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Writer's pictureMen's Health Solutions

Are Steroids and Testosterone Therapy (TRT) the Same Thing?

We’ve all seen them; the huge, bulky weight lifters that there is no way they got there by simply following a regimen of weight-lifting and diet. We’ve heard of athletes getting caught for “juicing” or taking banned substance. The question is, what is the difference between what these guys are doing and the guys that are receiving doctor monitored Testosterone Therapy? Is it the same thing or is it different?


Steroids are synthetic substances similar to the male sex hormone testosterone. There are legitimate medical uses for “Steroids”. The difference is, a Doctor would never prescribe testosterone to healthy individuals to help them build muscle. Without a prescription from a doctor, steroids are illegal.


The scientific name for this class of drugs is anabolic-androgenic steroids, most people just say steroids. There are many different types and they go by different names: anadrol, oxandrin, dianabol, winstrol, deca-durabolin and equipoise.


When users take more and more of a drug, over and over again, they are called abusers. People abusing steroids have been known to take doses that are 10 to 100 times higher than the amount prescribed for medical uses by a doctor.


Many steroid abusers will take two or more kinds of steroids at once, called “Stacking”. This way of taking steroids is suppose to get users bigger faster. Some will pyramid their doses in 6-12 week cycles. At the beginning of the cycle, the abuser starts with low doses and slowly increases to higher doses. In the second half of the cycle they slowly decrease the amount of steroids. Neither of these methods have proven to be beneficial.


Abusing steroids can cause all sorts of problems. They can cause pimples to pop up, hair can fall out, guys can grow breasts and girls can grow beards. Steroid abuse can cause livers to grow tumors and hearts to clog up. They can send users into violent, angry rampages. Steroids can throw the body way out of whack. Steroids can cause biceps to bulge, abs ripple and quads balloon but the health risks are too great.


The bottom line is, Steroid abuse is not the same as doctor assisted testosterone replacement therapy or TRT. Men that are on TRT can legitimately benefit and improve their lives. Individuals that are abusing steroids run the risk of serious health complications and possible death.



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