The Effects of Steroid Use

I'd hardly call 600 mgs of test a wk abuse.

In my country, few guys on steroids are violent, but in fact they seem to have psychological problems before hand.

The steroids tends to produce more agressivity in front of some stimulus, not in any case and for "free".

It's the high estrogen levels that can cause aggressive behaviour, not high Testosterone levels. Testosterone is a very calming hormone.

Any "study" using a sample size of 2 is immediately suspect.

In my limited experience, I have always noticed increases in emotional volatility from the use of androgens. Of course they are predictable and controllable.

I could see given that, how androgens might exascerbate a violent tendency. But that violent tendency would need to be there in the first place. Anytime emotions are more volatile, I think it is consistent to say they would probably be tougher to control.

Sure roid rage is a myth, but that they can alter mood and mental state is no myth in my book. The alterations also have as much chance of having a positive effect as a negative effect. You just have to take responsibility for your actions either way.

Posted by: HitMeBack

It's the high estrogen levels that can cause aggressive behaviour, not high testosterone levels. Testosterone is a very calming hormone.

If this were true then women would be much more likely than they are to aggressive crimes, ie assault.

Posted by: ready2explode

If this were true then women would be much more likely than they are to aggressive crimes, ie assault.

No, in women the estrogen levels are balanced out with progesterone, which is a calming & nurturing hormone.

For the first half of every month, women's progesterone levels are identical to those of a man.

You're attempting to oversimplify to an extreme. If you feel the need to point fingers at an aggressive hormone, there is far more evidence to point the finger at testosterone than any other.

Posted by: ready2explode

For the first half of every month, women's progesterone levels are identical to those of a man.

You're attempting to oversimplify to an extreme. If you feel the need to point fingers at an aggressive hormone, there is far more evidence to point the finger at Testosterone than any other.

i agree.

Adrenal androgen and gonadal hormone levels in adolescent girls with conduct disorder.Pajer K, Tabbah R, Gardner W, Rubin RT, Kenneth Czambel R, Wang Y.
Columbus Children's Research Institute, Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health, Columbus, OH, USA.

There are few data on the biological correlates of female antisocial behavior. This study compared adrenal androgen and gonadal hormone levels in adolescent girls with conduct disorder (CD) to girls without any psychiatric disorder (NC). We studied 87 girls, (47 CD; 36 NC), ages 15-17 years, obtaining three blood samples, drawn 20min apart between 8 and 9 AM in the first 72h of the onset of menstrual flow. Plasma was assayed for testosterone, estradiol, androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S), sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), and cortisol; area under the curve (AUC) for each of the three samples was used in the data analysis. We also calculated the Free Testosterone Index, Free Estrogen Index, Index of Hyperandrogenism and cortisol to DHEA ratio. In addition to receiving a full psychiatric interview, each girl completed a self-report questionnaire on general aggression. Main hormone analyses controlled for potentially confounding variables such as psychiatric comorbidity and race. Girls with CD had significantly lower cortisol to DHEA ratios, but did not differ from NC girls on any other hormone variable. Girls with symptoms of aggressive CD had significantly higher mean free testosterone indexes, lower SHBG levels, and lower cortisol to DHEA ratios than girls with non-aggressive CD. Girls with CD scored higher on the aggression questionnaire, but there was no association between general aggression and any hormone variable for the sample. Our data suggest that girls with CD, particularly aggressive CD, have lower cortisol to DHEA ratios, higher levels of free testosterone, and lower levels of SHBG. Clinical and research implications of these findings are discussed.

on the other hand, it does apear to be a complex issue

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Individual differences in estrogen receptor alpha in select brain nuclei are associated with individual differences in aggression.Trainor BC, Greiwe KM, Nelson RJ.
Departments of Psychology and Neuroscience, Institute of Behavioral Medicine Research, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. [email protected]

Steroid hormones play an important role in modulating social behavior in many species. Estrogens are thought to act on an interconnected network of hypothalamic and limbic brain areas to affect aggressive behavior, although the specific nuclei unknown remain unspecified. We show that individual variation in estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) immunoreactivity in the lateral septum (LS), ventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (vBNST), and anterior hypothalamus (AHA) of CD-1 mice is positively correlated with aggressive behavior. When males were treated with fadrozole (an aromatase inhibitor), aggressive behavior was reduced, although castration did not reduce aggression. These results suggest that estrogens modulate aggressive behavior by acting on a circuit that includes the LS, vBNST, and AHA and that the source of estrogens is non-gonadal. Fadrozole also decreased c-fos expression in the lateral septum following aggressive encounters. Although the effects of estrogen on aggression appear to involve regulation of neuronal activity in the LS, additional processes are likely involved. These results suggest that estrogen acts in a specific subset of a complex network of nuclei to affect aggressive behavior.

Guys, hormones are like guns: they don't kill people; people kill people.

My mood, and whatever violent impulses I might experience from time to time, is something that depends orders of magnitude more on external factors than it does on my blood androgen profile. I'll bet it's that way for almost everyone.

It all boils down to impulse control: we either have it, or we are sociopaths...

Merry Christmas, all.

I like that bear! This is a topic that really has been beat to death and i think we are all examples of what the reality is not the myth perpetuated by the media and others.

jb

just taking my own experience, i have used test up to 1000mg a week and i feel mellow as can be. also i have observed a very high strung friend of mine on his first cycle of test at 500mg week actually calm down while on and he is one those guys you never go to a bar or club with. can we say BRAWL!!!!. but when i added winny to my cycle i did feel a rise in temper and aggression to the point in which i had to drop it. i guess people react to certain drugs differently, i ve seen the meekiest of guys have a few drinks and turn into raging numbnuts.