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Home › Relationships

The Etceterist | 02/17/2009 6:00 am

Hollywood Starlets on Steroids? Tsk-Tsk, Says Dr. Pat Wexler

By Billy Norwich
© Shutterstock

Think it’s only A-Rod and his pals who are taking steroids? Well, what about that actress who buffs up for an action film and cites a carrot juice diet? Sound suspect? Well, that’s because it could be …

The increasing pressure on celebrities, both male and female, athletes and actors, singers and dancers, to be perfect pushes them to extreme measures, and some will take anything they can to get an edge on the competition.

Besides illegal steroids, there is the business of using Human Growth Hormone, which can be legally prescribed, to slow and possibly reverse the aging process.

According to an April, 2007, New York Times report, some “25,000 to 30,000 Americans take injections of growth hormone for anti-aging purposes, paying up to $1,000 a month.” A certain percentage of those folks, of course, are stars — the people many of us admire. And Dr. Patricia Wexler does not approve:

Human Growth Hormone is unsafe. I know dermatologists and actresses who use it to slim abdominal fat and increase muscle tone and libido. But it can accelerate also a hidden cancer to grow. It can cause funny bone spurs to grow and enlargement of the heart … just to name a few of the many reasons why I consider it unsafe.

In other words, when you think you hear the fountain of youth gushing, get a second opinion.

Read more about: Alex Rodriguez, Billy Norwich, Health, Human Growth Hormone, News, Patricia Wexler, Steroids, The Etceterist

9 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

Chrome Toe
I just did a research paper on HGH. The most recent research shows that it yes… has a slight affect on lean body mass (muscle as opposed to fat). but that it does not have any other affect on aging at all. it is best used for people with disease that withers their bodies like AIDS. as for the rest of us… do more reps at the gym and eat better!
By Chrome Toe on 02/17/2009 8:37 am
Ms. Dee
I agree with Dr. Wexler. Just like, when it comes to social interaction, don’t mess with your identity. When it comes to personal health, don’t mess with chemistry. Human anatomy is so complex and all the symptoms are interrelated. All too often, rememdies are put forward prematurely. Or as any pharmaceuticl commercial will confess, deadly side effects are tolerated and risked. As a child, I was led to believe that my life would progress through a number of different stages…and since I only have a couple of those left to experience, my philosophy would urge me to enjoy each one, not try to avoid any of them. If you can’t say and be who you are, YOU aren’t really the one living your life. That’s how I look at it.
By Ms. Dee on 02/17/2009 8:43 am
Marjorie C.
Ms. Dee: If you can’t say and be who you are, YOU aren’t really the one living your life. Excellent observation.
By Marjorie C. on 02/17/2009 9:16 am
Laurie Morgan
Why should someone else’s definition of who I am take precidence over my own?  None of us lives in a vacuum.  Some eat a certain diet to achieve desired results, some exercise, some take vitamins, some take drugs, some have surgeries (necessary, unnecessary and that gray area in between where "quality of life" can only be determined by the person living it).  Who are you to declare what makes me ME?
By Laurie Morgan on 02/18/2009 11:02 pm
Grande Camper
Shame of them for using injections. Hay, when your in Hollywood and you have money to burn. Along with greedy doctors to do the stuff. Who’s going to stop you. They know what their fans like. I’m not saying I agree with it. Maybe James Bond had it right, “Never say Never”.
By Grande Camper on 02/17/2009 9:48 am
Cheryl P
I’ve had to take steroids for some medical conditions. Anyone who takes these without medical necessity is in need of serious psychological counseling, in my opinion. The mood swings, the constant hunger, the skin eruptions…it is beyond horrible.
By Cheryl P on 02/17/2009 4:25 pm
Lizzie R.
I know they only live for the moment and give no thought to the serious consequences that lie ahead.  When they are older and aging, and losing their beauty I’m sure their bodies will pay for all of this with serious conditions appearing. Then they will say "why me?"
By Lizzie R. on 02/17/2009 10:57 pm
Razzel Dazzel

"But it can accelerate also a hidden cancer to grow.’

Apparently even thinking of it causes sentences to be miswritten.

"It can cause funny bone spurs to grow."

And where is that funny bone located? The one with the growing spurs 

By Razzel Dazzel on 02/18/2009 12:18 am
katywon LA..

HGH is used for children with growth deficiencies and it is an unpleasant experience. Whether it really works or not without causing long term effects I do not know.

But adults who use it to prevent aging or being muscle people are making a big mistake. Aging comes without warning and no amount of medicine can stop it. They have probably done long term studies on athletes and body builders so far and I will bet the long range is not good.  Too many of the users end up semi-helpless with lots of damage to their systems and body functions.  Just eat healthy and enjoy your life.  Steroids are a gamble and you might as well be in Las Vegas gambling your body on baccarat or 21.  

By katywon LA.. on 02/18/2009 1:19 pm