Mystery bodybuilding pills claim 26-year-old's life

For the past 12 days the Deulkar family has been desperately trying to determine the name of the musclebuilding pills that allegedly claimed the life of their only son an aspiring body builder A resident of Antop Hill Rajesh 26 breathed his last on May 31 after battling for his life for over a week His parents and the doctors who treated him are still clueless about the fatal pills that he had been taking to develop his muscles The grieving parents donrsquot want the supplements to claim another victim Rajesh was a bodybuilder and aspired to join the Mumbai Police He had won the third prize for body building in a local competition and was preparing for another contest PicSuresh KK ldquoRajesh was very particular about his trips to the gym Every evening for the last six years he would put in two hours at the gym and had even managed to develop a strong physique He never ever mentioned any pills to us But one day a courier from Ahmedabad arrived The package contained some Ayurvedic musclebuilding pills but the parents could not read the brand name His mother confronted him but to no avail ldquoWe had cautioned him against taking any such drugs then but he paid no heed to our pleasrdquo recalled the heartbroken father Ramesh Rajesh who opted against a college education had been working as a data entry operator with a monthly salary of Rs 6500 He had left the job last month and applied to the cityrsquos police force and was awaiting a call for an interview The father recalled ldquoMy son was a vegetarian and had no vices Though he was physically strong I would always tell him to do traditional pushups and surya namaskar to tone his muscles and body instead of pushing weights and popping tablets to gain muscles He had even won the third prize for body building in a local competition and was preparing for another bodybuilding competitionrdquo According to his father Rajesh had been slightly depressed after sitting at home unproductive for the past month He had submitted forms for railway recruitment and even his CV to a few private companies but nothing had come of his efforts One such evening after returning from the gym he said he was feeling drowsy His condition gradually started worsening he started finding it difficult even to wake up Soon he had to be taken to a private nursing home Doctors collected blood and urine samples and suspected it to be a case of some kind of drug overdose He was discharged but two days later his condition worsened Rajesh started vomiting repeatedly and was shifted to Sion hospital on May 26 At the hospital he complained of a severe burning sensation in his abdomen Over the next five days he was shifted to three private hospitals and was given dialysis after renal failure On May 31 he breathed his last ldquoI had to take loans from my friends and had even mortgaged gold to collect the Rs 25 lakh that the treatment cost but even after this my son could not be savedrdquo rued Ramesh Doctorrsquos opinion Dr Mohan Joshi a professor of surgery at Sion hospital who had treated Rajesh said ldquoI found something abnormal with Rajesh He was complaining of acute abdominal pain and his breathing was not normal The history that was given to us indicated that the patient might have been on steroid pills for bodybuilding and the symptoms could be side effects of the same We also were informed that the patient was taking a mixture of both ayurvedic and allopathic drugs for muscles Though his Xray reports did not show any perforation he was slipping into acute renal failure and needed dialysis with intensive care supportrdquo Experts speak People should go for routine exercise and not for artificial drugs for muscle building which can affect liver kidney and other vital parameters Refrain from fat burning supplements and donrsquot fall prey to advertisements that promise miracles Dr Mohan Joshi Protein supplements should not be taken on the basis of word of mouth unless recommended by qualified nutritionists in the gym who calculate the required protein for the body No muscle building pills or protein supplements should be taken even if recommended by gym instructors unless a family doctor evaluates the ingredients and side effects A healthy diet rich in protein and other vital vitamins is easily achievable via natural sources of food Preeti Banwat dietician with Rajawadi hospital Weight training is very effective provided it is done under proper guidance and in the presence of fitness instructors Most of the time professional body builders who are taking regular steroids and protein supplements pass on their body building techniques to young boys who start following them without seeking medical advice They overlook the side effects which could be fatal Many of these protein supplements are manufactured in foreign countries and marketed in India and people who use them have no way of confirming if the same is genuine or adulterated Rajesh Parab professional weight and power lifter