Some people take legal dietary supplements that have certain steroid hormones also made by the human body. One such drug is dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). The body can turn DHEA into other steroid hormones, including testosterone,estrogen, and cortisol. People use it to try to make their muscles bigger. But if taken in large amounts, they can cause the same side effects as anabolic steroids.
Anabolic steroids can cause serious side effects. Some of these effects can be permanent.
In men, anabolic steroids can:
Reduce sperm count.
Shrink the testicles.
Cause you not to be able to father children.
Enlarge the breasts.
In women, anabolic steroids can:
Increase body hair.
Make skin rough.
Decrease breast size.
Enlarge the clitoris.
Deepen the voice.
In both men and women, anabolic steroids can cause:
Bone growth to stop before it is complete in a teen. The teen may not reach his or her full adult height.
A heart attack or stroke, even in a very young person.
High blood pressure.
Higher levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) and lower levels of good cholesterol (HDL).Liver disease and possibly liver cancer. The chance of these problems is higher when steroids are taken as a pill.
Oily skin and acne.
Male-pattern hair loss.
Skin infections that can become severe if the drug was tainted with bacteria.
Irritability, rage, uncontrolled high energy (mania), or false beliefs (delusions).
