Performance-enhancing substances in high school sports -
Blood doping, which often involves the use of prohibited erythropoietin, or EPO, increases the number of red blood cells in the body. This increase thickens the blood, making it difficult for the heart to pump.
The result is a higher risk of life-threatening diseases including stroke, heart disease, and cerebral or pulmonary embolisms. There have been multiple deaths attributed to blood doping.
I raced 13 or 14 years as a professional cyclist. I was racing in Europe full-time, we had European riders on the team, we had European staff. I had finished a stage race in Southern Spain, like a week-long stage race, and I was just like a starfish on my bed, collapsed.
He was wearing this fly fishing vest and he reached into one of the pockets and he pulled out this little red, egg-shaped capsule.
And that was the moment, he handed me this capsule, that was the moment. And it showed that they had faith in me and that they thought I had a future in the sport. So, yeah, I made that decision.
I knew it was wrong from the moment I put it in my mouth, for sure. But I also thought that I had to look the other way. This was my opportunity, everybody else was doing it, so I kind of had to just join the club and not think so much about it. That little red testosterone pill led to other things.
A month or two later I was introduced to my first injection of a drug called EPO, which basically boosts your hematocrit, which brings red blood cells to your muscles.
Kind of a big deal. And I remember the first time I ever did it, the blood was pulled out in Spain, outside of Valencia, Spain, and it was put back into me three weeks later in the middle of the Tour de France. So somebody had to transport that over an international border.
Serious stuff, serious stuff. My life went from being a wide-eyed, green bike racer from Marblehead, Massachusetts to a few years later in a little bit of a dark world, very secretive, two different faces. Cycling, all of a sudden, became different, it was more about results.
After the season, which was probably my most successful season on record, I had great results, had a big Tour de France.
I got back stateside after the season was over, it was in my off-season, and I realized I was having a hard time just getting out of bed, no motivation. I mean, I thought about suicide, I drank to just check out at some points. I called them committee meetings and just kind of think about what I was up to and the consequences if it all went bad, how ugly that was going to look.
And I had a bad reaction, my urine was like, black with dead red blood cells, I had a fever. I told the team doctor about it and he watched over me. Luckily, it passed. But I remember thinking to myself, you know, what am I doing?
What am I doing? This is a crazy world. But the power of the truth, I mean, the truth saved me. There was a federal investigation into Lance Armstrong and the U.
Postal Service Cycling Team. And a guy by the name of Jeff Novitsky contacted me, and I was forced to come in and tell the truth in front of a grand jury. And finally, I got there in front of the grand jury and maybe the first 10, 15 minutes were a little bit hard, but then it was just like — PHEW — and it just came out, and for as hard as it was, it felt also just wonderful.
But then I realized, wow, what an ugly situation this has been and ugly situation that we all went through. From that moment on, really, being in that Los Angeles courtroom, I came out of there and I had a new perspective on what I was going to do with my life.
Hiding the truth was not included in that anymore. And the youngest asked me why I did it. I would say I take cycling a lot less seriously now, just kind of enjoy it a lot more. Necessary cookies to view the content.
Effects of Performance-Enhancing Drugs. Effects of PEDs: Athlete Stories. Anabolic Agents Including Testosterone. Gender Specific — Males. Gender Specific — Females. Peptide Hormones, Growth Factors, and Related Substances The primary medical use of these compounds vary, but include treatment of cancer or aiding those born prematurely.
Human Growth Hormone hGH Physiological. Severe headaches Loss of vision Acromegaly Protruding or enlarged jaw, brow, skull, hands and feet High blood pressure and heart failure Diabetes and tumors Crippling arthritis. Beta-2 Agonists The primary medical use of these compounds is to treat conditions such as asthma and other respiratory ailments.
Palpitations Headaches Sweating Nausea Muscle cramps Nervousness. Diuretics The primary medical use of these compounds is to treat conditions such as hypertension, kidney disease, and congestive heart failure. Dehydration Muscle cramps Dizziness or fainting Drop in blood pressure Loss of coordination and balance.
Stimulants The primary medical use of these compounds is to treat conditions such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ADHD , asthma, narcolepsy, and obesity.
Insomnia Anxiety Weight Loss Dependence and addiction Dehydration Tremors Increased heart rate and blood pressure Increased risk of stroke, heart attack, and cardiac arrhythmia.
Cannabinoids Marijuana Marijuana is classified by Congress as a Schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substances Act CSA. Increased heart rate Impaired short-term memory Slowed coordination and reaction of reflexes Diminished ability to concentrate Distorted sense of time and space Respiratory diseases.
Mood instability Impaired thinking and reading comprehension. Blood Doping Blood doping is the practice of misusing certain techniques and substances to increase the red blood cell mass in the body. Increased stress on the heart Blood clotting Stroke. Narcotics In small doses narcotics have medical uses that include relieving severe pain and inducing sleep.
A false sense of invincibility Nausea and vomiting Increased pain threshold and failure to recognize injury Decreased heart rate Physical and psychological dependence; leading to addiction. Beta Blockers The primary medical use of beta-blockers is to control hypertension, cardiac arrhythmias, angina pectoris severe chest pain , migraine, and nervous or anxiety-related conditions.
Lowered blood pressure Slow heart rate Sleep disorders Spasm of the airways. Drug use is on the rise in high school. Almost 22 percent of school students currently use marijuana. Even more concerning is the use of some of the strongest and potentially lethal recreational substances.
While many parents turn to athletics as a way of keeping their children out of danger, many high school athletes have recently started taking Performance-Enhancing-Drugs PED to boost their performance. Like all other reasons for youth drug use, it is linked to peer pressure, body dysmorphia, and depression.
While there are legal and safe supplements athletes can take to help their performance such as caffeine, beta-alanine, and creatine, many athletes go a step further by using PED drugs like anabolic steroids, SARMS, growth hormones, stimulants, and erythropoiesis-stimulating agents.
All of these are banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency and can have devastating and life-threatening long-term effects. America loves sports. The NFL, the NBA, the NHL, and the MLB all bring in impressive revenues each year. NBA athletes specifically have marketed themselves to the spotlight.
LeBron James, a Los Angeles Lakers small forward, has more Instagram followers than current President Donald Trump. High schoolers also love their sports. Recently, because of social media, high school athletics have become a major hub for avid sports fans.
High school athletes play with more flash and drama and draw more attention than their professional counterparts. Mikey Williams, a year-old basketball phenom from San Ysidro, California has more Instagram followers than many NBA All-Stars. High school athletes are getting faster, stronger, and better and are almost matching some of their professional counterparts.
Unfortunately, like many professional athletes , teenagers are using illegal and dangerous methods to achieve new athletic accolades. Unlike most common reasons for recreational drug use, high school athletes do not use PEDs because of a desire to fit in, but because of social pressure.
High school athletes are under constant pressure to match talent, and unfortunately, hard work can only get them so far. PEDs give an extra boost to push them over the top and gain recognition from their friends, teammates, family, and social media followers.
They have the potential to cause hallucinations and narcoleptic episodes. Injecting any variety of hormones — such as IGF- 1 [growth hormone] and testosterone — in your body consistently will lead to your body not being able to produce adequate amounts later down the line.
All of these are highly abused and people become dependent on them. Androgenic and anabolic steroids could very easily kill an underdeveloped body very quickly. The first step that institutions such as the NMAA must take to limit PED use is to rapidly improve their testing for it.
Any student could use these and would never see consequences. The next step is to limit access to these drugs. Pre-workout formula, a common supplement, is allowed by most sports leagues.
These formulas generally contain caffeine and amino acids from natural sources. However, many pre-workout formulas sold to adolescents contain DMAA and DMHA — androgenic steroids.
Any athlete could get their hands on these at their local supplement store without ever turning to the black market. The FDA and the state of New Mexico must do a better job at regulating PEDs. The best way to reduce the prevalence of PED use is to address bullying.
Body dysmorphia and pressure to live up to athletic expectations are a primary reason for high school students to take life-threatening PEDs.
Schools and institutions should encourage body positivity and safe practices.
Content provided Energy-efficient appliances Mayo Clinic. Hig that famous athletes have Performance-enhancing substances in high school sports to using performance-enhancing drugs, it's not surprising Performance-enhancing substances in high school sports teens might turn to aubstances and other substances to boost their sports performance. If you're the parent of a teen athlete, start a discussion about performance-enhancing drugs. By explaining the consequences of using performance-enhancing drugs, you can help your teen steer clear. Steroids and their precursors can have severe, long-lasting health effects. Featuring Suvstances Wilson Dairy-free meal options, National Director for Clinical Dairy-free meal options at Newport Academy. PED use often occurs in Performance-enhanding adolescence. The kids Anti-aging are striving Performance-enbancing the Performqnce-enhancing grades or to perform athletically in high school are vulnerable. Therefore, this can lead to PED use. Furthermore, it can lead to substance abuse, mental health disorders, and eating disorders. These can be low self-esteem, depression, or anxiety. A lot of times, athletes are put under pressure, even at the high school level.
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