HIV+ Male Considering Steroids - What do you think?

[metta jock]

I'm 30 years old and have been pretty serious in the gym for 5 years. I also trained in acrobatics and ballet. However, a year ago I was diagnosed HIV+ when we discovered pneumonia. Per the doctors order I did not workout for almost 3 months and had to give up on my training. Once I went back I was ecstatic because I saw all my weight I had gained falling off, I had lost about 35lbs when I was sick. Now my blood work and counts look really great (I'm Undectable) and have been back in the gym for the past 9 months. However, I am gaining strength back but not my size back. Last night I weighed in at 120lbs! I really want to get back to where I was and try to reach my goal of 150lb. It feels impossible now and my weight goes up and down but never has been over 128 for the last year. I'm becoming frustrated and considering asking my doctor if she would monitor me on steroids or hgh.

Do you think my weight issue is a reasonable reason to consider this choice and bring it up to my doctor? I have an appointment tomorrow (routine check up) and I'm thinking abut bringing it up. At the beginning of the year she mentioned my test levels were low. I asked her if I could go on something to increase my testosterone and she said possibly, but did more blood work that showed my test levels had gotten better. I'm afraid if I bring this up she may quickly shoot me down.

I'm looking for suggestions on how to approach this tomorrow or even if it's necessary. I know this much, if she doesn't prescribe me something I'm likely to find something elsewhere to try. My brother has used steroids (similar bodytype and 165lbs) and has talked to me about it. He has mentioned how steroids can benefit someone with HIV and similar issues and goals like mine.

Ideas? Suggestions? Something to say that might help my conversation with my doctor? Kindly thanks guys!

[BBrian]

Many anabolic steroids are prescribed by doctors for the sole purpose of combating HIV/AIDS related muscle wasting. With that in mind, I would recommend explaining your weight issues with your doctor and pushing them harder to prescribe anabolics for this reason. Unfortunately, you're unlikely to get a prescription for something strong enough to mirror what a lot of us take for bulking cycles (Anadrol, large doses of test, etc.), but given your sensitive immune situation, I would use your doctor for consultations and not this forum for the time being.

[metta jock]

Thanks BBrian, I do see D-Anabolic and others available on this website. If she doesn't prescribe something, I'm likely to order something here to try. Of course, I'm doing research and will ask lots of questions tomorrow when I see her. Thanks again.

[redz]

Those are not steroids on tha banner, just supplements.

[baseline_9]

You really need to speak to your doctor so please do not take any of this advise directly from me.. However.....

I do fell that AAS will help you... As stated above they are often prescribed in the fight against muscle wasting diseases....

If I had to recommend something it would be along the lines of Testosterone (enathate/cyp or even nebido at a higher than normal dose) stand alone or even in conjunction with Deca


The reason I say this because they are both relatively safe in comparison to some stronger AAS and easier on your body.... I do hear of anadrol being prescribed but personally I would shy away from that a little due to the harsh nature of the compound....


As this is a disease related issue I feel a bit of a clown stating that your diet is important. I am aware that this is a muscle wasting disease however I would bet that a high protein and overall high calorie diet are going to help you somewhat...


Good luck with your appointment tomorrow... I wish you all the best...

[metta jock]

Thank you, good advice.

[choker28]

there is a article on the net somewere, a doctor has kept his boyfriend alive who has Hiv for over 10 years using Deca.i will post it if i can find it ,i came across it when i was looking for info on Deca

[BBrian]

there is a article on the net somewere, a doctor has kept his boyfriend alive who has Hiv for over 10 years using Deca.i will post it if i can find it ,i came across it when i was looking for info on Deca

Fascinating, interested to read this if you find it. I didn't have any luck.

[choker28]

Fascinating, interested to read this if you find it. I didn't have any luck.

ive just spent the last 10 minutes trying to find it,it basically said that the medication that the his boyfriend was taking was not working and he was wasting away.So he took over his care and injected im sure it was 200mg ew.what i find amazing is doctors say how bad AAS are for you but they help keep people alive who are basically dying by wasting away. i mean in the article he had been doing this for 10 years and he was still going strong

[Hitman Heimler]

I hope she does prescribe them to you. If you were to find steroids on the black market, you never know if it's sterile. I'm not saying that most of the time it isn't, but there is that chance. If you do get any AAS make sure you get a sharps conainer and dispose of any syringes responsibly. With your condition I hope that she gives you the prescription. It would offend me if she didn't.

[JohnnyVegas]

I know some doctors will prescribe steroids (basically TRT level doses for long term use) to prevent body wasting. Other guys get it on their own for the same purpose. My understanding is that it is quite common.

[jasc]

You may want to look in to Anavar. I have heard of people taking this with muscle wasting disorders and having great success. If you have seen the movie Bigger, Stronger, Faster there is an HIV patient who was very skinny/weak due to the disease and after taking anavar he was able to put on a good bit of healthy weight and lean body mass. Anavar will help preserve lean mass against catabolism, even at a caloric deficit.

Check out pubmed . com

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16540931 Found this in about 2 minutes. It is not 100% conclusive as both parties gained weight, but its a good read and a good start. It also mentions taking testosterone due to shutdown from the Anavar (Oxandrolone)

"CONCLUSION:

Oxandrolone administration is effective in promoting dose-dependent gains in body weight and BCM in HIV-infected men with weight loss."

It's a good place to start researching and they are medically recognized studies.

I started researching this for my uncle who had ALS, unfortunately the doctor's wouldn't listen. Best of luck

[BG]

Thanks BBrian, I do see D-Anabolic and others available on this website. If she doesn't prescribe something, I'm likely to order something here to try. Of course, I'm doing research and will ask lots of questions tomorrow when I see her. Thanks again.

Find a new doctor, you should be perscribed GH at the minimum.

[DeadlyD]

You may want to look in to Anavar. I have heard of people taking this with muscle wasting disorders and having great success. If you have seen the movie Bigger, Stronger, Faster there is an HIV patient who was very skinny/weak due to the disease and after taking anavar he was able to put on a good bit of healthy weight and lean body mass. Anavar will help preserve lean mass against catabolism, even at a caloric deficit.

Check out pubmed . com

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16540931 Found this in about 2 minutes. It is not 100% conclusive as both parties gained weight, but its a good read and a good start. It also mentions taking testosterone due to shutdown from the Anavar (Oxandrolone)

"CONCLUSION:

Oxandrolone administration is effective in promoting dose-dependent gains in body weight and BCM in HIV-infected men with weight loss."

It's a good place to start researching and they are medically recognized studies.

I started researching this for my uncle who had ALS, unfortunately the doctor's wouldn't listen. Best of luck

Just curious, how do you know the guy in the movie was taking Anavar?, i don't remember them saying what drug he was taking.....i could be wrong tho!

[metta jock]

Choker28, thank you. I'd love to read the article if you find it. I'll also do a search for it. I do not think I'm anywhere near the "wasting" diagnosis. I know for most guys here 120lbs may sound really weak but when I got sick I dropped down 100lbs from 135lbs in the matter of 2 months. It freaked me out. My body fat was only 5% and went up to 28%. This was really hard for me to process and I noticed my muscle was falling off. I finally got back up to 120lbs body fat is back down to 5% and I look really healthy. Most people would not guess what was going on. I'm sure my doctor is going to look at me and say I look fine but I really want to get back to at least 145. I'm working out hard and gaining strength but not as much size as I had before. I don't know if this would be considered wasting. Maybe?

[jasc]

Just curious, how do you know the guy in the movie was taking Anavar?, i don't remember them saying what drug he was taking.....i could be wrong tho!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qd7F3btdSUw

It's around 5:30

Also of importance, it drastically increased his T cell count

Now that I re-watched that part, look likes hes got some GH as well

[metta jock]

Jasc, I did watch bigger faster stronger today, my brother told me to check it out (he's a trainer). Very informative and a good watch, I encourage everyone to check it out.

[metta jock]

I just wanted to thank everyone who has taken the time to respond to this post. I'm new to this website today but I'm thankful for your friendliness and willingness to advise and help. This is a fantastic community I'll be sure to continue to check out. I'll continue to check your posts and comment tomorrow with what my doc says.

[backinit]

I just wanted to thank everyone who has taken the time to respond to this post. I'm new to this website today but I'm thankful for your friendliness and willingness to advise and help. This is a fantastic community I'll be sure to continue to check out. I'll continue to check your posts and comment tomorrow with what my doc says.

Good luck metta the people around here will def give the help you need. Thanks to this post I just started watching bigger stronger faster on you tube so far very interesting

[Honkey_Kong]

metta jock, how many calories and grams of protein are you eating every day? Before you should even consider juice, you need to look at your diet. Simple changes can make huge differences. And no matter what, you shouldn't be doing any juice without a doctor's supervision (and probably script).

[The Titan99]

Just curious, how do you know the guy in the movie was taking Anavar?, i don't remember them saying what drug he was taking.....i could be wrong tho!

He was taking nandrolone (Deca).

[jasc]

He was taking nandrolone (Deca).

watch the youtube clip

[metta jock]

metta jock, how many calories and grams of protein are you eating every day? Before you should even consider juice, you need to look at your diet. Simple changes can make huge differences. And no matter what, you shouldn't be doing any juice without a doctor's supervision (and probably script).

You are right Honkey Kong, I had been meeting with a nutritionist once a month and actually haven't seen her in 3 months now. I need to schedule with her again and get all my measurements redone. This is probably what the doctor will recommend today. My bro advised me that once I get on something I will need to plan on eating a lot more. From what I've researched, those living with the HIV virus should consume more calories than the average person anyway. This is something to keep on top of mind, thanks for the reminder to re-consider this factor.

[metta jock]

Just an update everyone. Thanks for your support and information on this thread. I went to see my doctor today and she laughed and said "in two years youll be coming in here complaining that you want to lose weight and I don't want to hear it!" followed with "you look great right now and I will not do it nor do I recommend it." It looks like I'm going to have to ask around in other places. You'd think a doctor would want to ask questions, understand, and monitor these things instead of quickly jumping to a "no" answer.

[BBrian]

Just an update everyone. Thanks for your support and information on this thread. I went to see my doctor today and she laughed and said "in two years youll be coming in here complaining that you want to lose weight and I don't want to hear it!" followed with "you look great right now and I will not do it nor do I recommend it." It looks like I'm going to have to ask around in other places. You'd think a doctor would want to ask questions, understand, and monitor these things instead of quickly jumping to a "no" answer.

And if you went to a different doctor, there's a good chance that you would receive completely different advice, but that's the health and medicine industry for you.

[Bonaparte]

Your doctor is an idiot. 120lbs (unless you're 5ft tall) is tiny. Combine this fact with the HIV and you're the ideal candidate for medicinal AAS.

[Whoady]

ive just spent the last 10 minutes trying to find it,it basically said that the medication that the his boyfriend was taking was not working and he was wasting away.So he took over his care and injected im sure it was 200mg ew.what i find amazing is doctors say how bad AAS are for you but they help keep people alive who are basically dying by wasting away. i mean in the article he had been doing this for 10 years and he was still going strong

Yes, they have benefits. A person that is dying from AIDS is not the same as a person who is healthy. That's like saying how come chemotherapy is not administered to the public when it has such benefits for cancer patients? It's not the same thing giving *treatment* to a person who is ill as one who isn't. And a doctor prescribes steroids therapeutically in doses less than 300 mg/month. That's not the same thing as putting 500 mg of test e + copious amounts of dbol in your body every week.

[Whoady]

Your doctor is an idiot. 120lbs (unless you're 5ft tall) is tiny. Combine this fact with the HIV and you're the ideal candidate for medicinal AAS.

And medicinal marijuana ;-) but we won't go there.

[spywizard]

Atlanta Ga has some of the best doctors/clinics for HIV and AIDS survivors, of the 3 that i know of that are all 10+ yrs are on GH test and deca regimens, yes you need to be seeing a specialist that treats men with these conditions..

just my experience..

[metta jock]

I can't switch doctors, I go to a clinic where I get my medications at a very affordable cost. Plus, my doctor know my Mothers. If I left her there would be lots of questions from both so I was very gentle with this conversation yesterday. I may just need to find somewhere else to get it and give it a shot. If she catches anything in my blood work and tries to talk to me about it, I'll just explain that I tried to bring it up but she wasn't very supportive or interested in discussing it at the time. I was never interested in steroids but the more I read the more I see how it can help reach the goals I want.

[metta jock]

Your doctor is an idiot. 120lbs (unless you're 5ft tall) is tiny. Combine this fact with the HIV and you're the ideal candidate for medicinal AAS.

I'm actually 5'4. She said my weight is great at 120. My brother is the same height, healthy, and works out just as much as I do. His weight is 155. Although his goal is 170, I simply just want to reach 150. I told the doc, when I say I want to gain - I'm saying want to gain healthy weight (muscle) and not fat. I'm not seeing enough progress from my workouts but she thinks 17lbs in 1 year is good! haha, right? No... before I was sick I coul gain that in 2 months.

[jasc]

It sounds as if you presented AAS to the dr. in the wrong way. You should focus your discussion on muscle wasting disorders and wanting to preserve this muscle and increase your T cell count. (This may not have changed the outcome because most dr's are closed-minded and wont do anything they didn't read in a textbook, even to help a patient, but ya never know)

If you approach the dr. with wanting to use AAS to put on muscle and size, no dr. will listen to that.

just my .02

[yannick35]

I am happy that you are doing well, for your situation my medical doctor has a few HIV + patience that he put on deca and it apparently it really works great, it boost the immune system and also is a great mass builder. I am sorry i cannot give you dosage because he never mentioned them.

It would be good to find a competent medical doctor in your case if you have low T and you where not offered TRT testosterone therapy on the spot maybe your medical doctor is not that good. Might want to keep her on the side to monitor your HIV but find another medical doctor who knows about TRT and deca.

To gain weight why not consider the good old eating 6 times per day at 1000 calories per meal, that sort of put on the weight for me when i was mass building when younger.

Good luck.

[yannick35]

Thanks BBrian, I do see D-Anabolic and others available on this website. If she doesn't prescribe something, I'm likely to order something here to try. Of course, I'm doing research and will ask lots of questions tomorrow when I see her. Thanks again.

Find yourself a good source, and get blood work.

[Honkey_Kong]

I'm actually 5'4. She said my weight is great at 120. My brother is the same height, healthy, and works out just as much as I do. His weight is 155. Although his goal is 170, I simply just want to reach 150. I told the doc, when I say I want to gain - I'm saying want to gain healthy weight (muscle) and not fat. I'm not seeing enough progress from my workouts but she thinks 17lbs in 1 year is good! haha, right? No... before I was sick I coul gain that in 2 months.

Gaining 17 pounds of quality muscle in a year is good. I think it might be in your interest to use the internet to find other people with HIV who have doctors that prescribe them gear. Then just go to that doctor.

[Shol'va]

Your doctor is an idiot. 120lbs (unless you're 5ft tall) is tiny. Combine this fact with the HIV and you're the ideal candidate for medicinal AAS.

You took the words right out of my mouth. I can't believe this anal retentive doctor told him no. He definitely need to go see a different doctor who specializes in the treatment of HIV. Preferrably a male doctor who also knows something of the male endocrine system as well and the positive effects of countering muscle wasting using Steroids to reverse it. Sorry to hear about your problems. I wish you the best metta jock

[ifthatswhatittakes]

You need to talk about low sex drive and being tired alot as well. There are doctors that will give you TEST and nopt think twice keep trying.