Topic: Anyone else test low for Human Growth Hormone?
Hoosiers51
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15759
posted
I got some labs back.
Surprisingly, my DHEA-S was in the middle of normal and my KPU and HPU were both normal.
My human growth hormone, tested in urine from Meridian Valley labs, was WAY low though.
I think my doctor was testing this to see if he could put me on HGH....the prescription kind that athletes, etc want to take but don't because doctors get in trouble prescribing it if you're not low.
Anyone else get this tested and it was low?
I feel like maybe it's not too common to be low or I would have heard about it more? Or maybe doctors just aren't checking for it?
Posts: 4590 | From Midwest | Registered: Jun 2008
| IP: Logged |
Hoosiers51
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15759
It says low HGH is VERY rare....makes me wonder if the Meridian Valley testing is picking up something that normal testing wouldn't? So maybe it's not as rare to find low HgH if you use the alternative-type labs?
Or is it really that rare and I am just...rare?
I don't wanna go look at the levels right now, but the range was something like 1,000-4,000, and mine was 198.
This is the quote from the link:
"Your body produces HGH throughout your life -- beginning before birth and reaching peak levels around puberty. HGH production gradually declines throughout adulthood. Occasionally the pituitary gland malfunctions, and the body doesn't produce enough of this hormone. If this occurs in childhood, normal growth can be affected. In adulthood, the most common effect is altered body composition, with higher amounts of body fat and less lean muscle mass. In adults, the main cause of low HGH levels is a tumor in the pituitary gland. Brain surgery can also disrupt HGH production.
HGH deficiency in adults is exceptionally rare. A 1999 study that focused on HGH deficiency in France concluded that 12 out of every 1 million adults (0.0012%) have this problem. Among children, such deficiencies are more common, but are still quite uncommon, occurring in approximately 2.4 out of 100,000 children (0.0024%).
In addition to raising levels of fat stored in the body and lowering levels of lean muscle mass, low HGH levels also leads to high total cholesterol, heart disease, low bone density, altered psychological function and a greater risk of dying overall."
Posts: 4590 | From Midwest | Registered: Jun 2008
| IP: Logged |
Hoosiers51
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15759
posted
I'm also confused because I'm not seeing anything online about how non-alternative type labs test for Hgh. It looks like they don't.
They will test something called IGF-1, and I had that tested and mine was normal. Though I read it doesn't always have to be abnormal for the HGH to be abnormal.
If anyone can shed light on this, I would appreciate it. I am feeling all stir crazy about this based on what I read.
Posts: 4590 | From Midwest | Registered: Jun 2008
| IP: Logged |
sparkle7
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 10397
posted
My levels were extremely low... It's kind of a long story with me about this.
I ended up getting some HGH & injecting it. My levels came back to normal - I didn't feel much different, though. It wasn't a cure all. It also has to do with sleep.
If you look up Dr. R. Bennett & fibromyalgia - he has studied this.
Posts: 7772 | From Northeast, again... | Registered: Oct 2006
| IP: Logged |
sparkle7
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 10397
posted
PS - The only way to treat this is with injectable HGH. The precursors that you take orally don't really work.
Posts: 7772 | From Northeast, again... | Registered: Oct 2006
| IP: Logged |
BoxerMom
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 25251
posted
I've read that many Lyme patients (often in disguise as FM/CFS patients) test low for HGH. Wish I remembered my sources. I'll check around.
Sparkle is right. You have to get the injections. I tried the homeopathic. It did nothing. This may be something that improves on its own with treatment. But if correcting it improved you symptoms, or your response to treatment, that would be so worth it.
I'll get back to you later with references, Hoosiers.
BoxerMom
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 25251
posted
There is some info on HGH dysregulation in Jacob Teitelbaum's book, From Fatigued to Fantastic, 3rd edition, p.113. Like Sparkle, he references Dr. R. Bennett.
The book states that getting adequate stage 3 and 4 restorative sleep is the best way to raise HGH without supplementation.
BTW, I followed parts of this program when I first began Lyme treatment. I had not slept more than a few hours/night in 15 years, so I was on board with the hypothalamic dysregulation theory. I took D-ribose, 15g/day (yes, grams!), and after 30 days, my sleep returned. It was a freakin' miracle.
I also follow a very low-carb diet. I am sugar-free and grain-free. As long as I follow my diet and take my D-ribose, I sleep like the dead. I think the combination of D-ribose and regular sleep restored many abnormal pathways in my brain.
posted
Certain labs are more likely to pick this up... even if it's not REALLY all that low. Hope that makes sense.
You may not be so low that you actually need supplementation.
I took rGH shots for about 5 yrs. Then it became a problem with my ins co and I finally got tired of fighting them. I gave it up almost a year ago.
I feel it helped me at the time, but have seemed to do OK without it.
It CAN make you more likely to get diabetes down the road... so make your decision carefully. The shots were pretty easy, but they do get tiresome.
BTW... without help from ins it's around $3000 a month.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96239 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
| IP: Logged |
Hoosiers51
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15759
posted
Thank you.
Do you guys know what labs you tested negative with? Was it a lab covered by insurance or a specialty/alternative type lab?
The fact that I couldn't find much info about urine HgH tests online makes me feel like it could be a bogus test that doesn't mean much. But I dunno.
It makes me feel better that it might not be THAT rare. Strange that the info I found online seems to conflict with how people with fatigue or Lyme are testing though. Online they make it sound like if you test low, it's very rare and you must have a tumor or a rare genetic disease. Oh well. Glad I don't! (I hope)
Thanks for the info.
Posts: 4590 | From Midwest | Registered: Jun 2008
| IP: Logged |
BoxerMom
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 25251
posted
Sparkle - I felt we were getting off-track with the thread, so I PMed you.
sparkle7
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 10397
posted
I ordered the tests myself with a DYI lab test company. It was a real test but they just make it so you can authorize everything on your own. It's less expensive than through a doctor. I don't have insurance.
I also got the HGH from a company that sells it wholesale. It's a club & you join the club to get lower rates. I had to figure it all out on my own.
For some reason my doctor at the time had a problem with prescribing me HGH even though my tests were rock bottom... Go figure?
Posts: 7772 | From Northeast, again... | Registered: Oct 2006
| IP: Logged |
BoxerMom
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 25251
posted
Hoosiers - I can't tell you how many people I know who were diagnosed with "an incredibly rare disorder" that turned out to be Lyme.
And I was reading something the other day about a "rare genetic defect" that caused symptoms common in Lyme. I wonder how many people are getting that diagnosis?
When Lyme comes out of the shadows of medicine, the understanding of infections, and the body in general, will make giant leaps forward.
I hope everything is OK with you. It's always confusing to get a weird test result.
posted
my pituitary is ALWAYS low... test after test after test. based on its level in relation to my thyroid horomones, the doctors thought i had a pituitary tumor... i had an MRI of my brain done, and once it came back normal my doctor never bothered to treat it. he said it must just be naturally low and that i'm fine, but i disagree!
Posts: 220 | From Kansas | Registered: Mar 2010
| IP: Logged |
karenl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 17753
posted
I used the HGH shots for two years. Was not feeling better and discontinued the HGH.
Posts: 1834 | From US | Registered: Oct 2008
| IP: Logged |
posted
My son was suspected of being growth hormone deficient 9yrs ago.
A few months later, we realized our daughter too was TOO tiny.
Meagan had a growth hormone stimulation test done when she was 5.5y (she is 12 now), and has been taking growth hormone with success ever since.
Matthew had a stim test last summer (he is now 11) and also failed and started on growth hormone.
Now both my kids are growing like they should. =)
I found out I had Lyme and Co. about 2.5yr ago.
I got most of the infections from my mom before I was born.
Both my kids got Lyme and Bartonella from me before they were born.
Connection? I absolutely believe so!
Growth hormone is produced in the endocrine system. Lyme screws with thyroid levels, it messes with the hypothalmus, it wreaks havoc on the adrenals... why not ALL hormones?
I think it can cause any hormone problem. IMHO
SmurfyMom
Posts: 155 | From Texas | Registered: Oct 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
Hello, happy to jump in this pool! Lyme is a top down disease for sure! All my hormones, as with most us Lymies are jacked. Something that worked for me is Deprenyl which is Selegiline an old fashion MAO (not MAOI) so you don't have all the interactions. I also take a dinky dose 2mg twice daily and my HGH is actually High!! and if you read about it at www.selegiline.com and there is all kinds of juicy info about how it protects the brain and helps for people like us! Hope it helps! makes a huge difference for my mood and my HGH!!
-------------------- AzDaisy life requires action Posts: 58 | From Tucson, AZ | Registered: Apr 2010
| IP: Logged |
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic