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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)

#131

Post by anigbrowl »

kkielhofner wrote: post #119
anigbrowl wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rogan is only tiny in the sense that he's short. He's very beefy for his height, and you can see changes around his face etc vs photographs from a decade ago.

Tiny is relative. Here's Joe[0] - he looks more-or-less like a diet/exercise fitness enthusiast in their 20s, which seems in line for his message/goal of "hey I'm just trying to hold on to that for as long as possible". Here's The Rock[1] at 48 years old. You can search for in-role Ryan Reynolds, Chris Hemsworth, Henry Cavill, etc, etc - Joe is tiny by comparison and all of these actors seem to get bigger and bigger…

You're right, Rogan is smaller than I remembered him being. Indeed, I'm not entirely sure why he's taking any gear, doesn't seem necessary to maintain that sort of body.

On the getting bigger thing, muscle is cumulative as long as you keep exercising it. I have always assumed The Rock was on gear while wrestling (although he had a great frame to begin with) but I don't find it odd that he can maintain that at 48.

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

#132

Post by satysin »

mmh0000 wrote: post #128
satysin wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is of interest to me as I saw an Endocrinologist last Monday as I had a blood test a few weeks ago and my testosterone level was "quite low" at 257 (bottom of the range being 249). Anything under 300 along with symptoms (of which I have several hence the blood test in the first place) means further investigation so I am now waiting for the results of a whole host of blood tests that I did last Tuesday that the E…

I am in nearly the same boat as you. I'm 38, and 1 year ago, I had my testosterone levels checked. The results came back at 273ng/dL, which is considered deficient. When I asked about TRT, My doctor refused to prescribe it, but, couldn't provide any valid reasons or research to backup his one justification that "it makes your blood thicker, and increases the risk of heart attack" (see below). After doing tons of read…

Thanks for sharing your experience. I have heard very similar stories from many people and it is certainly a pretty good sell for trying TRT.

Your initial experience is weirdly similar to mine. My doctor has given me a few different antidepressants over the past 2 and a bit years (Escitalopram, Amitriptyline, Sertraline to name three) but they just made me worse in that I put on weight (which now will not fucking leave!), awful sleep, my penis became useless, and I was just angry 95% of the time. I was a truly awful person to be around and I felt so sorry for my wife and son having to put up with me. So I told him they're not working and we need to look at other ways of treating this depression and anxiety.

He sent me for a testosterone check I think as a bit of a way to just shut me up as I kept asking him what else can we do. He was surprised when it came back at 257ng/dL but as it was above the 249 bottom end he was like "it's a bit low but in the normal range". Thankfully I have a friend that is a doctor and they put me in touch with an Endocrinologist who agreed under 300 at least deserves some further blood work and check I don't have a pituitary gland issue which can cause a lot of my symptoms.

My symptoms are:

* extreme fatigue (to the point of falling asleep in my office chair)

* easily exhausted when exercising

* much longer recovery times from exercising, when I used to have maybe a day or two of muscle aches from pushing myself a bit more to build muscle it would now take me 3 to 4 weeks to recover.

* My concentration is garbage

* Cannot lose the weight around my abdomen. I managed to lose around 13KG back in 2020 yet put it back on thanks to the SSRIs mentioned above and doing the same things I did the first time just does not shift the weight

* Depression but it feels different to my previous experiences with depression not to mention it seems treatment resistant this time whereas before I found Sertraline was at least somewhat effective.

* Heart palpitations that are extremely uncomfortable

* Terrible sleep. It often takes me 2 hours to finally get to sleep and my sleep quality as measured by my FitBit is awful compared to a few years ago (first time the sleep tracking came in helpful)

* Very irritable and easily frustrated

I don't know how that compares to your list of symptoms but they have absolutely wrecked me the past few years. I am just hoping to god there is something of value found in my blood results so I can start working on improving things.

As I said I don't know if I will jump on TRT as it does worry me a little bit. There is no such thing as side effect free HRT after all but my wife has said I should keep an open mind and listen to my Endocrinologist who has said she would recommend it if my blood work comes back with levels in line with ~250ng/dL. I will see what the results are though, if I'm under 250 I think I will have to seriously considering just trying it for a few months. If I am around 300 I think I would rather try some natural ways and retest in 2-3 months and see if it has helped at all. If not then I will give TRT a try.

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

#133

Post by JPws_Prntr_Fngr »

satysin wrote: post #132
mmh0000 wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am in nearly the same boat as you. I'm 38, and 1 year ago, I had my testosterone levels checked. The results came back at 273ng/dL, which is considered deficient. When I asked about TRT, My doctor refused to prescribe it, but, couldn't provide any valid reasons or research to backup his one justification that "it makes your blood thicker, and increases the risk of heart attack" (see below). After doing tons of read…

Thanks for sharing your experience. I have heard very similar stories from many people and it is certainly a pretty good sell for trying TRT. Your initial experience is weirdly similar to mine. My doctor has given me a few different antidepressants over the past 2 and a bit years (Escitalopram, Amitriptyline, Sertraline to name three) but they just made me worse in that I put on weight (which now will not fucking lea…

> I don't know if I will jump on TRT as it does worry me a little bit. There is no such thing as side effect free HRT after all...

Brother, it sounds like your life is made of horrendous side effects. I am just a random internet commenter, not a doctor, but I am a fellow man. And if there were ever a time to ignore your fear and roll the dice, it's now.

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

#134

Post by anigbrowl »

mmh0000 wrote: post #128
satysin wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is of interest to me as I saw an Endocrinologist last Monday as I had a blood test a few weeks ago and my testosterone level was "quite low" at 257 (bottom of the range being 249). Anything under 300 along with symptoms (of which I have several hence the blood test in the first place) means further investigation so I am now waiting for the results of a whole host of blood tests that I did last Tuesday that the E…

I am in nearly the same boat as you. I'm 38, and 1 year ago, I had my testosterone levels checked. The results came back at 273ng/dL, which is considered deficient. When I asked about TRT, My doctor refused to prescribe it, but, couldn't provide any valid reasons or research to backup his one justification that "it makes your blood thicker, and increases the risk of heart attack" (see below). After doing tons of read…

I tried all the other things people say to do; I ate right, and I religiously tracked my diet. I got sleep-tracking apps and devices and fixed my sleep to get 8+ hours of sleep.

Not trying to second guess your health situation, but I don't see anything about exercise on here. You don't have to go crazy with it (unless you want to), but istm everyone should do some exercise. Walking at leisurely pace helps but I don't really count that as exercise - by that I mean something that gets your heart pumping or significantly tires you out, eg a long walk at a really fast pace or with a loaded rucksack. Obviously this will be different for people who struggle with obesity or have joint issues, but you don't mention any physical handicaps so I'm assuming you have full mobility.

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

#135

Post by aSockPuppeteer »

diath wrote: post #117
aSockPuppeteer wrote: post #98

Why not change to anabolic steroids in title because they’re not talking about corticosteroids. It’s extrapolated from 2015 data also. There is a lot of talk about negative effects that are widely known. At a bodybuilder or high medicinal level, you can work out multiple times per day at max effort without getting tired and only hungry or sweaty. Your brain will work at the highest efficiency but you may have issues…

What is this complete nonsensical post even? Nobody on anabolic steroids can work out at max effort without getting tired, or being able to go without sleep, you're probably thinking of meth, not AAS. And what do kidneys have to do with processing steroids? And why bring up Ronnie Coleman as an example when his issue was that, 2 days after spinal surgery, against all recommendations, he decided to squat 800 pounds? A…

Are you speaking from experience as you have used steroids at the levels bodybuilders use or prescribed them? I have. Incorrect dosage timing i.e. taking them in the evening leads to little or no sleep.

Kidneys end up failing soon with all the associated supplements and drugs.

I merely wanted to comment about some side effects and give easy to understand examples because I did not see anyone mention the benefits yet. Thanks for going into more detail than I cared to. I think posting only benefits would be foolish.

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

#136

Post by satysin »

JPws_Prntr_Fngr wrote: post #133
satysin wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I have heard very similar stories from many people and it is certainly a pretty good sell for trying TRT. Your initial experience is weirdly similar to mine. My doctor has given me a few different antidepressants over the past 2 and a bit years (Escitalopram, Amitriptyline, Sertraline to name three) but they just made me worse in that I put on weight (which now will not fucking lea…

> I don't know if I will jump on TRT as it does worry me a little bit. There is no such thing as side effect free HRT after all... Brother, it sounds like your life is made of horrendous side effects. I am just a random internet commenter, not a doctor, but I am a fellow man. And if there were ever a time to ignore your fear and roll the dice, it's now.

You're not wrong and my wife certainly shares your opinion too!

I am naturally a bit of a worrier about "big" medication regimes like TRT and I over research and over think everything which is obviously not a great thing when it comes to medicine as everything has side effects.

I am slowly starting to adjust my mindset with regards to trying TRT but I need to see what my results are to help me make a decision.

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

#137

Post by tryhtgyt »

pessimizer wrote: post #86
LanceH wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, if you want to deliberately conflate different issues.

Only if you think that comparing a trans man who wants to take testosterone to feel more like a man to a biological male who wants to take testosterone to feel more like a man is silly or deceptive.

If a woman wants to take testosterone to deepen her voice and change her hair pattern, that's up to her, but she'll never be a man. Let's be realistic here.

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

#138

Post by mesofile »

diath wrote: post #117
aSockPuppeteer wrote: post #98

Why not change to anabolic steroids in title because they’re not talking about corticosteroids. It’s extrapolated from 2015 data also. There is a lot of talk about negative effects that are widely known. At a bodybuilder or high medicinal level, you can work out multiple times per day at max effort without getting tired and only hungry or sweaty. Your brain will work at the highest efficiency but you may have issues…

What is this complete nonsensical post even? Nobody on anabolic steroids can work out at max effort without getting tired, or being able to go without sleep, you're probably thinking of meth, not AAS. And what do kidneys have to do with processing steroids? And why bring up Ronnie Coleman as an example when his issue was that, 2 days after spinal surgery, against all recommendations, he decided to squat 800 pounds? A…

I’ve the past several months, due to publicized advancements in LLM tech, I’ve started to read comments on HN and elsewhere with the ready assumption that these fora are prime training grounds for chat bots, and any given post may very well be machine-generated. The parent comment fits the bill completely, down to the username. Of course I can’t tell for sure, and there’s no question that real people have a proven capability for nonsensical statements, but sometimes there is a Mad Libs quality to a comment that makes me regard it as a likely byproduct of some hacker’s AI side project.

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

#139

Post by anigbrowl »

klooney wrote: post #93
schnebbau wrote: post #38

Used responsibly, testosterone supplementation has multiple upsides with relatively little downside, even for men who do not have naturally low T. Unfortunately it looks like a few tik-tok kids are going to ruin it for everyone. Same as most good things in life I guess.

Does it tank your natural T production? I've heard people claim that once you start you're sort of stuck with it permanently.

I have never tried it but know a lot of bodybuilders who use various steroids. The responsible ones have it that a person shouldn't take them until they've hit their natural limits, then do a limited course (6 weeks) while doing before/after bloodwork, the idea being to push through limits and blow up a bit while on the steroid and then lock in those gains with maintenance exercise, repeating maybe every 6 months or a year if still trying to grow larger. Abusive dosing (larger quantities or longer cycles or doubling up with other drugs like SARMS) are well known to mess up your natural cycle, shrink your junk etc.

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

#140

Post by anigbrowl »

expertentipp wrote: post #46
nfRfqX5n wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s not that hard to maintain

I guess "fattish" or "thick boned" people have it easier...

Can't you just exercise at home? I am naturally skinny but put on muscle by working out diligently at home. I have not been in a gym since high school and I don't own any fancy equipment, just a few bits and pieces that I bought used (bench, pull-up bar) or found on the street (dumbbells). For most calisthenic exercises you don't need any equipment at all.
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