Eric English, a 16-year-old bodybuilder who has already drawn attention for using PEDs and for being removed from Instagram over promoting peptides, has now revealed a new health complication.
In a recent post, he wrote, “I think I have sleep apnea.”
Sleep apnea occurs when a person’s airway becomes obstructed during the night, preventing normal breathing. As neck size increases from added muscle and weight, breathing during sleep becomes more difficult. The body senses the drop in oxygen and forces a person awake repeatedly throughout the night, often accompanied by coughing or gasping.
For a teenager, this diagnosis carries added weight. The condition is linked to heart and blood pressure problems, along with significant cardiovascular strain. Left untreated, and combined with continued PED use, the condition is expected to worsen.
Many people diagnosed with sleep apnea eventually require a CPAP machine, a mask that pushes oxygen into the body throughout the night to prevent repeated interruptions in breathing. Beyond the physical toll, the condition is also associated with difficulty concentrating during the day, daytime sleepiness, irritable mood, anxiety, depression, and increased insulin resistance.
Eric English’s situation is complicated by his continued PED use, which is believed to be a driving factor behind the sleep apnea diagnosis. Stopping roid use and losing weight could improve the condition significantly, though there’s skepticism about whether that will happen, particularly given a recent breakup and the tendency of some people to intensify their gym focus and cycle use during such life changes.
His now former girlfriend, known on TikTok as lilmisstren, has also become part of the conversation surrounding his choices, given the reference to a well PED in her online name.
Concerns extend beyond the immediate diagnosis. Left ventricular hypertrophy, a thickening of the heart muscle associated with PED abuse, has also been raised as a risk factor compounding the effects of sleep apnea. While teenage bodies can often mask damage for a period of time due to natural resilience, the compounding effects of these conditions are expected to become more apparent later in life, potentially by the time he reaches his 20s.
