New York Times Article

[Bouncer]

Originally posted by hootond
When all is said and done, I choose to rely on a large (and growing) number of medical professionals who have fully examined Taylor's situation and have concluded that steroids were a PRIMARY contributor to Taylor's state of mind at the time he took his life, rather than listen to the speculation of a number of steroid users who are not familiar with the totality of the circumstances surrounding my son's death.

Further, let me assure you that the NY Times does not post a story like this as the lead article on the front page of their Sports Section without doing their homework. Prior to printing the article, they talked to Taylor's doctors, to the County Medical Examiner, to over a half-dozen world-class experts on steroids from places like Harvard and NYU, and others. The NY Times heard speculation of the type posted on this board and dismissed it!

In closing, you can look forward to seeing Taylor's story in the national TV media in the coming weeks. And, you can be assured that allegations and opinions of the type expressed here will be fully flushed out as part of preparation for the broadcast.

The dangers of steroid use are REAL. Why steroid users like yourselves continue to deny what is written in the medical textbooks and has been proven in multiple medical studies is beyond my ability to comprehend. Unless, you are just trying to convince yourselves that continuing to do steroids is "okay", because you personally haven't witnessed some of these effects with your small group of buds at the gym.

Best of luck to you all, and I can only hope and pray that this "junk" doesn't kill each of you (in one way or another).

Like I said, im sorry about what happened to your son. But dont be so sure these people your dealing with are "experts". Read any medical study or book about steroids prior to 1991 and you will see that they all say that "steroids do not cause muscle growth". As we all know that is not true. My point is, dont believe everything you read in a book. Just the other day I was watching Bill Oreilly on fox news. He was talking about steroid usage and went on to say that, "its ashame that anabolic steroids arent illeagal in the US". Now surely a man like Oreilly from fox news would have done his homework wouldnt he? See my point? Bottom line is, when it comes to anabolic steroids, most medical doctors could use a little more schooling in the area.

[sana]

If you're going to bring up how well the NYT's has investigated the article, I can't help but to say that the NY Times is a liberal rag sheet who has had numerous incidents of not investigating all the parts of their stories completely before publishing. Let me remind you of the very recent incident of their journalist named Jayson Blair assigned to their national desk who was exposed for plaigarizing his articles. So just because it has appeared in the paper and will appear on national TV does not mean that it is not without bias.

Though steroids may have contributed to your son's negative mental state, I will ask you point blank again to tell us how as parents who had missed obvious signs of your son's steroid use can say with a clear conscience that you did not miss signs of a deeper depression? Especially with a psychiatrist telling you that he had already suffered from low self esteem and was essentially self medicating by taking steroids to "get bigger" to fit what he thought he should be. And please, tell us more about perhaps the amount of pressure you as a parent had put on your child to excel in sports. As this seems to be the bigger socialogical issue that is starting to plague society: Parents who push their children to succeed and excel in sports who effectively end up pushing them into depression when they do not measure up to the standards which are set by them.

We are only saying that regardless of the facts produced by the investigative team that has written the article and produced the TV segment, there is an overwhelming amount of bias towards the media portrayal of any drug use. And this article reads like any others which the majority of us in the public have and will contiune to read. It takes one possible contributor to your son's death and makes it the only issue. We do not see the investigation of how much the other circumstances surrounding his death contributed to his actions. We do not hear about how whether the reporter did indeed throughly investigate whether his low self-esteem contributed to his depression post steroids.

And last but not least, even within medical community, there has been studies which have been released by researchers which are biased and inaccurate. Most recently that I've read, in the NYT, research on the damaging effects of Ecstasy has been retracted based on bad data. The reports and studies based on the flawed research of an "expert" in his field has fueled alarmist press releases demonizing even one time uses of MDMA.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/02/science/02ECST.html

Above is the article if you're interested.

I will state to you that I am not a steroid user. I am not defending it based on my personal desire to use it, but from a standpoint of not understanding why many times not all parts of a story are looked into. And the first thought that came into my mind upon reading the NYT article was not discounting that steroids may have compounded your son's depression, but why it was the only reason pointed to as the cause of his suicide. It simply is another example (at least to me) of the mass media being biased and the erosion of personal responsibility.

[JUICE]

I dont know what to say or what to blame. I used roids since I was in high school and never had a problem. Im 21 right now, and yes Im young but after I discontinued the usage in high school I never felt like shit or anything like that. In fact that gave me courage to continue lifting more weifghts and getting bigger naturally. There have been recent suicide here by small guys, one in high school and another in middle school. Why did this happen? Maybe cause they were taking rec drugs. Maybe because they were depressed. ONE good reason that strikes me was because they were told assualted and and were scared. IMO I dont think roids can do this. Im no doctor but i think problems like that go beyond roids usage, maybe people are like that since thier small. Problems they have and never express to anyone, just hinding secrets that they cant take no more. I think its all in the head. Another thing thats why roids get a bad name. Thats why it took me 5 years of research before using them,sofar Ive done my homework and still learning.

[Turbo3000]

I like this quote from the article

"While there are relatively few professional athletes, some doctors estimate that 500,000 to one million high school students, or more, use steroids."

Few pros huh...............................BS

[Turbo3000]

I don't care how many doctors examined him or anything, I know that NO ONE knows what was really going through his mind except HIM.

[Stonecold54]

Originally posted by Turbo3000
I like this quote from the article

"While there are relatively few professional athletes, some doctors estimate that 500,000 to one million high school students, or more, use steroids."

Few pros huh...............................BS

yeah it is quite hysterical with what comes out of newspapers and doctors and other supposed experts on this topice. I just wish they would all admit that they know next to nothing about the topic. SO lets see 500000 to 10000000 users and this thread is about 1 kid. yep I definelty see a pattern forming. I have better odds of winning the lottery or getting struck by lighting than dying of steroids. plus those are just the high school numbers, what about the rest of normal poplulation? I was sympathetic at first but I am done now, obviously this father needs therapy for his loss. his projectoin on us is all he has apparently. he has been logged in since 1200 pm and has only two posts. I hope that he is reading all the material on the site to see how educated on this junk, as he calls it.

[SHOT]

Originally posted by Turbo3000
I don't care how many doctors examined him or anything, I know that NO ONE knows what was really going through his mind except HIM.

Very good point bro....

[Liftingchic]

all i can add to this thread is that i had depression too from winny.. but it was also way worst because of other thing that are going on in my life.... AAS if used in the right way have MANY benefits to its..and i really do think you are trying to put the blame on something.. and not look at other places...

i am sorry about your son.. and may he rest in peace..


LC

[Liftingchic]

Originally posted by SHOT
Very good point bro....

I agree good post..

[Liftingchic]

Originally posted by hootond

The dangers of steroid use are REAL. Why steroid users like yourselves continue to deny what is written in the medical textbooks and has been proven in multiple medical studies is beyond my ability to comprehend. Unless, you are just trying to convince yourselves that continuing to do steroids is "okay", because you personally haven't witnessed some of these effects with your small group of buds at the gym.

Best of luck to you all, and I can only hope and pray that this "junk" doesn't kill each of you (in one way or another).

I am thinking that your son didn't research what he was takin(what he was putting in his body).. ANYTHING IS DANGEROUS if used in high doses... breating too much hair spray every morning can mess you up either.. you can not sit here and blame AAS when there are Medical uses for it.. like my mother has asthma she uses a inhaler that is made with a steriod.. so if he didn't research what he was taking its not the AAS's fault..

and thanks for praying for me(us) i have been doing the same for your family when i first read any article on this..



here is that article


After death of his son, parent campaigns for awareness, drug testing


11:23 PM CST on Tuesday, November 11, 2003

By TIM MacMAHON / The Dallas Morning News

PLANO – Taylor Hooton's smiling face filled the projector screen when his father, Don, took the stage in the Plano West Senior High School auditorium.

Taylor, his father told an audience of approximately 600 parents, coaches and students on that weeknight in September, was a handsome, pleasant boy with a steady girlfriend, a high SAT score and a spot on the Plano West varsity baseball roster.

Taylor Hooton committed suicide July 15 at the age of 17, just weeks before he would have started his senior year.

"Why would such a nice young man with his whole life in front of him take such an irrational step?" Hooton asked. "I am convinced that the answer to this question can be found in one word – steroids."

Don Hooton is determined to make sure his son did not die in vain. Hooton, with Dr. Larry Gibbons of the Cooper Clinic in Dallas, were at Plano West to present a 90-minute steroids seminar. A similar session is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Plano Senior High School gymnasium.

As are many adolescents, Taylor was obsessed with improving his appearance and athletic ability.

Don Hooton said he and his wife became suspicious about steroid use because Taylor experienced rapid weight gain and extreme mood swings and developed acne on his back.

Don said Taylor denied using steroids when first confronted in late winter but confessed a couple of weeks later after a lecture from the family physician and persistent questioning from his parents. Don said that Taylor had started a cycle of anabolic steroids approximately six to eight months before his death.

Taylor was suffering from depression, a common side effect during withdrawal from steroids, when he killed himself. Taylor told his parents and several friends that he stopped using steroids in May. Don Hooton said Taylor was being treated for depression by a psychologist and psychiatrist, although neither linked his condition to steroids.

"Parents, I want you to imagine for a moment how horrifying it was to go through his room after the funeral and find his stash of needles and syringes," Hooton said. "For some of you in this audience, this horrifying activity is going on in your homes right now."

A problem with society

Gibbons and Hooton detailed the negative effects of steroid use – particularly in adolescents. They explained the availability of the illegal substances at gyms, from local drug dealers and via the Internet.

Detective Chris Jones of the Plano Police Department said an investigation is pending to determine the source of Taylor's steroids.

Plano West athletic director and football coach Mike Hughes, who strongly suggested that his players attend the seminar, said steroid abuse is not only an athletics issue.

"This is a problem with society," Hughes said. "Athletics is a direct reflection of society."

According to Gibbons, the median age of initiation to steroids is 15. He cited a study that determined that 2 to 3 percent of high school students used steroids in the 1990s. He added that the percentage of steroid users among athletes is probably significantly higher.

Greene Shepherd, a doctor who works in the poison control center at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, said he has seen a survey that indicated that 3 to 5 percent of high school males have used steroids.

Those numbers came as a surprise to Kurt Petersen, a former Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman whose son, Kyle, just completed his senior football season at Plano West. "There can be such devastating mental effects on somebody whether they're using steroids or in withdrawal. That's frightening. Kids at that age are emotional, anyway."

Parents and coaches at the seminar were informed of the signs of steroid use, such as rapid muscle gain, severe acne and sudden, extreme mood swings. They were urged not to overlook such indicators.

"Through some of what was said, I can think of some kids you might want to take a second look at," Plano West baseball coach Blake Boydston said. "You might dig a little deeper or ask a few questions now. ... You've got to dig a little deeper."

Hooton encouraged parents to push public officials for steroid testing, treatment and education in schools. Because of the availability of drug-masking products, Hooton said random testing of high school athletes is the only effective solution.

Several parents asked about the issue after the seminar said they supported testing for steroids. None of the parents asked opposed steroid testing.

Hunter McElhaney, a Plano West senior football and baseball player who was a close friend of Taylor Hooton, said the reasons for random steroid testing go beyond athletes' safety. He also sees it as a fairness issue.

"I'm totally for it [testing]," McElhaney said. "As a player, I don't want somebody coming up and taking my spot because they're juicing, and I'm not."

Prospects of drug testing

Hooton has heard a multitude of reasons for not adopting such a policy in Plano schools. There is concern about the legal ramifications of violating athletes' privacy with the tests. Others, including Plano ISD athletic director Cliff Odenwald, say the cost – approximately $200 per steroid test – is too high.

"Any way you can get kids to say no [to drugs], it's a positive," Odenwald said. "Sometimes the possibility of getting tested is enough, although that isn't always the case. But the money's just not there. We're already paying the fee [$125 per high school athlete] to keep things going."

A June 2002 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court gave schools the authority to drug-test students participating in extracurricular activities. The University Interscholastic League, which organizes sporting and academic contests statewide, surveyed its members for the first time in September 2002 about their drug-testing policies. Of the 1,014 districts responding (out of 1,040 districts in the state), 196 reported conducting some type of drug testing.

Hughes said he did not oppose drug testing, but he did not think athletes should be singled out.

Hooton has a hard time accepting cost as an obstacle to steroid testing.

"If cost is really an objection, then let's put this on the list of funding priorities and compare it against the next practice facility or athletic field improvement that is on the list of budget requests," Hooton said. "I think our students' lives and their health are a much more important priority. Don't you?"

[Liftingchic]

Also does anyone know what (AAS) was taken? that would help ..

[Doom]

Originally posted by hootond
When all is said and done, I choose to rely on a large (and growing) number of medical professionals who have fully examined Taylor's situation and have concluded that steroids were a PRIMARY contributor to Taylor's state of mind at the time he took his life, rather than listen to the speculation of a number of steroid users who are not familiar with the totality of the circumstances surrounding my son's death.

Further, let me assure you that the NY Times does not post a story like this as the lead article on the front page of their Sports Section without doing their homework. Prior to printing the article, they talked to Taylor's doctors, to the County Medical Examiner, to over a half-dozen world-class experts on steroids from places like Harvard and NYU, and others. The NY Times heard speculation of the type posted on this board and dismissed it!

In closing, you can look forward to seeing Taylor's story in the national TV media in the coming weeks. And, you can be assured that allegations and opinions of the type expressed here will be fully flushed out as part of preparation for the broadcast.

The dangers of steroid use are REAL. Why steroid users like yourselves continue to deny what is written in the medical textbooks and has been proven in multiple medical studies is beyond my ability to comprehend. Unless, you are just trying to convince yourselves that continuing to do steroids is "okay", because you personally haven't witnessed some of these effects with your small group of buds at the gym.

Best of luck to you all, and I can only hope and pray that this "junk" doesn't kill each of you (in one way or another).

OK, first things first. Like all others have said, I myself would like to express my sympathies for the loss of your son, second, I would like to say that you are blind in this matter as well. Well not blind but one sided, you say its in FACT steroids that killed your son, if that is the case, and he had no prexisting medical, or psycholoigical aliments, and was more or less an all around well balanced kid, why did he begin using? Have you ever stopped to think abou that for a moment, did you truly know every aspect of your sons social life?

These are factors that need to be taken in to consideration, why exactly did he choose to use these things, who put the ideas in his head, what were his friends like, relationships?

Anyone of these things could have led to him to pursue a new him on the outside, but, all along its a mask hiding the true inner pain, that no one but himself knew.

Point im trying to make is that, yes roids are dangerous, yes they can alter a state of mind,. and yes sometimes they can kill, but you see before you a community that stands by one another and tries to stop these things from happening. In this community we have people that are beyond doctors and professionals as you put it, and a great majority of us know exactly what we are doing long before hand, and these dangers you speak of are real, but they are discussed so that we dont see tragedy such as this.

You want to point blame, point it at the person(s) that put these ideas into your sons head, the person that put the materials he used into his hands, and possibly blame yourself for not seeing these changes in him. Is this harsh?, yes, but for you to come here and blame our society as whole is not right, we encourage the safe practice of use, that is why these forums exist.

If this will wind up somewhere, on the news or in the media so be it, this is our lifestyle, and we hurt no one but ourselves, if you want to look at it that way. Your son made the decesion HIMSELF, no matter what the precusors were to the effect, it all boils down to the fact that he felt he needed this, and maybe when you find the reasons why, your pain will stop.

[spidey]

I am deeply disturbed with this thread. The man lost his son; attacking him benefits no one.

I feel for you; I really do. As a father myself, I have an inkling of what it must be like to lose your son. It would destroy me.

That being said, I have to disagree with your assessment that steroids are going to kill us all. I do not know the particulars of your son's situation so I will not comment on what caused him to take his own life. It looks complicated on the outset however and blaming it all on one thing seems irrational even if it is comforting to "know" what caused it.

I am not some junkie trying to rationalize my drug use. I hold a Ph.D. in chemistry and work at a nationally designated comprehensive cancer center. The other people I work with are an assortment of medical doctors, biochemists, molecular biologists. I have access to the most up to date medical and scientific literature as well as some of the most dedicated health professionals anywhere and I am here to tell you that you would be quite surprised to find out just how little most MD's know about anabolic steroids. You see, it is almost a taboo subject in med school from what I understand. Very little time is spent on the subject and they are told "this is the gosple about anabolic steroids. they cause this and that etc....". As a result, the MD's come out without an understanding of steroid metabolism in general. I couldn't count how many times I have heard one confuse corticosteroids with anabolic steroids (two completely different classes of compounds that are in fact opposite in many ways). You express your faith in "countless medical studies" that you say proves steroids are responsible for homicides and suicides but have you actually read them? I can give you references for medical studies that show great health and/or quality of life benefits from steroid use with little or none of the side effects you believe are common. How about the one in the Journal of Gynocology showing that moderately oligiospermic men can benefit from 100mg-150mg a day of proviron (an anabolic steroid): mind you that is twice to three times the dose a bodybuilder would generally use and the study was conducted over 12 months, several times longer duration than the 6 to 12 weeks a bodybuilder might take it. During this time, the men were carefully monitered for side effects. The study concluded that the regimen produced significant improvement in both sperm density and motility in moderately oligiospermic men with NO EFFECT on lutenizing hormone (LH), follical stimulating hormone (FSH), or testosterone. No extra aggression was noted nor was there any effect on liver enzyme levels. Severely oligiospermic men with a sperm count of < 5 million did not seem to reap the same benefits however, they did not suffer any adverse reactions either.

There have been other studies using steroids like oxymethylone (anadrol), nandrolone decanoate (deca), and oxandrolone (anavar or var) for things like combating wasting diseases or helping to maintain lean body mass in AIDS patients.

My point here is: anything can hurt you if it is abused or taken recklessly with no understanding of how it works and possible interactions. Steroid ABUSE can indeed cause great damage both physically and mentally but like any other drug, it can be used safely as well. That's the difference: steroid ABUSE vs. steroid USE. Draw an analogy to someone with a headache taking a couple advil or that same person taking a handful along with some tylenol and maybe some aspirin and washing it all down with a shot of Jack. I gaurantee that the latter person will be dead as a doornail. Does that mean that advil, tylenol, and aspirin are really bad drugs with horrible consequences? No, it means the guy abused them and it killed him. The guy who took two advil is most likely going to be just fine.

If steroids are used correctly and not abused, they pose much less risk just like any other drug you can think of from aspirin to zoloft. There is ALWAYS a risk mind you, just not as large of one as you have been lead to believe. Aspirin use (even if not abused) also has some risk involved. Aspirin is well known to cause bleeding ulcers and a host of other quite serious adverse health effects in some small percentage of users.

I am sorry if this rambling seemed like preaching. It wasn't meant to be. I am truly sorry for your loss but please refrain from demonizing everyone who might hold a different opinion of steroids than yourself. We aren't all ignorant druggies.

Thank you for your time. My prayers are with you and your family in this difficult time.

[Liftingchic]

WOw......well said doom....



LC

[Stonecold54]

it would have been nice at the seminar to have someone who would be there to challenge the assement that all steroids are evil. but then their one-sided arguement might get lost in the debate.