As with stacking, the perceived benefits of pyramiding have not been substantiated scientifically. In girls and women , development of more masculine characteristics, such as decreased body fat and breast size, deepening of the voice, excessive growth of body hair, and loss of scalp hair, as well as clitoral enlargement. In adolescents of both sexes , premature termination of the adolescent growth spurt, so that for the rest of their lives, abusers remain shorter than they would have been without the drugs. Upon stopping anabolic steroids, some abusers experience symptoms of depressed mood, fatigue, restlessness, loss of appetite, insomnia, reduced sex drive, headache, muscle and joint pain, and the desire to take more anabolic steroids. Bacterial infections can develop at the injection site, causing pain and abscess.
Most adolescents know that anabolic steroids build muscles and can increase athletic prowess.
Research has shown that failure to acknowledge these potential benefits creates a credibility problem and can actually make youths more likely to try the drugs. Make use of the authority of coaches and the team ethos. In the most promising program currently under study, coaches and team leaders are trained to educate team members about the effects of anabolic steroid abuse, both desirable and adverse, in the general context of training. They also provide information about nutrition and, of course, exercise and other training techniques for improving performance without the steroid abuse by as much as 50 percent and also reduces alcohol abuse among teammates. It is uncertain whether drug testing programs can discourage anabolic steroid abuse.