10 SHOCKINGLY DISTURBING RESULTS OF STEROID ABUSE

Warning: Disturbing contents

10 Disturbing Results of Steroid Abuse
By Natalie Umansky, Oddee, 20 January 2014.

From the man whose arm exploded due to synthol injections to the female bodybuilder whose bodybuilding drugs habit left her with male 'bits' and facial hair, check out 10 disturbing results of steroid abuse.

1. The Female Bodybuilder Whose Bodybuilding Drugs Habit Left Her with Male "Bits" and Facial Hair

For many people, including Hollywood actors and bodybuilders, anabolic steroids have become a regular part of life. However, the side effects can be severe, causing disturbing bodily transformations.

This is the case with the barmaid Candice Armstrong, 28, from Walthamstow in London, whose steroid abuse has effectively turned her into a man.

Once a slender, pretty blonde, Candice is now a hulking brunette with muscles and body hair that sprouts from her back, chest, and upper lip. Along with excess body hair and acne, her clitoris has swelled so much that it has become a mini penis. Her breasts have also suffered and now hang lifeless from her hugely overdeveloped pectoral muscles.

Candice had no intention of becoming so masculine when she began taking the drug. However, she thinks that it's too late for her to stop.

2. The Professional Wrestler Who Killed His Family Due to the Effects of Steroids

Christopher Michael Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler who was described by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as "a favourite among WWE fans for his unbelievable athleticism and wrestling ability." He was a two-time world champion. Both of his world title reigns were represented by the Big Gold Belt. In 2004, he won the World Heavyweight Championship.

However, all was not so good in Benoit's life. On June 22, 2007, Chris Benoit murdered his wife Nancy and their 7-year-old son Daniel; he subsequently committed suicide with a weight machine on June 24, 2007.

On June 25, 2007, police entered Benoit's home on a "welfare check" after several missed appointments caused concern. The officers discovered the bodies of Benoit's family.

Toxicology reports released on July 17, 2007 revealed that at their time of death, Nancy had three different drugs in her system, all of which were found at the therapeutic rather than toxic levels. Daniel was found to have Xanax in his system, which led the chief medical examiner to believe that he was sedated before he was strangled. Benoit was found to have Xanax, hydrocodone, and an elevated level of testosterone caused by a synthetic form of the hormone in his system. The chief medical examiner attributed the testosterone level to Benoit possibly being treated for a deficiency caused by previous steroid abuse or testicular insufficiency.

After the double-murder suicide, former wrestler Christopher Nowinski contacted Benoit's father, suggesting that years of trauma to his son's brain may have led to his actions. Tests were conducted on Benoit's brain by Julian Bailes, the head of neurosurgery at West Virginia University, and results showed that "Benoit's brain was so severely damaged it resembled the brain of an 85-year-old Alzheimer's patient." He was reported to have had an advanced form of dementia, similar to the brains of four retired NFL players who had suffered multiple concussions, sank into depression, and harmed themselves or others. Bailes and his colleagues concluded that repeated concussions can lead to dementia, which can contribute to severe behavioural problems.

3. The Brazilian Man Whose Arm Exploded Due to Synthol Injections

According to Brazilian sources, this man from Maceió, Brazil - whose arms were 90 cm due to synthol abuse - suffered an open muscle rupture after a motorcycle accident.

The man died in the hospital on January 25, 2010.

4. The American Professional Bodybuilder Who Suffers from “Bitch Tits”

Ronnie Dean Coleman, 49, is an American professional bodybuilder who holds eight straight wins as Mr. Olympia. Alongside his Mr. Olympia titles, Coleman holds the record for most wins as an IFBB professional with 26. He broke the previous record (held by Vince Taylor at 22 wins) in Moscow on November 5, 2004.

Of course, this rock hard body was not carved alone. Due to the use of exogenous testosterone during preparation for competitions, Coleman has suffered gynecomastia, or the development of breasts, better known as “bitch tits.”

5. The German Bodybuilder Who Became More Susceptible to Have the Famous ”Big Gut”

Markus Rühl, 41, is a German professional bodybuilder. Rühl began training at the age of 18 following a doctor's recommendation after sustaining a knee injury while playing soccer. At 120 lbs., Rühl began training hard six days a week until deciding to compete on a professional level five years later.

Due to this, the pro bodybuilder took a lot of difference supplements, including insulin and human growth hormone, and became more susceptible to have the famous ”big gut,” or distended stomach.

6. The Austrian Bodybuilder Who Died After a Lifetime of Steroid Abuse

Andreas Münzer was an Austrian professional bodybuilder who was renowned for his extremely low body fat level. Münzer was an admirer of fellow Austrian bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger, whom he attempted to imitate.

While competing, he used a variety of bodybuilding drugs such as anabolic steroids, diuretics, growth hormone, and insulin, including large amounts of potassium-sparing diuretics to get the job done in the most effective manner possible.

However, as it is often the case, if you pay the price, you must accept the consequences. So it was with Andreas. After several days of enduring intense stomach pains following his final contest, the 1996 San Jose Invitational, Andreas was finally admitted to a hospital in March 1996. Doctors decided to operate to stop bleeding from his stomach, but shortly afterwards his liver and then kidneys failed. His condition by this point was too severe for a blood transfusion, and he died on the morning of March 14, 1996 at the age of 31.

The autopsy gave the cause of death as dystrophic multiple organ failure. Some of the specific autopsy findings were:

• An extremely muscular physique, with an almost complete absence of subcutaneous fat.
• Affecting the liver were numerous table-tennis-ball-sized tumours; half the liver consisted simply of a crumbly mass, similar to polystyrene (Styrofoam).
• Diminutive testes.
• Cardiac hypertrophy (Münzer's heart weighed 636g; a normal man's heart usually weighs 300–350g).

Münzer's electrolytes were also completely out of balance, and his potassium levels were extremely high.

Traces of about twenty different drugs were found, along with acute toxicity (perhaps caused by a stimulant).

7. The Bodybuilder Who Got an Abscess in His Arm

Greg Valentino has earned worldwide fame and become an Internet sensation for having the biggest biceps in the world and disproportionate body size due to excessive steroid use.

Because of his malformed stature, Valentino has become a YouTube sensation, garnering the attention of not only his fellow bodybuilders but the general public, as well. He has also made numerous appearances on TV shows. People everywhere have been amazed not only by the size of his arms, but by how abnormal he looks overall. However, his biggest biceps freak show has earned him the reputation as the most hated man in bodybuilding.

As shown on TLC (above video), one of Valentino's arms had become infected after getting hit with a broken bat at a little league game he was coaching. Rather than going to the hospital to get the infection removed like any sane person, Valentino decided to perform the operation himself while filming it.

After cutting his arm numerous times to remove the blood and puss in his arms, Valentino had to be rushed to the hospital. Afterwards, Valentino let the taped surgery become public knowledge.

8. The Canadian Writer Who Deliberately Experimented with Steroids to Write His Next Novel

In 16 weeks, Craig Davidson, a Canadian novelist, transformed himself into a hard-as-nails hunk by injecting illegal steroids. Unfortunately, the side effects of this steroid cycle began to appear.

Three days into the cycle, his nipples were the size of milk bottle tops and stretched smooth as the skin of a balloon. The skin had formed into swollen pouches that looked like pendulous or malformed breasts.

One morning, he noticed that he was losing hair. The hair on his head, arms, legs, and even his testicles, was falling out. A couple of days later, his testicles were shrunk, and in a few days time they had shrunk to half of their normal size.

In his sixth injection, Davidson felt a perfect bubble of oil the size of a pearl onion an inch under his skin. When he massaged it the bubble wobbled under his fingertips, all in one piece. In addition, his prostate was swollen, making it torture to pee. But all of this was worth it, because his body exploded to 235 lbs. in the space of a few weeks.

After completing his steroids-cycle, he woke up and everything had changed. He had no more sluggishness, only minor joint pain. His testicles were back to normal size. But, Davidson had two shrivelled bags hanging off his chest, shapeless shoestrings dangling from a pair of rotten-apple shoulders, and his stomach looked like a deflated clown balloon. His legs were skinny as a toothpick.

Davidson headed to the doctor's. The diagnosis was a partially herniated disc in his lower spine, the result of either bad posture or an accumulation of pressure due to excess body weight, an enlarged prostate, and fluid build-up on his left knee - again, the result of excess weight. The blood tests showed that his liver values were totally out of whack. Having weighed 240 lbs., Davidson currently weighs 170 lbs.

9. The Giant Rodents Pumped Up with Steroids to Look Like Dogs

La Salada, Argentina's largest bazaar, is a collection of small and informal workers, distributors, and entrepreneurs, some of whom are lucky enough to sell ferrets as dogs for US$150.

According to America Noticias, an Argentinian TV newscast, in June, 2012, one retired male tourist from Catamarca, who was duped by the knock-down price for a pedigree dog, purchased two “toy poodles” at the La Salada market for US$150. The man didn't find out that he had been tricked until he took his two new "poodles" to the vet for check-ups. The vet delivered a shocking diagnosis: The man had purchased two ferrets that had been fed steroids since birth and specially groomed to look extra fluffy.

(Video in Spanish)

Typically, toy poodle puppies cost upwards of US$1,000 in the United States, and a ferret will usually set someone back around US$75.

So far, no one has taken any legal action towards ending this bizarre trade. Not only are tourists being scammed, but we can't imagine that a lifetime of drugs is healthy for these innocent ferrets.

10. Steroid Use in Super Cows...Myth or Reality?

Super Cow, or Belgian Blue, is a breed of beef cattle from Belgium that is best known for its sculpted, heavily muscled appearance, known as "double-muscling." The double-muscling phenotype is a heritable condition which results in an increased number of muscle fibres (hyperplasia) rather than the normal enlargement of individual muscle fibres (hypertrophy).

These unique animals, which appear to be pumped up on steroids, actually acquired the double-muscling through years of genetic selection. Using natural selection, they are able to artificially inseminate cows with scientifically selected sperm from the strongest bulls. So, each generation of new cows become bigger and stronger with double muscle mass for leaner and better beef.

The condition was first documented in 1807 by a livestock observer named George Culley. The breed originated in central and upper Belgium in the nineteenth century by crossing local breeds with a Shorthorn breed of cattle from the United Kingdom. The modern beef breed was developed in the 1950s by Professor Hanset, who was working at an artificial insemination centre in Liege province.

[Source: Oddee. Edited.]