An investigative report claims that anabolic steroids may have caused the deaths of three clients of a Phoenix-based longevity clinic in the past year. The ABC affiliate in Phoenix reports that Brian Stubstad, Aaron Atchley and Filip Petrovic purchased anabolic steroids including testosterone, Anadrol and trenbolone from the Revolution Medical Center clinic. Doctors and investigators are trying to prove that the steroid treatment prescribed by Revolution “caused” the suicides and deaths (”Deaths raise new questions about steroids sold at Phoenix clinic,” August 13).
All three men have at least two things in common, they were taking steroids and they were getting them at Revolution Medical Centers, a Phoenix-based clinic that’s currently under state and federal investigation.
“We’re looking to see if there is a causal relationship between the death and the treatment or therapy they were being given,” said Dr. Craig Runbeck, executive director, Arizona Naturopathic Physicians Board of Medical Examiners.
The three deceased men also had another thing in common - the medical examiners in each of the respective cases did not suspect anabolic steroids as a cause of death and did not run a toxicology for them.
In fact, the autopsy of Aaron Atchley found clear evidence that his death was due to an accidental prescription drug overdose involving of Xanax, Oxycontin and cocaine!
Reporters from around the country have descended upon Houston, Texas pursuing their steroid witch hunt against anyone who may have used steroids or could have potentially provided anabolic steroids to Major League Baseball players e.g. Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte. The targets in their steroid investigation have expanded from fitness professionals Kelly Blair (of 1-on-1 Elite Personal Fitness) and Shaun Kelley (of Shaun Kelley Weight Control) to at least one Houston-area physician.
While the New York Daily News admits they have no evidence that Shaun Kelley provided steroids to Roger Clemens, they do not hesitate to point the finger at Lisa Routh, M.D. of Brainwaves Neuroimaging Clinic in Houston who worked with Shaun Kelley.
Neither does the Daily News have evidence that Dr. Routh prescribed steroids to Roger Clemens or any major league baseball player for that matter. But they seem content to demonize her because she was outspoken in her defense of the use of anabolic steroids in medicine. She admits to prescribing testosterone and growth hormone to policemen, professional wrestlers, and people who work out in an effort to improve their quality of life. Furthermore, Dr. Routh proposed that professional athletes be permitted to use performance enhancing drugs under a doctor’s supervision (”Houston-area gyms part of drug culture beyond sports scope,” March 16).
Interviews with Routh, of the Brainwaves Medical Center in Houston, and with eight former and current employees of Kelley, reveal a corner of the fitness industry where the same drugs that are stigmatizing professional sports are seen simply as a lifestyle choice for others.
Routh told The News that she regularly prescribed testosterone and human growth hormone for a large number of Boston policemen, who “get on a frickin’ plane and come down here twice a year, for frickin’ growth hormone and testosterone.”
She said she prescribes other hormones for menopausal women and professional wrestlers - all in the name of quality of life. Furthermore she argued for legalizing such drugs in professional sports, provided athletes have medical care.
“We pay them ridiculously, because we expect performance, and I think the bottom line is safety,” says Routh, who proposes allowing big-league baseball clubs to contract with five or 10 doctors in every city who would be the only league-approved providers of drugs. Players caught going elsewhere for their ‘roids would get hit with a fine.
“If someone wants to use human growth hormone or a testosterone product, they need to be under a physician’s supervision,” says Routh. “If they buy stuff off the black market or off some gym rat and they’re not under a doctor’s supervision, they should pay a penalty, and they should get the penalty that hurts, in the wallet.”
The Daily News also persists in its efforts to tarnish and incriminate fitness professionals in Houston. They continued their attack on 1-on -1 Elite Personal Fitness (even though Kelly Blair categorically denied their allegations) by reporting that co-owner Kevin Schexnider was prescribed testosterone cypionate and Anadrol by Revolution Medical Center in Phoenix several years ago; further Schexnider knew former bodybuilder Craig Titus who is awaiting trial on murder charges.
