Disclosing steroid use to doctor?

[gaussiansurface]

good idea or not?

experiences?

my doctor is giving me a hard time with getting blood tests done...he says he wont give me a blood test unless theres as reason.

i want to be able to safely monitor my body before and after i cycle, so i was wondering should i tell my doctor that i plan to cycle?

[Prisoner#22]

yeah, probably a good idea to reveal that info, however when it comes to things such as life insurance policies... you may want to get a long policy (one you don't have to renew for quite some time) first then get your blood work done.

[ironwill]

^^ good advice....also go with the....I used prohormones, they are legal and im just wanting to be sure i didnt do any damage to myself....Spiel....It works....

[yAr]

yep tell him everything.... why not

[LonelyBedouin]

You can always go to a naturopathic doc and pretty much no questions asked, you just have to pay for the tests done. I dont even go to see her in person anymore, I just email her and ask to have the requisition sent out to me.

[TryGear]

Told me guy after my cycle. His quote" you jackass" while laughing. Gave me the speech and said here's your rec for blood work. Still laughing as he handed it to me

[musclegeek19]

Yeah I told the DR when I went in to get looked at, however he was a complete douche and started his speech with "You know these can kill you right?". I understand their need to preach the bad side effects, however I was pissed because I went there for medical attention - not to be criticized and ridiculed. Mind you, this was the urgent care center and not my family doctor - it was outside of clinic hours.

[faller]

Its really going to depend on the doctor. i went in a while back for an unrelated issue, the question came up if i was on steroids. I told him i was and all he did was reach up and get a book off the shelf, looked through it, and said " nope, that isn't the problem here".

Towards the end of the check up i asked if it would be possible to have blood work done. I explained that i was hesitant to come forward with my use because of the demonizeing of steroids, he just laughed and said no problem.

My point being, if he gives you a hard time than search out and find another doctor. They are out there, you just have to find them.

Also the advice about insurance is good advice. i didn't care, i'm 52 this year and when my insurance expires the premiams are going to be too high for me to renew so i didn't care one way or another. But if you're younger i'd look into it for sure.

[gettinbigger]

I don't know if I have the right attitude towards my doctor or not but I figure he works for me (at least for that 10 minutes I have for my appointment) so it's all out there in terms of what I use and stuff. He's pretty open minded and prescribes hrt for a lot of his older patients but he does get a little a tad condescending about my knowledge of things from time to time but overall it works well for me. I get good monitoring and the odd piece of good advice.

[monkey]

I personally don't agree with telling a doc, unless you have a script. The reason is.... no matter how "cool" the doc is.. it is an illegal substance and the disclosure will result in your "illegal drug use" being held on file for a very long time..

Might not matter now, might not matter later..but you never know when in your life you might have your records looked at or how the privacy laws migth pan out in 15 years...

So yeah.. I would probably try to avoid having any type of illegal activity being documented unless there was a serious reason.

I am sure you can get your bloodtest without admitting it.

[cog]

I personally don't agree with telling a doc, unless you have a script. The reason is.... no matter how "cool" the doc is.. it is an illegal substance and the disclosure will result in your "illegal drug use" being held on file for a very long time..

Might not matter now, might not matter later..but you never know when in your life you might have your records looked at or how the privacy laws migth pan out in 15 years...

So yeah.. I would probably try to avoid having any type of illegal activity being documented unless there was a serious reason.

I am sure you can get your bloodtest without admitting it.


Maybe in the future known users will have to submit to testing....

[rob66679]

Maybe in the future known users will have to submit to testing....

Ya never know.

I'm thinking even if your Doctor is open minded, it's gonna wind up in your file.... I'm not sure if it will ever go away.

The pro-hormones cover sounds pretty bullet proof to me.

[punkrock]

I think it really depends on the Doctor!

My doctor didn't mind giving me pre and post bloodwork tests.
He gave me a month sample of the rub on test gel.
I asked him to not record that I used Test E and Anavar. (I looked in my file later to double check if he wrote anything even)

My Discussion with him was over E.D. and increasing my testosterone to see if it would help. I told him it was also for strength gain too.

[1488]

I personally don't agree with telling a doc, unless you have a script. The reason is.... no matter how "cool" the doc is.. it is an illegal substance and the disclosure will result in your "illegal drug use" being held on file for a very long time..

Might not matter now, might not matter later..but you never know when in your life you might have your records looked at or how the privacy laws migth pan out in 15 years...

So yeah.. I would probably try to avoid having any type of illegal activity being documented unless there was a serious reason.

I am sure you can get your bloodtest without admitting it.

I gotta say, in this thread, this dude is right on the money when it comes to this shit. It's good to admit everything as long as it's just personal use, in order to get blood tests and let your GP monitor you to a degree. Or maybe a better idea is to find some way to admit nothing and find an excuse for blood tests.

But, yeah, what about 20 years down the road? Who knows what kind of confidentiality requirements will be in place with insurance companies and the government itself? If it's not causing you any major problem, id recommend keeping your mouth shut and monitoring yourself the best you can.

Ive already gone the route of admitting, but i wouldnt recommend it for the average guy. Then again, maybe im just paranoid... but probably not.

[Zylo]

I tell my doctor what's up. I owe it to them and myself, they should know everything if they are expected to do their job properly and accurately monitor my health. At least they'll know to be looking for certain things they might not otherwise consider and hopefully paying closer attention to my own personal needs as someone who uses AAS.

It's all about my health. I don't feel anything is worth risking it over... It's more important than worrying about a regulation that might change 25 years down the road or not saying anything because of the "stigma".

If I'm dead because some issues went undetected and untreated because the medical professionals had of a lack of proper information, it won't matter what may or may not happen later.

If I was too embarassed to admit to using gear, I wouldn't be using it.

We all make our own decisions for our own personal reasons and I wouldn't say anyone is right or wrong. Do what's right for you.

My 2 cents.

[gregdoucette]

Id go with the u used pro hormones and ur feeling all messed up or that u used supplements and u think they may have affected u and u want to get tested to make sure or u took something ordered online and u found out it got pulled of the shelves and are checking to make sure ur healthy.

[Talo]

Never lie to your doctor.

[warlock]

Disclose everything but beforehand tell him that this can't go into your file, if he agrees fine if he doesn't move on and find another doctor

[K-Max]

t is an illegal substance and the disclosure will result in your "illegal drug use" being held on file for a very long time..

It's only illegal in Canada if you're selling or trafficking them. Possessing them is not illegal in Canada as far as I know. A record of "using" is not the same as a record of "abusing" either. I doubt you can get them through the border though as they are a controlled substance.

Can't say the same about the above in the US though.

Also this begs the question, which doctors are more friendly to bodybuilders? In the context of the doctor clearly knowing about supplements in general and not demonizing sporting nutrition methods or sport in general that push limits on the body.

[Winnipeg Muscle]

Never lie to your doctor.

Exactly, I told my doctor two weeks ago that I was planning a cycle, of course he did not approve, however was quick to have my blood work done and wants to be keep in the loop. The doctor is your friend.

[razorsedge]

Exactly, I told my doctor two weeks ago that I was planning a cycle, of course he did not approve, however was quick to have my blood work done and wants to be keep in the loop. The doctor is your friend.

Agree totally gang...ur doctor has to be aware of what ur doing. Most progressive ones will monitor ur blood levels etc and not put in ur file if u speak frankly and professionally with them. Your health has to be the number one concern so the regular blood work has to be done. They may not agree with use... don't put them in tough position by asking for script for anything related...make the respect mutual and tell them that up front...

Tell them what ur doing and what u need...ur baseline levels, levels when cycling etc because if u lock up for any reason and end up in ER and tests are done, they have to be able to decipher so they can treat appropriately..

[nisser]

It really depends what kind of doctor you get. If s/he is older, then you are more likely to get judged on it. The current medical school curriculum puts a lot of emphasis on non-judgmental behavior; physicians are supposed be empathetic and listen to your concerns. If they show negative judgment in any way, then they slept through the class or are just plain assholes.

Having said that, requisitioning bloodwork generally requires a purpose and many are not going to lie about the reasons. Whatever you do, can and will go into a report when you get some sort of health/life insurance.

[Talo]

Having said that, requisitioning bloodwork generally requires a purpose and many are not going to lie about the reasons

I try to get my blood work done every year for my own personal knowledge and I've never had to give them a reason why. They may not want to do it , but they have to . We pay into the health care system and it's our right to know what is going on with our body. Early sign of detection is the best way to cure any type of decease.

[nisser]

Yearly bloodwork is kosher - there is no problem there. When you order bloodwork, the lab keeps a copy of the results and so does your doc. You may also request a copy of the bloodwork.

The problem comes around when someone in their 20s/30s/40s is doing multiple bloodwork per year. When that physician gets audited he will get asked the following questions:

1. Why so many blood tests per year? A popular notetaking method among physicians is called SOAP (subjective, objective, action, plan). Here's an example:

Subjective: patient wants yearly bloodwork/physical exam
Objective: physician did physical, most stuff normal
Action/plan: will do bloodwork

This stuff HAS to be put in the chart. A physician has to keep track of things he does with each patient. You can't do multiple bloodwork per year without reason.

2. If a blood test comes up with flags such as elevated liver enzymes, kidney problems, ELEVATED TEST, Elevated estrogen, elevated BP, what did the physician do to remedy the problem??
i) did he prescribe AIs to lower the estrogen?
ii) hypertension meds?
iii) what about the high test? What did the physician do to remedy it? He can't ignore it. If he does, his competency will come under scrutiny and he may lose his license.

3. What if #2 happens multiple times a year...


These are all flags that can and will get a physician into severe trouble once he gets audited. If a physician is telling you that "its under the table" he's either lying to you or being incredibly naive about the trouble he can get into. Audits are more frequent than you think b/c there is a lot of fraud b/c of Canadas fee-for-service system. Provincial goverments want to know that you aren't billing for services that you didn't actually provide.

[faller]

I asked my doc about keeping it off the books and it was a no go..

nisser, when you get multiple blood work done every year and the doc gets audited, what can happen? They can't refuse you blood work can they? My Doc didn't seem concerned at all in fact he made sure i came back.

[tiramisu]

The biggest issue I see is when you release your health records to an insurance company when later trying to apply for life insurance.

[clicker666]

The biggest issue I see is when you release your health records to an insurance company when later trying to apply for life insurance.

This. In addition - my wife tried to get my visitation to my kids denied at one point and I had to provide medical records (suffered some depression in the past) to her lawyer. I wouldn't have wanted any reference to steroids on that chart.

[razorsedge]

This. In addition - my wife tried to get my visitation to my kids denied at one point and I had to provide medical records (suffered some depression in the past) to her lawyer. I wouldn't have wanted any reference to steroids on that chart.

When I see these posts, I realize how lucky we are. Our doc is a very athletic guy and he suggested he'd help monitoring levels...us being a little older than most on here might make it easier for him to have the multiple tests....I have a standing order at lab to get blood work done for monitoring levels and can go whenever I choose to (every 6 months as I have all baseline levels already) and it was he that told me that he will not write details in file with respect to the tests as it could impact life insurance etc...I openly provided details on what was being used. I have no idea he gets around the follow up or lack of he gets audited...I do have high cholesterol which we used to monitor annually and now more frequently (the 6 mon)...I just feel lucky to have such a doc and am real comfortable talking to him about it...and peace of mind with levels is worth it's weight in gold people believe me....

[Talo]

I think if your over 30 with kids and don't have life insurance you foolish because the older you get the harder it becomes.

[bcaamuscle]

The best time to get ANY insurance policy is when you're young!! You might be young but you're never invincible! Basic SICKNESS insurance should be a must for everyone, who will pay your mortgage and car payments if you get hospitalized or disabled due to sickness? Everyone gets sick some day..

[nisser]

I asked my doc about keeping it off the books and it was a no go..

nisser, when you get multiple blood work done every year and the doc gets audited, what can happen? They can't refuse you blood work can they? My Doc didn't seem concerned at all in fact he made sure i came back.

"steroid use" is a totally viable reason for getting bloodwork. As long as it's in the records, its fine.

There's a recent case (like in less than a month ago) of a whole bunch of physicians getting caught because they got really greedy (ex. cardiologists ordering GI scopes and stuff). Some stuff is obvious and not having good records also sets off flags. There's really no reason for a doc to not write things down (other than fraud).