One Doctor's Research
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday May 26, 1989
TAKING steroids helped one professional underwater diver secure a lucrative job on a Middle Eastern oil rig.
The fit 28-year-old diver went to Tasmanian anaesthetist Dr Gavin Dawson who used to prescribe steroids, asking for the muscle-building drug to help him "look the part".
"He wanted get a highly paid job working in the Middle East where apparently they line the fellows up on the wharf and the ones with the best physique get the jobs," Dr Dawson said yesterday.
"If they all have the same qualifications, I suppose it is their way of choosing who'll they take. The diver was a healthy young fellow who used to work out regularly. I gave him a low dose and, together with his training, he was able to get the job he wanted."
Dr Dawson first began prescribing steroids in 1983 because of his avid interest in sport science and because of the lack of information on steroids.
He was alarmed by the number of weightlifters and body builders getting steroids on the black market and who were subsequently developing health problems such as high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and liver complaints.
He contacted the Australian Medical Association to inquire about the ethical situation of prescribing the drug and, while the association admitted it posed an interesting problem, he says it never got back to him.
"No-one in my profession wanted to know about steroids back then," he said. "I decided that if I got to know the drug and what it did I could help these fellows, get them off the black market stuff and regulate the amount they were taking.
"Because of the easy access to the stuff and the practice of self-administration, some fellows had no idea what they were taking. The dosages were crazy. It was out of control. They were injecting themselves in the wrong place and with unsterile needles."
Dr Dawson also wrote a number of articles for a body building magazine about steroids and received more than 100 letters asking for more information
Over a five-year period, Dr Dawson prescribed steroids to 55 people in Tasmania, most of whom were body builders. He no longer prescribes them, however, because of the time and emotional commitment involved, his other medical interests, and because more than half of his patients failed to return for follow-up checks.
Other problems he encountered were that he had to trust the patient not to take the pills he prescribed along with black market material, and the possibility of litigation.
"It was hard to keep tabs on them and compile research," he said. "It proved very frustrating."
© 1989 Sydney Morning Herald