Chris Brandt
Link #1:
Ask the Doctor: The surprising dual toll of doping
http://www.velonews.com/train/articles/12396.0.html
Excerpt:
"...For four years I've been privately interviewing professional cyclists who are in recovery from doping so that I might better understand what draws them to dope and what happens to them once they've gone to the dark side. I'm able to ask the questions nobody else can and hope to get honest answers because as a doctor I cannot and would not violate medical confidentiality. I've been privileged to learn from several athletes about their motivations and pressures as well as the medical problems they suffered as a result of their abuse of performance-enhancing drugs. These athletes aren't permitted under current WADA/USADA code to speak publicly about their personal experiences of doping without fear of suspension. I can, however, share what I've learned without naming names..."
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Link #2:
Ask the Doctor: The medical risks of doping
http://www.velonews.com/train/articles/13149.0.html
Excerpt from interview between Velonews and Joe Papp:
"...I asked Papp to tell me more about his injury to illustrate the medical dangers of doping. These are injuries the riders keep to themselves as part of the shame and secrecy of doping. Realistically, most of those involved in doping are using many products at the same time and for long periods of time before they are caught."
VN: Did you have any idea what would happen to you if you fell?
JP: No.
VN: What did happen to you when you fell?
JP: Nothing immediately. In fact, I rode 20km home after the race (in which I'd finished fifth or sixth). But within hours the internal bleeding had caused the appearance of a hematoma that all but paralyzed my left leg.
VN: Was it a routine fall that should have been no big deal were you not using EPO and blood thinners?
JP: Oh for sure. I fell going uphill in final 500m of a race that I should have won. Was with three other riders, including a teammate. We started attacking on the climb and another rider tried to pass me tight on my left and knocked my handlebars.
VN: What did they have to do in the hospital to fix it?
JP: Ultimately, I underwent surgery once they stabilized me. I was in hospital for seven days, the operation was in the final days after it became apparent that the quantity of blood was too great for the body to reabsorb.
VN: Did you have to admit exactly what was going on in order to receive proper treatment?
JP: Not really, but when I explained that I was a cyclist they knew. They turned a blind eye to give me the care that I needed.
VN: How much blood did you lose into the hematoma?
JP: I believe the quantity of sludge that was removed surgically was close to 1200mL - is that possible for a horrible internal hematoma in the gluteus maximus?
VN: Yes it is. You basically lost one fourth of your blood volume into what should have been a trivial bruise because your blood was way too thin from medically unsupervised and incompetent abuse of anticoagulants. This would put most people into class 2 hypovolemic shock.
How scary was all of that while it was happening?
JP: At the time, not very, because the medical care was excellent. What was scary was being alone in a hospital in Pescia, Italy, abandoned by my team and facing the end of my cycling career and a cloudy future.
VN: Do you understand what would have happened if you had hit your head?
JP: I eventually did, but I preferred not to think of dying.
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