simple as that," said David Howman of the World Anti-Doping Agency. "You can get into a coma through overuse or wrong use."

Barrymore Richardson, a Toronto body builder, says he's resisting the pressure to take performace-enhancing substances.

"I honestly don't think it's necessary. I've never taken any steroids."

Others at his gym say they've heard about using insulin to bulk up but they say it isn't worth the health risk and besides, it can "really make you fat," as one bodybuilder said.

and it does work !! But not advisable if you don't know what the hell you are doing. unless you are under proper supervision or cometing in a national level show don't even concideer this