Do you ever wonder how some people are able to gain muscles really fast?

Some may have obtained their muscles through a disciplined weight-lifting and diet routine.

However, others may have obtained them through the unlawful use of steroids.

Steroids have a big name in the bodybuilding industry as they give crazy gain and stamina.

Essentially, they were introduced for treating issues of puberty and cancer. But people started to abuse it without looking out for its side effects.

Today, we’ll discuss the side effects of steroid use in men to give you an idea.

After all, you must be aware of those nasty effects when you are planning to use them.

8 Major Side Effects of Using Steroids

Regular use of anabolic steroids can cause physical and psychological changes in both men and women.

Sometimes, those changes are irreversible and affect overall fitness.

Here’s a list of side effects of steroid use in men:

1. Cardiovascular Issues

Cardiovascular issues come as the side effects of long-term steroid use. It can trigger strokes and heart attacks in younger males as well.

In essence, steroids increase the size of your heart's left ventricle as well as your blood pressure. This may increase your risk of getting heart disease.

In addition, steroids also interfere with the levels of high-density lipoprotein and low-density lipoprotein.

As a result, there’s a risk of Atherosclerosis. In this disorder, fatty substances lodge inside arteries and block blood flow which can cause a stroke.

2. Liver damage

Steroid abuse may lead to liver damage, tumors, and peliosis hepatis.

Basically, Peliosis Hepatis is a rare disorder in which blood-filled cysts grow inside the liver.

The cysts can rupture, resulting in internal bleeding and, in rare circumstances, death.

Along with that, liver damage interferes with the nutrient transfer in the body parts. This may lead to poor health and lead to many health issues.

3. Decrease in Testosterone levels

Regular use of steroids disrupts the normal secretion of many essential hormones in men.

One of them is testosterone, which is responsible for masculine features.

Further, it leads to hypogonadism, in which men suffer testicular shrinkage and impaired function.

With the decrease in sperm count, steroid interferes with male fertility.

Additionally, a decrease in testosterone may cause an imbalance in estrogen in the body.

4. Musculoskeletal Issues

When an adolescent uses steroids, the high sex hormone levels cause the bones to stop growing.

Therefore, it may boost testosterone levels but it affects physical growth.

In fact, men who abuse steroids have weak tendons and joints. As a result, they go through so much pain as they grow older.

All in all, bone-related issues are side effects of steroid shots that are too hard to ignore.

5. Hair Loss

Hair loss is a negative change that occurs in men who use steroids.

There are tons of products to prevent hair loss after taking steroids.

However, only a few of them actually give results and restore hair loss.

Most people worry how will hair loss from steroids grow back.

Well, the answer is not simple as it depends on the steroid abuse done by the user.

6. Skin Problems

Essentially, skin problems were thought to be side effects of short-term steroid use. However, studies suggest that it can remain a long-term issue in frequent steroid users.

Basically, people who inject steroids suffer from oily skin which causes acne. Along with that, hormonal changes also causes cysts and pimples.

Therefore, if you want to look good, sweat inside the gym instead of going for steroids.

7. Psychiatric Effects

Steroids may not produce the same powerful, rapid response in the brain as, say, cocaine.

It can, however, cause alterations in the brain over time. These alterations can affect the generation and supply of neurotransmitters.

Therefore, in the long run, users may show signs of aggression and mania.

High anabolic steroid doses have also been linked to serious mood disorders, such as mania, hypomania, and major depression.

8. Infection

Infection is one of the major side effects of steroid injections.

Re-using needles might put steroid users at the risk of getting HIV and Hepatitis B or C.

Moreover, many users damage their skin by injecting steroids in the same area. In the long run, this may cause life-threatening viral infections.

Along with all this, steroids are addictive. You may get dependent on them. Some people even need to go through withdrawal treatment to get rid of steroid addiction.

After learning about these side effects of steroid use in men, we hope you’ll say no to them.

With that said, allow us to wrap things up in the final segment down below.

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Final Verdict

Finally, we conclude steroids are unsafe and carry lots of downsides that make them unworthy.

In fact, long-term use of these chemicals can cause serious life-threatening effects.

Since many of those effects are irreversible, it makes them too dangerous. That’s the reason why steroids are banned in many countries.

In short, steroid use is a serious decision, and the risks totally outweigh the benefits.

In our final words, we’ll recommend using natural ways to increase muscle mass and avoid steroids at any costs.

Kindly share this blog with your friends who are unaware of the side effects of steroid use in men.