Returning member.. here to help you guys out if you need my help.

[Boxtrot]

Hi docdoc i am glad you are here, feel like you might be my saviour kind of thing since the doctors i go to dont know anything about AAS an therefore wont make any connections between that an my problem.

Basically there was a combination of things happening at the time this occurred. So if there's no apparent connection i will mention them, but to begin with, basically i attempted a cycle of test E for my first cycle witch turned out to be severely underdosed, so i stopped at week 6 when i got my blood tested.

What happened was as soon as i started injecting, i began having a heavy heart beat (increased contractile force). Now as per other members on this site it is meant to be quite normal as this can be the nature of test for some people, however my heavy heart beat has not resided and i am left having to take meds to get to sleep every night since i did my first injection as the sensation of my heart beating keeps me awake at night. Yet i can sleep during the day without meds if im tired enough.

I've seen 3 doctors and a cardiologist all say it is somatization since i have existing anxiety already but i never had this particular problem till i did my first injection. I had heart monitor and a ultrasound done of my heart recently and am waiting for the results but for the moment just off the top of my head i believe the effects test has on your heart (it increases contractile force) has changed the rythem of my heart, is this possible? or what do you think?

I will return with the results of the heart monitor and ultrasound as soon as i get them.

[docdoc]

Hi docdoc i am glad you are here, feel like you might be my saviour kind of thing since the doctors i go to dont know anything about AAS an therefore wont make any connections between that an my problem.

Basically there was a combination of things happening at the time this occurred. So if there's no apparent connection i will mention them, but to begin with, basically i attempted a cycle of test E for my first cycle witch turned out to be severely underdosed, so i stopped at week 6 when i got my blood tested.

What happened was as soon as i started injecting, i began having a heavy heart beat (increased contractile force). Now as per other members on this site it is meant to be quite normal as this can be the nature of test for some people, however my heavy heart beat has not resided and i am left having to take meds to get to sleep every night since i did my first injection as the sensation of my heart beating keeps me awake at night. Yet i can sleep during the day without meds if im tired enough.

I've seen 3 doctors and a cardiologist all say it is somatization since i have existing anxiety already but i never had this particular problem till i did my first injection. I had heart monitor and a ultrasound done of my heart recently and am waiting for the results but for the moment just off the top of my head i believe the effects test has on your heart (it increases contractile force) has changed the rythem of my heart, is this possible? or what do you think?

I will return with the results of the heart monitor and ultrasound as soon as i get them.

Hey Boxtort,
I need some basic info first.. Age, average BP and HR, cholesterol results from your blood work if you have them. You also mentioned that you're taking m eds, can you tell me which m eds are you taking and when did you start taking them?
How do you know you have increased contractile force? did a doctor tell you or you think you have increased contractile force?

With the info you've given me I can give you the following diagnoses…
Testosterone is a supplement that causes hypertrophy of your muscles. Heart is made of cardiac muscle.. It's structurally different from skeletal muscles but responds the same way to growth hormones. There are medications that help increase the contractile force (CF), these meds are needed when a person's heart isn't completely pumping out all the blood dude to decreased contractile force (example: congestive heart failure). When we talk about steroids and heart there are 2 conditions that come to my mind..

1. Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM)
2. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM)

Both of these cause irreversible structural defect to the heart.
In DCM ALL heart chambers are dilated and your heart will look bigger. Enough blood will not be pumped out and cause black flow of the blood to the lungs. Results in CHF. This would result into DECREASED CF.. so this isn't what you have.

In HCM, Your heart's size is the same when you look at it from the outside BUT the WALLS of the heart become thicker (the heart muscles grow because of anabolic steroid). This thickening of the heart walls will cause less blood to be filled in the heart chambers because there's no more room (compared to a normal heart). This condition will result into increased CF. This is very commonly seen in young athletes, steroid users, people with untreated hypertension and 60-70% of HCM cases are familial (Autosomal Dominant inherence. Which brings me to my next question.. does anyone in your family have a heart condition or have passed away from it?). Let's say you were genetically predisposed to this condition and then you decided to juice up, that might've made your condition worse. or if you have hypertension and then juiced up.. that can also make it worse and exaggerate your condition.

For now I'll stick with HCM. I'll wait for your test results to come back.
You said you have anxiety, that can cause increased HR and depending on how severe your anxiety attacks are and how often you get them that can technically be contributed towards hypertension.

Again, this diagnosis was made solely based on the following 3 things you've told me.. Anxiety, Increased contractile force and use of anabolic steroids. This would be an incomplete diagnosis. I need the following things.. Age, weight, sex, family history of heart related illness and how old were they when they passed away due to it. If you came up with the conclusion that you have increased CF on your own (without a doctor) then all that I just told you doesn't mean sh!t.

HCM is a pretty serious condition and it will show up on ultrasound of your heart. If your ultrasound comes out clean then I would have to agree with somatization disorder. I know thats the last thing any patient wants to hear but your brain is a very powerful thing and if you think that there's something wrong with you.. your brain will actually present your body with those symptoms! I've seen this happen on multiple occasions and it's very common in the western civilization. Let's just wait for your ultrasound.
Good luck