If you are a bodybuilder and you really want to familiarize yourself with a drug medication such as Anastrozole, there are two features of this drug medication you’d want to focus on – its ability to cure and the side effects that it causes. All other features inevitably revolve around these two. The more important of the two are the side effects since you need to avoid them so that your bodybuilding regimen is not disrupted. Read on for more info.

What is Anastrozole and what are its side effects?

Generic name Anastrozole, which is known also by its brand name Arimidex, has been classified as a non-steroidal aromatase inhibitor which is mainly used for the treatment of breast cancer in postmenopausal women.

Anastrozole is often given prescribed for women whose cancer has continued to grow despite having taken the endrogen reducing drug medication tamoxifen.

In addition to this use, bodybuilders have also been attracted to the drug medication to solve a problem they have from taking anabolic steroids.

If taking steroids cause a problem, why take them? Anastrozole is very popular with bodybuilders for one reason.

It interferes with the activity of an enzyme known as aromatase by impeding its ability to convert androgens into endrogens, which are classed as female hormones.

The problem with endrogen is that if there’s too much of it present in a male bodybuilder, he tends to develop an embarrassing condition called gynecomastia or an enlargement of the breast gland.

The main popularity of anastrozole among bodybuilders lies in its ability to prevent aromatase from developing too much endrogen that causes breast glands to grow bigger.

So, bodybuilders are saved from developing enlarged breast glands by taking anastrozole.

Some of the more common side effects that can be caused by Arimidex include:

This list of side effects is not an exhaustive one and you should discuss side effects with your doctor to obtain more information about them.

Arimidex dosage and administration

The normal dose for taking Arimidex is one 1 mg tablet that’s taken once a day.

Treatment should continue until tumor progression especially for patients who have advanced breast cancer.

When taken with tamoxifen or with an estrogen medication, Arimadex may not be as effective and it should also be noted that this drug medication can interact with other drugs.

You should therefore tell you doctor all prescriptions and over-the-counter medications and supplements you are using.

Typically, Arimidex is taken mainly by woman after their menopausal stage and it shouldn’t be used  during pregnancy as it may harm the fetus or result in a miscarriage.

If you have products that contain estrogen for example, birth control pills, they shouldn’t be used while you are taking Arimidex. You should discuss the use of birth control pills with your doctor.

Allergic reactions from taking Arimidex

The best thing to do when you get symptoms of an allergic reaction such as hives, breathing difficulties, swelling to your throat, face, lips or tongue, is to get emergency medical attention.

More serious allergic reactions from taking Arimidex can also emerge and you need to call your doctor if you experience any of the following:

  • serious shortness of breath (even when you exert yourself just a little;
  • a fractured bone;
  • swollen glands;
  • liver issues such as – nausea, pain in the upper part of the stomach, itching, feeling tired, appetite loss, dark urine, clay-colored stool, yellowing of the skin and eyes or jaundice;
  • stroke signs – sudden numbness or weakness (especially on one side of the body), sudden painful headache, unclear speech, problems with keeping balance or vision;
  • severe skin reaction, fever, sore throat, swelling in your tongue or face, burning sensation in your eyes, skin pain followed by a purple or red skin rash that spreads in the face or upper body causing peeling and blistering.

Arimidex mania in bodybuilding

We now turn to the colossal popularity that Arimidex has gained in the bodybuilding world. The most telling sign about the popularity of Arimidex in bodybuilding is that bodybuilders just can’t leave anabolic steroids alone.

And they can’t because taking steroids is the only way to achieve their muscle mass and boost their athletic performance. They’ll go to any lengths in achieving their goals.

Some have even resorted to the practice of directly injecting testosterone into their bloodstream which ultimately results in high levels of testosterone in the body.

Some have discovered that high levels of testosterone actually increases estrogen levels in the body which is also not a good situation to be in. Why?

High levels of estrogen, which is a female hormone may result in the development of “man’s boobs”, a development which most men man wouldn’t accept as normal.

Nevertheless, some have identified Arimidex as the solution to the problem of high levels of estrogen and the knowledge as spread like wildfire. No more would bodybuilders be haunted with the problem of too much estrogen.

They explain that Arimidex, also known by its chemical name of Anastrozole is in fact an aromatase inhibitor or a breast cancer drug treatment. Steroids are notorious for their boosting roles especially in bodybuilding and athletic performance with that embarrassing outcome – man’s boobs.

But cancer drugs like anastrozole possess less public acclaim despite the fact that they stand shoulder to shoulder with steroids albeit they play a different role of not so much boosting muscles but actually reducing estrogen amounts in the body which bodybuilders find as an advantage to them.

Injecting a dose of testosterone direct is actually unnecessary as there are other non-injectable estrogen reducing drug medications such as tamoxifen (Nolvadex) and exemestane (Aromasin that are easy to use and nearly as effective as Arimidex.

In addition to these there are also selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) which are still being investigated giving bodybuilders a wide range of drugs available for a variety of uses.

These may be for increasing androgens for conversion to estrogens which would be agreeable with most bodybuilders or other uses that don’t interfere with ego, muscle mass and athletic performance.

Conclusion

The information conveyed in this article makes one wonder what would bodybuilders, who are always determined in adding just that little bit more mass to their already bulging biceps, would do without anastrozole. It’s true that other anti-endrogen drugs are available to keep a check on the levels of endrogen in the body such as tamoxifen (Nolvadex and exemestane (Aromasin) just to name two. However, it appears Arimidex has cornered the market to stay as the most popular anti-endrogen drug medication for years to come.