Comment · Thu, August 22, 2013 · Ceretropic
Testosterone
Original post in this thread
methylator · 9 points
After reading /u/gwern's writeup on it (gwern.net), other studies and sources, and deliberating it for a long time, a few weeks ago I purchased a 10mL vial of testosterone cypionate from the Silk Road and began to inject 0.1mL (25mg.) once weekly. The standard dose for HRT use is 200mg. every 10-14 days, and for bodybuilders between 400-1200mg. every 3-7 days. I initially decided to use a very small dose to test for adverse reactions, but found that dose to be rather effective in and of itself.
So far, this relative microdosing of testosterone seems to be incredible. Positive effects I've noted so far (subjective) include significantly enhanced sleep, energy, and motivation. I easily fall asleep at night, and wake up at the first ring of my alarm clock in the morning (usually the alarm rings for 5-10 minutes before I actually wake up, if at all). I wake up feeling refreshed, energized, and ready to go, which is unusual. Unfortunately I don't have any hard data at the moment while I wait for my new sleep recorder to arrive.
When working I find it much easier to stay focused on my work, but the effect is unlike that of Adderall, in w…
What they were answering
noentic · 3 points
Roid rage is a myth
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb · Ceretropic
"Roid rage" is far from proven to be myth. Yes there are some doubts to causality. However, there is evidence that exogenous testosterone administration increases aggressiveness.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0018506X01917064
Males receiving TP were more aggressive than controls, ND males were similar to controls, and ST males were less aggressive than controls. In the social and environmental provocation tests TP-treated males were more aggressive than other groups, but were able to discriminate between intact and castrated opponents and between their home cage and a neutral cage. In the environmental provocation test, TP males were also more aggressive against opponents when tested in the opponent's home cage. It is suggested that chronic exposure to high levels of TP does not eliminate the ability to discriminate between social or environmental cues, as might be expected if it induces a “ ‘roid rage.” However, TP does increase the likelihood that the animal will respond with aggression/dominance in a provoking situation.
So it does not change the ability to discriminate good from bad behavior. However, that's not what most people think of roid rage as. They think of it as an increase in aggressiveness, and overreaction to stimuli, which elevated testosterone can exacerbate.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0031938494901422
The results of this study show that chronic exposure to the anabolic androgenic steroid, testosterone, potentiates male aggressive response patterns but does not alter male sexual behavior or body weight.
Testosterone treatment significantly increased manic scores on the YMRS (P=.002), manic scores on daily diaries (P=.003), visual analog ratings of liking the drug effect (P=.008), and aggressive responses on the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm (P=.03). Drug response was highly variable: of 50 participants who received 600 mg/wk of testosterone cypionate, 42 (84%) exhibited minimal psychiatric effects (maximum YMRS score, <10), 6 (12%) became mildly hypomanic (YMRS score, 10-19), and 2 (4%) became markedly hypomanic (YMRS score, ≥20). The 8 "responders" and 42 "nonresponders" did not differ significantly on baseline demographic, psychological, laboratory, or physiological measures.
So it seems to be highly variable, with some showing no increase in aggressiveness, and some showing a high increase. Again, we are humans, and we can control our behavior. So it's no excuse to blame one's actions on steroids. However, they can make aggression more likely.