Agh I’m going to get flamed so badly for posting this… The study posted on kidney damage and AAS abuse, I’ve seen this study and I’m not sure if it was steroids that caused the kidney damage. focal segmental glomerulosclerosis is more likely to be related to abuse/use of diuretics. While AAS probably does play a minor role, especially more toxic ones like methyl 1 testosterone and possibly AAS primarily metabolized by the kidneys (oxandrolone) I believe the undocumented use of diuretics and consuming 550 grams of protein per day for a decade probably caused more strain than the use of AAS. Granted once damage is done it’s easier to cause damage, an already damaged kidney is probably more prone to injury from AAS than a relatively healthy one.
As to anabolic steroids and cardiovascular health, all these studies are far too small to really be of any clinical significance, I can find and post quite a few studies stating the use of anabolic steroids is not associated with impaired heart function or sudden cardiac death, however once again we don’t have a single large scale study backing up either claim. while it’s a no brainer that AAS are very likely to accelerate the process of atherosclerosis, especially orals derived from dihydrotestosterone, so does eating a shitty diet, being overweight or obese (which sadly the majority of today’s population is), smoking, drinking in excess etc.
The big dead bodybuilder article covers a very true and worrysome fact, today’s bodybuilders are dropping dead at young ages, just recently we had Rich Piana and Dallas Mcarver die (RIP). However there is a massive difference between a dude cycling some test and what these guys were doing. Modern day pros tend to consume a cocktail of beta 2 agonists, stimulants (amphetamines, coke etc.), Hgh, insulin, synthol and other SEO’s, thermogenic compounds such as DNP and whatnot. Many of these drugs have direct, instant cardiotoxic effects and may contribute to the deaths of these bodybuilders much more than AAS. If we look at bodybuilding from the 50s 60s and 70s where AAS was widespread, albeit in much lower doses without most of the other additions many of these bodybuilders lived to be 70-80. Sure you can say “but Arnold has had three heart attacks”… Yea but he’s been using steroids since he was about fifteen and he was born with a heart defect. I’m sure AAS are cardiotoxic to some extent as has been evident via multiple rodent studies and shown by exposing human heart cells to ungodly concentrations of testosterone, however I believe the issue is overblown due to stigmatisation of these drugs
The issues with an 18 year old using steroids is
A: most 18 year Olds aren’t ready or mature enough to tolerate the power and side effects of AAS
B: there is a real possibility of causing permenant damage to the individuals endocrine system, and this is serious shit, no one wants to be on lifelong TRT if they can help it and typically 16-18 is when testosterone levels are at their highest, why ruin a good thing
C: most 18 year Olds have no clue what the fuck they are doing and end up giving steroids a bad name
Kids, especially teenagers don’t like being told they are idiots, ridiculed or being flamed, it makes them feel bad. Rejection sucks, when people talk down to me due to my age I tend to quickly agree with them to stop the berating and then I tune out. If someone is shitting all over me due to my age without giving a respectful debate I tend to tune out completely. I’m aware an individual such as myself is younger and therefore less experienced than adults, however I’m certainly not an idiot that needs to be talked down to (just pointing this out because I see people ridiculing kids on here quite a bit and typically these kids are just asking a question). The beyond scared straight approach for teenagers usually doesnt work and in some cases can make the situation worse (this is my opinion, everyone is entitled to their own opinions). The only way to really deter a teenager hellbent on using in my opinion is to lay out all the facts in an unbiased way and be honest, supplying them with the information on the potential risks is usually enough to deter said kid from using, as most kids don’t want to risk things like not being able to get an erection, having compromise fertility, gyno etc. Sadly most teenagers aren’t going to be thinking about long term cardiovascular health either, it’s more about the here and now as teenagers are impatient, and hearing about negative acute side effects can be very off-putting.
That being said I do find it strange so many teenagers come to this forum asking whether they should cycle, it does lower the quality of this forum somewhat, maybe there should be a topic dedicated to helping teenagers so these should I cycle threads aren’t constantly littering the pharma section.