Steroids (Anabolic - Androgenic)
Anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) are manufactured substances related to male sex hormones (e.g., testosterone). “Anabolic” refers to muscle-building and “androgenic” refers to increased male sexual characteristics. “Steroids” refers to the class of drugs. These drugs can be legally prescribed to treat conditions resulting from steroid hormone deficiency, such as delayed puberty, but also body wasting in patients with AIDS and other diseases that result in loss of lean muscle mass.
How are AAS Abused?
Some people, both athletes and non-athletes, abuse AAS in an attempt to enhance performance and/or improve physical appearance. AAS are taken orally or injected, typically in cycles of weeks or months interrupted by shorter resting periods (this is referred to as “cycling”). In addition, users often combine several different types of steroids, a practice referred to as “stacking.”
How Do AAS Affect the Brain?
The immediate effects of AAS in the brain are mediated by their binding to androgen and estrogen receptors, which can then shuttle into the cell nucleus to influence patterns of gene expression. Because of this, the acute effects of AAS in the brain are substantially different from those of other drugs of abuse. The most important difference is that AAS are not euphorigenic, meaning that they do not trigger rapid increases in the neurotransmitter dopamine, which are responsible for the “high” that often drives substance abuse behaviors. However, long-term use of AAS can eventually have an impact on some of the same brain pathways and chemicals—such as dopamine, serotonin, and opioid systems—that are affected by drugs of abuse. Considering the combined effect of their complex direct and indirect actions, it is not surprising that AAS can affect mood and behavior in significant ways.
AAS and mental health
Taken together, the preclinical, clinical, and anecdotal reports suggest that steroids may contribute to psychiatric dysfunction. Research shows that abuse of anabolic steroids may lead to aggression and other adverse effects.1 For example, many users report feeling good about themselves while on anabolic steroids, but extreme mood swings can also occur, including manic-like symptoms that could lead to violence.2 Researchers have also observed that users may suffer from paranoid jealousy, extreme irritability, delusions, and impaired judgment stemming from feelings of invincibility.
Addictive potential
Animal studies have shown that AAS are reinforcing; that is, animals will self-administer AAS when given the opportunity, just as they do with other addictive drugs.3 This property is more difficult to demonstrate in humans, but the potential for AAS abusers to become addicted is consistent with their continued abuse despite physical problems and negative effects on social relations.4 Also, steroid abusers typically spend large amounts of time and money obtaining the drugs, which is another indication of addiction. Individuals who abuse steroids can experience withdrawal symptoms when they stop taking AAS, such as mood swings, fatigue, restlessness, loss of appetite, insomnia, reduced sex drive, and steroid cravings, all of which may contribute to the need for continued abuse. One of the most dangerous withdrawal symptoms is depression, because, when persistent, it can sometimes lead to suicide attempts.
Research also indicates that some users might turn to other drugs to alleviate some of the negative effects of AAS. For example, a study of 227 men admitted in 1999 to a private treatment center for dependence on heroin or other opioids found that 9.3 percent had abused AAS before trying any other illicit drug. Of these, 86 percent first used opioids to counteract insomnia and irritability resulting from the steroids.5
What Other Adverse Effects do AAS Have on Health?
Steroid abuse can lead to serious, even irreversible health problems. Some of the most dangerous among them include liver damage, jaundice (yellowish pigmentation of skin, tissues, and body fluids), fluid retention, high blood pressure, increases in LDL (bad cholesterol), and decreases in HDL (good cholesterol). Other reported effects include renal failure, severe acne, and trembling. In addition, there are some gender- and age-specific adverse effects:
- For men—shrinking of the testicles, reduced sperm count, infertility, baldness, development of breasts, increased risk for prostate cancer
- For women—growth of facial hair, male-pattern baldness, changes in or cessation of the menstrual cycle, enlargement of the clitoris, deepened voice
- For adolescents—stunted growth due to premature skeletal maturation and accelerated puberty changes; adolescents risk not reaching their expected height if they take AAS before the typical adolescent growth spurt
In addition, people who inject AAS run the added risk of contracting or transmitting HIV/AIDS or hepatitis, which causes serious damage to the liver.
What Treatment Options Exist?
There has been very little research on treatment for AAS abuse. Current knowledge derives largely from the experiences of a small number of physicians who have worked with patients undergoing steroid withdrawal. They have learned that, in general, supportive therapy combined with education about possible withdrawal symptoms is sufficient in some cases. Sometimes, medications can be used to restore the balance of the hormonal system after its disruption by steroid abuse. If symptoms are severe or prolonged, symptomatic medications or hospitalization may be needed.
How Widespread is AAS Abuse?
Monitoring the Future*
Monitoring the Future is an annual survey used to assesses drug use among the Nation’s 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students. Steroid use among all three grades remained unchanged from 2006 to 2007, for both boys and girls, although significant reductions were noted since 2001 for lifetime and past-year use among all grades, and for past-month use among 8th and 10th graders. Among seniors in 2007, past-year steroid use was reported by 2.3 percent of boys versus 0.6 percent of girls.
Anabolic Steroid Use by Students
2007 Monitoring the Future Survey
| |
8th Grade |
10th Grade |
12th Grade |
| Lifetime |
1.5% |
1.8% |
2.2% |
| Past Year |
0.8 |
1.1 |
1.4 |
| Past Month |
0.4 |
0.5 |
1.0 |
|
“Lifetime” refers to use at least once during a respondent’s lifetime.
“Past year” refers to use at least once during the year preceding an individual’s response to the survey.
“Past month” refers to use at least once during the 30 days preceding an individual’s response to the survey.
Other Information Sources
* These data are from the 2007 Monitoring the Future survey, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, DHHS, and conducted by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. The survey has tracked 12th graders’ illicit drug use and related attitudes since 1975; in 1991, 8th and 10th graders were added to the study. The latest data are online at www.drugabuse.gov.
1 Pope HG Jr, Kouri EM, Hudson MD. Effects of supraphysiologic doses of testosterone on mood and aggression in normal men: a randomized controlled trial. Arch Gen Psychiatry 57(2):133–140, 2000.
2 Pope HG, Katz DL. Affective and psychotic symptoms associated with anabolic steroid use. Am J Psychiatry 145(4):487–490, 1988.
3 Arnedo MT, Salvador A, Martinez-Sanchis S, Gonzalez-Bono E. Rewarding properties of testosterone in intact male mice: a pilot study. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 65:327–332, 2000.
4 Brower KJ. Anabolic steroid abuse and dependence. Curr Psychiatry Rep 4(5):377–387, 2002.
5 Arvary D, Pope HG Jr. Anabolic-androgenic steroids as a gateway to opioid dependence. N Engl J Med 342:1532, 2000.
Revised 6/08
Source: The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) website
(http://www.nida.nih.gov/)
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Steroid Rehab and Drug Detox Facility
Seabrook, New Jersey (NJ)
(800)761-7575
Seabrook House is an internationally
recognized, private and exclusive, and CARF accredited inpatient drug rehab and alcoholism rehab treatment center. Our main facility is located in rural Bridgeton, New Jersey (NJ), convenient to New York (NY), Pennsylvania (PA), Maryland (MD), Delaware (DE), Virginia (VA), Connecticut
(CT), Rhode Island (RI) and Massachusetts (MA). Our extended-care luxury transitional living facility is located in Tioga County, Pennsylvania (PA), within minutes of the New York state border.
Our alcohol and drug rehab campus in New Jersey extends over a 40-acre manicured estate,
providing a serene and healing drug rehab environment. Our 90 day rehab transitional living facility in Pennsylvania is similarly situated on a 14-acre estate with rolling hills and spectacular views of the surrounding mountains. For over
34 years we have been helping families find the courage to find
recovery from alcoholism, drug addiction, substance abuse such
as marijuana addiction, heroin dependency, cocaine addiction, xanax abuse, prescription medication abuse and other compulsive diseases.
If you have a loved one that does not want help, don't give up! Many have come to our rehab program and into full recovery as a direct result of a Family Intervention. Call or click now for more information on how family intervention may work for you.
Applying
our research-based recovery treatment center methods for drug addiction
and alcoholism, which we call The Seabrook
House Model®, we assist patients in restoring their lives
by embracing a way of life based upon the 12-Step principles of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA). We apply
a variety of recovery therapies including cognitive behavioral
(CBT) and adjunct therapies including music, yoga, massage, EMDR,
psychodrama, equine assisted, Reiki, and outdoor adventure ropes
course. Belief systems of Adler, Rogers and Jung and many other
psychological theorists are applied during CBT.
Our rich history and CARF accredited quality alcohol and drug addiction treatment rehab
programs have earned Seabrook House a citation in "The 100
Best Treatment Centers for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse - The
Only Complete Guide to the Most Outstanding Drug Rehabs in the
Country" by Linda Sunshine and John Wright. This Avon Publication
is available through most bookstores.
Seabrook House addiction drug rehab center specializes in a withdrawal
treatment for opiate detox i.e. heroin, oxycontin, using specific
medication protocols with Suboxone, whose primary active ingredient
is buprenorphine. Suboxone (buprenorphine / naloxone), at the
appropriate dose, can suppress symptoms of heroin withdrawal,
decrease cravings for opioids, block the effects of other opioids,
and help patients stay in drug rehab treatment. You may also apply
for admission online to our drug rehab center by using our
encrypted Preadmission
Assessment form. Please be assured that your alcohol and drug
rehab addiction treatment records and information are protected
by Federal confidentiality laws and we cannot share your information
with anyone unless you give us written consent. Contact a Clinical Outreach Representative in your area if you have any questions or need further assistance.
Our main drug rehab facility
is located in southern New Jersey (NJ), approximately 1 1/2 hour
drive from Princeton, New Jersey (NJ), Seabrook House's residential
drug rehab addiction recovery treatment services are convenient
to rehab Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (PA), Radnor, Pennsylvania (PA),
Reading, Pennsylvania (PA), Wilmington, Delaware (DE), Dover,
Delaware (DE) or within a 2 to 3 hour drive from New York City, New York (NY), Long Island, New York (NY), Bridgeport, Connecticut (CT), Gaithersburg, Maryland (MD),Washington, DC, Virginia Beach,
Virginia (VA) and Baltimore, Maryland (MD), or within a 5 hour
drive from Boston, Massachusetts (MA), Worcester, Massachusetts (MA). We have treated individuals from as far away as Honolulu, Hawaii (HI) .
We accept addiction treatment admissions 24 hours
per day for rehabilitation services for alcoholism, alcohol withdrawal
and drug withdrawal detoxification,
so please call now if you are in need of immediate assistance
or would like more information about detoxes, drug rehabs, heroin
detox, family intervention, substance abuse treatment or residential
addiction treatment in the New Jersey (NJ), Pennsylvania (PA),
Delaware (DE), New York (NY), Massachusetts (MA), Connecticut
(CT), Rhode Island (RI), Virginia (VA) and Maryland (MD) areas.
Who
Are Seabrook House's Alcohol Rehab and
Drug Addiction Rehab Patients?
Seabrook House's alcohol and drug addiction rehab
patients come primarily from New Jersey (NJ), many from the Cherry
Hill / Haddonfield / Moorestown area, as well as the Princeton
area in central New Jersey and Montclair area in northern New
Jersey. In addition, from the Philadelphia area of Pennsylvania
(PA), the mainline Philadelphia, PA suburbs, New York City (NYC)
including Manhattan (NY), Delaware (DE), Maryland (MD) and other
Mid Atlantic states, although we have treated many from as far
away as Connecticut (CT), Rhode Island (RI), Massachusetts (MA),
New Hampshire (NH), Vermont (VT), California (CA), Bermuda, Puerto
Rico and the Virgin Islands. They range in age from 17 to 80.
Many of our patients are referred by family members, employers,
large union health & welfare funds, health insurance companies,
small local unions, employee assistance professionals (EAP), and
managed care companies. Many patients transfer directly from hospitals,
other detoxes, community mental health centers, intensive outpatient
programs (IOP), union member assistance programs, and primary
care physicians. We have provided them drug detox, drug rehab,
alcohol detox, alcohol rehab, and many other forms of addiction treatment. Substance abuse treatment is our specialty.
Because of our close proximity to Manhattan, New
York (NY), New York City (NYC) and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
(PA), Seabrook House addiction rehab center has for many years
provided alcoholism and drug addiction rehab treatment to members
of the arts & entertainment communities. These have included radio,
television, stage and film industry associates from the east coast
as well as California (CA). We understand that high profile individuals
with substance abuse and alcoholism problems may have special
needs related to the media as well as confidentiality issues.
Protecting the anonymity of alcoholic or drug addicted patients
in rehab and controlling media takes experienced addiction professionals.
Many addiction rehabs cannot address these special needs. We understand
that addiction does not discriminate. In addition, many physicians,
nurses, pharmacists, psychologists, lawyers and other professionals
have sought our alcohol rehab and drug addiction rehab treatment
services and gone on to lead happy, healthy, clean and sober lives.
Contact
800.761.7575 for Immediate Admission for Alcoholism Detox and
Drug Treatment or Family Intervention
Seabrook House addiction rehab center is a licensed
residential addiction treatment facility with 125 beds and provides
alcohol and drug detox treatment and inpatient rehab treatment
through its Adult Rehab Program for both men and women, and its MaterLiber Program, for alcoholic
and drug addicted mothers and their dependent children. We specialize
in detox treatment for opiates such as heroin, morphine, oxycontin,
vicodin, codeine,demerol, fentanyl, methadone, percodan and percocet.
In addition, Seabrook House addiction rehab center offers professional Family
Intervention treatment services to those families attempting
to help a resistant loved one with a substance abuse problem in
need of heroin detoxification or addiction rehab treatment services.
The family education and drug information programs, family intervention
treatment services, and substance abuse counseling treatment services
of Seabrook House have been nationally recognized.Our addiction rehab center and detox program accepts
most health insurance companies, managed care, and union health
& welfare funds for partial payment of its alcoholism and
drug rehab treatment programs. Please review our rates
for all detox and addiction drug rehab programs. When choosing
any alcohol withdrawal and drug addiction rehab treatment center,
follow the CARF
guidelines to ensure that the addiction drug rehab treatment
program you choose is a licensed and accredited substance abuse treatment facility.
Call
our 24 Hour Alcohol Rehab & Drug Treatment Rehab Helpline
for Immediate Detox Addiction Help
Transportation Services for Alcoholism
Detox and Drug Rehab Centers from New Jersey (NJ), New York (NY),
Connecticut (CT), Massachusetts (MA), Rhode Island (RI), Pennsylvania
(PA), Delaware (DE), Maryland (MD), Virginia (VA), Washington,
DC, California (CA), Washington (WA), Oregon (OR), Nevada (NV),
Idaho (ID), Utah (UT), Arizona (AZ)
Seabrook House will provide private and discreet
individualized transportation to and from all airports to ensure
the safety and confidentiality of all of our patients. Please
speak to your Admissions Counselor for more information on how
you may qualify for direct airport pickup. Seabrook House also provides "sober escorting"
if the patient is clinically and medically appropriate. This specialized
service offers a Seabrook House staff person to fly to the home
location of the patient and personally pick them up and accompany
them directly to our drug rehab treatment facility. The escort
is an experienced addiction professional, also in recovery from
chemical dependency. Upon discharge the escort will then accompany
the patient to the next level of care at a transitional sober
living environment. Flight times to Seabrook House are brief from many east coast and Midwestern
airports (see chart below). The Philadelphia International Airport
located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (PA), is the closest airport
to our alcohol detox and drug rehab facility
From Boston, Massachusetts
(MA) - 45 minute flight time
|
From Providence, Rhode Island
(RI) - 45 minute flight time
|
From Columbia, South Carolina (SC) - 60 minute flight time
|
From Atlanta, Georgia (GA) - 90 minute flight time
|
From Miami, Florida (FL) - 2 hour flight time
|
From US Virgin Islands (USVI) - 3 hour flight time
|
From Columbus, Ohio (OH) -
45 minute flight time
|
From Hartford, Connecticut
(CT) - 45 minute flight time
|
From Bermuda (BM) - 90
minute flight time
|
From Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
(FL) - 2 hour flight time
|
From Indianapolis, Indiana
(IA) - 2 ½ hour flight time
|
From Los Angeles, California
(CA) - 5 hour flight time
|
From Chicago, Illinois (IL) - 3 hour flight time
|
| From Honolulu, Hawaii (HI) - 10 hour flight time |
Patients coming from out of state may fly into
a variety of airports at discounted airfare rates. All airports are conveniently
located within minutes of the Seabrook House addiction
rehab facility:
Philadelphia International Airport, Pennsylvania (PHL) 45 minute drive
|
Atlantic City International
Airport, New Jersey (ACY) 60 minute drive
|
Newark International Airport, New Jersey (EWR) 90 minute drive
|
Princeton Airport, New Jersey (PCT) 75 minute drive
|
John F. Kennedy International
Airport, New York (JFK) 120 minute drive
|
LaGuardia Airport, New York (LGA) 120 minute drive
|
Baltimore Washington International
Airport, Maryland (BWI) 120 minute drive
|
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