Folks using testosterone pathches, asthma inhallers, … Cheating?

[dbb]

I just checked and caffeine is not on the list.

Friday Coffee Club is saved!

[mstone]

@KLizotte 121098 wrote:

I’m also confused as to how someone can get a prescription for an inhaler from their doctor who doesn’t have asthma; I have to undergo tests every year to get my prescription renewed.

I’ve never heard of annual testing for renewing a routine inhaler prescription. Maybe you’ve got something with more kick than albuterol?

@GB 121111 wrote:

Unless you guys are competing in cat 1 or maybe cat 2 races I don’t see why anyone cares. Being the best cat 4 racer, while certainly not easy doesn’t seem like it really means much. So I hope people aren’t spending too much time investing inhalers and patches at these races.

Bike Snob has some great coverage of amateur races where people were actually caught doping. I guess if you’re spending $20k on equipment to win the bike equivalent of a fun run, what’s another $10k for PEDs?

@Raymo853 121113 wrote:

I agree that many people really have asthma and should be using inhalers. I just do not believe somehow people like Lars Boom could win a CX World Championship and some how have this physical limitation. Nor 95% of UCI ranked riders.

When I was 41, after a horrid sickness, I used both a long term steroid and short term inflammatory inhaler for about a month. I was utterly shocked by the massive increase in my cardio strength and would have consider doing any race then as wrong with no doubts. I did a Stokesville-Douthat-Stokesville tour right afterwards. I was able to shadow Roger Masse up the climbs, something I should have not been able to do and never could do again. Of course, as soon as it turned downhill and twisty, he disappeared.

Steroids yes, albuterol, no. From what I’ve read, an inhaler for exercise induced asthma does absolutely nothing to increase lung capacity of a healthy athlete (though it may still cause side effects). There are also some studies suggesting that professional athletes may have a higher than average rate of asthma, the theory being that some kinds of intense training may actually damage the lungs or something. At any rate, it seems that 1) there are good reasons that a lot of athletes may be using inhalers; 2) there may also be athletes using inhalers because they think it will give them an advantage or because everyone else is; and 3) it doesn’t matter, because the guys who don’t need it don’t actually get an advantage.

If you need an inhaler but don’t use one because sports, that’s just stupid IMO. It’s all fun and games until you crash out, unable to breath.

[cvcalhoun]

@Raymo853 121112 wrote:

Andro Gels/patches have more impacts than sexual function. Body density increases, muscle mass increases, healing time drops. Friends in their 40’s using it have pointed out one thing, it makes your recovery times from big efforts seem similar to what you experienced in your 20’s. http://www.livestrong.com/article/103207-benefits-using-androgel/ I won’t deny that sounds very attractive to me. Maybe I just started this thread to stop myself from asking my doc for a script.

From WebMD:

Isn’t taking testosterone replacement basically the same as taking steroids, like athletes that “dope”? It’s true that anabolic steroids used by some bodybuilders and athletes contain testosterone or chemicals that act like testosterone.

The difference is that doses used in testosterone replacement only achieve physiologic (natural) levels of hormone in the blood. The testosterone forms some athletes use illegally are in much higher doses, and often combined (“stacked”) with other substances that boost the overall muscle-building (anabolic) effect.

So I’d really hate to see it be disqualifying for men with low testosterone. Obviously, it’s a different story for those who might use it to boost their testosterone levels above normal.

[dplasters]

@cvcalhoun 121123 wrote:

So I’d really hate to see it be disqualifying for men with low testosterone. Obviously, it’s a different story for those who might use it to boost their testosterone levels above normal.

Testosterone is wildly over prescribed and isn’t necessarily super safe or shown do anything at all for libido.

As for competing, all you can do is show up and know that you are following the spirit of the rules. Unfortunately cycling seemingly (I have never competed in the sport) has the baseball like attitude of “If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying”. Be proud in knowing you are competing fairly.

[trailrunner]

When I used to race, it bothered me when I heard of other middle-age people cheating, even though I was several categories below those guys and even without doping, they could crush me. Yes, some were caught, even in the amateur ranks. Same thing when I was doing a lot of triathlons.

As far as us normal people with legitimate medical reasons to take things like asthma medicine or testosterone which would disqualify the user – that’s unfortunate, but those are the rules, even at the amateur level. Jonathan Vaughters had to drop out of the TdF one year after he got stung by a bee and seriously needed cortisone. There is a process to get a TUE if it’s that important.

Funny story: back in the mid-90s when I was racing mountain bikes a lot, and before doping was big news, I was at a race somewhere in western MD (Flintstone maybe?). I was in the parking lot getting ready, and I smelled something funny coming from the car next to me. When I looked over, two guys were in the car ingesting something. One of the guys, sounding just like Spicoli, offered me some with the promise that it would help me race better. I declined.

[mstone]

@trailrunner 121136 wrote:

As far as us normal people with legitimate medical reasons to take things like asthma medicine or testosterone which would disqualify the user – that’s unfortunate, but those are the rules, even at the amateur level. Jonathan Vaughters had to drop out of the TdF one year after he got stung by a bee and seriously needed cortisone. There is a process to get a TUE if it’s that important.

You do understand that you don’t need a TUE for albuterol, right? Let’s try to keep this grounded in reality. Yeah, it’s possible there’s a hoard of MAMILs puffing steroids, but let’s just give them the benefit of the doubt and stop the hand-wringing.

[cvcalhoun]

@mstone 121137 wrote:

You do understand that you don’t need a TUE for albuterol, right? Let’s try to keep this grounded in reality. Yeah, it’s possible there’s a hoard of MAMILs puffing steroids, but let’s just give them the benefit of the doubt and stop the hand-wringing.

Apparently, you need a TUE if you take albuterol and a diuretic. Like, say, if you take a diuretic for high blood pressure and albuterol for asthma.

Did I mention that getting old is hell? Fortunately, I’ve never been competitive enough to have to worry about such stuff. If the handful of pills I have to take each morning and evening is actually upping my speed from, say, 9 mph to 10, no one is going to be running drug tests on me to find out about it.

[PotomacCyclist]

This topic is currently causing a big stir in the running world. Some prominent athletes are complaining that the Oregon Project, run by legendary marathoner Alberto Salazar, has been crossing the line by getting numerous TUEs for top runners like Galen Rupp. The matter hasn’t been settled yet. It may never be. It has a lot of the running community talking, debating and arguing.

[PotomacCyclist]

There’s actually a legal AND ethical way to boost testosterone levels: strength training. But it has to be with total body movements and heavier weights, where you can only manage 3-6 reps, after warming up. Barbell squats and deadlifts are among the best exercises for this boost. You can use far more weight than with a biceps curl or quad extension machine. Compound exercises put such a training load on your whole body that the body responds by boosting your testosterone and HGH levels. This is why heavy squats can even make your arms stronger.

I definitely notice this effect after hard strength workouts. I’ve never taken testosterone supplements. But I do keep up with strength training (for most of the year). This is one of the reasons why strength training is recommended for all adults, whether or not they compete or even ride or run. Instead of taking all those shots or wearing those patches, some of those people might be able to substitute strength training.

[PotomacCyclist]

As for the doping issue, I believe a lot of amateurs are doping, not just skirting the line of TUEs. There are too many anecdotes and even some cases of drug clinics getting caught with pro and amateur clients to think there isn’t a problem. People have been caught making up race times in marathons or cutting courses. Why wouldn’t some of them also be dopers?

[PotomacCyclist]

http://m.bbc.com/sport/cycling/32662773

[PotomacCyclist]

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/others/antidoping-experts-concerned-at-rise-in-number-of-amateur-athletes-turning-to-drugs-to-get-ahead-10031430.html

There are other articles about the topic of amateurs doping. It even extends to high schools.

A seedy case involves a championship football team from Sayreville NJ. (The case also shows the problem of violence among some football players. On a side note, I’m very suspicious that some of the recent DC attacks on cyclists were committed by high school football players. The criminals in the two videos that were released looked like elite athletes. There has been a steady stream of violent incidents from some college and pro football players. Not all of them, but it’s quite a lot. And it goes all the way to the serial killer Aaron Hernandez. Anyway… )

In the Sayreville case, an assistant coach was pulled over while driving and was found to have a large quantity of steroids and other PEDs. The football players later got into trouble when it was discovered that they had been hazing younger players… by sexually assaulting them in the locker room!

I know I’m mixing up a couple issues here but I think it all goes toward the sense of entitlement and a win at all costs mentality. This filters down to some high school players and to adult amateurs who may have that same attitude in their jobs, that they have to win and they will do whatever it takes to finish first, whether it’s ethical or not.

My violent former boss probably fits into this category. I’m 90 percent sure he was on steroids. He’s not a cyclist but he liked to be competitive in some other sports. There were several indications that something was not right upstairs and that he was using something illicit and rage-inducing.

There’s little doubt at this point that a lot of amateurs are doping too. There are a lot of amateurs who are well-off. They can easily afford to buy the PEDs.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

Excercise is good for you and just for you, so inhaler. Racing is about beating other people because you’re better, so inhaler not so much. If the claim is “I can’t race without my inhaler,” than not racing is an option.

[mstone]

@Brendan von Buckingham 121153 wrote:

Excercise is good for you and just for you, so inhaler. Racing is about beating other people because you’re better, so inhaler not so much. If the claim is “I can’t race without my inhaler,” than not racing is an option.

Why? Since the actual sports governing bodies disagree with you, I wonder what supports your position.

[Raymo853]

@PotomacCyclist 121150 wrote:

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/others/antidoping-experts-concerned-at-rise-in-number-of-amateur-athletes-turning-to-drugs-to-get-ahead-10031430.html

There are other articles about the topic of amateurs doping. It even extends to high schools.

A seedy case involves a championship football team from Sayreville NJ. (The case also shows the problem of violence among some football players.

We could really go off on a tangent and talk about the rampant anabolic steroid abuse in our Nation’s police forces. I assume many of the abuses/shootings can be partially attributed to roid rage.

[Author]

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