It began with Winstrol...

one of the most potent and popular steroids used by bodybuilders. Barry Bonds moved on to Deca-Durabolin, another well-known anabolic steroid. Then he added human growth hormone before using designer steroid cocktails that could not be detected by drug tests. He also dabbled in insulin, the female fertility drug Clomid, and other steroids, including one commonly used to increase the quality of muscle in beef cattle. Some drugs were used simply to offset the side effects of others. For a five-year stretch, Bonds was baseball's most prolific power hitter. And according to a book by two San Francisco Chronicle writers, he was simultaneously juggling a long list of performance-enhancing drugs. If the reporting of Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams is correct, Bonds remade his body in his mid-30s, for many the final stage of a career. His increase in production is obvious: Bonds set the single-season home run record with 73 in 2001 and he is 48 homers shy of Hank Aaron's career record of 756. But has Bonds compromised his health in his pursuit of immortality? "It depends on how you mix these drugs," said Gary Wadler, a New York doctor and member of the World Anti-Doping Agency, which coordinates the fight against doping in international sport. "The long-term side effects could be death. It has been death. It could range from nominal to dying prematurely. It depends on which drug you're talking about. "Each of these drugs have side effects on their own, particularly if used non-therapeutically, not in therapeutic doses. And the risks increase for each individual when they use these drugs in combination. It's the dose, it's the duration, it's the combination, and these combinations can be lethal." But the debate about the impact of steroid use is spirited from both sides. Evidence of heart or liver disease is anecdotal, according to many researchers. Dr. Paul Thompson, director of cardiology at Hartford Hospital, researched the effect of anabolic steroids on cholesterol metabolism and cardiac size in the 1980s."Nobody likes to hear this, but there are not that many studies showing that they are terribly dangerous," Thompson said. "There are reports of men using these and having heart attacks. But the question is, heart attacks are so frequent ... did the drug cause the heart attack or did something else cause the heart attack?" Thompson said his study did find that anabolic steroids can raise the level of bad cholesterol and decrease good cholesterol, which would theoretically raise the risk of heart disease. "But that's been hard to prove," Thompson said. Thompson also said anabolic steroids can lower other risk factors for heart disease, so it is difficult to quantify the overall effect on the heart. But in reviewing the drugs Bonds allegedly used, Thompson said there are obvious risks. "It's nutty for a [healthy] person to use insulin because it can drop your blood sugar so low that you can get brain damage," Thompson said. Growth hormone, Thompson said, can cause heart problems and joint problems if used incorrectly. And there is evidence of liver problems as the result of steroid use. According to the book, Bonds blamed steroid use for a 1999 arm injury. He missed seven weeks after tearing a left triceps tendon. "There is a sense out there that there's more tendon injuries in baseball since more [players] are using steroids," Wadler said. That's one reason Bonds began mixing his drugs, according to the book. The human growth hormone was said to add muscle without compromising the joints and tendons, Bonds believed. After playing 143 games in 2000, Bonds met BALCO founder Victor Conte and began using the designer steroids "the clear" and "the cream," which were undetectable. In 2001, Bonds hit the 73 home runs. Meanwhile, his physique has changed considerably. To steroid experts, before and after pictures of Bonds, 41, were incriminating. Link