The difficulties experienced by Australian bodybuilders in obtaining anabolic steroids are legendary. Australian Customs is notorious for its high rate of intercepted steroid packages. The media is busy demonizing steroids in television and print on a regular basis. And the draconian anti-steroid laws in one state call for a 25-year prison sentence for mere steroid possession.
It is no wonder that Australian bodybuilders regularly take “steroid vacations” to Thailand to fulfill the promise of chemically-assisted muscle growth. But a lucky few have been successfully living the lifestyle while remaining at home. And better yet, they’ve been able to obtain genuine human-grade pharmaceuticals.
The secret is finding a local doctor who is willing to prescribe steroids. That is not an easy task. Few doctors are willing to risk their medical license to help out a bodybuilder. And if they are even suspected of doing such a thing, the Australian Commonwealth Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) will go after them.
This is what happened to Dr. Julie Epstein. She was one of Australia’s pioneering anti-aging doctors. Almost two decades ago, she decided to specialize in preventative medicine with a focus on anti-aging medicine. She offered a “comprehensive hormone modulation program” to her patients. However, prosecutors characterized the doctor as a naive practictioner who was easily “emotionally swayed” and “acquiesced to patients’ demands”. Great news for bodybuilders. But not so good for Dr. Epstein.
Dr. Epstein’s hormone modulation program included the liberal prescribing of several bodybuilding drugs. The cornerstone of her program included testosterone enanthate (Primoteston) or mixed testosterone ester preparations (Sustanon 250) and human growth hormone (hGH). Her patients didn’t get cheap generic Chinese hGH. They received brand name hGH registered and marketed in Australia under the proprietary names of Omnitrope (Novartis), Nutropin (Genentech) and SciTropin (SciGen).
Epstein would also include nandrolone decanoate – sold under the trade name Deca Durabolin (Organon) – in certain cases. She also prescribed ancillary drug to manage testosterone- and steroid-related side effects. This included anastrozole (Arimidex) to keep estradiol levels in check and human chorionic gonadotropin (Pregnyl) to counteract testicular atrophy.
The TGA started its investigation into Epstein’s prescribing practices after it was notified of an Australian national who entered Switzerland with a suitcase full of bodybuilding drugs. His luggage contained 20 boxes of SciTropin (5mg/1.5mL), 35 boxes of Deca-Durabolin (50mg/mL), 6 boxes of Androderm patches (5mg/patch) and 35 boxes of Sustanon (250mg/mL). All of the drugs were prescribed by Dr. Epstein.
The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal conducted an inquiry into Dr. Epstein’s practices in November and December 2014. In April 2015, the Tribunal’s decision determined that Epstein was guilty of unsatisfactory profession conduct as well as professional misconduct. The Tribunal concluded that Epstein failed to exercise “responsible medical judgement”; did not conduct “adequate physical examinations and investigations prior to prescribing medications”; failed to “report back to the patients’ treating general practitioners”; and did not “maintain proper clinical records”.
Dr. Epstein could risk having her medical license revoked when the Tribunal reconvenes on April 16-7, 2015 to determine the appropriate disciplinary action.
You can guarantee that any doctor in Australia who regularly prescribes anabolic steroids and hGH will be closely monitoring this case. The most likely outcome is that fewer Australian bodybuilders will be able to obtain steroids from their physicians. And more gym-rats will be forced to turn to the androgen black market whether it is from domestic steroid sources or popular Internet-based steroid sources.