This post was submitted by reader Jay Ashman.

I was always intrigued by steroids and size. Well at least ever since I started lifting. I believe that steroids have great value to certain individuals under the care of a professional. I’m anti-abuse and pro-safety.

To use steroids to improve your performance in any sport is ethically wrong. Especially when others do not use. Here’s a tale about steroids, pro-hormones and the recklessness of them if not used correctly.

I tried a cycle of steroids when I was 20. I was already 280lbs. I just started my bouncing career and everyone else was on steroids in the club. I wanted to try it too. My connection got me Cypionate, Enanthate, Dianabol & HCG to aid in coming off the steroids.

I gained up to 305lbs on my first cycle. The aggression was insane. My lifts were shot up like a cannon. I was wearing XXL shirts and they were far from baggy. I was a large mammal. The HCG helped: I had no comedown & no issues.

Pro-hormones. My vitamin guy sold a shelf full of pro-hormones. I had a lot of disposable income so I made myself a guinea pig. I did them all: M1-T 6 times. Andro 5 times. Halodrol-50 twice. Orastan-E twice, Superdrol once. Most of them didn’t do much for me, but the M1-T and the Superdrol were the creme de la crop.

Now, I am very aggressive as it is. I play rugby, I train kick-boxing and I work security at some of New York’s hottest clubs. But Superdrol worked so well it scared me off of them forever. This stuff made me gain 15 pounds in a few weeks with a serious aggression problem.

Most don’t know pro-hormones can throw your body into a tailspin. They know the risks with steroids. But not with pro-hormones. That’s why testosterone replacement therapy, like Androgel, will be a lucrative business in the next few years.

I never used a post-cycle therapy to come off of any of this. I didn’t think I had to. I didn’t research anything. My rationale was that these were not steroids. They wouldn’t do much to your hormone levels. Yes, I was a fool.

My last pro-hormone was Superdrol in Fall 2005. After I came off that, depression and lethargy hit me hard. For two years I dealt with that. I wasn’t going to the gym. I was getting soft and chubby. I lost weight: 288 to 250. But to be fair that was from my cardio, lack of drinking and a diet overhaul after moving to New York.

Several months ago I went to the doctor for a checkup. Never before did I suspect low testosterone. But after reading about it online, I decided to ask her to give me a hormone panel.

My results came back a week later. My testosterone levels were very low. She out and out asked me if I did steroids. I told her the truth. She wasn’t surprised since a lot of her patients on testosterone replacement therapy have issues from the abuse of steroids and pro-hormones.

Now months later I am still taking Androgel. I will be on it for the rest of my life. Which isn’t really a bad thing because it normalizes my levels and makes me who I am again. I am not tired all the time, my depression is pretty much gone.

It’s a bit inconvenient. Having to wake up, put the gel on and wait for it to dry to get dressed. I can’t jump in a pool until 5 hours have passed from time of application or some of the absorption will be halted.

But… my gains in the gym are coming back fast. I am getting my physique back, my shape and my endurance. My moods are the way they should be.

What is to be learned from this? Education. Learn before you use anything. Learn the side effects the interactions and the safety of the product. Do not abuse ANYTHING that will manipulate your hormone levels unnaturally.

In fact it is best to not use any product that will unnaturally alter your hormones. Coming off these products is the part that gets a lot of people. Don’t always assume your body will bounce back, it doesn’t at times…

You can use my name. I’m not ashamed of what I did. I just hope people use their heads when it comes to supplementation and steroids.