I’m not asking what effects you have or will have in the future if your cycle was two months long. What I mean is, do all of the gains go away when you stop? A lot of people who are worried about being on gear for six months say that once six months hit, they will just take a break for 4-5 weeks and then start again. Will it be like starting over after that point? Also, would this affect me negatively in my future career? If so, how bad could it get? And yes, I know there’s research here, but everyone finds flaws.
What happens to most guys when they terminate their intake of steroids is that their body hardens back to just how it was before they started. This is because steroids do not create muscle tissue. What they actually do is force the body to produce more testosterone in order to compensate for your artificial intake of testosterone through anabolic steroids. When you stop taking the drug, your body counts up all the extra testosterone and returns itself back to its original state. If this does happen, there are several ways in which you can combat this damage.
Of course, there are things that are irreversible when it comes to getting bigger or ‘jacked’ for that matter, via steroid use, but the majority of guys will find that simply having a good diet coupled with light exercise along with plenty of rest can ensure that muscles remain largely intact upon ceasing steroid use.
How bad can it get?
It all depends on how much damage you have done to your body during your steroid cycle. If you are in good health before you start using steroids, chances are if you pack in the juice for about six weeks and come off clean, there won’t be any drastic or irreparable changes to your physique or anything else that may affect you in the future, however, if you are an unhealthy individual who smokes and drinks on a regular basis as well as has poor dietary habits, chances of long term effects upon cessation will be increased. If this is the case, not only will your testosterone levels drop back down to normal, but also health issues such as high cholesterol and heart disease risk factors will become present.
Of course, these side effects are not always guaranteed, but if at all possible, you should be trying to live a healthy lifestyle if you plan on taking steroids. Another thing that is important to note here is that even though there may not be any long-term damage is done or negative health implications during your steroid cycle, expect the exact opposite once you actually quit using gear. Steroid-induced muscle mass does not last forever despite claims to the contrary by many people in the industry; it simply cannot do so because anabolic steroid use only increases the amount of testosterone in your body temporarily until your own natural levels return back to normal. At this point, muscles that were gained through artificial means become lost again as well, albeit more slowly than they were gained.
So, as you can see from this article, there are ways to combat any potential damage done during a steroid cycle regardless of which steroids you have been taking and regardless of how long your cycle is for. However, those who do live an unhealthy lifestyle combined with regular steroid use will certainly be risking their own future well-being and future health issues down the road and will play a large role in deciding whether or not they experience any negative effects once it comes time to come off the gear.
If all goes well, most guys can pack away their gear and take a break without too many issues arising; however, it definitely pays to be aware of what could potentially happen if they don’t live such a healthy lifestyle whilst on gear.
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There are several ways in which you can combat this damage. The first of which is to take a natural testosterone booster (such as Tribulus or ZMA) during your cycle; this will prevent the body from dropping its own production of testosterone down too low whilst on gear, allowing you to get more out of your juice without experiencing any significant side effects when it comes time to come off the drugs. See here for more information on what exactly can be done about lowering the amount of physical deterioration that may be experienced after steroid use: http://www.steroidly.com/steroids-effects-on-body/steroids-and-your-health/.
The most important thing to remember is that with a good post cycle therapy (PCT) stack, you can circumvent all of these issues and not have to worry about any long-term consequences from your steroid use. So if at all possible, try to take a natural approach during a steroid cycle in order to ensure that when you come off the drugs, there won’t be any long-term damage done. And always bear in mind that any sort of damage caused by steroids will only be minimized significantly by living an active, healthy lifestyle both before and after your steroid cycle. If this is what you do, however, chances are all will be well come time for PCT. For more on how best to recover from a steroid cycle, see here: http://www.steroidly.com/post-cycle-therapy/
Ary Habits, chances of long-term effects upon cessation will be increased. If this is the case, not only will your testosterone levels drop back down to normal, but also health issues such as high cholesterol and heart disease risk factors will become present.
Of course, these side effects are not always guaranteed, but if at all possible, you should be trying to live a healthy lifestyle if you plan on taking steroids. Another thing that is important to note here is that even though there may not be any long-term damage is done or negative health implications during your steroid cycle, expect the exact opposite once you actually quit using gear. This is because, as many people in the industry, it simply cannot do so because anabolic steroid use only increases the amount of testosterone in your body temporarily until your own natural levels return back to normal. At this point, muscles that were gained through artificial means become lost again as well, albeit more slowly than they were gained.
So, as you can see from this article, there are ways to combat any potential damage done during a steroid cycle regardless of which steroids you have been taking and regardless of how long your cycle is for. However, those who do live an unhealthy lifestyle combined with regular steroid use will certainly be risking their own future well-being and future health issues down the road and will play a large role in deciding whether or not you’re going to experience severe negative health consequences or not.
So, as a rule of thumb, you should always try and live a healthy lifestyle with regular exercise and good dieting if you plan on taking steroids. This will ensure that your body is naturally producing testosterone at a decent rate, so when it comes time for PCT, levels do not drop too low and cause problems such as depression or lethargy. In addition to this, though, by taking natural supplements such as Tribulus during the cycle itself, the overall damage done is minimized significantly, which means there’s less chance of long-term health implications from steroid use once they’ve been discontinued.
In conclusion then, if you are looking to take anabolic steroids but are worried about long-term damage to your health, you can rest assured that there are usually ways around this. All it takes is a good post cycle therapy stack, and if you live a healthy lifestyle before, during, and after your steroid cycle, the chances of any long term damage being done are significantly minimized regardless of what anabolic steroids you have been using, although if at all possible it’s advisable to take natural supplements for this purpose also.
See here http://www.steroidly.com/pct-cycle/
If so desired, you could always have someone else purchase the gear for you, but only if they know exactly what to look for when purchasing gear because without proper education regarding steroid use, somebody may end up the fake or low-grade gear, which will only make your situation worse down the road.
Someone may also choose to purchase what is known as optimum grade gear, which is genuine pharmaceutical grade anabolic steroids purchased from a pharmacy in countries where their use is not illegal. As you can see then, there are many options that are available for those who want to take anabolic steroids but are concerned about long-term damage or health implications of doing so, and it’s simply a case of finding out which solution works best with your personal circumstances.
Of course, depending on what type of anabolic steroid cycle you have been taking, there are certain side effects that will be more pronounced than others during your post cycle therapy period, depending on the type of substances being used here. For example, if you have been taking the 17-alpha alkylated type of anabolic steroids, which are known for extreme hepatotoxicity, your liver values will be through the roof, and you will require a far longer post cycle therapy period than someone who has only taken non-17-alpha alkylated substances such as testosterone. As well as this, if we take another example such as Equipoise or trenbolone, the side effects experienced during PCT may vary depending on whether you’re using it by itself or in conjunction with other steroids such as testosterone.
If we take Equipoise for instance here, even though it is not classed as one of the more hepatic substances around, when used alone during a steroid cycle, it can cause very high blood pressure, which can cause some pretty severe side effects on its own. This is because Equipoise does not aromatize into estradiol at any level, nor does it convert to DHT or estrogen, meaning it stays as an ancillary compound in the body, causing various issues. As this would indicate, though, when used by itself during PCT, there are no notable side effects experienced, assuming your liver function has returned to normal levels. However, if you have been using trenbolone acetate, for example, along with Equipoise, then the chances of blackouts are significantly increased due to very high blood pressure, which can be very dangerous indeed, especially if driving or performing machinery where one could lose consciousness.
As you can see then, depending on what anabolic steroids you have been using during your cycle, there are always things to consider when it comes to post-cycle therapy aftercare. If, however, you are worried about long-term damage to your health, the best thing you can do is make sure that your liver values are within normal ranges before starting a steroid cycle and then employ proper PCT procedures afterward. This will minimize the risks of any long-term side effects dramatically, but even then, chances are if you use anabolics sparingly and responsibly, any side effects experienced will be reversible over time, assuming one lives a healthy lifestyle both during their steroid cycles as well as after them.
Thanks so much for this information. I think it really cleared up some things for me. I am a beginner and am about to start my first cycle of test prop, Winstrol, and Anavar. I have been doing a lot of research lately, but it’s nice to have some clarification on certain issues. Keep up the good work!
An analogy is taking antibiotics when you have a viral infection. The antibiotic kills bacteria that are not responsible for the illness you have contracted, which can cause resistant strains of bacteria to emerge later. Therefore it is pointless taking anabolic/androgenic steroids unless you are training at extremely high intensities or competing in a sport that requires strength as there will be no ‘real life’ benefit from using them outside of this. If someone takes steroids but does not train at high intensities in a sport that requires strength, then they will lose muscle when they come off the cycle, even if they try to maintain their diet and training.
No, it doesn’t work like that. Many people who use anabolic/androgenic steroids are ‘getting big’ because they are training correctly as well as using performance-enhancing drugs.
An analogy is taking antibiotics when you have a viral infection. The antibiotic kills bacteria that are not responsible for the illness you have contracted, which can cause resistant strains of bacteria to emerge later. Therefore it is pointless taking anabolic/androgenic steroids unless you are training at extremely high intensities or competing in a sport that requires strength as there will be no ‘real life’ benefit from using them outside of this. If someone takes steroids but does not train at high intensities in a sport that requires strength, then they will lose muscle when they come off the cycle, even if they try to maintain their diet and training.
Steroids cause your testicles to shrink because you have caused yourself testicular atrophy by taking supraphysiological doses of anabolic/androgenic steroids, causing your body’s natural testosterone production to shut down. They do not go back up naturally on their own after quitting AAS usage; some studies have suggested that the size of the testicles never returns fully to their pre-use state.
I was already aware that they shrink, but I thought they would return to normal. However, this explains why many steroid users get a little paranoid after quitting and feel like their balls are going to fall off or something, haha. This is a great thread, by the way, man. Thanks for putting it up!