Before Using This Medicine

In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For anabolic steroids, the following should be considered:

Allergies—Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to anabolic steroids or androgens (male sex hormones). Also tell your health care professional if you are allergic to any other substances, such as foods, preservatives, or dyes.

Pregnancy—Anabolic steroids are not recommended during pregnancy. They may cause the development of male features in the female fetus and premature growth and development of male features in the male fetus. Be sure you have discussed this with your doctor.

Breast-feeding—It is not known whether anabolic steroids can cause problems in nursing babies. There is very little experience with their use in mothers who are breast-feeding.

Children—Anabolic steroids may cause children to stop growing. In addition, they may make male children develop too fast sexually and may cause male-like changes in female children.

Older adults—When elderly male patients are treated with anabolic steroids, they may have an increased risk of enlarged prostate or cancer of the prostate.

Other medicines—Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. When you are taking anabolic steroids, it is especially important that your health care professional know if you are taking any of the following:

• Acetaminophen (e.g., Tylenol) (with long-term, high-dose use) or
• Amiodarone (e.g., Cordarone) or
• Androgens (male hormones) or
• Anti-infectives by mouth or by injection (medicine for infection) or
• Antithyroid agents (medicine for overactive thyroid) or
• Carbamazepine (e.g., Tegretol) or
• Carmustine (e.g., BiCNU) or
• Chloroquine (e.g., Aralen) or
• Dantrolene (e.g., Dantrium) or
• Daunorubicin (e.g., Cerubidine) or
• Disulfiram (e.g., Antabuse) or
• Divalproex (e.g., Depakote) or
• Estrogens (female hormones) or
• Etretinate (e.g., Tegison) or
• Gold salts (medicine for arthritis) or
• Hydroxychloroquine (e.g., Plaquenil) or
• Mercaptopurine (e.g., Purinethol) or
• Methotrexate (e.g., Mexate) or
• Methyldopa (e.g., Aldomet) or
• Naltrexone (e.g., Trexan) (with long-term, high-dose use) or
• Oral contraceptives (birth control pills) containing estrogen or
• Phenothiazines (acetophenazine [e.g., Tindal], chlorpromazine [e.g., Thorazine], fluphenazine [e.g., Prolixin], mesoridazine [e.g., Serentil], perphenazine [e.g., Trilafon], prochlorperazine [e.g., Compazine], promazine [e.g., Sparine], promethazine [e.g., Phenergan], thioridazine [e.g., Mellaril], trifluoperazine [e.g., Stelazine], triflupromazine [e.g., Vesprin], trimeprazine [e.g., Temaril]) or
• Phenytoin (e.g., Dilantin) or
• Plicamycin (e.g., Mithracin) or
• Valproic acid (e.g., Depakene)—Taking anabolic steroids with any of these medicines may increase the chances of liver damage. Your doctor may want you to have extra blood tests to check for this if you must take both medicines

• Anticoagulants, oral (blood thinners you take by mouth)—Anabolic steroids can increase the effect of these medicines and possibly cause excessive bleeding

Other medical problems—The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of anabolic steroids. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:

• Breast cancer (in males and some females)

• Diabetes mellitus (sugar diabetes)—Anabolic steroids can decrease blood sugar levels

• Enlarged prostate or
• Prostate cancer—Anabolic steroids may make these conditions worse by causing more enlargement of the prostate or more growth of a tumor

• Heart or blood vessel disease—Anabolic steroids can worsen these conditions by increasing blood cholesterol levels

• Kidney disease

• Liver disease

• Too much calcium in the blood (or history of) (in females)—Anabolic steroids may worsen this condition by raising the amount of calcium in the blood even more