Steroids

[Poolboy21409]

I have been working out very hard for over four years and have made some decent progress. No where near what I had wanted but body fat down to 12% which for a 65 year old is pretty good I am told. At my new gym - a very high class place - I have met a medical Dr. who trains there who has offered me a supervised "steroid" program. I am seriously thinking about doing it but I thought I would run it up here for some opinions. I suspect that someone on here may have experimented in the past and could provide some real first hand experience.

 

Thanks Guys

 

"Pool"

[jjkrkwood]

From all that Ive heard about steriods, I value my balls too much to have them shrunken into little peas.... I would seriously recommend doing alot of independent research before embarking on this journey.

[Poolboy21409]

HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) therapy prevents ball shrinkage - testicular atrophy. Commonly prescribed in conjunction with hormone replacement therapy .

[jjkrkwood]

HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) therapy prevents ball shrinkage - testicular atrophy. Commonly prescribed in conjunction with hormone replacement therapy .

 

Ah, would this indicate perhaps THAT is not available to the bodybuilders who take steriods illegally ? One wonders why they wouldnt use it and preserve their gonads ?

[maxwellissmart]

I have been working out very hard for over four years and have made some decent progress. No where near what I had wanted but body fat down to 12% which for a 65 year old is pretty good I am told. At my new gym - a very high class place - I have met a medical Dr. who trains there who has offered me a supervised "steroid" program. I am seriously thinking about doing it but I thought I would run it up here for some opinions. I suspect that someone on here may have experimented in the past and could provide some real first hand experience.

 

Thanks Guys

 

"Pool"

 

I'm going to slip into advice column mode here: if you've been working out "hard for four years," have 12% body fat and are still "nowhere near what [you] had wanted," and are considering a steroid program—supervised or not—it sounds like you have some body-image issues. I would get the opinion of a mental health professional before starting or continuing anything. If they think you're fine—then reconsider your options.

[unsub2O17]

In addition to the physical problems, there are the mental issues of major mood swings. A 65 year old "throwing a tantrum" would not be pretty, not matter how good the body looked.

[+ azdr0710]

I've met with a popular bodybuilder who very obviously uses some sort of supplements (I don't know what the various bad/good/ok/ball-shrinking kinds are) and his dick and balls are very definitely not shrunken up....so I'm sure if it is highly supervised and not abused, you can probably be fine with it....but be careful and don't expect the moon and the stars.....

[JT Brooklyn]

Well at 65 Year's of Age I would be very cautious ya ain't 25 or even 45!

[instudiocity]

I have the opposite problem. A tumor killed my pituitary gland and I have to take steroids to replace the hormones secreted by the pituitary. So I'm injecting testosterone, and taking Synthroid and Prednisone (as an ACTH replacement).

 

My first advice is endocrinology is a young science. We only have about 100 years of research into hormone/steroid interaction.

 

Second, before starting any steroid therapy, you should have a complete hormone screen to verify that your body is producing the proper amounts of hormones.

 

At 65, you're probably not producing as much testosterone or Human Growth Hormone as younger men produce. If your physician friend is offering to raise available Testosterone and/or Human Growth Hormone, you're probably OK in pursuing the therapy.

 

If he's going to prescribe full-replacement dosages or higher than replacement dosages, I'd suggest you'd want to avoid his therapy.

 

Interesting thing about these glands, the pituitary secrets messenger hormones to tell the other glands to turn on and produce secret their hormones. If the pituitary detects sufficient quantity of hormone, it never tells the glands to secret more.

 

Until you are regularly taking steroids at full replacement levels, you shouldn't do damage to your endocrine system. But BECAREFUL!

[Michael Wayne]

no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[maxwellissmart]

I have the opposite problem. A tumor killed my pituitary gland and I have to take steroids to replace the hormones secreted by the pituitary. So I'm injecting testosterone, and taking Synthroid and Prednisone (as an ACTH replacement).

 

My first advice is endocrinology is a young science. We only have about 100 years of research into hormone/steroid interaction.

 

Second, before starting any steroid therapy, you should have a complete hormone screen to verify that your body is producing the proper amounts of hormones.

 

At 65, you're probably not producing as much testosterone or Human Growth Hormone as younger men produce. If your physician friend is offering to raise available Testosterone and/or Human Growth Hormone, you're probably OK in pursuing the therapy.

 

If he's going to prescribe full-replacement dosages or higher than replacement dosages, I'd suggest you'd want to avoid his therapy.

 

Interesting thing about these glands, the pituitary secrets messenger hormones to tell the other glands to turn on and produce secret their hormones. If the pituitary detects sufficient quantity of hormone, it never tells the glands to secret more.

 

Until you are regularly taking steroids at full replacement levels, you shouldn't do damage to your endocrine system. But BECAREFUL!

 

Again, I would first address the question of "why would you want to" before "is it okay for you to."

[jjkrkwood]

Well at 65 Year's of Age I would be very cautious ya ain't 25 or even 45!

 

Neither is Suzanne Somers, and she SWEARS by hormone replacement therapy as the fountain of youth.

[Poolboy21409]

Ah, would this indicate perhaps THAT is not available to the bodybuilders who take steriods illegally ? One wonders why they wouldnt use it and preserve their gonads ?

 

I have no idea why they do not use it. This protocol is extremely common in HRT and is dirt cheap. Also has the effect of being a fat burner to boot!

[Poolboy21409]

Instudio...,

 

Thank you for a very cogent answer and addition to the discussion. I am glad that someone with some first hand experience chimed in.

 

PB

[Phil_musc]

The body issue thing is here for sure, but hey, you want to look like you want to look. If science can help you, why not? But please do enough research before you jump into this. I would tend to trust a doctor (maybe a mistake, but. . .)about the safety aspect of things. As far as the mood swings thing goes, there are those of us who don't use steroids who have them anyway. Just watch those violent urge-to-kill kind of rages - that's something else. If you decide to try it out, please keep us posted on how things work out for you. I will cheer you on and want to know how you're doing.

 

And I agree - Instudio offers good advice here.

[jjkrkwood]

Steriods for health reasons is one thing, for cosmetic reasons another. I am lazy, and would sooner opt for plastic surgery over steroids and hard work in a gym. I have realistic

views of what I should look like at my age, 60. So far I think I'm doing pretty darn good. Of course I do see pictures of EXECPTIONAL looking guys my age, but realize thats not the norm, and it probably wouldnt be me anyway. Anyway you look at it, the aging process will make your body softer and saggier than it was in your youth. I suppose thats why we tend to hire escorts more as we age, because they have the gift of making us feel great about ourselves regardless of how we actually look. ?

[Diverdan]

Hey Poolboy... JUST SAY NO>>> one of the residuals of steroids, especially testerone, is the increase risk of prostate cancer... it is well documented in the literature. At 65, or even 55, you will never be able to have the body of a 20 or 30 something. Better you continue your workouts, good nutrition and have fun. Steroids unless absolutely necessary for other conditions, as mentioned above, are likely to wreck havoc with your endocrine and immune system. If you really want to go ahead with this, be sure you get several physicians to give you their opinion, not just the one who is willing to "help you out"... !

DD

[rvwnsd]

... At my new gym - a very high class place - I have met a medical Dr. who trains there who has offered me a supervised "steroid" program. I am seriously thinking about doing it but I thought I would run it up here for some opinions...

 

Here are a couple of opinions for you:

 

1. Talk to your doctor about steroid use and your body image issues.

2. Talk to a reputable trainer about setting realistic fitness goals.

3. Re-think trusting your health to someone who a) you met at a gym and b) offers to put you on steroids. This smacks of hiring a lawyer who pulls up after a traffic accident and tosses you his business card.

4. Request his legal name, medical license number, name of the medical school he attended, and the hospital at which he did his residency.

5. Verify his authenticity and reputation with your state licensing agency and medical board.

6. Validate whether he is an endocrinologist

7. Re-read opinion number 1.

[gallahadesquire]

Here are a couple of opinions for you:

 

1. Talk to your doctor about steroid use and your body image issues.

2. Talk to a reputable trainer about setting realistic fitness goals.

3. Re-think trusting your health to someone who a) you met at a gym and b) offers to put you on steroids. This smacks of hiring a lawyer who pulls up after a traffic accident and tosses you his business card.

4. Request his legal name, medical license number, name of the medical school he attended, and the hospital at which he did his residency.

5. Verify his authenticity and reputation with your state licensing agency and medical board.

6. Validate whether he is an endocrinologist

7. Re-read opinion number 1.

 

If you go to the State Medical Licensing board, they should have everything if you have his name.

At least, we put all that stuff in in Massachusetts.

[rvwnsd]

If you go to the State Medical Licensing board, they should have everything if you have his name.

At least, we put all that stuff in in Massachusetts.

 

That is true in California, as well. However, the way he responds to the request for this information will indicate his character.

[maxwellissmart]

That is true in California, as well. However, the way he responds to the request for this information will indicate his character.

 

I think he's already indicated that loud and clear.

[instudiocity]

Just wanted to come back in and make the point - get a hormone screen first.

 

If your body is already producing sufficient hormones, there is no need to use a replacement therapy.

 

If your body is under-producing hormones, additional HRT will help.

 

If you try to amp up the hormones in your body PAST what is normal, your pituitary will shut down all the glands and they will essentially stop secreting hormones until your hormone levels drop below normal again. That's a fairly drastic thing to do, PERIOD. Please don't try to use steroids to AMP up your system, the downside when you stop could be more than you've bargained for in the beginning.

[+ Cash4Trash]

Testosterone therapy's link to prostate cancer has come under question in recent studies.

 

http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2004/02.05/10-testosterone.html

[rvwnsd]

I think he's already indicated that loud and clear.

 

I agree, but if that message had been understood we would not be here discussing it.

 

What are we going to do with these kids?