the difference between a steroid your doctor might prescribe for pain or and the illegal steroids athletes take.
In: Chemistry
Steroid is a bunch of different chemicals that are a certain shape that the body uses as signaling. sports cheating steroids are meant to mimic testosterone to make muscles grow, but there are a bunch that have nothing to do with any of that.
(but also doctors do prescribe anabolic steroids for things, you just don’t take them in huge amounts till your heart muscle gets so thick you die like body builders do)
Also: Why should I take one and not the other when I could take both?
The steroids doctors most frequently prescribe are glucocorticoids, which mimic cortisol, a stress hormone. They’ll reduce inflammation and suppress the immune system in the short term, but long term use can lead to loss of muscle, loss of bone density, weird fat distribution, higher blood sugar and other negative effects. Illegal steroids are generally androgens, which mimic testosterone, and lead to increased muscle mass, bone density, decreased fat mass. Long term use of high doses of these can cause cardiovascular problems, etc
Depending what the steroid you are obtaining, there may be no difference.
Steroid is a term used for a giant swath of drugs that fall between has medical application and is approved by the FDA (legal but a controlled substance) to has no medical application and has no approval (illegal).
Almost all of them were created to treat some kind of ailment (chronic wasting disease an example where muscle building is the focus). Some fail in trials, some don’t work well, some are fantastic.
A doctor can prescribe you testosterone (the best steroid) / synthetic testosterone or someone with a plug can get you it from either suppliers in China / India (where most drugs are made)or from websites who dgaf about import restrictions, or with fake prescriptions.
There are also what are hormone blockers (SARMs that technically block the receptors of said hormones, it’s the same effect) that are obtained similar to testosterone mentioned above.
There is another special case, where an athlete can work with a pharma company to create a compound that is unknown to testers and regulators, but that is more myth and there aren’t a ton of examples (but they do exist). Most high level athletes can just beat the tests. HGH (a PED used for recovery) can exist your system in 90 minutes. Very hard to catch someone with that unless they just took it, and usually there is a period of time where you have to report for the test. The NBA has a 90 minute window and Lebrons agent frequented a clinic busted for selling HGH in Miami for a patient “LJ” but that just speculation.
Steroid describes a common chemical structure. Think of it this way: if the broad term steroid is like the shape triangle, individual steroids (eg. Dexamethasone or stanazolol) are like anything made up of triangles. That can be destructive things like an axe or a knife, but can also be constructive, like a bridge frame or a toy blocks.
Well steroids are a class of molecule, so it varies. But in the case of something like testosterone for example, doctors are prescribing it when you don’t have enough (or for gender affirming care when you specifically want to create an excess) while athletes take it when they don’t need it.
In other cases, corticosteroids can be prescribed because they can reduce inflammation. This is important for things like asthma or allergic rhinitis (topical use for these) as well as rheumatoid arthritis (injections). They can also be immunosuppresive for transplant patients and people with autoimmune diseases. These are sometimes used for pain relief including by athletes.
Consider that these steroids are also produced by the body so exogenous steroids can mess with the systems that already exist. In men, exogenous testosterone can lead to atrophy of the testicles (since that’s where it’s produced). Chronic exogenous corticosteroid use (taken orally or via injection) can lead to adrenal insuffiency if dosing and scheduling aren’t properly managed. This is why they’re prescription medications.
But yeah a lot of the time I don’t think they’re actually different substances, except for being used for treatment vs abused unnecessarily.
I don’t know enough about PEDs to mention anything else, though.
Think of steroids like superheroes. Some are the good guys, helping you fight pain and inflammation, and others… well, they’re a bit naughty and cause trouble.
The steroids your doctor might prescribe are the good guys. They’re called corticosteroids, and they’re like the friendly neighborhood superheroes of medicine. They help reduce swelling, ease pain, and help your body heal faster when you’re hurt or sick. It’s like having a doctor in a cape swoop in to save the day!
But then there are the illegal steroids athletes might take. These are the troublemakers, like the villains in a comic book. They’re called anabolic steroids, and instead of helping your body heal, they mess things up. Athletes might take them to get stronger or faster, but they can cause all sorts of problems like liver damage, mood swings, and even make your body stop making its own natural hormones. Not cool, right?
So, remember: doctor-prescribed steroids are the good guys, helping you feel better, while the illegal ones are like sneaky villains causing trouble. Always listen to your doctor and stay away from anything that sounds too good to be true
If you really want your mind blown… your body has steroids flying around it all the time.
Cholesterol is a steroid (builds cells).
Testosterone is a steroid (boy hormone).
Estrogen is a steroid (girl hormone).
Cortisol is a steroid (anti inflammatory).
Vitamin D is a steroid (helps with calcium).
Steroids are a pretty broad category of compounds that do a wide range of things.
And yes, the description of the steroids above is *wildly* oversimplified.
Steroids are simply the name of a wide spectrum of chemicals that have a similar molecular structure. They are completely unrelated medically. Athletes for the most part take anabolic steroids, which are all drugs containing or replicating the effects of testosterone. The most common steroid for medical purposes are called corticosteroids, like hydrocortisone and they reduce inflammation. But they are completely different drugs.
One of my colleague’s husband was given steroids during Covid. Don’t know the reason. But they say that it stretched his spine or backbone or something and now he can’t walk. Could that happen due to overdose or something. If yes, how does that happen?
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