Today's article will tell you what happens in the body with oral steroids. The content of the article:
- Biochemical mechanism
- Barriers to Oral Steroids
- Steroid and stomach
- What happens in the liver and blood
- Distribution and excretion
A large number of athletes use oral steroids as part of their anabolic cycles, but few of them know what happens to an oral steroid in the body. It is clear that the most important thing when using anabolic steroids is the result. For this reason, the myth arose that the more steroids were used, the greater the effect could be achieved. But this is not the case. Some people actually get great results, while others get nothing. This article is intended to tell you why the effect of oral drugs can be insignificant or, on the contrary, strong.
Biochemical mechanism
Most medications affect the body at the cellular level. Any cellular structure (nucleus, membrane and protoplasm) consists of molecules. Drugs, acting on cellular substances, make a certain change in their chemical structure. As a result, cells exposed to medications function for a certain period of time in a different mode, in comparison with those that were not attacked.
All the changes that have occurred are transmitted along the chain to the organs and then to the body as a whole. Of course, in practice, everything is much more complicated, but it makes no sense to go into a detailed medical description of the entire mechanism. It is important for us to understand what happens to an oral steroid in the body.
All chemical processes in the body are subject to strict laws, one of which is this: the greater the concentration of a substance, the faster the chemical reaction will proceed. The second law, no less important than the first, states the following: two substances will interact only at certain proportions. Perhaps the most important indicator is the concentration level of the drug in the tissue or organ where it is supposed to work.
Thanks to him, you can determine when, at what time and in what quantity it is necessary to use this or that drug. However, it should be remembered that a high level of drug content can be achieved not only due to a high dosage. The rate of absorption of the agent and the removal of the products of its activity from the body has a significantly greater effect on the indicator.
When the drug is in the body, its level rapidly increases and after reaching the peak begins to decline. When concentration is not effective, the desired result will not be achieved. At the same time, a high dose can be dangerous, and as a result, side effects will appear.
There is a medical term - "therapeutic breadth of action", which reflects all the existing differences between an effective dose and a dangerous one. Often, even experienced doctors can find the optimal dosage of one or another remedy with great difficulty. It is also important to remember that, due to the individual characteristics of the organism, the effect on it of even the safest drug may be unpredictable.
Barriers to Oral Steroids
Speaking about what happens to the oral steroid in the body, it is necessary to note the obstacles that may arise on the way of the drug to achieve the effect. Until the moment when the agent is in the target organ or tissue, reaches an effective concentration and begins to work, it must overcome several obstacles.
The first of these is the need to get into the bloodstream. Then you need to get to the tissues themselves through the walls of the blood vessels and after that already be in the cell itself, bypassing the intercellular substance. It is already clear that the drug is facing a difficult path.
But at the same time, he must avoid meeting with molecules of all kinds of protein compounds, leukocytes and erythrocytes, which are able to bind drug molecules, interfering with the fulfillment of his mission. Also dangerous for the medication are various enzymes synthesized by the body, designed to destroy foreign substances.
Based on the foregoing, it can be stated that injections are the most effective way of administering the drug. With their help, the agent quickly enters the bloodstream and subsequently begins to work. However, today the conversation will be about what happens to the oral steroid in the body and, therefore, about the pill formulations.
Steroid and stomach
Once in the acorn, the tablet swells (to speed up this process, it is recommended to drink all medications with water), then falls apart and dissolves. The active substance is separated from the base. Some substances enter the bloodstream already in the stomach, but most of this must enter the intestines.
It should be said that many drugs have poor solubility, and it is necessary to enhance this property even at the stage of drug creation. Also, the rapid dissolution of the drug is prevented by the poor permeability of gastric and intestinal juices into the tablet. Water helps in this.
The stomach is the first organ where food is digested, which in relation to pills means destruction. When the drug is taken simultaneously with food, the process of destruction of the tablet slows down significantly.
What happens in the liver and blood
After passing through the gastrointestinal tract, the drug enters the bloodstream. The rate of absorption and the completeness of this process are the determining factors in the concentration of the drug in the blood. The absorption rate directly depends on the area, but which this process takes place. Since this indicator is significantly higher in the intestine, it is considered the most effective from this point of view.
Once in the bloodstream, the active substances enter the liver, which is the strongest obstacle to effective action on the body. The liver is designed to fight foreign chemical compounds and makes no exceptions for medications. In this organ, destruction and subsequent absorption of all chemical elements occurs. Thus, the organ that is designed to protect the body from toxins is at the same time a powerful obstacle to drug therapy.
Distribution and excretion
The bloodstream carries active substances throughout the body. However, you should not think that every organ will receive the same dose of the medicine. In practice, this is not the case. The highest concentration is achieved in the liver and kidneys.
While the drug is moving towards the target organ, it can change its structure under the influence of attacks by various enzymes. But when, nevertheless, the active substances enter the organ they need and fulfill their task, they must then be removed from the body. The kidneys are most active in this.
How to take oral steroids - watch the video:
[media = https://www.youtube.com/watch? v = S1c7RRK-uTY] Thus, having considered the question of what happens to an oral steroid in the body, we can state the following: the principle "took a steroid - it works" is not here appropriate. It all depends on the characteristics of the organism. And the same dosage of anabolic that had a great effect on your buddy might not get you anywhere. All dosages should be selected individually, taking into account the maximum allowable values, in order to protect yourself from possible side effects.
