I have been getting an increasing number of messages from individuals under eighteen asking me advice about prohormones. Although, I don't mind having these types of discussions with them, I feel as though I have typed the side effects up for them numerous times and still have trouble detering them from using them, so I want to outline some of the potential risks involved with teenagers using prohormones.
[size=+1]Health Risks[/size]
When you are under 21, your endocrine system is still developing. This should be obvious as you are still going through the end of puberty, getting acne, etc. During this time peroid, supplementing with extrogenous hormones is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. There is potential for very serious and long term side effects to occur. I hear all the time some of these people saying that "I've stopped growing, so it's okay". No - it's not okay. There are many other potential side effects besides growth plates. Here is a list of a few.
1) Premature closing of growth plates. This one is the most known about. Even if you think you have stopped growing, there still is a potential for height increase over time. I have known people who are 18+ who have continued to grow in height. Scientists know that growth plates don't fuse completely in some cases until individuals are past 22. Don't be deterred just because you haven't grown taller in awhile.
2) Impotence. Supplementing with hormones while you are still growing can potentially cause PERMANENT impotence and fertility issues in teenagers. When you add testosterone, estrogen and a wealth of other synthetic androgens to your body it can cause problems with your normal testicular growth and function. Remember, some of these effects are more than just temporary.
3) Liver/Kidney Problems. I hear all the time teenagers say "Well my friends used it and they got big and nothing happened to them." Really? How do you know? Have they been to a doctor and had their liver and kidney values checked? I doubt it. Just because a person looks okay on the outside, doesn't mean that they could have a host of problems on the inside. Liver and kidney damage is nothing short of serious. This can occur even in people who are past their teen years.
4) Gyno or "bitch tits". I believe this using androgens in teens can really increase the risk of gyno. Gyno has been known to happen naturally in many teenagers because of already fluxating hormones. When you add more hormones to the mix, you dramatically increase the problems. Remember that once you have gyno, its very hard to get rid of unless you take the proper precautions up front.
5) Hair loss/acne/prostate aggrevation, etc. All of these can be increased and agrevated with external androgen use. Have you ever seen a 20 year old going bald? It's not pretty. Don't think it can't happen to you.
6) Brain function. It is well known that hormones play a role in development of cognative brain function. Adding external hormones when your brain is still developing could be a disaster waiting to happen. How can you now many years down the road there won't be problems?
[size=+1]Psychological Problems[/size]
Being a teenager can be difficult as it is. Getting used to your own body image can be hard if you feel you're different than everyone else. Many teenagers turn to bodybuilding to help improve that image, and that can be a very healthy thing. However, when a teenager becomes obsessed or is only after short term goals of getting ripped in 6 weeks then it can be a very serious problem when prohormones/steroids get in the mix.
1) Abuse. There is a high potential for abuse when individuals turn to prohormones/steroids when they aren't mature enough to handle them. Most of these individuals had these substances recommended to them by friends with erroneous data presented to them on how to use them and how they work. I have seen teenagers on this board claim to never come off cycles of Mag-10 and 1AD. There is no reason to abuse your body like that. Never coming off hormones can have even greater risks than using them for the short term, such as halting normal hormone production permantely. If you have a problem and want to discuss it with us, please post it.
[size=+1]Legal Problems[/size]
Using steroids and prohormones underage can have very obvious legal implications. Since all prohormones have labels on them indicated that they are not for use for individuals under 18, you take into liability not only yourself and your family, but risk liability on the manufacturer and seller who sold these substances to you. By doing this, you are hurting the community who use these substances responsibly. Take responsibility for yourself and stay away from these. Causing harm to yourself is one thing, but everytime a teenager uses prohormones, the potential for them being banned increases. Here are some other problems
1) Drug testing. If you are a teenager playing sports, using steroids and prohormones can seem like a good idea to increase your performance. How would it look if you suddenly got tested for them? Being tested for prohormones WILL SHOW UP AS STEROIDS. You will have no recourse for this, and could potentially find yourself being investigated by the authorities.
2) Purchasing steroids is already illegal, but purchasing prohormones can have implications as well. As I already said, on all bottles of prohormones there is a label saying "Not for use for individuals under 18". That is not just printed on there as a joke, that is on there for a reason. If you bought these substances underage and then got into trouble or had one of the side effects listed above from taking these, what do you think your parents are going to do? They are probably going to sue the manufacturer, sue the seller, and possibly contact their congressmen demanding these substances be banned. You just screwed everyone because you were in a hurry to get some quick muscle. Take into consideration the rest of us before you make your irresponsible purchases.
Please read this over and think about what your goals are a long time before you decide to take your health into jeopardy and risk legal repercussions by using prohormones and steroids as a teenager. You not only endanger yourself, but all of us who want to or may want to use prohormones one day. We all want to have good gains and have pefect bodies, thats why we're here. But rushing into things and abusing susbstances is not the answer. There is absolutely no justification for teenagers to use prohormones or steroids. None. So, before you decide to use them - please take some time out, and make a post describing your training, diet and supplemenation. I know that me and the other members of the board would be more than happy to help you make some changes to your diet and training to help gain naturally, without the use of androgens. Doing this, you will save us all a a lot of grief.
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