Demystifying Steroids

 

Your guide to safer anabolic steroid use for building muscle with fewer risks.

 

This guide is for people - of any gender - who are considering using anabolic steroids for the first time or are curious about them or for people who have used steroids before but want to learn more about how to do so more safely.

 

The purpose of this guide is to demystify the use of steroids for building muscle - to explain what they can and cannot do - and to provide holistic harm reduction information. This means this guide contains advice about how to more safely use steroids (including how to inject safely and how to mitigate side effects) and also how to adopt a good outlook on steroids (how to decide whether you should use them, how to appraise risks, and how to think about body image).

Written and researched by Dr. Benjamin Weil.
Produced by The LoveTank CIC, November 2023.

 

What’s inside

1. Who Is This Guide For?

2. A Note on Sex and Gender

3. What Are Steroids?

4. Steroids Are Not a Silver Bullet

 

4.1. Reaching your natural potential

4.2. Body image

5. Risks and Side Effects

6. Safer Steroid Use

 

6.1. What is a cycle?

6.2. What steroids should I use?

6.3. What dose should I use?

6.4. Can I use oral steroids?

6.5. How do I know if my steroids are real?

6.6. How do I look after my health on a cycle?

6.7. How do I inject safely?

6.8. What do I do when I finish a cycle?

6.9. What happens next?

 

Resources

  • 1. The r/steroids wiki

    A community resource about safer steroid use - including advice about: (1) steroid cycles for beginners, (2) post-cycle therapy, (3) dosing of compounds like aromatase inhibitors and nolvadex, (4) dosing for women, (5) the risks of steroid use under the age of 25.

    NOTE 1: You may need to create a free Reddit account to view this page:

    NOTE 2: You can find further community discussions on the r/steroids page by searching for a term you are interested in e.g. “liver protectors”

  • 1. Been There
    A charity offering one-to-one mentoring and support for people struggling with their body image

    2. MANUP?
    A charity dedicated to improving men’s mental health:

    3. On 'bigorexia'
    A Men’s Health article about men struggling with muscle dysmorphia

    4. The BDD Foundation
    Support groups and further resources from the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Foundation

    5. MyoMinds
    A charity helping people to develop better mental health regarding exercise and food

  • 1. mind.org.uk
    If you are struggling with your mental health, the charity Mind have a helpline to help you find the support you need

    2. National Health Services
    You can self-refer to NHS talking therapy here

    3. bacp.co.uk
    You can find an accredited therapist or counsellor near you using this directory

  • 1. ROIDTEST
    An at-home steroid testing kit

    2. Injecting anabolic steroids: step-by-step visual guide
    This guide from Exchange Supplies provides comprehensive information about safe intramuscular injection practices for steroids

    3. How to do an Intramuscular Testosterone Injection
    This video demonstrates how to do a safe intramuscular injection in the thigh and glute:

    4. Needle and syringe services
    If you live in the UK, you can find a list of needle exchanges where you can acquire free, sterile injecting equipment here:

    You can also buy sterile injecting equipment here OR here

    5. Blood tests
    Medichecks are an example of a company that offer paid-for blood testing to measure key health markers after a cycle

    You can find a helpful community discussion about how to read the results of blood tests here

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