Bodybuilding has taken the world by storm these days with those taking part focusing mainly on how to achieve the body of their dreams, a body bulging with muscular mass yet slim form, vibrant strength, and endless energy flowing through it. Sometimes, the source of the strength is naturally derived from healthy selected food intake and strict workout regimens. Sometimes however, drug medication plays a big part and this is what this article is all about. Read on.
What is Anastrozole?
The best way to familiarize yourself with anything especially drug medication, is to know what it is, how it works, whether it’s effective or otherwise, if it has any downsides or side effects and so on. It’s the best approach to use before you commit yourself to using it.
We will start by saying that anastrozole is the generic name used for the brand name of the same drug medication Arimidex. So if you see the names Arimidex and anastrozole together, you are actually talking about the same drug under two different names.
What is Arimidex (Anastrozole) used for ?
This drug medication is used for lowering estrogen levels in women who have stopped having their monthly menstrual cycles.
Estrogen is a hormone generated in people who use steroids such as bodybuilders and is found mainly in the ovaries where they develop secondary female characteristics such as the breasts.
Due to its ability to reduce your body’s estrogen levels, Anastrozole is used mainly for the treatment of breast cancer especially in women whose breast cancer has.
Even though Anastrozole is a treatment for breast cancer, bodybuilders also take it to reduce the side effects of anabolic steroids which they also take for their bodybuilding activities.
How may Anastrozole work for bodybuilders?
The reason why body builders use Anastrozole is to help them attain an increase in their muscle mass and improve their athletic performance at the same time. When doing so, they are likely to experience a variety of symptoms.
In some instances, men can develop breasts due to an increase in estrogen levels in their body. What Arimidex does is reduce estrogen levels and therefore can prevent breast growth in men.
The drug medication does this by preventing the enzyme called aromatase from making estrogen from steroid hormones which also includes testosterone which bodybuilders take to boost their muscle mass. In doing so, the drug medication lowers estrogen levels in the body.
It should be noted however that the drug medication has a its own side effects so let’s have a closer look at what Anastroxole (Arimidex) does, the reason(s) why bodybuilders might want to use it and the possible side effects that may appear.
Anastrozole and bodybuilding
Bodybuilders who decide to take anabolic steroids for bodybuilding may suffer from a variety of side effects.
The reason for this is that steroid drugs interfere with the production of hormones in the body and can increase estrogen levels. These high levels of estrogen can develop a condition called gynecomastia which is the enlargement of the breast glands in men.
When a person’s estrogen levels are reduced, Anastrozole may prevent gynecomastia in males who take the drug medication, from developing.
Side effects of Anastrozole
Lime many drug medications, Anastroxole has two main types of side effects, common and more serious effects:
The more common side effects caninclude:
- tiredness or fatigue
- weakness
- hot flashes
- nausea and vomiting
- pains in the joints
It’s also possible for a person to suffer from allergic reactions for taking Anastrozole that can result in:
- swelling symptoms around your body
- breast pain
- chest pain
- blurred eyesight
- rapid heartbeat
- rashes
How to take Arimidex the right way
This drug medication can only be taken orally in the form of a small tablet which is normally of 1 milligram in size.
The FDA has approved the use of Arimidex only for the treatment of cancer. No formal guidelines or advice have been given for its use in bodybuilding.
The guidelines for taking Arimidex for the treatment of breast cancer include taking a dose of 1 tablet each day. However, a doctor may prescribe a different dose that depends on the specific cast.
No recommendations have been laid down for using Arimidex for bodybuilding but it’s medically known that side effects of anabolic steroids usually disappear of their own accord when they are not taken and estrogen levels usually return to normal an gynecomastia should also reduce.
Other uses for Anastrozole
The main use for Anastrozole is for the treatment of breast cancer but may also become part of the treatment for postmenopausal women with the following cancer conditions:
- Early hormone receptor-positive (H+) breast cancer. Anastroxole can reduce the risk of being re-infected by cancer or the spread of cancer after surgery.
- Advanced or metastatic HR+ or HR-unknown breast cancer. For these types of cancer, surgery is out of the question and doctors have to resort to prescribing Anastrozole as the first treatment.
- Advanced or metastatic breast cancer that returns after a first treatment with tomaxifen (Nolvadex). In these cancer cases, Arimidex is a second-line treatment.
If the case happens to be other types of cancer such as ovarian cancer, then anastroxole might be used, however the problem is that the FDA recommends the use of the drug for treating breast cancer.
Are there any alternatives to Anastrozole?
Typically there are other drugs available in addition to anastroxole for the treatment of breast cancer that also reduce estrogen levels in the body.
There is for instance other aromatase inhibitors such as exemestane (Aromasin), and other group of drugs known as selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) which act on estrogen receptors.
Sometimes, in addition to the treatment of breast cancer, doctors also use Anastrozole for treating female infertility anddyspareunia.
Despite the fact that these drugs may succeed in lowering estrogen levels, they have not been recommended by the FDA for use as bodybuilding drugs.
There are also a group of natural products that can also lower estrogen levels, even though there’s limited medical evidence to support their effectiveness in the field. These natural products include:
- maca
- chrysin
- grape seed extract
- wild nettle root
Conclusion
It’s very clear from the article that the main use for anastrozole as a drug medication is for the treatment of breast cancer as well as its known use in bodybuilding activities. For bodybuilders the main benefit of anastrozole is for achieving muscle mass and also for improving their athletic performance. For bodybuilders who use anastrozole for combating a rise in estrogen levels in the body, leave themselves open to suffer from some side effects.