By Charmayne Allison<\/b>, ABC News<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nLong-term steroid use can lead to cardiovascular issues, poor liver function, kidney failure and mental illness.
\nPhoto: ABC News: Mark Leonardi\n<\/p>\n
Working to calm his breathing, George Napper bent down to grip the loaded barbell in front of him.<\/p>\n
Just weeks earlier, the powerlifter had been close to death – his body pumped so full of steroids that he suffered a heart attack and was hospitalised.<\/p>\n
Yet despite the heart attack and multiple warnings from friends, Napper was only a month out of hospital when he drove to Melbourne to compete in a powerlifting tournament.<\/p>\n
“It was an absolutely idiotic decision,” he says now.<\/p>\n
“Was I really so amped up and so lost on these steroids?”<\/p>\n
In the days after the competition, Napper had a wake-up call – something had to change.<\/p>\n
Over the next year, he worked to wean himself off the steroids that had slowly consumed his life.<\/p>\n
But with very little clinical support available, Napper largely relied on his friends at the gym for guidance.<\/p>\n
“We’ve got doctors who will give you all the information on heroin and other drugs,” he says.<\/p>\n
“Steroids have been around for years – so why don’t we have the same level of support for this drug?”<\/p>\n
No clinical guidelines for quitting steroids<\/p>\n
Anabolic androgenic steroids are synthetic drugs that mimic the male hormone testosterone.<\/p>\n
The Alcohol and Drug Foundation says they can be used for medical reasons – such as hormone issues – or non-medically to build strength and muscle mass.<\/p>\n
Non-medical use of these drugs is illegal in Australia.<\/p>\n
Despite this, there has been an “absolute explosion” in the number of Australians taking up steroids in recent years, according to University of Queensland steroid researcher Dr Tim Piatkowski.<\/p>\n
Australian drug data shows<\/a> that in the seven years to 2022-23, there was an almost 40 percent increase in the rate of Australians who reported ever using steroids.<\/p>\n Border detections recently reached record levels, rising 64 percent in 2020-21 compared with the previous year.<\/p>\n And yet, the health sector hasn’t kept up with this surge in uptake, according to Dr Piatkowski.<\/p>\n He says Australia doesn’t even have standardised clinical guidelines for how to safely quit or recover from steroids.<\/p>\n “We’ve got to ask, if people are starting – and we’re seeing more of them – at some point you’d think that people should be stopping,” he says.<\/p>\n “And we actually don’t have anything effective for that.”<\/p>\n \nTim Piatkowski says there is a lack of clinical expertise when it comes to steroids. Cycle or ‘blast and cruise’<\/p>\n Napper experimented with steroids in his 20s, resuming use about 15 years later after he was diagnosed with low testosterone – possibly because of his earlier steroid use.<\/p>\n While steroids don’t cause physical dependence, the confidence boost they provide can be psychologically addictive, as Napper experienced firsthand.<\/p>\n “I was getting comments from other people, ‘You’re looking really good,'” he says.<\/p>\n “So I started experimenting with increasing the dosage.”<\/p>\n \nSteroid users often “cycle” doses or “blast and cruise”. Users often “cycle” doses – using for a period before taking a break to recover in an effort to manage risks.<\/p>\n They can also “blast and cruise” – switching between high and low doses without a full break.<\/p>\n Napper chose the latter, riskier option, but ran “quite high doses” between blasts.<\/p>\n Soon, he started to notice concerning side effects – he was struggling to breathe and could barely sleep because he kept choking under the weight of his heavy, fluid-filled frame.<\/p>\n “Eventually, things do catch up,” he says.<\/p>\n ‘They just shut me down’<\/p>\n While everyone’s experience is different, side effects from steroids can include water retention, increased aggression, baldness, severe acne and changes in sex drive.<\/p>\n Men can develop breasts and struggle with infertility – sometimes permanently – while women can experience excessive hair growth and a deepened voice.<\/p>\n Long-term use can lead to more serious impacts, including cardiovascular issues, poor liver function, kidney failure and mental illness.<\/p>\n As Napper’s significant steroid use continued, he sought out blood work to check certain health markers.<\/p>\n But while he eventually found a supportive doctor, he says many others responded with judgement.<\/p>\n “They go, ‘Oh look, you shouldn’t be doing that,'” he says.<\/p>\n “They just shut me down and asked me to leave.”<\/p>\n Users turning to online forums<\/p>\n Piatkowski says many steroid users like Napper have been told by doctors to “just stop” or “you’ve done this to yourself”.<\/p>\n “That stigma really stops people from having open and transparent discussions,” he says.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\nPhoto: ABC News: Mark Leonardi\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\nPhoto: Az Cosgrove\n<\/p>\n