Anabolic Doc

By Thomas O’Connor, M.D.                  

Important “Medical Mistakes” to Avoid During Your Next Cycle!

Part 1

            Hey folks, it’s the Anabolic Doc coming at you for another information-filled article. Even though I have been with Muscular Development for only a few months, all I can say is that it has been super exciting. I would first like to thank Steve Blechman for giving me the opportunity to lead the “Anabolic Community” with true medical direction and guidance. For years our “Brothers and Sisters in Iron” have had to deal with a lot of their medical problems on their own. Getting valid information from a doctor even willing to monitor your anabolic steroid and performance-enhancing drug regimen and do their best to keep you healthy, has been nonexistent. This is where I come in, because I am willing to put it all on the line to make sure that you get the best medical care in the world when you are one of my patients.

            I always get e-mails asking what kind of things should be avoided during a cycle from a medical perspective. We have all read these boring articles on basic ideas of what to do and not do during a cycle to help improve your results. But this series is going to take it over the top and won’t be like anything you have ever read before. I am going to discuss with you the most important medical mistakes to avoid during your next cycle. I am going to touch on some very basic ideas first off, because many of our readers here at MD may be planning their very first cycle.

            You may be familiar with some ideas that I present in this series, and many of them will not be so familiar. A lot of powerlifters and bodybuilders avoid these issues out of ignorance, or sheer laziness. Next, I will discuss some advanced information as well, to help those who may be doing more intricate stacks that even a top pro bodybuilder could relate to. I am going to cover the most important mistakes that I see in my clinical practice that athletes who do use performance-enhancing drugs are guilty of committing. I am going to give you the real deal here, people. I am not just going to sprout off some textbook info at you, hoping you can decipher heads or tails of what I am about to explain.

            Remember, I want to be scientific in my explanations, but I know that the majority of the readership at MD is not doctors or scientists but hardcore bodybuilders who want to know as much about the “Anabolic Science” and its medical application and health prevention. With this, you can expect me to help you understand the science of medicine in relation to anabolic steroid use and their side effects. I will be presenting things in layman’s terms as well, so everyone can truly take advantage of all the information that I have to offer.

Time to Be Responsible

            Now before I get to discussing the medical mistakes that I want cover with this issue, it is imperative to know that as a strength athlete who has decided to go to the dark side and incorporate performance-enhancing drugs into their program, I want you to be responsible. Now when I say responsible, I don’t mean to be responsible to pay your cable bill on time or to make sure you take out the garbage. I am also not talking about being responsible about making sure you fork over half your paycheck every week for child support, due to that one-night-stand you had with that exotic dancer named Bambi, while you were blitzed into a Jager Bomb coma. I just hate those fucking DNA tests; oops sorry— I fell off track there for a minute.

            No, I am talking about being responsible for taking care of your health. When I say health here I am not talking about today or tomorrow, I am talking about thinking about the next 20-plus years of your life. Oh, I know the scene and what happens in the shadows of anabolic enhancement, so you should know that I am not one of those uptight asshole doctors who wears his smock around his office with his nose turned up at you. No, I am nothing of that sort. In fact, I detest that arrogant type of attitude and when you deal with me, you are guaranteed a warm smile and a true sincere doctor who wants the best for your competitive career and your long-term health.

            The problem with many strength athletes, both bodybuilders and powerlifters, is the fact that they do not think about the long-term consequences of their actions. They only think of what is happening right now— today. Like I mentioned earlier, this is the wrong attitude to have because remember, you reap what you sow. The decisions you take today may come and bite you on the ass like a rabid pit bull tomorrow, so you have to make sure that you always think of the possible repercussions of choices.

            Now, I don’t want to sound like one of those guys who harps on things, but the reality is, as a patient of mine or even one who reads my columns, I want you to take responsibility for your health. With this said, let’s now take a look at what the ‘Anabolic Doc’ has to offer!

Not Getting Blood Work Done

            This right here is the most important piece of information that I am going to give you, bar none. This is the first and most critical thing you are going to do to keep yourself healthy. No, I am not saying this so you come and see me so I can bill you— not at all. This is not my intention in the least. No matter who your doctor is, you must get this done at least twice per year as a minimum. This includes a full panel of things like your cholesterol, both HDL and LDL. Your blood pressure, triglycerides, homocysteine levels, liver values, and kidney function should also be monitored regularly, among others.

            This is the bare minimum that you should do to know how your organs are functioning. How do you know what is going on with your body and your organ health if you don’t get checked at least a couple times per year? Now I know some bodybuilders who are more responsible do this, but I still know that it is not more than 20 percent of those who use steroids. The biggest offenders in this arena are powerlifters. I know you are my “Brothers in Iron,” but the fact remains that way too many of you are lazy asses and don’t get this done at all. Hell, I have had world-class powerlifters come into my office and they have been using steroids close to 14 years and not once have they ever got their blood work done. What the hell is that!? This, in my opinion, is the most irresponsible thing you could do. Now not only is this irresponsible for you— but what about your wife and kids? Don’t you owe it to them to at least try and take care of your health?

            Like I mentioned earlier, if you decide to tread down the “Anabolic Path,” then you have to be responsible for your actions. You can’t do something like go on 30 cycles over a decade of use and abuse and then think, “Hey maybe I should get some blood work done to see if my liver isn’t bloated like a fucking dead horse.” I hate to say this, but if this is you or your current mental state, then you are going to pay the fucking piper and pay him with your ass if you don’t step up to the plate and be a true man about taking care of your health.

            Now you may be thinking that the Anabolic Doc is some type of arrogant prude, but no, I am not. I truly care for your health and want you to be the best competitive athlete you can be— but at the same time, I want you to realize that you are taking prescription-strength drugs to enhance your performance. That 50 mg of Thai Dbol that you chugged down this morning with your oatmeal were not “Hot Tamales” (I just loved that candy as a kid), so you cannot take this lightly. These are serious medications, (some more than others, and you will see this when we start discussing insulin and thyroid drugs) so you cannot just think that you can just do whatever you want and get away with it for years on end. This is not the case.

            You may think you are a bad-ass because you weigh 260 pounds with 8 percent body fat, but listen to me closely here for a minute. When one of your organs fails, or another major health ailment takes you down, then you will see right away that you are not made of molten steel, but flesh and bones. Even the biggest bad-ass can be brought to his knees when even a simple medical ailment hinders his body from functioning the way it should. So please, no matter if you can bench press 600 pounds or if your arms are 23 inches, don’t let this make you think that you are indestructible. Because when reality hits you in the face like a bitch slap from a pimp on 125^th and Highland Avenue, you will wish you listened to the Anabolic Doc and the important message he tried to convey!

Using Underground Steroids

            Now I can see all of the cyber experts reading this now and saying, “This guy doesn’t know the reality of the scene, man— he’s out of his environment.” No actually, I am not out of the scene, you 21-year-old ass-clown, because I have been in the underground trenches longer than you have been alive. I knew the ins and outs of anabolic pharmacology and the underground street scene when your mother was wiping your ass. So don’t give me any of your ignorant rhetoric. Now you may be thinking how he can say that in a time like this, being the fact that most readers live in the United States. OK, let me explain.

            I fully understand what is going on in the scene at the underground hardcore level. I know what happened with Operation Gear Grinder back in 2005; they put a major halt on much of the veterinary-grade gear coming out of Mexico that supplied 90 percent of the black market in this country. Quality Vet, Denkall, Animal Power, Brovel, Tornel, SYD Group and others were the major players in the U.S. steroid black market. This major bust ultimately caused the massive increase of clandestine labs to be set up and hence the underground craze that started in this country.

            But first you have to look at the medical perspective. Do you really know where your stuff is being made? No you don’t! You could have some guy making this stuff in his garage with an environment that resembles a slum in Calcutta. This is what you want to inject into your body? No wonder so many guys are getting abscesses like it is going out of style. Cleanliness is of utmost importance— not only so you don’t get an abscess that erupts like Mount Vesuvius but also for you organ health. If you think you are doing your kidneys any favors by injecting dirty gear, think again, my friend.

            Didn’t you ever wonder what years of injecting dirty shit could do to your organs? Sterile prep conditions are only one of the problems you could run into. What about metals, carcinogens and contaminants? We all know that the majority of raw powders that these underground labs use come from China. Now, if you have watched the news over the last couple years, you know that they don’t have the best reputation for quality control.

            OK, let me see— the lead paint used in children’s toys or the melamine in the baby milk formulas? Close to 300,000 Chinese babies were affected and became ill over this whole melamine scam that took place in the baby formula scandal. Six of these babies died with still several hundred in critical condition because of major kidney shutdown. If they are willing to cut corners to save money and risk a major health crisis like this in their own country, what is their compassion toward bodybuilders living in the U.S.?

            MMM… if they don’t give a rat’s ass about all these contaminants that even go out to their own people, including babies, then are they going to care if they send Bob Smith living in “Butt-Fuck Idaho” some Test Enanthate powder laced with mercury, lead or PCBs? The answer is a big FUCK NO! Think about this for one minute here and take note, as this is a serious matter. PCBs, which are known as polychlorinated biphenyls, consist of close to 210 different chemicals that have similar structures. They were developed in 1929 and used for many different industrial purposes. The problem with this stuff is that it is super-resilient; it takes forever to break down.  

            Now this is where it gets juicy. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has stated several times that being exposed to PCBs can increase your chances for cancer and listen up here folks, specifically liver and kidney cancer! If this doesn’t make you sit up and take notice, I don’t know what will. From tests done that I have seen, many of the underground labs do contain an abundance of heavy metals and other contaminants and this was confirmed by our own Team MD writer William Llewelyn.           Think about that for a minute, my friends. Not only do you not know the conditions in which your underground gear is made, you also don’t even know the company the powder is coming from in China or the conditions in which it is manufactured. Maybe the same company that is pumping hormone powders on the black market is making a chemical that is carcinogenic in the same manufacturing equipment. How do you know? Then you are getting trace remnants of that carcinogen in your gear powder and then you guys back home in the heart of America are injecting this into your bloodstream. Scary, isn’t it!? I bet you didn’t think of that scenario the last time you bought a bottle of underground Deca from your boy “Big Mike” in the change room of your local gym.

            Now I know you are going to break my balls and tell me that it’s hard to get real pharmaceutical gear and all that. I know the reality of the scene and the product that was available in the ’80s and ’90s that was American-made and all the goodies from Europe are no longer a viable option. So I understand that those who use steroids in America are between a rock and a hard place. But in the end, that doesn’t change the fact that you could be introducing potent carcinogens into your system via injection because Mao Lee in Shanghai doesn’t give a “flying Commie fuck” if your raw hormone powder contains impurities that will give you cancer in 10 years. Nothing replaces real pharmaceutical gear for performance and health, and that is the bottom line!

Take My Words to Heart

Now with this installment, I covered some basic but very important mistakes that are critical for maintaining your health during your next cycle. Even though they are very elementary in nature, how many of you reading this who do use anabolic steroids avoid them? I know many of you and I am not talking about just the beginners, but also the veterans in the sport have fallen prey to these anabolic blunders. I hope that I have opened up some eyes with this issue and have actually made you think about what you are doing in your path to build that ultimate physique. Like I said from the beginning, if you take this path in life, you have to be fully aware of the consequences and you must do all that you can to prevent health conditions down the road.

Anabolic Doc 411

            Now one of the additions to my regular column is the Anabolic Doc 411. This will be a nice little segment about me and my personal practice. Here you can take a glimpse inside what I am currently up to with my clients and personal life. Here I will give you some insight on what is going on with my training program to break yet another record in the bench press. You can look forward to my opinions on some different topics and what is currently going on in the media with the “War on Steroids” propaganda that is launched day in and day out in this country. So starting next month, get ready for some interesting hardcore snippets into the life and times of the Anabolic Doc!

References:

            www.usdoj.gov,DEA Leads Largest Steroid Bust in History.

            Buckley C, More than 54,000 Affected by Milk Scandal, National Post.

            Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) [CAS Number 1336-36-3]. Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), 1997.

            Llewellyn W, Counterfeit Analysis Report, Muscular Development.

            Mayes, BA., McConnell, EE., Neal, BH., Brunner, MJ., Hamilton, SB., Sullivan, TM., Peters, AC., Ryan, MJ., Toft, JD., Singer, AW., Brown, JF, Jr.., Menton, RG and Moore, JA. 1998. Comparative carcinogenicity in Sprague-Dawley rats of the polychlorinated biphenyl mixtures Aroclors 1016, 1242, 1254, and 1260. Toxicol Sci, 41 (1): 62-76.