Newspaper Makes Me Sick

[Get_Lifted]

California Newspaper sent to me. An article on steriods and supplements.

This article skews the dangers of using creatine and generalizes supplements as “cheating” and harmful!!! Creatine is mentioned…

I am writing this editor a letter right now after I post this article.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/12/19/MNG14AEB7S1.DTL

Here are a couple lines from the article that may get your blood stirring.

by Mark Fainaru-Wada, December 19, 2004…As all this was unfolding in the Garibaldi houeshold , federal authorities in the Bay Area were launching an investigation that would ultimately result in the indictments involving the distribution of steriods and other performance-enhancing-drugs to some of the worlds greatest athletes-and turn public attention to the influence that DRUG CHEATING by sports stars might have on the nations youth.

creatine had become a popular supplement among athletes and gym rats,although there were warnings about its potential dangers, including possible cancer.

The article mentions somewhere also of creatine and liver damage.

This story is about a steriod user (kid) who commits suicide. He was a baseball player. My biggest problem about the article is how the media portrays supplements in general and categorizing them as harmful and cheating. That is what is pissing me off.

Anyway a good read for steriod users and T-nation abroad. Coincidence that this artle happens to come out during the banning of some supplements? I think not and they are trying to justify it I think partly in this article. Trying to convince us that like steriod abuse(which is mentioned in the article) performance enhancing drugs are bad as well.

-Get Lifted

[kefu]

I think that’s actually a terrific article. It’s very balanced and I don’t see what your issue is with. There are medical concerns about the safety of creatine use - and if you don’t believe that, read the directions and side effects on your bottle.
If you don’t think there are serious potential health effects from steroids, I think you’re deluding yourself. Here’s a list of five wrestlers who died between the ages of 27-44: USATODAY.com - Wrestling deaths and steroids.
“Since 1997, about 1,000 wrestlers 45 and younger have worked on pro wrestling circuits worldwide, wrestling officials estimate. USA TODAY’s examination of medical documents, autopsies and police reports, along with interviews with family members and news accounts, shows that at least 65 wrestlers died in that time, 25 from heart attacks or other coronary problems ? an extraordinarily high rate for people that young, medical officials say. Many had enlarged hearts.”
That’s not to mention 38-year-old Florence Griffith-Joyner and dare I say it 43-year-old Reggie White. I won’t even bother listing the amount of professional cyclists who have died in recent years. Nor will I mention the astonishingly high rates of testicular cancer amongst high-level athletes.

[Springcoil]

I agree it is a fairly decent article, but I think the presses reaction to creatine is incredibly unfair usually, however the comments about steroids are justified. I’d like to point out that anabolic steroids can be used properly, if all the proper precautions are taken.

[StrongMan]

I’d have to agree with kefu…at least on the overall tone and content of the article.

This poor kid was unstable to say the least and desparate.

It’s too bad that if he did his homework, he could have made better gains w/o hitting the juice.

“From the time he was a 5-foot-9, 125-pound sophomore…When he left high school in 1997…Rob was 5-foot-11, 150 pounds…”

That kid just didn’t eat enough.

This kids obviously was desparate…and no matter what level of success he had obtained, he probably wouldn’t have been happy.

Sad, but true.

It’s also a shame that the press reports on this type of stuff…it reminds me of the 80s when parents were sueing Ozzy Osborne for their kids committing suicide.

[Get_Lifted]

Kefu,

I am not deluding myself about steriods, nor did I mention anything in regard to steriods being completely safe.

Again, from my post, my main concern is how the media is portraying “supplements” in general.(specifically creatine)

I did not like the blanketing statements made by the editor on supplements such as; “harmful and cheating.”

If you can recall the part in the article where the coach gave the player supplements in a bag? There may have been protein, ZMA, protein bars, glutamine, etc. in the bag.

I agree with springcoil that a lot of the times the media does in fact skew creatine and other supplement dangers.

I agree with strongman that the kid was indeed unstable and suffering from more than meets the eye from the start.

I think putting creatine and the “supplement bag” into the story was a mistake because it gave the reader a sense that supplements in general may lead to death, suicide, and being unhealthy.

Where do I get this idea from? For starters this article is from San Fran. I don’t live there and this article was sent to me. How do you suppose they interpreted the article?

Frantically worrying about me taking my Grow!, Surge, creatine, and Power Drive… Stating several times I can still hear the relatives now. “You need to stop taking those supplements, they are bad for you”

How many other people do you think may have been effected like this? Probably many people view supplements this way now.

When I got the article the note attached regarded supplements when the article is clearly mostly about steriod use by a young kid and the tragic story.

And besides, what do people consider to be performance enhancing drugs? and are they all really cheating and harmful? To what extent should they be classified as cheating?

I do think as stated previously in my post that this is a good article for T-nation abroad to read and steriod users. I do think it has positive items in it for readers to think about as well as a touching story of a confused athlete. However, as you may now know I think there are some accusations that are not accurate and some negative things about the article as well.

-Get Lifted

[Sxio]

Creatine is one of the safest substances known to man. There have literally been dozens of studies on it’s use.

Yes some care has to be used, but it is NOT a dangerous substance. Just drink lots of water.

[ChrisPowers]

[quote]kefu wrote:
I think that’s actually a terrific article. It’s very balanced and I don’t see what your issue is with. There are medical concerns about the safety of creatine use - and if you don’t believe that, read the directions and side effects on your bottle.
If you don’t think there are serious potential health effects from steroids, I think you’re deluding yourself. Here’s a list of five wrestlers who died between the ages of 27-44: USATODAY.com - Wrestling deaths and steroids
“Since 1997, about 1,000 wrestlers 45 and younger have worked on pro wrestling circuits worldwide, wrestling officials estimate. USA TODAY’s examination of medical documents, autopsies and police reports, along with interviews with family members and news accounts, shows that at least 65 wrestlers died in that time, 25 from heart attacks or other coronary problems ? an extraordinarily high rate for people that young, medical officials say. Many had enlarged hearts.”
That’s not to mention 38-year-old Florence Griffith-Joyner and dare I say it 43-year-old Reggie White. I won’t even bother listing the amount of professional cyclists who have died in recent years. Nor will I mention the astonishingly high rates of testicular cancer amongst high-level athletes.[/quote]

Reggie White died in his sleep of a fatal cardiac arrhythmia that resulted from sarcoidosis and was possibly complicated by sleep apnea. There’s no reason to implicate steroids in his case.

[ChrisPowers]

Get Lifted is right. This kid had serious mental illness and emotional disorders. Steroid abuse is the LAST thing that should be considered as having contributed to his unfortunate suicide. Just taking quotes from the article itself, you can make a good case that he may have been suffering from bipolar disorder (he was already diagnosed with ADHD), and his behavior toward the end is suggestive of paranoid schizophrenia. From the article itself:

“Garibaldi’s concerns about his body and the use of steroids weren’t the only issues he struggled with. Since age 22, he had been taking antidepressants that have since been said to increase suicidal tendencies in children. He also had a learning disability that led him to take Provigil, a drug prescribed to help cope with the effects of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. And there were periods of marijuana use and drinking that coincided with his taking some of the drugs, friends and family members say.”

“He became depressed, mostly because of the academic struggles, girlfriend troubles and the transition from the high of the College World Series to the low of not even being able to play ball at all.”

“Garibaldi also told Cox he had reduced his dosage of Effexor and intended to stop taking the drug altogether because he wanted to take steroids free of any interactions with other ‘mind-altering agents’ that he was being prescribed, according to Cox’s records.”

“By then, Rob was too far gone. He thought actress Cameron Diaz was going to come watch him play ball and then go on a date with him. He thought he was Jesus Christ. He talked to the television and thought it talked to him.”

For Christ’s sake, he “adjusted” his dosage of anti-depression medicine in order to avoid “decreasing the effects” of the steroids he was taking. When does personal responsibility come into play? Ever? He would do “back-to-back” cycles without going off at all. I highly doubt we was taking anything to recover. They say he may not have even measured dosage except by eyeing it. I mean, come on. I feel bad for this kid, but steroids are the LAST thing responsible for his death.

[SkyzykS]

Our nations news papers only lend credence to the old saying, “those with the least to say will say it loudest.”
Sounds like another writer trying to grab headlines by tugging at our heatrstrings.

[Professor_X]

[quote]ChrisPowers wrote:

Reggie White died in his sleep of a fatal cardiac arrhythmia that resulted from sarcoidosis and was possibly complicated by sleep apnea. There’s no reason to implicate steroids in his case.[/quote]

Florence Griffith-Joyner’s death didn’t have anything to do with steroids or supplements either. Why is it some are so easily convinced that anything related to building strength and muscle automatically leads to death in sports? I don’t think this article was well balanced at all. It simply gave one more writer something to to write about in an effort to get noticed. Creatine has been around for 20 years. How much longer is needed for it to NOT be implicated as a cancer source? Beyond that, what on this planet DOESN’T cause cancer these days if used long enough?

[dyoder16]

It was reported by the national media that Reggie White died as a result of sleep apnia.

[Get_Lifted]

Yes, everyone has great points on this.

From Strongman again:

It’s also a shame that the press reports on this type of stuff…it reminds me of the 80s when parents were sueing Ozzy Osborne for their kids committing suicide.

Yes, part of the problem is this dude/editor is trying to link this poor kids behaviors to the coaches, supplement bag (LOL), creatine, and steriods.

In other words, he is trying to associate blame to those items to explain the downward spiral and ultimately suicide of this kid.

This simply doesn’t follow;

Given(Presupposing) the kid is clinically depressed

Kid is taking creatine
Kid is using steriods
kid is using supplements in bag(which may not be much considering NCAA allows certain things only)
Kid killed himself

Therefore the supplement bag, creatine and steriods are dangerous.

The Logic is Invalid.

Are simply:

He takes supplements and steriods
He killed himself

Therefore supplements and steriods are dangerous.

Now, this is not to say that steriods didn’t create some problems mentally while he was clinically depressed and on anti-depress. meds. It very well could have I’m guessing. Especially if he was abusing them no less…

But are you(editor) really going to tell me that creatine and the supplement bag are partly to blame for this incident and are dangerous to the point your son or daughter may kill themselves if they take them? No! It does not follow, it’s irrelevant to the story. Why did you put it in? What were trying to convey? Why did you throw in the bit about the cancerous? effects of creatine?

Aside from steriods that was my main focus the creatine and the supplements.

I was upset and frustrated that he labeled them(supplements in general) as cheating and harmful and wrapped it into the story so un-suspecting consumers would get scared and worried and stay away from them.

That is why my aunt and uncle sent me the article. I am glad they did, it was a good story to read and pay attention to. But By the time it filtered down to me though my aunt, uncle, mother stated… and I quote “Better take a look at the supplements they are mentioning in the article and there side effects, especially the ones your taking”

What bothers me is the value judgements and labeling the editor writes about supplements. Aside from everything else that is what really bothered me.

In no way am I minimizing the tragedy of this kid either. It was a horrible incident. He was clinically depressed and un-happy. Very sad and tragic.

All I am upset about is how the editors TONE and message PORTRAYED supplements as cheating and harmful in general.

-Get Lifted