Men with AIDS

Men with AIDS frequently experience chronic or recurrent fevers as a symptom of the disease. A fever occurs when the immune system stimulates an increase in body temperature triggered by the presence of a foreign pathogen, such as a virus or bacterium, in the body. Men who develop fever symptoms may also experience chills or excessive sweating. Profuse sweating may occur most frequently during the night, which can cause men to wake up several times during the night with damp, moist or flushed skin.

Men with AIDS may experience recurrent bowel movements that yield runny, watery or loose stools - a side effect called diarrhoea. Chronic diarrhoea can cause excessive fluid loss and may also lead to significant weight loss. In combination, these side effects may cause an AIDS symptom called wasting syndrome. Men who experience wasting syndrome develop persistent diarrhoea symptoms for at least 30 days and lose at least 10 percent of their normal body mass.
AIDS prevents the immune system from functioning normally, which can increase a man's susceptibility to infections. Consequently, men with AIDS may suffer from recurrent bouts of pneumonia or oral thrush. Infections that occur in men with AIDS may require additional antibiotic or anti fungal treatment to control or mitigate infection symptoms.

Anabolic steroids and immunodeficiency virus

About the successful use of oxymetholone - an oral anabolic steroid sold under such trade names as Anadrol-50 and Anapolon - in the treatment of the wasting syndrome associated with AIDS. The fact that oxymetholone worked, however, must have intrigued other scientists, because several new studies have appeared recently that show an increased acceptance of using anabolic steroids for treating and possibly prolonging the lives of AIDS patients. For example, last July, Australian researchers reported in the journal AIDS (1996) that using an injectable anabolic steroid called nandrolone decanoate appears to have a positive effect on "weight, lean body mass and quality of life" in patients who have tested positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Nandrolone decanoate is sold commercially as Deca-Durabolin, and a veterinary form is sold under the name Norandren.

Another report published in the same journal four months later showed good results when AIDS patients took an oral anabolic steroid called oxandrolone. Sold under the trade name Anavar (a current version is sold under the name Oxandrin), oxandrolone has for years been one of the more popular anabolic steroids among athletes because of its lack of side effects.

Oblique crunch

The oblique crunch works all your abdominal muscles with an emphasis on your obliques. Pay special attention to form if you have a history of lower back or neck discomfort.
Getting set
Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet hip-width apart and flat on the floor. Place your left hand behind your head so your thumb is behind your left ear. Place your right arm along the floor beside you. Bring your elbow out to the side and round it slightly inward. Tilt your chin so your chin and your chest are a few inches apart. Pull your abdominals in.

The exercise
As you curl your head, neck, and shoulder blades off the floor, twist your torso to the right, bringing your left shoulder toward your right knee. (Your elbow won’t actually touch your knee.) Lower back down. Do all the repetitions on one side and then switch to the other side.

Other options
Legs-up crunch with a twist (harder): Lift your bent knees off the floor and cross one ankle over the other. Straight-arm crunch with a twist (harder): Reach for your opposite knee with your arm straight rather than your elbow bent. Reach past the outside edge of your knee.