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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)

#91
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gender affirming care actually can include gender-affirming procedures for cisgender people such as reconstructive or cosmetic surgeries. Under that frame I don't see how "I need higher T to feel like a real man" is much different.

Sure, if you want to deliberately conflate different issues.

They're really not different issues, though. Most men using TRT would cite, in some fashion, wanting to feel more manly. That is gender affirmation.

Testosterone is beneficial for everyone. If a man or woman wants to do TRT, it is not illegal to do so. But if they cite some kind of gender dysphoria, it is suddenly extremely taboo.

It's a bit humorous living in a society where roided out podcasters complain about people not accepting their natural identities or hormones

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

#92
post #78
post #5

"Maybe steroid abuse is too common" was my thought after watching a shirtless RFK Jr (69) do pushups the other day.

How about a different politician talking about steroids: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/arnold-schwarzenegg...

It's really weird how he used to lie about his PED use for decades, and now he's lying about the dosage as quoted in this article, 100mg Test/week with a standard dbol dose? There's no way you can get up to 117kg/260lbs stage-ready (so decently shredded) on a lower-than-TRT dose.

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

#93

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.

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

#94
post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Health impacts on the individual users of trt are just one aspect, it impacts other people. I live in an area where use is common and I'm tired of running into obviously roiding men who act much more aggressive than normal people in public. My experiences are retail and and driving. I've assumed that the tacit approval for steroid usage among law enforcement in the US has at least partially responsible police brutali…

Testosterone supplementation is very unlikely to be causative for what you're running into. Test is incredibly mild in psychological effect (unless you're deficient). This kind of stereotype comes from trenbolone, but I think you shouldn't under-estimate the intersection of steroid users and cocaine users. It's bigger than you might intuitively guess.

Aggression certainly isn't limited to tren, high testosterone & DHT levels in general increase it. This is well understood.

Using TRT for its prescribed effect (baseline "normal" range) likely won't have any impact on this but taking it to go above normal levels certainly could.

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

#96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only tangential to the theme, but continuing your thought, in my experience the rewards for having a chiselled aesthetic comes more from men than women. It's a status marker amongst (some groups of) men. The heavily muscled male look is more of a male fantasy than female.

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...another woman she's never met.

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

#97
post #15
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…

hah i was thinking about trt too when i saw this title. I cant believe how much seemingly casual use it is getting for people to be a little better at their hobbies.

> I cant believe how much seemingly casual use it is getting for people to be a little better at their hobbies.

From my general observations, insecurity is rife in bodybuilding but generally nonexistent in powerlifting and strongman. Powerlifters/strongmen will use steroids for sport performance reasons and they’re generally in the sport because they just like lifting heavy shit. They’re not really comparing themselves to others, just trying to beat their previous PR and they’re generally not doing it to attract women. To an untrained eye they can often times look like a fat dude.

In contrast, a lot of bodybuilders are in the sport because they’re insecure and/or want to attract women. I would say the majority of lads training in the gym are really doing it for these two reasons. This is only made worse when they scan the gym and compare the weight they can lift with that of a power lifter who’s often times no where near as big yet capable of lifting more. As a result, you’re far, far more likely to see bodybuilders getting in scraps than powerlifters and strongmen, half because of the testosterone and half because of the insecurity. Sometimes they’ll find the confidence they’re seeking if they get big enough or start getting women but often times not. A lot of them would be better off doing a a martial art or boxing, probably the former as there’s more of a culture of “you only use this in self defence if you absolutely have to” whereas the majority of local street fighters almost always seem to have a boxing background and something to prove.

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

#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 applying it. You may not even need to sleep depending when you take it and for how long.

Using it will either scare you to stop or you can take them until your kidneys fail and you’re in a wheelchair like Ronnie Coleman. If you live long enough maybe you end up with testicular cancer or it supercharges your brain and you end up curing cancer.

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

#99
post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly - I don't have a problem with it. It's just very, very dangerous (and sleazy) to give the public and society the impression these results are obtainable with some random diet, over the counter supplement, etc. Doubly sleazy for those that are selling something claiming it's how they achieved their results. Not unlike the Kardashians selling some juice, make up, or whatever and attributing their appearance to…

> It's just very, very dangerous (and sleazy) to give the public and society the impression these results are obtainable with some random diet, over the counter supplement, etc. Unfortunately it's also risky for them to tell the truth ("I achieved this with some sketchy prescriptions of otherwise-illegal drugs")

As I noted in my top comment TRT therapy for older men is far from sketchy/illegal at this point - to the point of hardly being controversial. Joe Rogan (as one example) has no problem saying "I'm on TRT/HRT and it's great"[0] - and he's tiny compared to these guys. Joey Diaz actually says in that clip "let's be fair to everyone out there - you're on some stuff" and to his credit Joe says "absolutely".

[0] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEce1DRsRwQ

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

#100
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Yes. Apparently men using anabolic steroids only outnumber women by a factor of 10:1, which strikes me as kind of low!

Where did you get 10:1 from?
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