It is difficult to quantify precisely how many women take them but the signs are that more are using steroids as

It is difficult to quantify precisely how many women take them, but the signs are that more are using steroids as a quick fix to drop a dress size,” he says.”One of the side-effects of their use is enlargement of the female clitoris and some research has shown a rise in the number of women using the drug purely to enhance their sex life. Libido enhancement is one reason that steroid use is on the rise in America and may rise here.”In a BMA report published last year, one third of GPs questioned said they had seen patients who either freely admitted taking steroids or confessed when asked about various symptoms spotted by their doctor.In some parts of the country, as many as half of all GPs have seen steroid users in their surgeries. And, says Pat Lenehan, figures show that more than one third of all new drug users were on steroids: “It is a huge problem.”That’s certainly not how the women who whip their figures into shape within weeks see it. Derived from the male sex hormone testosterone, anabolic steroids cause increased muscle mass, although not necessarily bulk, reduce body fat and quicken recovery times from workouts. Users report that they also give a mental boost, mainly through improved sexual confidence and a better body image.”For starters I felt more enthusiastic about sex because I was generally less tired,” says Catherine “But I also enjoyed the whole sex thing. Me and a girlfriend, who was also taking steroids , talked about how neither of us had ever had such powerful orgasms before. That is one of the real pluses of taking them.”On the website com, one of many virtual fanzines for users, dozens of women have posted entries about similar experiences.

“My friend and I are using Winstrol V, not a lot of it, but every week, as we both share the same ideas to look good,” says 25-year-old Nancy from New York. “We have seen definite improvements to our bodies.”But along with the growing attention we receive for our appearance since we started taking steroids six months ago, we began to notice something else that wasn’t noticeable to anyone else but ourselves and our boyfriends Our clitorises had enlarged. Sex feels very different and far better and I’ll take them for that reason as well as the fact that this summer will be my best, because I am 25 and don’t look a year over 18.”Catherine felt similarly elated. Within a month of taking the steroid tablets and continuing her gym programme, Catherine noticed dramatic changes in her body shape. “It was like somebody had put things on fast forward,” she says. “People started complimenting me on my weight loss and asking what sort of exercise I was doing. I lost virtually all the weight I had wanted to lose in that first month and came down three cups in my bra size.”Other effects were less welcome.

“I am usually calm, but I became very edgy at work and irritable at home My boyfriend and I were rowing all the time,” she says. “At first I didn’t put it down to the clenbuterol until I was chatting to a friend at the gym who had tried something similar. She had stopped after it gave her panic attacks and palpitations. Another friend of hers almost lost her job because she began yelling at a colleague at work.