The prescription and use of steroids is legal in the United States. The issue is clouded by the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 1990, which criminalizes sale and possession of any anabolic steroid intended for non-medical use. The best protection for a physician is to carefully document symptoms and test results and not to over prescribe any replacement therapy. Half are counterfeit. Most said to come from Mexico.
Labels often claim illegal importation despite local manufacture.
Purity is questionable and users sharing needles run risk of hepatitis, HIV infection and subsequent AIDS, abscesses, cellulitis and death. Potential steroid users are further advised that buying a known counterfeit steroid is a felony, as is buying a non-FDA approved steroid. Testosterone has been found to inhibit clot formation by decreasing fibrinogen and hardening of the arteries by increasing HDL and decreasing serum triglycerides. Testosterone can make heart muscle more resistant to death during ischemia through improved maintenance of cardiac output as well as decreasing the clotting mechanism. These advantages of testosterone replacement are also associated with a general feeling of well-being, greater strength and return of libido.