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Are one million people in the UK using anabolic steroids? (2022)

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Re: Are one million people in the UK using anabolic steroids? (2022)

#101
post #4

TRT is now a fully embedded thing in the United States so this isn't totally surprising. I've talked to way too many 20 year olds who get cypionate from a doc in the box who manages to find "low T" It's just so easy now. And if you need it, great. But for a lot of people it's just a way to boost T for athletic/aesthetic reasons without a ton of attention to the health side of it. The risks are generally low, but boos…

> but boosting to higher T levels does come with real health risks

Absolutely, like shutting off your body's natural T production (!)

Re: Are one million people in the UK using anabolic steroids? (2022)

#102
post #70
post #33

I'm kinda interested in SARMs which purportedly give the benefits of anabolic steroids without the very serious side-effects There seems to be a massive grey market for peptide SARMs at least in the US

Please avoid SARMs only cycles if you can, SARMs will suppress your natural Testosterone production either way, so running a Testosterone base is always recommended, at which point, why even bother with experimental chemicals instead of just running a reasonable T cycle?

Because testosterone affects everything, including the heart and other organs, potentially causing serious problems down the line. SARMs only effect skeletal muscle tissue, and so it is likely safer in the long run. Obviously more research is needed on long term effect, but this is primarily why people are using them.

Re: Are one million people in the UK using anabolic steroids? (2022)

#103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What women say they are attracted to, and what they respond positively to IRL, are not the same. A chiseled look not enough to land someone on its own, but it absolutely will get you a conversation from women who otherwise would not have even talked to you.

And it would get you not even passing glances from other women because they don't like that look. > What women say they are attracted to, and what they respond positively to IRL, are not the same. There are different women with different preferences. This comment, on its face, doesn't sound like you're talking about a singular woman, but lamenting the fact that one woman is not upfront about the preferences of...anot…

I am saying that:

- after I started lifting, I started getting attention and conversations I did not get before

- young men are not complete idiots, and can observe that this is true

Re: Are one million people in the UK using anabolic steroids? (2022)

#104

This is gender affirming care.

I'd be willing to bet a substantial number of these men wouldn't take steroids if society/women didn't reward them for having a chiseled (and often times unnatural) aesthetic, so considering it gender affirming care is a stretch in the general sense.

There is the whole feeling younger, stronger, healthier aspect that people really like.

Re: Are one million people in the UK using anabolic steroids? (2022)

#105
post #102
post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please avoid SARMs only cycles if you can, SARMs will suppress your natural Testosterone production either way, so running a Testosterone base is always recommended, at which point, why even bother with experimental chemicals instead of just running a reasonable T cycle?

Because testosterone affects everything, including the heart and other organs, potentially causing serious problems down the line. SARMs only effect skeletal muscle tissue, and so it is likely safer in the long run. Obviously more research is needed on long term effect, but this is primarily why people are using them.

That's not necessarily true, certain SARMs have high liver toxicity, and as I mentioned, /all/ SARMs suppress your natural Testosterone production, meaning you may need other drugs afterwards to be able to bounce back, and you will feel like shit during your SARMs-only cycle when your T levels are very low, I'd say liver toxicity and destroying your natural hormone production are serious problems as well, I feel like the main reason people use SARMs is because they may be scared of injections, and that (since they're mostly popular with younger population), it may be easier for them to explain to their parents if they find random pills/liquids than if they find syringes and needles. I do agree though that more research is needed as they're relatively new chemicals on the market whose long-term side effects are simply not known yet.

Re: Are one million people in the UK using anabolic steroids? (2022)

#106
post #84

Afaiu, in the UK many (most?) males over 55 get prescribed TRT. Male mortality tracks quite closely with muscle wastage, so it makes a lot of sense.

nah, this isn't correct. The NHS very very rarely prescribes TRT, certainly not as a matter of course.

well perhaps all the old folk I know are the outliers - nearly all the pensioners I know have been prescribed a steroid once they get an illness

edit: perhaps that isn't strictly TRT though - ianad

Re: Are one million people in the UK using anabolic steroids? (2022)

#107
post #14
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Getting a hair transplant carries a stigma in society, so "accept" could use some qualifiers.

People don't get murdered for getting hair transplants & people getting hair transplants aren't being targeted politically, so considering the scale of stigmas associated with gender affirming care, no, I don't think it does.

I think you've added context that I didn't write. I'm not saying it's as "unaccepted" in society as, say, HRT for transitioning. Just that it's not accepted and is still a point of derision.

Re: Are one million people in the UK using anabolic steroids? (2022)

#108
post #105
post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because testosterone affects everything, including the heart and other organs, potentially causing serious problems down the line. SARMs only effect skeletal muscle tissue, and so it is likely safer in the long run. Obviously more research is needed on long term effect, but this is primarily why people are using them.

That's not necessarily true, certain SARMs have high liver toxicity, and as I mentioned, /all/ SARMs suppress your natural Testosterone production, meaning you may need other drugs afterwards to be able to bounce back, and you will feel like shit during your SARMs-only cycle when your T levels are very low, I'd say liver toxicity and destroying your natural hormone production are serious problems as well, I feel like…

Injecting testosterone suppresses your natural testosterone levels just as much if not more than SARMs. If you inject anything into your body that your body naturally produces it will stop producing it as a result. That’s why melatonin is not recommended for insomniacs because your body will become incapable of producing it yourself and it’s why SSRIs are used for depression because it encourages the body to produce more serotonin itself. Both SARMs and testosterone are capable of causing liver injury, but only the latter is also running the risk of fucking up your heart and prostate as far as we know. And the whole matter is complicated by the fact that fuck knows if what they’re actually getting is SARMs/testosterone or something else entirely.

Re: Are one million people in the UK using anabolic steroids? (2022)

#109
post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

nah, this isn't correct. The NHS very very rarely prescribes TRT, certainly not as a matter of course.

well perhaps all the old folk I know are the outliers - nearly all the pensioners I know have been prescribed a steroid once they get an illness edit: perhaps that isn't strictly TRT though - ianad

Corticosteroids are definitely common with older people, and aren't anything like anabolic steroids or testosterone.

Re: Are one million people in the UK using anabolic steroids? (2022)

#110
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd be willing to bet a substantial number of these men wouldn't take steroids if society/women didn't reward them for having a chiseled (and often times unnatural) aesthetic, so considering it gender affirming care is a stretch in the general sense.

I'm not sure you can put this on women - since not only can men can be into men, but women can take steroids (and of course be into both men and women). Plus it's not necessarily the case that people use these steroids to become more attractive to a prospective partner - while I don't take anything like this I do work out, play sports and run - and this is more for my person health and satisfaction than to make mysel…

Human behavior lies on a normal distribution, so the fact that some women take steroids doesn't detract from the motivations of the substantially larger portion of men who use them.

> Plus it's not necessarily the case that people use these steroids to become more attractive to a prospective partner

The word "necessary" is one you uttered.

> while I don't take anything like this I do work out, play sports and run - and this is more for my person health and satisfaction than to make myself attractive to anyone else.

What relevance does that have? Roids are a different set of tradeoffs from that of working out and playing sports.

> I think the broader point being made was that there's a lot of modern-day backlash from certain groups against a specific type of "gender affirming care" - and that it's worth remembering that such care is already relatively commonplace even if you may not think of it that way currently.

The backlash is not founded on the novelty of gender affirming care; it usually hinges on whether the form of gender affirming care that most people think of when they hear that term is medically sound in many cases and the push to normalize something that would otherwise be classified as a mental disorder. Some people are pushing back against the very concept of gender affirming care, yes, but the debate is way more complex than that.

> and that it's worth remembering that such care is already relatively commonplace even if you may not think of it that way currently.

Not everyone agrees that every form of "gender affirming care" is equivalent, or whether it needs to be overly intellectualized in such a manner. A modern westerner might be convinced that use of Rogaine should be classified as "gender affirming care" when, in reality, the proximal motivation for the vast majority of men using Rogaine is because they want to keep their hair.

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