Pondering the thought of taking steroids? Hold that thought, bro. You need educating about anabolic steroid side effects.

Although it can be said that a regular dose of these drugs can make you look like a walking mass of muscle, it does come at a cost.

Anabolic steroids are all but guaranteed to induce some nasty side effects, and they can quickly knock you right to your knees in one fell swoop.

The problem is, bodybuilders often get obsessed with becoming bigger, and will go to extremes to make this happen. But always remember balance is the ticket, and subjecting yourself to harmful side effects is far from being balanced. Plus, it goes against mother nature.

Here are 8 common anabolic steroid side effects you should commit to memory. Then you’ll know first hand why using them is not necessarily the best approach to take.

1 Male pattern baldness

Male pattern baldness is normally caused by genetics, but steroid use can also make this happen. Male pattern baldness is where a man loses hair on the top of his head and a horseshoe pattern ends up developing. Women can also experience this but to a lesser degree.

Anabolic steroids such as Winstrol and Anavar convert testosterone to another substance called dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which causes hair follicles to stop producing hair – this is where the baldness begins.

Not only this, these steroids also have high androgenic compounds, which accelerate DHT – and you guessed it, this also expedites hair loss. Just for the record, DHT can also cause an enlarged clitoris if you’re female, water retention, torn muscles and cardiovascular disease. Sounds appealing, right?

Click here to read more about the side effects of Winstrol

Click here to read more about the side effects of Anavar

2 Liver toxicity

In case you didn’t know, steroids can be taken either orally or by injection. And in many ways, you might as well call that a ‘lethal’ injection.

The oral variety has to pass through the liver before they get dispersed throughout the body for use, and since they’re so powerful, the liver has a hard time breaking them down when they’re used continually. This, in turn, causes liver damage and toxicity. And if your liver starts to fail, you’re in big trouble buster, because it’s main function is to filter out the junk you take in.

Steroids like Dianabol set the stage nicely for you to experience this degradation of your liver. Worse case scenario, you can get liver cancer. Best case scenario, you can develop cholestasis. This is where bile backs up into your bloodstream and you end up with an additional battery of side effects such as nausea, jaundice, appetite suppression and discolored urine. How’s that sound?

If none of this puts you off already, have a read about the other disturbing side effects of Dianabol here.

3 Roid rage

‘Roid rage’ is all too common in users of anabolic steroids, and it can be highly dangerous. If you’re on the road and someone cuts you up while you’re doing a steroid cycle, there’s a good chance you’ll go into a fit of rage. The result of this can be catastrophic, or even fatal.

And the same can be said if you so much as drop a napkin on the floor, get a speck of dust on your new Reeboks or get told the wait at your favorite restaurant is 20 minutes.

The effects of roid rage mean you can have a meltdown at any time, simply because your hormones are so out of whack. If you value your safety, and that of those around you, you’ll most definitely want to avoid roid rage.

This egregious behavior is most commonly sparked from Trenbolone – and Trenbolone has more nasty side effects you can read about here.

In short, this particular steroid can cause anger issues, oily skin, a cough equivalent to smoker’s hack and a limp dick. And speaking of limp dicks…

4 Erectile dysfunction

There’s nothing sexy about meeting the woman of your dreams and not being able to get it up. Well, that’s exactly what can happen if you take Sustanon.

These particular steroids can not only cause you to be a limp Larry, they can also lower your sex drive altogether. You might be bulking in one area of your body, but it’s not worth the risk of losing bulk in another.

Plus, they can cause excess hair growth on your body, bloatedness and fast muscle loss when you end a cycle. Nice huh?

Not put off Sustanon yet? Here’s some more side effects you need to know about.

5 Skin irritations

Back acne isn’t something you wish you had more of, right? In fact, it’s probably right up there with back hair when it comes to unwanted conditions. Well, back hair isn’t exactly a ‘condition’. It’s more like a commonly unwanted feature.

But there’s a big difference between back hair and back acne.

You can always get your hair trimmed or lasered off. Back acne isn’t so quick to go. And it’s also one of the main side effects of both Deca-Durabolin and Sustanon. Additionally, this acne can crop up over your shoulders and become quite visible.

It may not actually threaten your life, but it sure can make you feel uncomfortable and self-conscious. In addition to acne, Deca can cause lowered sperm count, diarrhea and liver damage.

Wanna know more? Check out more side effects of Deca here.

6 The shakes

You may not think it’s that big a deal, but the steroid Clenbuterol can cause you to shake like a leaf on a tree in the Appalachian Mountains.

This can become so bad, it can interrupt all your daily activities, regardless if it’s at work, home or in the gym. You can also experience heart palpitations, sleeplessness and muscle cramps.

And if you ever saw a really jacked guy sweating profusely over nothing, there’s a good chance he’s taking Clenbuterol because it also raises your core temperature greatly.

Check out the other side effects of Clenbuterol here.

7 Enlarged organs

The technical name for enlarged organs is acromegaly, and the technical name for an enlarged heart specifically is cardiomegaly. Neither one of these sound very appealing. Who’d want enlarged organs? Well, this is what can happen when you take Human Growth Hormone.

Plus, your body gets so big so fast, your organs can’t keep up with the demands placed on them. This, in turn, raises your risk for those organs malfunctioning. And you do not want your organs malfunctioning! Hopefully, you paid attention to the liver complications earlier.

When it comes to steroids, your bones aren’t out of the woods either. They can magically start growing again through the use of HGH, which can cause chronic pain and complications with movement.

Click here to find out about the other side effects you can expect from HGH

8 Man boobs

Let’s just cut to the chase. Using anabolic steroids can lead to man boobs, or moobs for short. Especially Anadrol and HGH. What ends up happening is your estrogen levels become high, and when estrogen levels become excessively high, testosterone becomes low.

You then end up with a nice floppy pair of man boobs (medically known as gynecomastia), sometimes worthy of a B-cup! Think about that next time you want to go to the beach on vacation.

Other unpleasant side effects of these particular steroids can be numbness in the extremities, water retention, unwanted hair growth and oily skin.

Wanna know what else Anadrol can do to you? Click here for more Anadrol side effects.

Still think steroids are worth it?

Anabolic steroid side effects are all too real. Bodybuilders who use them might think they’re getting an upper hand over the competition, but they’re really only hurting themselves.

If you’re thinking about taking steroids, just know the consequences you’re in for. You’re always better served working hard, eating right and taking all-natural supplements or legal steroids alternatives. Getting the results you want may take a little longer, but you’ll have a much healthier body throughout the entire process!