How often should injectables and oral medications be used? Which drugs can be combined and which cannot? Why should AC courses be based solely on analyzes? Find out the answers to these and other interesting questions. The content of the article:
- Half-life
- Injectable drugs
- Oral steroids
- Application features
To understand how often to take oral and injectable steroids, you need to understand the structure of the drugs. The molecule of any anabolic steroid is based on a steroid skeleton, which consists of 4 benzene rings. For convenience, scientists have numbered all the atoms.
Half-life (half-life)
All steroid hormones are broken down in the liver into simpler metabolites, which are then excreted from the body. If they are not administered additionally, then the level of hormones will fall. Metabolism (destruction) of each drug proceeds at a different rate, and it was for its measurement that the concept of half-life was introduced.
Half-life (half-life) is the length of time during which the concentration of a steroid drug is halved. For example, if you introduce a steroid, the half-life of which is 24 hours, and the dosage is 100 milligrams, then 50 milligrams will remain in the body in a day, and 25 milligrams after another 24 hours. The concentration will decrease by half every day until the entire drug is excreted from the body.
Based on this fact, it can be said that the steroid should be taken once during its half-life. Pure testosterone has a half-life of only 10 minutes, which certainly makes it difficult to use due to the need for frequent injections. Also, in the first few minutes after using the drug, the level of the hormone would be very high.
In order to change certain properties of the hormone, changes are made to its molecular structure. This is done by attaching or detaching different molecules. But at the same time, the steroid skeleton itself remains unchanged. The main task of all changes made to the drug molecule is to increase the half-life or to enhance its properties.
Half-life of injectable drugs
To increase the half-life of steroids, a method called esterification is used. Simply put, the steroid is converted into an organic acid ester (or salt). The substance thus obtained dissolves in oil, after which it can be used for intramuscular administration. Once in the body, the ether passes through the liver, where the base of the organic acid is detached, and the steroid enters the bloodstream.
The described process takes a fairly long time, and the entire amount of the steroid injected is distributed over this period. Thanks to esterification, its half-life can be significantly extended, thereby making it more convenient to use. Thus, only injectable forms of anabolic steroids are manufactured.
Half-life of oral steroids
In the manufacture of a tablet form, a different method is used to increase the half-life. The main problem with tablets is that not a single steroid in its pure form is able to pass through the gastrointestinal tract, the digestive enzymes of which quickly destroy the drug.
To avoid this, a CH4 molecule is added to each steroid molecule in position 17-a. This method is called alkylation, the preparations obtained in this way are 17-a alkylated. It should also be noted that due to the addition of the CH4 molecule, the anabolic properties of the drug are enhanced.
All oral steroids with the exception of parabolan are alkylated. Alkylated drugs are rapidly destroyed in the liver and have a short half-life. On average, it ranges from 3 to 12 hours. Also, the working capacity of the liver has a great influence on the half-life. Consequently, pill steroids must be used much more often in comparison with injectable ones, and most often this is done in 2 or 4 doses throughout the day.
It should be noted that although all drugs that have undergone alkylation and intended for oral use are available both in the form of tablets and in the form of suspensions, the latter are a suspension of crystals in water. In this form, injection methane and stanozol are produced.
Steroids in the form of suspensions are much stronger than tableted ones and at the same time have local action properties. Simply put, they are able to stimulate the growth of muscle tissue in the place where they were injected. This became possible due to the creation of a high concentration of active substances.
Features of the use of steroids
Steroids are sex hormones that have been modified to enhance their properties of anabolic steroids and prolong the duration of their effect on the body. It is necessary to use anabolic drugs at least once during the half-life.
To increase the half-life, steroids undergo alkylation or esterification. During alkylation, a CH4 molecule is added to the hormone molecule, thereby increasing the half-life and increasing the anabolic properties of the drug. Esterification is the conversion of a hormone into a salt of organic acids. In this case, the effect of the drug on the body does not change, but only increases its half-life.
Esters of anabolic drugs dissolve in oil and are available in injectable form. In comparison with oral anabolic steroids, they act on the body for a longer period of time.
What steroids to choose - look at the video:
[media = https://www.youtube.com/watch? v = cYCRqUBX6sY] What drugs to use is, of course, up to the athlete to decide. Some people do not tolerate injections well, and pill steroids are the only solution for them. It can also be noted that injections do not have a negative effect on the liver, which is inherent in some oral steroids. It is impossible to tell which form of steroid is the most popular. It all depends on the characteristics of the athlete's body and the tasks assigned to him.
