HGH Therapy

How Does HGH Therapy Work?

HGH therapy provides the body with a supplemental dosage of growth hormone to make up for a deficiency in the production of that hormone. Damage to the hypothalamus or pituitary gland, brain tumors, certain medications and medical treatments, and natural age-related decline can decrease HGH secretion by the anterior pituitary gland.

Mechanism and Function of HGH

Human growth hormone has two mechanisms for its effects on the body:

Direct action – HGH binds directly to growth hormone receptors on target cells to promote or stimulate a response

Indirect action – HGH effects occur by stimulation and actions of its mediating hormone insulin growth factor 1 (IGF-1), which the liver produces in response to HGH signals

Growth hormone functions are widespread throughout the body and brain. These actions influence cellular reproduction (mediated by IGF-1) crucial for maintaining healthy skin tone, internal organ structure, bone mineral density, lean muscle tissue, cartilage, hair, nails, and immune-fighting cells.

In addition to the regeneration of new cells, other HGH functions include:

• Metabolism – HGH helps the body metabolize all food intake to support the conversion of nutrients into energy. Along with IGF-1, HGH helps support healthy insulin sensitivity to promote glucose uptake from the bloodstream into the muscle tissues. Adults with GHD tend to gain weight and have trouble with weight loss. HGH works directly on fat cells to break down triglycerides.
• Muscle – Although not an anabolic hormone, HGH exerts anabolic activities on skeletal muscle, protecting against muscle loss and promoting muscle protein synthesis.
• Heart – HGH exerts a direct influence on cardiac tissue and contractility. Indirect actions on the heart reduce peripheral vascular resistance and increase glomerular filtration rate, respiratory activity, and blood volume expansion.
• Bone – HGH has direct and indirect (through IGF-1) effects on osteoblast proliferation to promote new bone formation. It also stimulates osteoclast differentiation to promote old bone cell resorption to promote bone accumulation.
• Sexual – HGH is crucial in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, stimulating androgen hormone production and sexual responses and assisting with fertility in men and women.
• Quality of Life – HGH works on receptors in the brain that help maintain homeostasis with mood, energy, hormone regulation, and social interactions.
• Brain – Human growth hormone exerts significant effects on the brain as it can cross the blood-brain barrier to act on receptors throughout many brain areas, including the hippocampus, cerebral cortex, and choroid plexus. Some effects include providing neuroprotective benefits, increasing neurogenesis, and enhancing cognitive functions such as learning and memory.

These are only some of the many crucial functions of HGH in the adult body. It is easy to see the importance of maintaining balanced growth hormone levels to support brain, emotional, and physical well-being.

The effects of HGH therapy can differ from one person to the next, depending on the level of deficiency at the start of the treatment, how well the body metabolizes and uses the hormone medication, and lifestyle factors that can interfere with benefits.

Someone who exercises regularly and focuses on healthy habits will often see faster results than a sedentary person who consumes a lot of junk food, smokes, and engages in unhealthy habits.

Below is a list of some of the most common positive effects of HGH therapy and an average timeline of when to expect them. Remember, your results can vary by a few months in either direction.

HGH effects after one month:

• Improved sleep
• More energy
• Improved mood
• Reduced stress

HGH effects after two months:

• Improved cell regeneration to stimulate collagen and elastin production
• Increased sexual desire
• Better lean muscle tone
• Improved metabolism

HGH effects after three months:

• Decreased appearance of wrinkles and fine lines
• Reduced joint pain and stiffness
• Hair begins to show signs of growing faster and thicker
• Loss of weight, predominantly belly fat
• Increased muscle mass
• Immune system strengthening
• Decreased PMS and menopause symptoms
• Better focus, cognitive processing, and memory

HGH effects after six months:

• Increased cardiac exercise capacity
• Improvements in blood pressure levels
• Lower LDL (bad) cholesterol

HGH effects one year and longer:

• Increased bone mineral density
• Improved coronary flow reserves and left ventricular diastolic function
• Continued improvements in quality of life and health

The benefits of HGH therapy are cumulative. They continue improving each month until maximum changes are achieved in each area.

Who Should Get HGH Therapy?

Any adult with symptoms of growth hormone deficiency should consider speaking with a hormone doctor to determine if they qualify for HGH therapy. Untreated GHD can increase the risk of developing further, more severe medical conditions, including:

• Heart disease
• Type 2 diabetes
• Obesity
• Metabolic syndrome
• Osteoporosis
• Atherosclerosis
• Dementia
• Infertility
• High blood pressure
• Depression

Symptoms of adult growth hormone deficiency

• Weight gain
• Fatigue
• Decreased lean muscle
• Dry and/or thin skin
• Depression
• Muscle weakness
• Reduced bone density
• Sexual decline
• Lack of focus
• Forgetfulness
• Insomnia
• Decreased immunity
• Hair loss or thinning
• Increased LDL and total cholesterol
• Decreased HDL cholesterol
• Reduced exercise capacity
• Impaired temperature regulation
• Increased stress and anxiety

HGH therapy is a prescription-only treatment provided by a hormone therapy clinic to counter the effects of low growth hormone levels. Getting HGH legally enables you to work with a hormone doctor who has extensive knowledge, training, and experience restoring balance to the body’s vital hormone levels.

You receive personal consultations, proper hormone testing, expert attention, guidance in the proper use and administration of your HGH injections, and monitoring of your customized treatment for maximum results.

Off-label, illegal use of HGH injections by athletes and bodybuilders has shown no benefits on muscle volume, strength, or muscle fiber composition in healthy adults with normal growth hormone levels.

There are significant consequences for adults who use HGH illegally, both in health and well-being risks and for professional athletic competitors. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Shows HGH use for any other than treating a disease, or other recognized medical condition to be criminalized as a five-year felony under the penalties chapter of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Acts of the FDA.

Individuals who illegally purchase and abuse HGH when not required to treat a medical deficiency run the following risks:

• Suspension from athletic competition
• Potential legal charges for authorized use of HGH
• Risk of receiving inferior quality or counterfeit HGH
• Potentially dangerous health complications or death due to unregulated HGH

Counterfeit or illegal HGH often comes from other countries that do not provide the safe oversight medications received in the US. Buying HGH without a prescription from unregulated sources jeopardizes your health and life.

How to Get Legal HGH Therapy

Getting HGH therapy prescribed requires contacting a doctor specializing in hormone replacement therapy (HRT), such as an endocrinologist or other specialist with advanced training in this area of medicine. The diagnostic process at our hormone therapy clinic consists of the following steps:

Step 1. Enjoy a confidential telephone consultation as part of our telemedicine hormone program. We provide this consultation at no charge to help us learn more about you, your symptoms, and any health concerns. We also answer any questions you have about hormone replacement therapy.

Step 2. Complete our online medical history questionnaire to provide vital information about your current and prior health issues, medications, supplements, and any treatments you have received.

Step 3. Have any doctor of your choosing complete our physical examination form. The physical examination helps rule out other potential medical issues that could cause your symptoms and provides the necessary information our hormone doctor will use to determine your treatment.

Step 4. Visit a local lab one morning for your blood sample collection. The collected specimen is crucial to the diagnostic process as a comprehensive blood screening measures numerous hormones and other blood levels. The screening process includes a comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP), lipid profile, and complete blood count (CBC).

Our hormone doctor will review the above test results and information to determine if growth hormone deficiency is present and requires treatment. The appropriate hormone medication, dosage, and frequency of administration are provided in a prescription.

Step 5. Receive your results during a follow-up consultation and learn about any treatment the doctor prescribes. You will then work with the hormone therapy clinic to select the brand and injector style of HGH that best meets your needs.

California HRT Clinic simplifies the process through confidential telemedicine consultations and sending all treatment medications and supplies to your home. We provide expert guidance on administering your treatment for optimal results.

Ongoing monitoring consists of follow-up blood tests and communications to assess your progress and ensure no unwanted side effects occur.

HGH side effects and contraindications

Working with a hormone doctor is especially important to ensure you receive only the dosage necessary to restore your growth hormone levels balance. Increasing HGH levels to a point higher than normal can result in potentially concerning side effects, including:

• Water retention
• Insulin resistance
• Type 2 diabetes
• Edema
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• High blood pressure
• Cardiovascular disorders
• Acromegaly
• Muscle and joint pain
• Enlarged breast tissue in men (gynecomastia)
• Increased cancer risk

As with any medication, HGH has specific contraindications for those who should not use this treatment:

• Active cancer
• Diabetes (not contraindicated but requires closer monitoring)
• Untreated thyroid disease
• Sleep apnea
• Acute critical illness due to complications from abdominal or open-heart surgery or multiple accidental trauma
• Acute respiratory failure
• Hypersensitivity (allergy) to any ingredients in HGH

How Much Does HGH Therapy Cost?

HGH therapy costs per month differ considerably from one person to the next. These costs are based on several factors, including:

• The brand of HGH
• Injector styles: pens vs. vial and syringe
• Dosage of HGH
• Frequency of treatment

Some brands are more expensive than others, yet there is no discernible difference in efficacy when it is one of the leading brands prescribed by our doctors, including:

• Genotropin
• Norditropin
• Saizen
• Omnitrope
• Humatrope
• Zomacton

A vial of Zomacton 5 mg can cost approximately $475, while a Genotropin Mixer pen 5 mg can be upwards of $1,050. These costs can change based on pharmaceutical company pricing. Omnitrope and Zomacton vials are the most affordable options, with Eli Lilly HumatroPen injector systems often falling at the higher end of the scale.

When you consider the toll that GHD can take on your life, with debilitating symptoms such as overwhelming fatigue, body aches, sleep problems, low sex drive, sexual decline, depression, and lack of motivation, the cost of a treatment such as HGH is more than justified.

HGH therapy reverses the many unwanted symptoms of growth hormone deficiency to restore your well-being, vitality, sex drive, and joy in life.

You may have read about other HGH supplements or boosters that do not require a doctor’s prescription. These products, including pills, creams, and sprays, do not contain real HGH.

Many of them are nothing more than amino acids that do not produce the same results as prescription HGH injections. Over-the-counter supplements do not go through the rigorous testing associated with pharmaceutical medications.

The only way to get the benefits of HGH therapy if you have growth hormone deficiency is with doctor-prescribed HGH injections.

Does insurance cover HGH therapy?

In most adult cases, HGH therapy is not covered by insurance. In some instances, such as treating individuals with short bowel syndrome, HIV/AIDS wasting, wound healing in burn patients, and continued GHD from childhood, they may receive insurance coverage on a case-by-case basis with the insurance company.

Is HGH Therapy Safe?

Medically prescribed HGH injections are safe and legal for adult use by those with a verified growth hormone deficiency. Illegally used HGH can lead to many potential health problems and risks, as mentioned above.

It is crucial to receive your HGH injections from a licensed and regulated US pharmacy to ensure that you do not receive counterfeit or inferior quality HGH. That is the only way to know that the medication you inject into your body is safe to use.

By following the doctor’s prescription for administering the medication, you can expect significant benefits and improvements in a short time. If you notice any of the side effects mentioned above, contact your hormone doctor immediately to discuss your options.

In many cases, the body is adjusting to the increase in HGH levels, and side effects such as edema naturally disappear on their own. Injection site pain, redness, or swelling is short-lived, and most people find that it no longer becomes a problem as they become more adept at administering their injections.

If your side effects last beyond two weeks or are bothersome, the doctor may decrease your dosage to allow the adverse reactions to disappear. The dosage will then gradually increase until you are at the appropriate level. Only your hormone specialist should make this determination.