Can I play devils advocate here. I have taken gear in the past, but only twice in my 13 year training career. Have I had side effects? I'll let you decide after you have read below! I felt great on them and was not some spotty aggressive animal looking for a fight every five minutes.
The first time I took dianabol was when I was 21. It was actually a birthday present from someone
I had been training for 4 years and had already got up to 15 stone naturally. I did a six week course, on a low dose (can't remember any specifics). I put on another stone in this six weeks although a lot of it was water and I looked puffy and fat.
During this time, and any time I have taken gear, everything about my diet and training is spot on. No booze, lots of food and rest(10 hours/day) etc. When you come off the gear you need to make sure this stays exactly the same otherwise you will loose any gains. These days it's advisable to have a good PCT (post cycle treatment) set up which means taking more drugs to get your natural testosterone levels back up. I didn't do this on either of my cycles.
About 6 mnths later I did a ten week course of Sustanon 250 which is injectable and a blend of 4 testosterones. Again, not a massive dose - 1 250mg shot per week. On this my strength and size ballooned. I went to just under 18 stone and was massive.
This was over the xmas period. In january I notice a growth on one of my testicles and in April I was diagnosed with testicular cancer (it would have been sooner if i had gone to the docs
) 4 months of chemo and one major operation (stomach and bowel out of the way to cut out a tumor on my lymph nodes next to my spine!) and I am all clear and have been for over 8 years.
Obviously one of the first questions I asked the docs was did the steroids (especially the sus250) cause it. He categorically said NO. My dad had Test cancer when he was young and I had an undescnded testicle when i was a nipper - all these factors led to my raised risk)
However, I have not touched the gear since. I lost 2.5 stone when I was ill and managed to put most of it back on naturally. Although now i have trimmed down to just under 16 stone and feel far better for it.
I believe that having a good solid base of natural training is far more important than relying on gear. I would love to do it again as my body and training has matured so much, but I have a family to think of and the risks are too great IMO.
But I will say this. I felt absolutely great on gear. I was not more agressive and friends will tell you I was the same as I am now (but bigger
) I put this doen to the fact that back then training was my life and I just wanted to be big. THe euphoria I had was because I was effectively living my dream.
LIfe goes on and work and family responsibilities take over. I certainly don;t have the time to dedicate my life to training as I did back then.
I would not tell you to stop taking them. That is a decision you have to make for yourself. Only you and your family know how it effects you. I think you have to mentally very strong so you don't become reliant on them. I also think you only need a small amount to push yourself over your natural ability. I would never take tablets again because of the liver damage (injecting isn't half as bad) and done safely once or twice a year is OK IMO and should not cause long term damage.
LIke anything, when you abuse it, it will bite you in the ass. Take the time to read up on them too and how you can get independant and secret(not at your GP) blood tests to check things are OK during, and after.
THats my tupence worth. Good luck!
THere are other people who come on here who also take them, you know who you are
. It would be good to hear their thoughts as I have little experience of it in the grand scheme of things. But it is a personal thing which I can undertand you may not want to share on a public forum.