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Originally Posted by trickg (Dr.) Tom,
Dude - relax a bit and read my original post. I never said I was considering it, nor do I think that anyone else would or should. I was merely curious to know if anyone had any experience with it. Anabolic steroids have been prescribed by doctors and used for real medical reasons and not as a performance enhancer, and there is a chance that there might be someone who has taken them for legitimate purposes and has had some sort of effect on their playing because of it.
Is it wrong to ask the question? I mean, it isn't like we are talking about doing heroin or anything, although there have been many who have done just that. (Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, David Crosby - heck, most of the Rock and Roll hall of fame!)
I have googled the drugs and have done some reading about them. Most of the negative long term side effects come from people who abuse them and take more than what would be considered normal, as well as taking them for longer periods than would be considered normal by the medical community. I would tend to think that a short term prescription (6-8 weeks) of an anabolic would do far less damage than that caused by many other "normal" medications such as current medications that are prescribed for conditions such as a high colesterol or high blood pressure. Some of the side effects of those medications are downright scary, yet they are prescribed and used on a daily basis by thousands in this country.
I guess it depends on your point of view. |
Patrick:
I wasn't suggesting that you were wrong for broaching the subject. But in my opinion, we abuse ourselves far too much under the rubricks, "there are more dangerous things than . . ." and "everybody does it". The reality is that there are always more dangerous things. What the heck! Heroin is more dangerous than methamphetamines. Does that observation make its use okay? I think not. So the fact that there are more dangerous drugs around is not a valid argument. Things have to be evaluated on their own merits, not how they compare to other dangerous things.
As for the "everybody-does-it" ploy that we all like to use, well, 100 million Americans are seriously overweight (Note well the word "seriously". That means they are not just a bit overweight; they are really fat, and are on a slippery slope to degenerative diseases and shortened lives.)
As far as hypertension drugs, diabetes drugs, etc. are concerned, of course pharmaceuticals have side effects. It's a case of the lesser of two evils, isn't it? Would I rather have the side effects or die of my disease? You know the answer to that one!
Best,
Tom