A Reddit user recently outed himself as a gay man who uses steroids, offering to answer any question other users in the r/askgaybros subreddit wanted to ask. And the side effects he describes may serve as a cautionary tale for others considering steroid use.
One commenter asked the obvious question: Why would the Redditor take steroids in the first place? “Body dysmorphia,” the Redditor explained. “I also have very poor genetics for building muscle and was not happy with my body even after six to seven years in the gym.”
Another commenter asked about two of the widely known side effects of steroids: shrinking of the testicles and severe acne.
“Yes and yes,” the Redditor replied. “I would say my testicles probably got 20-25% smaller. I got pretty bad acne on my shoulders and chest. Had to take a bunch of Accutane to get rid of it, which was miserable. The acne pretty much destroyed my mental state for about six months.”
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Related: Study finds that steroid use is higher among gay and bi teen boys
And someone else posed a three-pronged question, asking the Redditor whether he intends to seek therapy for his dysmorphia, what he eats, and how the steroids have affected his sex life.
The Redditor answered all three questions: “1. I do not intend to seek therapy, as I’m not sure how much good it would do me,” he wrote. “2. My diet isn’t strict, but it’s not super bad either. A mix of Whole Foods with enough junk food to keep me sane. 3. I have noticed some differences with sex. First, my sex drive is much higher. Before steroids, I’d maybe masturbate or want sex four to five times in a week. Now two times a day is my average. I have also noticed that my orgasms seem more powerful on steroids. It’s sometimes difficult with my boyfriend because my sex drive is so much higher than his.”
Meanwhile, the National Institute on Drug Abuse lists all the possible consequences of anabolic steroid misuse, some of which may be permanent. Aside from the aforementioned side effects, those consequences include high blood pressure, blood clots, heart attacks, stroke, artery damage, decreased sperm production, enlarged breasts, testicular cancer, hepatitis, peliosis hepatis, tumor livers, aggression, mania, and delusions.
Related: Gay teens more likely to use steroids than straight teens
Dr. Terry Dubrow of Botched fame told Queerty in 2015 how dangerous steroids can be. “Look, these are intensely scary, dangerous chemicals that are self-administered in extremely high doses without any real knowledge of side effects that are often irreversible,” the doc said. “Steroids have such strong potentially negative effects that in order to get super-ripped, you have to take them into the dose range where the side effects profile gets extraordinarily high and the dangers are really excessive. They can lead to kidney failure, thinning of the skin, propensity towards developing cancer, things that you literally die from. But these guys are taking whatever it takes to look amazing. And to really change your body with steroids, you have to hurt your hurt your organs. You have to. You can’t separate cosmetic improvements with organ derangement. It’s impossible to get shredded and huge with steroids without hurting yourself. Even if you cycle on and off, perfectly, the way bodybuilders do it, you’re going to pay the price. [Pause] That’s my speech. There you go.”
MickeyMoose
Out of context scare tactics continue. Overdoing any drug including Tylenol can kill you. This clown did not reveal the amount and types of steroids he does. For example, is he stacking different types or sticking to one? I did prescribed (by my hiv physician) nandrolone for two decades with nothing but positive effects – no acne, no shrunken balls, etc. The most positive side effect was that I’m still alive and well. Abusing drugs is far different than using drugs responsibly, which this guy did not. Before protease inhibitors were developed no drug existed to treat Hiv/AIDS. UCLA Medical Center doctors prescribed us nandrolone and injectable testosterone to maintain muscle mass so we didn’t die of muscle wasting. The guy (yes, it’s just one person) who runs Queerty cotinues to promote false and prejudiced information and click-bait headlines.
quantum
It’s interesting your use of Tylenol as an example of a drug which is in common use but can be dangerous if abuse, though you seem to have edited that out between me opening this article and then going to reply to you.
The plot of the short film Trevor (which I have to imagine you’ve at least heard of) is a young teen attempting suicide by downing a bottle of aspirin. What a shame that they never during the course of the film mention that when taken correctly, aspirin can treat mild pain and prevent heart attacks!
As for what you think Queerty is trying to do, they spell it out pretty clearly on their parent company’s website:
“CULTURE & ENTERTAINMENT
Personalities and stories for entertainment-loving millennials. Relatable and inspirational content—humorous, culturally-fluent, and brand-safe.”
What you call clickbait they would likely call engagement, but to say that they “promote false and prejudiced information” is a bizarre stretch of logic. If you are that unhappy with what this arm of the parent company Q Media is doing, I would suggest you spend less time here and more time on sister sites LGBTQ Nation, which is far more news focused and INTO, which features deeper, more personal essays on topics of interest to Gen Z.
abfab
Q is the Gay National Enquirer sans UFO stories or Lesbian Martian abductions. And to see the men we once admired a few decades ago, now deflated and sick looking….that should be enough to keep anyone away from steroids.
bachy
Anyone on TRT? I’m not, but very curious about it. An ex started taking it and I was surprised by the transformation.
abfab
PeeSantis and Chump do it…..need I say more? Another rackett.
nm4047
OMG, a story on a gay man taking drugs that are know to be harmful. I’m clutching my pearls that gay men would ever do such a thing. Be fascinated as to what percentage of ‘customers’ on Canadian Pharmacy are gay vs str8.
Man About Town
I find it odd that this extremely insecure guy does these dangerous things to his body, yet he has a boyfriend. I’d like to know what the boyfriend has to say about all this!
redzebra1
Either he lied, or I’m betting he doesn’t tell the BF what he does to his body. I won’t date a wreck like this guy!
john.k
I remember many years ago admiring a well built and defined man in the dressing room of a swimming pool. One of my companions said “Steroids”. I asked how he knew. He pointed the the man’s lower back and said “Bacne, a symptom of steroid use”.