Think you mean "plasma exPANDERS"??
They are drugs (mostly drugs) that are used to change the osmotic potential within the blood. They work in several ways:
-increasing red blood cell count
-increasing the plasma content of the blood (the amount of water in the blood)
-increasing the osmotic potential of the muscles (sucking extra water into the muscle tissues)
-increasing the levels of something that draws water into the muscles or supports extra water in the blood, (ie: loading muscles with salts and glucose, or increasing the potassium levels in the blood).
They are generally considered to be very dangerous and very pernicious, difficult drugs to use. Liver and kidney damge are relatively common side-effects (aswell as vision problems). Edema, possibly chronic edema (water bloat), is also a real danger with using powerful plasma-expanding drugs.
If you're interested in trying them, I'd recommend you try a few of the non-dangerous, non-drug plasma expanding protocols first so that you can see how awkward and pernickitty the whole process is:
-Mix 50 ml of glycerol (dirt cheap at your local drug store, I got 500 ml for $3) into 500 ml of (slightly warm) water. Then drink... this is enough to increase blood volume in most people. Takes 60 to 90 minutes to take effect, resulting in mild hypervolemia (increased blood volume and hence mildly increased stroke volume in the heart).
It lasts for about 2 hours (six for some people), and is evidenced by full (seemingly carb-loaded muscles), a slightly pumped feeling, decreased (sometimes drastically reduced or even eliminated) subcutaneous water, and increased vascularity (mildly increased in steoid users, substantially increased in natural athletes).
The Luke
PS - i'll post the more involved protocols if anyone is interested, but trust me, it's just not worth it.
