There was an article written a while back by a recreational cyclist who wanted to know what all the hype about EPO, HGH, etc was all about. He went to a ‘anti ageing’ specialist and was prescribed a cocktail of various steriods, EPO, and HGH. The results were obvious.
Then this morining i was reading the advertisement in Triathlete about different Vo2 max enhancers, and how much they were supposed to help.
Then my shoulder started to hurt. Now I’ve been on the shelf for over 6 months with an injury, and I’ve had alot of time to think about stuff, especially with all the controversey in pro sports over steroids.
I began to wonder about the ‘prescription’ drugs that some of these pros might get to aid in recovery. It seems to me that they all seem to heal at a phenominal rate, and i wonder if I had a doc who was a big believer in certain things, and if I had requested a way to recovery from my surgery faster, if I may have been able to have access to some of these wonderful drugs.
So this begs the question, if my doctor had prescribed me a cocktail of various PEDs to aid in my recovery from surgery would I be in a morally questionable spot to take these things, especially with an eye to recover as fast as possible so that I may return to the sport and qualify for a Kona slot? Let’s assume that I would stop taking the cocktail long enough before my event to pass the current USAT drug screening.
The second question that I wanted to ask is at what point to products like Optygen and the like become PEDs, and how do we as athletes know that these products are safe in the long term?
I think, especially knowing you and in your case, taking something to recover from a severe surgery like your shoulder surgery, that would be fine as long as you had it out of your system before racing. IMO and it’s just my opinion, that there are medically necessary times for drugs and to hell with the IOC or USAT or anyone else. To me it boils down to what is more important, my health and body or the ability to race. Maybe I’m egocentric, but I’m taking care of myself after surgery then thinking about hopefully racing some point down the road.
Personally, I avoid all medicine and supplements unless absolutely necessary— If something is powerful enough to help you in one area, it’s also powerful enough to have significant side-effects. I don’t think science has come far enough to accurately understand the side-effects and so I think there’s a big risk whenever you put something other than food into your body.
If I had surgery I would want the doctor to only consider treatment that maximized my overall health, not treatment that could accelerate a return to competition.
So, at a minimum, I think it would be stupid to take PEDs to accelerate a return to competition. I think it also might be morally questionable, since by taking PEDs and improving, you might raise the competitive bar for Kona slots, possibly encouraging other people to behave stupidly (and unhealthily).
If you have a genuine medical need for something in order to heal more effectively or with less pain then by all means take it.
The controversy I think is when you have doctors and “patients” who are playing fast and loose with the rules.
It goes something like this:
MOP AGer: Hey doc I’ve been training really hard but I’m feeling a little tired (wink wink).
Doctor: Well you are middle aged could be andropause, how is your sex life?
MOP AGer: Well my libido isn’t what it used to be when I was 18.
Doctor: Well it’s obvious you are sick so I’ll prescribe you some cyp-T and you’ll feel like your old self again.
MOP AGer: Thanks doc it’ll be great to feel “normal” again. Oh and I’m always short of breath too.
Doctor: No probs we’ll just throw in some EPO for good measure.
Find the right doctor and say the right things and you can get almost anything prescribed. Just like mother’s little helper. The Rolling Stones should do a remake called the AGers little helper
Why would you think PEDs were required to recover from a surgery??? If you are suggesting using them to recover back to competitive form quicker, then that would have no medical necessity … just personal necessity. To me its just as illegal as if you just took them for self help and advantage … which in my opinion is all the discussion is really about.
Dave
I agree with you. Anyone who is trying to find a grey area where they think it might be acceptable to use PED’s, is just looking for justification to take them. Use of PED’s is destroying all sports and use by pros just sends a message to kids that in order to make it in any sport, you will have to confront the question of whether to use or not to use PED’s. Those that think you should allow use to level the playing field are just kidding themselves because once you level the playing field, they will be looking for something else to gain an edge. Also, use of any chemicals to enhance performance puts lives at risk and there are many pros AND age groupers who are willing to take that risk.
Just to clarify, this was a purely hypothetical as I’m on track with my non-drug aided recovery form surgery - which according to my doctor and other doctors that I’ve consulted should take a total of two years to be back to the point I was the nanosecond before impact.
I guess a little differently worded question along the same lines would go something like - At what point would taking prescribed drugs on a banned PED list be justified? Afterall I was taking Vicodin after my surgery for the pain, and that seemed to be justfied. So would taking a ‘recovery cocktail’ to facilitate recovery (which is also very painful) from the two year prediction down to one year or less be justified, or anymore reprehensable then visiting a Hyperbaric chamber?
Or perhaps a better example would go something like -
Doc “Surgery went really well, you should have a full recovery.”
You “That’s great Doc! When can i get back to my regular training and racing lifestyle?”
Doc “Well, your looking at about 6 months before any activity at all, about 8 months of pretty painful PT, a total of a year befor 80% strength and function, about 18 months or never till your pain free and about two years till 100% strength and mobility - best case scenario.”
You “Wow, that kinda sucks.”
Doc “Well I could prescribe you some medication that could bring that recovery time down by about a year or more*. Would you be interested in something like that?”
You “…”
*Also remember that this would also facilitate your normal non sport related life like sleeping, getting milk out of the fridge, reaching for things with your dominant arm, picking up your kids/nephews, folding laundry, etc., etc.
The simple answer is that your scenario isn’t correct in assuming that one would avoid extended recovery by taking this “cocktail”. If that were factual then ALL patients should get this cocktail as why wouldn’t physicians want everyone to get “well” quicker and get back to their usual life sooner and with less pain. If that were the case then actually the oldest patients should be getting the PEDs as they typically have the slowest recovery of medical function.
You’re still just talking about sports advantage alone with your “scenario” … sorry … no sale!
Dave
Perhaps you are right (I’m not a Doctor), and such a cocktail would not allow for faster healing, but I was under the impression that the proper dosage of steroids, HGH, EPO and other drugs could and do facilitate healing and the reconstruction of damaged tissue (if nothing else some facilitate oxygen carrying capacity which alone promotes healing)
I guess the reason that everybody does not get the cocktail is expense and the fact that you can recover without such drugs. - I’m pretty sure that elderly people with healing problems do receive steriods and other drugs to aid in problematic healing.
If I’m wrong about this then I apologize, and then you would be absolutely correct.
