Steroids
What are Steroids or Appearance & Performance Enhancing
Drugs (APED)?
Anabolic steroids are similar to the male hormone testosterone
and they can improve endurance and performance and stimulate muscle
growth.
Some people take the anabolic steroids to help build muscles or
to try and look more ‘manly’. Other people take them to improve how
they perform at sports.
What are the risks of steroids?
- Anabolic steroids can make you feel paranoid, aggressive and
violent for no reason, it’s not that unusual for anabolic steroid
users to lash out or attack family and friends.
- If you're young, anabolic steroids can mess up how your body
develops, stopping you from growing properly.
- If you're male, regular use can lead to erection problems,
growing of breasts, becoming sterile, loss of hair and development
of acne. It can also make your testicles shrink.
- If you're female, you can develop more masculine
characteristics - with extra facial hair, loss of hair on the
head, a deeper voice, shrinking breasts, and an enlarged clitoris;
as well as risking acne, an increased risk of menstrual problems
and changes in sex drive.
- Steroids can also give you high blood pressure and increase
your risk of illness and death due to liver failure, stroke or
heart attack.
- Regular users may find that they start having trouble sleeping.
They may get paranoid, or may experience dramatic mood swings; and
even violence can occur alongside strong feelings of
aggression.
- Injecting any drug, even steroids, can damage your veins and
muscles, can cause ulcers and gangrene, particularly with dirty
needles or poor injecting technique. Sharing needles, syringes and
other injecting works can help spread HIV, hepatitis C and other
infections.
Steroids bought and sold on the black market, including those
sold over the internet may be poor quality or contain other
ingredients; falsified, substandard and counterfeit anabolic
steroids are not uncommon.
Some of these counterfeit anabolic steroids may not have the
effect that the buyer wanted. Some have no active ingredient at
all.
Anabolic steroids and the law
Anabolic steroids are Class C drugs
Possession with intent to supply (which includes giving them to
friends) is illegal and could lead to 14 years in prison and an
unlimited fine.
For more information see Talk to Frank or call 0800 77 66
00 or text 82111
For information and advice on injecting, speak to your
local drug service – Peterborough’s contact details are on our
Drugs page.