Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

fullfact.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 158 posts

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

#61

Post by tptacek »

jejeyyy77 wrote: post #55
nkozyra wrote: 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…

what are the health risks?

Prostatitis and amplification of undetected existing prostate cancer, and blood clots, are the big two I think? There are minor ones, like decreased sperm count and acne, but people going on TRT probably don't much care about them.

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

#62

Post by 88913527 »

nkozyra wrote: 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…

I recall at some point a huge flood of ads for TRT and Testosterone boosters, seemingly out of nowhere. A bit separate from the whole line of more typical products from companies like Hims (for hair loss, ED, etc). For that reason, I don't trust it. It's some land rush and money grab and I don't think proper due diligence is being done.

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

#63

Post by expertentipp »

llm_nerd wrote: post #51
expertentipp wrote: post #16

After skipping gym for one month I'm losing all muscles and turning into the weakling I am. I'm wondering on every visit "how these guys maintain their muscles?! they must be injecting, inserting, and swallowing some substances... right?"

Maybe they just don't skip the gym? For a lot of people the gym is a relaxing "third place"[1] that they truly are sad to miss for a period of time. I'm sure some percentage are augmenting, but it is surprising how common it to see people on social media declaring that people with the slightest bit of definition or muscles as steroid users. [1] Should we call it the "second place" in the era of WFH?

>For a lot of people the gym is a relaxing "third place"[1] that they truly are sad to miss for a period of time.

Not at all in my case. In my youth gyms were places for hooligans, _heavy_ steroids abusers, low end criminals, and thus places to avoid. Then spent some years in Germany where gym contracts are famously predatory and abusive, again a place to avoid. Only around 2 years ago had found a civilized place finally. Starting to visit regularly meant to actually overcome some traumas.

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

#64

Post by Traubenfuchs »

elektrontamer wrote: post #54

I don't care much about young users but I've always wondered why the body stops producing adequate amounts of it as we age. Is it because you're too old to have viable offspring by then (with few exceptions) so there are no selective pressures to maintain testosterone levels? If so, do the benefits of TRT far out weigh the risks at old age?

> I've always wondered why the body stops producing adequate amounts of it as we age

As our organs, tissues and glands age, they decrease their output including our testes.

This paper goes a bit into detail:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8619877/

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

#67

Post by diath »

mrits wrote: post #17
EatingWithForks wrote: post #7

Is there a similar thing for estrogen? What's the estrogen use in the UK and how is it used comparatively?

I don't know about estrogen but I am really surprised that 98% usage are from males. Anecdotally I see an increase usage of steroids in women. The fat burning is incredible.

Because Testosterone is a bad choice for women if they want to use PEDs, Anavar is a much better option, and Clen is often used for fat burning (although Anavar on its own is really decent for that as well).

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

#68

Post by TaupeRanger »

avion23 wrote: post #35
nkozyra wrote: 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…

>The risks are generally low, but boosting to higher T levels does come with real health risks that should be met with regular testing with a doctor. Most people don't have a clue. That includes doctors. - the reference range has been adapted times and times again - testosterone levels have been falling since industrial times - for some strange and contrived reasons a lot of people think that the levels of a healthy…

You are displaying exactly the problematic cherry picking that you are railing against, but from the other side.

Reference ranges are always adapted to specific populations.

Testosterone levels have not necessarily been falling since industrial times - records farther back than 50-70 years are extremely error prone and sporadic since methods of testing have changed dramatically.

Doctors are not saying that a 40 year old having the same testosterone level as an 18 year are "unhealthy" en masse. It is simply normal for the hormone to decrease as one ages. There is no "strange and contrived reason". It's just how the human body works and isn't a problem unless it goes too low and causes dysfunction of some kind.

The reason for lower testosterone is probably very boring and not some insidious thing like you're implying: people are more obese because they eat more calories, and this is strongly linked to lower testosterone levels.

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

#69

Post by madaxe_again »

expertentipp wrote: post #16

After skipping gym for one month I'm losing all muscles and turning into the weakling I am. I'm wondering on every visit "how these guys maintain their muscles?! they must be injecting, inserting, and swallowing some substances... right?"

Genetics is a sonofabitch. I haven’t been a to a gym in 20 years, and yet people ask me what my routine is.

Sit on the couch, smoke, eat chocolate. Your mileage may vary.

I did do an unholy amount of exercise from 12-20 (rowing), which may have put a few epigenetic switches in useful locations, as before that I was a spherical child, but honestly, I have no idea how I maintain cardio and strength with frankly small bursts of infrequent activity.

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

#70

Post by diath »

fnord77 wrote: 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?
Post reply on HN