HYDERABAD: With two international body building icons dead in a span of seven days allegedly due to abuse of anabolic steroids or performance enhancing drugs (PEDs), gym goers, especially the teenagers and youth who are into PED’s, are warned of its adverse side effects by doctors.
Rich Piana and Mc Carver, the two bodybuilders who died, are suspected to have abused PEDs in their professional careers. Piana reportedly died due to the overdose of steroids and the other due to food choking.
Piana reportedly died due to the overdose of steroids and the other due to food choking.
In Hyderabad, the scene of steroid abuse is no different as a range of drugs are available over the counter without any prescription. The use is rampant in strength games like power lifting, body building and also among aspiring athletes as a short cut to achieve world class goals.
For Sai Vikas (name changed), a 23-year-old powerlifter, PEDs such as Dianabol, stanozolol, and Termin, are part of his strict dietary supplements besides a rigorous training cycle.
“In order to be competitive and win a medal, PEDs are mandatory. It is not just me, everyone at the top level uses them,” he said. Some admit and some don’t, but, the truth is that majority take PED’s, he added.
Interestingly, it is the coaches who ask the athletes to consume PEDs so as to be competitive and eventually bag a job in the public sector companies.
“If your aim is to be a Mr. India, a body building competition, then you have to take PEDs on a continuous basis. My coach told me so and I advise the same to my athletes,” said a fitness coach, and former Mr. Andhra Pradesh, on condition of anonymity. Also, a place at the national level on a consistent basis will assure an athlete a post in the postal or railway services and who wants to miss on that opportunity, he added.However, sports nutritionists feel that the usage of PEDs have a psychological dependence that leads to muscle dysmorphia, a condition when one doesn’t feel good about themselves.
It also has a range of withdrawal symptoms including gynecomastia, decreased libido and joint pains.
Deepa Agarwal, a sports nutritionist, said that anabolic steroids can be addictive and can lead to cancer.
“Oral steroids are extremely toxic to the liver and could lead to liver damage or even the onset of cancer in some cases. Also, the withdrawal symptoms can prove dangerous,” she said.Though PEDs are taken to improve physical appearance through increased muscle mass, the detoxification process of drinking water or coconut water can again create bloating, she added.“When such drugs are taken, naturally the muscle mass increases the load on the heart which can lead to a premature cardiac arrest. The complications will only come to light after its usage is stopped,” said A Sharath Reddy, a senior consultant interventional cardiologist.
Chemist nabbed for selling drugs without prescription
Hyderabad: A chemist was apprehended by the Hyderabad task force police for selling medicines illegally without doctor’s prescription at higher prices. The officials seized 34 bottles of codeine phosphate cough syrup, 1,780 Alprazolam tablets and 192 Spasmo Proxyvon plus tablets from the shop. The task force officials, along with drug control administration officials, raided SS Medicals at Mehdipatnam on Monday and apprehended Mohammed Sarfaraz Khan, who has been running the shop since 1998.