What did you damage? Pituitary or Testicles?

[KimboHalfSlice]

I just finished my first ever steroid cycle consisting of Testosterone on its own. It went great, but I suffered severe testicular atrophy.

It doesn't seem as though my testicles have lost any functionality, because my sex drive came back to me only about 10 days after I stopped injecting Testosterone Enanthate .

Hopefully I have not done long term damage to my testicles, but either way I've learned that I really need to be careful about this.

To the people who already require Testosterone Replacement Therapy, I'd like to hear whether you needed it because you damaged your Pituitary, or because you damaged your Testicles. Which scenario is most common?

I'm thinking of taking hCG during my next cycle, which should keep my balls producing Testosterone while I'm on-cycle, but it will do nothing to save my Pituitary.

[MuscleScience]

99% of persons that use AAS have full or nearly full recovery with in 6 months of ending use. At the 2 year mark virtually all function is returned.

[warchild]

99% of persons that use AAS have full or nearly full recovery with in 6 months of ending use. At the 2 year mark virtually all function is returned.

what length of use are you saying? Ive been on for 2yrs straight with one cycle of hcg

[MuscleScience]

what length of use are you saying? Ive been on for 2yrs straight with one cycle of hcg

I believe Both were investigated for 6 months and 1 year of usage. According to the study, and I am pulling from memory. There was no difference in 2 year return of function vs that of 6 months and a year.

[warchild]

Good to know.I keep putting off getting my hcg cus i dont know if want kids now

[ythrashin]

Good to know.I keep putting off getting my hcg cus i dont know if want kids now

Just running HCG while cycling will not guarantee you'll be able to have kids. You may have to drop the juice completely to have kids...

[redz]

Agreed HCG alone will not make you fertile get off the juice to try and have little ones.

[marcus300]

99% of persons that use AAS have full or nearly full recovery with in 6 months of ending use. At the 2 year mark virtually all function is returned.

I believe Both were investigated for 6 months and 1 year of usage. According to the study, and I am pulling from memory. There was no difference in 2 year return of function vs that of 6 months and a year.

This is very true MS for someone who has fully matured and his HPTA is fully functional but I think the OP is of the age of around 21-22yrs old and his HPTA hasnt fully developed yet. So shutting down a hormonal system what hasnt reached peak development can and in alot of cases damage it for life which results in lower testosterone and other sides which someone of his age doesnt want...

[MuscleScience]

This is very true MS for someone who has fully matured and his HPTA is fully functional but I think the OP is of the age of around 21-22yrs old and his HPTA hasnt fully developed yet. So shutting down a hormonal system what hasnt reached peak development can and in alot of cases damage it for life which results in lower testosterone and other sides which someone of his age doesnt want...

Well I would prefer not to talk about AAS related topics since this is not my area expertise unless it is purely physiological in nature, but I think this is a good debate to have.

My thinking on this topic is based on this. A lot of nasty side effects that are reported that are not exaggerated by the media do happen to individuals that have not completely gone through secondary sexual maturity. (puberty)
We all know about the premature fusion of growth plates, increase in acne and this is a big if even in the literature, mood changes.

I take from the literature and not necessarily my personal feeling on the subject that taking steroids before sexual maturity is probably risky to say the least. The reason I say not my personal feeling is that If I had to do all over again I would have jumped on when I was 18 or 19 because I saw the incredible effects that it had on some of my friends pitching ability. I was about 2 MPH on my fastball from having a shot at a Pro career. Instead now I am a know it all science nerd....LOL

I am not going to sit here and be a hypocrite and say no no no. I will try to interject my reasoning behind it not my personal feelings per say. One thing that is not entirely clear for individuals is the phycological effects it can have on the maturing brain. The Pineal gland of the brain is important gland that facilitates and eventually terminates the process of puberty. Around the late teens to early twenties the Pineal gland is signaled to shut down and it eventually calcifies and because inactive in adults or at least that is what it believed.

The Pineal Gland is an endocrine gland and secretes many different hormones durning childhood. In fact it is quite large in children and very active. Melatonin is one of its major hormones it secretes and is believed to slow the process of puberty. Testosterone or Estrogen is believed to signal the reduced secretion of melatonin thus eventually leading to full sexual development.

Now if you introduce these hormones in large doses typical of steroid cycles. How does this effect the normal maturity and development of the brain and reproductive system. These are all concerns in primary hypogonadism in children receiving hormone treatment. I do not think the literature is entirely clear as a body of evidence, though it is not something I have read up on extensively.

These are just my thoughts on using at an early age and in no way am I implying anything bad can happen my point is these are concerns that need to be thought about by young users.

This was in response to a similar question

Based on scientific research, what is the minimum age for safe steroid use . I know the general opinion is 21, but what dangerous side effects could be expected for someone between 18 and 20?
Edit: for example, a Test enth cycle with proper pct?

If you were going to base it off the science then no age is a good age to start a steroid cycle.

The author of this study called it a major public health issue.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...gdbfrom=pubmed

This study talks about under reported side effects because of a lack of detail on how much drug is administered when doing studies.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...gdbfrom=pubmed


This study the author concluded that "In the wake of important scientific advances during the past decade, the positive and negative effects of AAS warrant reevaluation."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...gdbfrom=pubmed

Below is a link to a full text review article on steroid abuse .