Mr Napper experimented with steroids in his 20s, resuming use about 15 years later after he was diagnosed with low testosterone — possibly because of his earlier steroid use.
While steroids don’t cause physical dependence, the confidence boost they provide can be psychologically addictive, as Mr Napper experienced firsthand.
“I was getting comments from other people, ‘You’re looking really good,'” he says.
“So I started experimenting with increasing the dosage.”
Users often “cycle” doses — using for a period before taking a break to recover in an effort to manage risks.
They can also “blast and cruise” — switching between high and low doses without a full break.
Mr Napper chose the latter, riskier option, but ran “quite high doses” between blasts.
Soon, he started to notice concerning side effects — he was struggling to breathe and could barely sleep because he kept choking under the weight of his heavy, fluid-filled frame.