Steroids: The Quick Muscle Fix From the early to mid-1900’s, anabolic steroids have been used by athletes around the world to gain muscle mass, reduce body fat, and increase strength - showing remarkable record shattering improvements in their events. It was not until the 1980’s, however, that major league, minor league, colligate, and high school officials began to monitor and sanction anabolic steroids for their effect on athletes and their performances (Petroceli et al. 1087-206). Even today, anabolic steroids are still illegally used by some professional athletes, colligate athletes, movie stars, and some law enforcement officials. What most of these males and females do not realize about steroid use is the impeding side effects they may face after prolonged use. What most people associate steroids with is the ability to rapidly gain muscle mass in a short amount of time. Most steroid users fail to read and research the side effects of anabolic steroids. One of the major side effects that steroid use has been attached to is cardiovascular difficulties. Some of these cardiovascular problems include high blood pressure, heart disease, and heart attacks. Steroids increase the risk of blood clots which will form in blood vessels, potentially disrupting blood flow and damaging the heart muscle so that it does not pump blood effectively ("Health Consequences"). The less blood that gets to the heart or brain is what causes these heart attacks or strokes in the body. Another health hazard of steroid abuse is liver problems. Steroids can be very harmful to the liver especially steroids which are taken orally. Steroid use has been associated with liver tumors and a rare condition called Peliosis Hepatis, which blood-filled cysts form in the liver ("Health Consequences"). These conditions are very harmful and can cause the tumors and cysts to burst causing bleeding inside the body. With steroid abuse, users can develop these cysts not only in the liver but also develop these cysts anywhere on the body. Steroids can also make the skin break out causing acne all over the body - including face, back, legs and even the chest. Steroid use and can also cause oily skin and hair ("Health Consequences"). Another side effect steroids has on the body is the imbalance of hormones. This imbalance can cause numerous infections. Steroids change the normal production of hormones causing reversible and irreversible changes. Changes that can be reversed include reduced sperm production and testicular atrophy or shrinking of the testicles ("Health Consequences"). More irreversible changes include male-pattern baldness and gynecomastia or male breast development ("Health Consequences"). Many people who use steroids also have a tendency to share and use non sterile injection ways. Which can cause blood disease, skin infections, and other blood transported illnesses ("Health Consequences"). Steroids have a big effect on the musculoskeletal system. The musculoskeletal system is the combination of the muscular and skeletal systems working together. This includes the bones, muscles, tendons and ligaments of the human body. The sex hormones and rising levels of testosterone normally trigger growth spurt during puberty and adolescence and provide signals to stop growth as well ("Health Consequences"). When an adolescence uses anabolic steroids the resulting high sex hormone levels can prematurely signal the bones to stop growing ("Health Consequences"). So when you come off of steroids your testosterone levels decrease lower than what they were before a person started taking steroids.
According to WNEP, the local news station, thirteen law enforcement officials from our area were arrested on October 1, 2014 for selling and prescribing anabolic steroids. The state general’s office says the drug rings involved people from five counties in our area. Some of these products were shipped from China and Hawaii. Prosecutors say that one of the men caught