Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Misuse: Mechanisms, Patterns of Misuse, User Typology, and Adverse Effects

Table 2

Common terminologies used by the AAS user community.

Terminology	Interpretation
Stacking/blending/shotgunning	Combining more than one AAS or non-AAS drug into a single regimen to be taken concurrently. This could involve mixing oral and injectable types or taking compounds intended for veterinary use.
Tapering	Gradually weaning an AAS dose down.
Plateauing	When a drug becomes ineffective at its current dose. Suggestive of the need to increase calorie intake, increase the drug dose, or stop the drug.
Cycle	Using one or more AAS for a fixed period, ranging anywhere from 6 to 16 weeks, and then stopping for approximately a similar duration of time.
Pyramiding	Gradually maximizing the dosage of an AAS and then gradually minimizing the dosage of the same drug to zero over a predefined amount of time.
Blast and cruise/bridging [45]	Alternating between periods of high and low doses of AAS, but never completely ceasing drug use. Periods of high AAS dose are a ‘blast’ phase, whereas periods of lower AAS dose are a ‘cruise’ phase.