What are “cycling, stacking and pyramiding?
Steroids are often abused in patterns called “cycling’. This involves taking multiple doses of steroids for a specific period of time, stopping for a period, and then starting again. Users frequently combine several different types of steroids in a process known as “stacking.” An abuser will typically “stack” the drugs, meaning they take two or more different anabolic steroids, mixing oral and/or injectables. “Pyramiding” is a process in which users slowly escalate steroid abuse (increasing the number of steroids or the dose and frequency), reaching a peak at mid-cycle and gradually tapering the dose down towards the and of the cycle. These cycles often last anywhere from 6 to 12 weeks.
