Do you know that Human Growth Hormones are important and your pituitary gland produces them?
Growth Hormone or GH plays a key role in growth, body composition, cell repair, and metabolism.
Moreover, different hormones play an important role in bodily functions.
However, if your body does not produce enough of them, you may need hormone therapy.
Different glands in your body produce different hormones, however, health experts consider the pituitary gland to be the master control gland.
This is not just because it controls other glands, but also makes the hormones that trigger growth.
The pituitary gland is in the brain, below your hypothalamus, and secrete hormones in response to chemical messages from it.
Additionally, growth hormone influences height as well as builds bones and muscles in your body.
Furthermore, it is crucial to normal human growth and development.
Certain genetic factors can lead to a lack of growth hormones in children.
It can be due to damage to the pituitary gland.
Let’s learn more about it in detail.
Understanding Growth Hormone
The pituitary gland releases growth hormones into your bloodstream.
Moreover, the pituitary glands also produce other hormones that have different functions from growth hormones.
Growth hormone acts on different parts of your body to promote growth, especially in children.
Once the growth plates in your bones or epiphysis fuse with growth hormones, there is no increase in height.
It does not cause growth, however, it helps to maintain normal body structure and metabolism.
Furthermore, it also helps to keep the blood glucose levels within set levels.
It also helps process protein and increases fat breakdown to help your body provide with energy that tissues need for growth.
An important thing to note is that growth hormones can change throughout the day.
And physical activity also plays a role in it.
Also, exercise and similar activities can cause the levels to rise, sleep and stress, low blood sugar levels also increase growth hormone levels.
Even small changes in HGH can affect your body.
Controlling Growth Hormone
The release of growth hormone is not continuous. Your body releases it in a number of “bursts” or pulses every 3 to 5 hours.
Two other hormones are responsible for controlling this release from the hypothalamus.
Growth Hormone releasing hormone that stimulates the pituitary to release hormone and somatostatin that inhibits its release.
Moreover, growth hormones also increase around the time of puberty.
However, their release lowers during pregnancy.
And in case the brain senses high levels of growth hormones or insulin-like growth factors in your blood.
High levels of Growth Hormones
It is not surprising, that excess growth hormone can cause too much growth.
In adults, excessive growth hormone for a long period of time produces a condition: Acromegaly.
In this condition, you can have swelling of hands, and feet as well as altered facial features.
Moreover, this condition can also cause organ enlargement and serious functional disorders.
These include:
Additionally, there are over 99% of cases are due to benign tumors of the pituitary glands that produce this hormone.
It is important to note that this condition is more common after middle age when growth is complete, so you may not get any taller.
In rare cases, however, an increase in the levels of growth hormones can occur in children before they even reach their final height.
This can lead to excessive growth of long bones, thus resulting in your child as abnormally tall.
Such a condition is Gigantism, a very large increase in height.
Moreover, your doctor can diagnose overproduction of growth hormone by giving a sugary drink and measuring the levels over the next few hours.
Sugar often helps to decrease growth hormone production.
However, this does not happen in the case of acromegaly.
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Symptoms of Low Levels of Growth Hormones in Children
Children with low levels of lack of growth hormones may or may not be smaller at the time of birth. However, growth problems may appear at any time.
For instance, your child is smaller than their classmates and growing less than 2 inches a year.
In some cases, children are also unable to produce growth hormone when they are born and continue to have low levels throughout their life.
Some of the symptoms of growth hormone deficiency in children are:
- looking too much younger than others at their age
- impaired hair growth
- delayed puberty
- short stature
- having a chubby body build
However, in some cases, a lack of growth hormone is a part of a genetic condition.
But sometimes the cause of this deficiency is unknown.
Symptoms of Low Levels of Growth Hormone in Adults
In the case of adults, a lack of growth hormone is often due to damage to the pituitary gland, which can be permanent.
This damage can occur either in childhood or adulthood.
Some of the other causes are radiation therapy, a head injury, or infections like meningitis.
Moreover, problems in the pituitary with producing growth hormone are commonly due to a tumor in your pituitary.
The pituitary gland can also be damaged by the tumor itself or by treatment like surgery and radiotherapy.
A lack of HGH, in adults, can also cause a number of problems.
These include anxiety and depression, weak muscles, and bones, tiredness,
Increase of fat around the waist, increase in the risk of heart diseases and stroke, weak heart, reduction in the ability to think, and certain other conditions.
Furthermore, growth hormone deficiency can also be a combination of one or more hormone deficiencies.
Some of the medical conditions that may also benefit from HGH treatment are:
Turner‘s Syndrome: Women with this condition often have underdeveloped female sexual characteristics.
Prader-Willi Syndrome: A genetic disorder that causes weak muscle tones, feeding difficulties, poor growth, and delayed development.
Noonan Syndrome: This genetic syndrome interferes with the proper development of different parts of the body.
And Chronic Kidney Disease.
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Treatment Options
One of the most common treatments in both adults and children is growth hormone therapy using lab-developed HGH injections.
Moreover, the dose of these injections occurs several times per week.
Or they can occur on a daily basis depending on how severe the deficiency is.
Manufacturers often design the growth hormone to mimic the behavior of natural growth hormone in the body.
Your doctor will describe these injections.
Additionally, you can also self-administer the HGH treatments, or your doctor can give them.
You will receive the treatment for a number of years.
Furthermore, you will need to visit your doctor every month or so to their your condition.
Blood tests will help to see if you need extra growth hormone and if the treatment needs to increase, decrease or stop.
Cholesterol levels, blood sugar levels, and bone density will also be checked to make sure they are at optimal levels.
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Taking HGH injections
One of the important things to note is that taking growth hormones can affect the response of your body to insulin.
Insulin controls blood sugar levels. Growth hormone deficiency can also lead to high cholesterol and brittle bones if you do not get treatment.
Hence, your doctor will base the treatment on certain factors.
These include your age, overall health and medical history, the extent of the condition, tolerance for a specific treatment, treatment expectations, and your choice.
The earlier you get treatment for the lack of growth hormone in your child, the better the chance they will have to grow near-normal adult height.
Children can also gain as many as 4 inches or more over the first 3 years of treatment.
Another 3 inches or more can grow during the next 2 years.
However, many adults have to take HGH treatment for the remainder of their life.
Anyone taking this treatment will have to undergo regular monitoring to make sure the safety and effectiveness of the hormone.
The goal of this treatment in adults and children is to restore energy, metabolism, and enhance body development or shape.
Moreover, it can also help to reduce total body fat, especially around your belly.
HGH injection can also help to improve your strength and exercise tolerance.
And help to reduce the risk of heart diseases if you lack growth hormone.
Many people experience an increase in overall quality of life.
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Risks and Side Effects
In most cases, people can tolerate HGH injections well with few problems, according to studies.
However, some of the possible side effects are:
- headaches
- swelling of hands and feet
- joint discomfort
- muscle aches
In such a case, if you experience these symptoms or other issues, then you should talk to your doctor.
They can change the dose if necessary to help remedy or relieve the symptoms.
If you have tumors, cancer, serious illness, severe breathing issues, multiple injuries, or complications from open heart or abdominal injury, then this is not the right treatment for you.
HGH can affect insulin usage in your body, so if you have diabetes, then you need to monitor your blood sugar levels carefully.
You may need other treatments depending on the cause of HGH deficiency.
Surgery or radiation may also be necessary to treat a tumor in the pituitary.
Pituitary glands may also have been taken to correct a gland that is not working properly.
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Too much Growth Hormone
In case the levels are too high, then you may experience:
Muscle or joint pain, fluid retention that leads to swelling, and carpal tunnel syndrome.
Moreover, long-term use of HGH injections can cause a condition: Acromegaly.
You may also experience an overgrowth of bones, particularly in the hands, feet, and face.
The skin area may also be affected and may turn thick, coarse, and hairy.
Excess HGH levels can also lead to high blood pressure and heart disease.
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Final Thoughts
Growth hormones are crucial to the functions of your body and play a key role in growth, body composition, cell repair, and metabolism.
HGH also boosts muscle growth, strength, and exercise performance while also helping you recover from injuries and diseases.
Low HGH levels are important during weight loss, injury recovery, and athletic training. With the help of diet and lifestyle changes, you can place a positive effect on your HGH levels.
Once the growth plates in your bones or epiphysis fuse with growth hormones, there is no increase in height.
Moreover, growth hormones also increase around the time of puberty.
Moreover, this condition can also cause organ enlargement and serious functional disorders.
Some of the symptoms of growth hormone deficiency in children are:
These include anxiety and depression, weak muscles, and bones, tiredness,
The earlier you get treatment for the lack of growth hormone in your child, the better the chance they will have to grow near-normal adult height.