# Outside sports, is EPO legal?



## Polaris (Jul 9, 2004)

I was just wondering b/c it would be awesome to have that much more endurance on my own recreational rides. If it isn't against federal or state law, is it dangerous? What are the side-effects?


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## |brake-out| (Feb 23, 2004)

*Imo*

Well, you can get a prescription for it if you have / had cancer and your aneimic. (sp ?) But what have you gained for taking something that you don't need ? That's just like all people that want to lose weight by taking a pill. What have you really accomplished by taking that pill ? I can teach a monkey to take a pill....it takes heart and guts to do it on your own. You asked...


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## ukiahb (Jan 26, 2003)

*a cyclist did a detailed article on this for Outside...*

http://outside.away.com/outside/bodywork/200311/200311_drug_test_1.html

and if you don't want to register at Outside you can get a username and pw at 
http://bugmenot.com/




Polaris said:


> I was just wondering b/c it would be awesome to have that much more endurance on my own recreational rides. If it isn't against federal or state law, is it dangerous? What are the side-effects?


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## Kaboom (Jul 18, 2003)

dunno about the legislation, i only know that here in spain its a prescription drug. There are no side effects as its a natural hormone, indistiguishable from the one the body generates. thing is u wanna be VERY careful with the dosage and how high ur hemaetocrit (sp?) goes, because if u pump it too high (anywhere past the 55) then the blood gets very dense and you may suffer huge consequences. When athletes started messing with this stuff they had no idea about how high was too high, so they just kept increaising the hematocrit levels and then athletes would just die in their sleep because the blood was too thick to pump with the reduced heartrate you experiment when u sleep. Increased blood stickiness can lead to trombosis and strokes and all kinds of nice circulatory problems. On the other hand those keeping it well inside the limits seem to experiment substantial performance gains... U take ur pick. I'm not against drugs, but this is sth i sure wouldnt do. As someone said before, if u wanna improve ur endurance, then ride longer, harder, more often, on more demanding courses. and then when u find you can complete 600 km brevets, u'll feel like u are the man.


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## Dwayne Barry (Feb 16, 2003)

Polaris said:


> I was just wondering b/c it would be awesome to have that much more endurance on my own recreational rides. If it isn't against federal or state law, is it dangerous? What are the side-effects?


As long as you obtain it legally, then I don't think there is anything illegal about using it. So do you have a friend who is an MD or live close to the Mexico?


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## chbarr (Dec 30, 2002)

If I recall correctly from _It's Not About the Bike_, Lance Armstrong took EPO legally as part of his cancer treatment.


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## bsdc (Feb 15, 2002)

Polaris said:


> I was just wondering b/c it would be awesome to have that much more endurance on my own recreational rides. If it isn't against federal or state law, is it dangerous? What are the side-effects?


EPO is a drug that helps increase the red blood cell count in anemic patients (ie. patients on chemotherapy). Studies have shown an increase in cardiovascular events (stroke, blood clots, etc.) with cancer patients taking EPO. I would imagine this risk increases when taken by a person who's red blood cell count is normal to start with. 

Additionally, while EPO might give an elite athlete an edge, I don't think it would make much difference in the average recreational cyclist.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*It's advertised on TV all the time*

Remember the guy who was on chemo and too tired to play with his grand kids (or open his B&B)? The ads are for ProCrit, which is a trade name for EPO. It's a prescription drug given to people with certain kinds of anemia. If you can talk your doctor into giving you a prescription, you can have it. Pretty unethical behavior for a doctor, but who knows. As someone else said, what exactly would be the point of becoming a faster recreational rider by taking this? There are very few drugs without side effects and safety concerns. You take them after a risk/benefit consideration. What are you willing to trade to be faster on a Saturday ride. Is training (or just riding) that horrid or the rewards that great?


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## spookyload (Jan 30, 2004)

And be very careful about going to Mexico to get it. A local high school cross country runner was going down to Mexico to get procrit. He ended up getting something besides what he wanted. He was getting codine which was causing the euphoric feeling while working out, not the increased hemo level. He ended up getting hooked on the stuff and was treated for addiction. Life sort of came crashing down around the kid. Sad. Just to do better at high school sports.


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## ewitz (Sep 11, 2002)

and by the way. it is not a pill. so i hope that you have steady hands and are comfortable self administering with a small guage hypodermic needle.


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## AllUpHill (Jan 1, 2002)

*Oh boy*



Polaris said:


> I was just wondering b/c it would be awesome to have that much more endurance on my own recreational rides. If it isn't against federal or state law, is it dangerous? What are the side-effects?


EPO for recreational use. I can see it now. A dope control trailer at the finish of your favorite "Mt Impossible" organized century. The fine print on the entry form: "targeted riders testing positive for banned substances in both the A and B controls will be denied having their name, place and finishing time listed on the event's web site." 

The news blurb on Velonews: "Spartanburg police conduct surprise raid of cyclists' hotel rooms on the eve of the Assault on Mount Mitchell. Trashbag containing syringes retrieved from dumpster. Soigneur of top contender retained for questioning."

Seriously, I tend to agree it wouldn't have any worth-while benefits unless you are already trained to an elite or pro level. In the same way that getting a lighter seat post has a limited usefulness. Notice that even the occasional pros getting caught very recently on a positive aren't necessarily dropping the peloton like an empty wrapper on every climb, or setting ITT times sky high above everyone else. Millar and Jeanson are counterexamples.

On the other hand, if it does something for the guy trying to play with his grandkids (assuming his grandkids aren't cat 1), maybe I'm wrong. I wonder how much of an increase in haematocrit the legitimate EPO users are shooting for, i.e., what is the typical haematocrit of a cancer patient? It's probably a large boost compared to the 5-10% increase (I think) athletes generally "shoot" for.


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## Kaboom (Jul 18, 2003)

AllUpHill said:


> On the other hand, if it does something for the guy trying to play with his grandkids (assuming his grandkids aren't cat 1),


I'm pretty sure it actually helps people with anemia, depending on the kind of anemia they have. for example my mother has consistently low iron levels in the blood, but her hematocrit is normal. On the other hand i have a friend who has a low hematocrit, and the effects of not taking her medication (though i'm not sure whether she takes pro-crit) are devastating. While my mother can sorta get along without the pills, my friend feels and looks like death. She can barely stay awake, and standing up from a chair means a huge effort. she has problems sustaining attention in class... Not pleasant. I would say that having a lower than usual hematocrit has greater effect than having greater than usual.


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