Understanding the Pros and Cons of Growth Hormone Therapy

Human Growth Hormone Therapy, also known as “growth hormone replacement therapy” or more simply “HGH therapy,” is used to treat children and adults with growth hormone deficiency or GHD. HGH injections are FDA-approved to treat GHD, including “adult-onset” or “age-related GHD,” and as such, are generally regarded as safe when used as directed. However, like any prescription drug or medical procedure, HGH therapy is not without some risks or side effects.

When we discuss any potential risks or HGH side effects, we must be sure to put particular emphasis on the word “potential.” All drugs, even a common aspirin tablet, have some “potential” side effects. The key to understanding the pros and cons of HGH is to realize that severe HGH side effects are rare and that for most patients, the many benefits or “pros” of HGH therapy far outweigh the risks. This benefits versus risk ratio lands even more on the pro side when you work with a legitimate and proven HGH clinic like ours.

What Can Human Growth Hormone Therapy Do for Adults?

HGH is one of your body’s most critical hormones. Hormones are chemical messengers that control, regulate, or stimulate any number of bodily processes. Keeping your hormones in balance is essential to good health and well-being.

HGH is the hormone whose main responsibility is regulating all of the biological activities related to cellular growth and metabolism. As such, HGH plays an essential role in allowing children to grow into healthy adults of full stature. Even as healthy adults, HGH continues to play a vital role in physical strength, mental acuity, and emotional health. In adults, HGH is crucial to strength, energy, and maintaining lean body mass

 The Pros Vs the Cons of Growth Hormone Therapy

Overall, for most patients, the many benefits of HGH therapy outweigh the various potential risks. HGH strengthens muscles, which gives you more energy and stamina and can help you lose weight and get more out of your workouts.

HGH’s impact on strengthening bones can lower your risk of osteoporosis and age-related bone fractures. Some of the other benefits of HGH therapy include:

• Enhanced sexual function and sex drive.
• Better and more restful sleep.
• Increased metabolism leads to weight loss.
• Improved memory and cognitive ability.
• Better moods decreased anxiety and depression.

The Physical Pros of HGH

Study after study has proven the many pros of HGH. When specifically exploring the “physical benefits” of growth hormone therapy, most are related to HGH’s ability to increase your ability to build and maintain strong muscles and bones.

HGH is a vital hormone secreted by the anterior pituitary gland. While it influences the health and growth of every cell in your body, one of its primary functions is helping you to build, replace, and repair muscle tissue and bones. HGH is known as the “fitness hormone” because it not only strengthens your muscle fibers, it boosts your metabolism so you have more energy and stamina. This combined effect helps you build muscle and burn fat while at the same time increasing your exercise capacity and getting more out of your workout.

HGH’s impact on strengthening bones can lower your risk of osteoporosis and age-related bone fractures. In addition to improving bone density and increasing muscle mass, some of the other physical or physiological “pros” of HGH therapy include:

• Loss of body fat, especially belly fat
• Improved libido and sexual performance
• Improved sleep

Mental or Cognitive Pros of HGH

At our HGH therapy clinic, we have seen the many positive impacts or pros that HGH can have on cognition and mental acuity in adults who are suffering from age-related HGH decline. In fact, after a few weeks on HGH, most of our patients report “increased clarity” and an increased ability to focus on cognitive tasks.

Other well-documented benefits of growth hormone on brain health include improved memory and an increased ability to “multitask,” as well as improved productivity and job performance. There have even been some recent studies to suggest that HGH injections may stave off the onset of Alzheimer’s disease or other types of senior dementia. For example, a recent study published in the Archives of Neurology demonstrated that HGH therapy provided an improvement in cognitive function in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Emotional or Psychological Pros of HGH

Another pro of HGH therapy is that studies have found that it can have a positive effect on improving moods and fighting feelings of anxiety and depression.

The impact of hormones on emotional states is well known. Women, in particular, are subject to mood swings and negative emotional states based on hormonal changes that occur during monthly menstrual periods and at menopause. Men, too, experience mood swings as part of andropause. It was once thought that such “mood swings” were largely related to age-related drops in estrogen in women and testosterone in men.

Doctors know now that age-related growth hormone deficiency plays a role in the anxiety, mood swings, and depression that are common in adults suffering from age-related hormone decline.

Studies have found that when you have low levels of HGH, mental health can suffer in numerous ways, and HGH therapy can reverse most, if not all, of those issues, such as increased feelings of depression and anxiety.

Exploring the Cons of Growth Hormone Therapy

For almost all patients, the many benefits or pros of HGH therapy far outweigh its potential cons. However, just as with any drug or medical procedure, growth hormone replacement therapy does have some potential side effects and associated risks.

Some of the reported side effects or possible risks of HGH include:

• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Increased risk of developing insulin resistance
• Edema
• Joint pain and muscle pain
• For men, enlargement of breast tissue
• A rare but possible increased risk of some specific cancers.

However, do keep in mind that these side effects and potential side effects of HGH are exceedingly rare. For most patients diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency, the potential benefits of HGH far outweigh any of its potential risks.

HGH Therapy Cons: Are There Risks for Your Heart?

Generally speaking, HGH treatment poses little risk to heart health and does not increase the risk of heart disease. In fact, current research suggests that HGH therapy actually improves heart health. Primarily, HGH therapy has been shown to help build lean muscle and burn fat. Since obesity is a major contributing factor to heart disease, the ability of HGH therapy to reduce fat and raise metabolism lowers your risk of a heart attack or stroke.

HGH Therapy Pros Vs. Cons for Diabetics

Some studies indicated that HGH therapy in children could possibly increase the risk of developing diabetes in adult life. However, this was still a rare occurrence and has not precluded doctors from recommending growth hormone therapy in children who need it. There has not been evidence of HGH increasing the risk of diabetes development in adults. As with heart disease, because HGH can increase fat metabolism and help build lean muscle, there is evidence to suggest that HGH treatment can actually lower your risk of diabetes. Human growth hormone has been used experimentally in several studies to treat individuals with type 2 diabetes, with the results finding beneficial effects on glucose metabolism.

HGH Pros Vs. Cons for High Blood Pressure

While excessive use or abuse of HGH can, in some cases, cause high blood pressure and an increased risk of a cardiovascular incident, when used as prescribed, there is again little or no risk of HGH treatment raising your blood pressure. And, as with diabetes and heart disease, when used as instructed by your doctor, HGH can lower blood pressure and decrease the risk of stroke or heart attack.

HGH Therapy Pros Vs Cons: Are There Risks for Kidneys?

HGH can influence kidney function, but not to the point where it can lead to chronic kidney disease or pose any risks to otherwise healthy kidneys. Studies of children of short stature who also had kidney disease and who were prescribed HGH therapy showed that the use of HGH in children with renal disease and after renal transplantation has not shown “any consistent change in kidney function.”

HGH Therapy Pros Vs Cons: Are There Risks for Your Liver?

HGH plays a vital role in liver function. HGH stimulates the liver to produce another vital hormone, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). IGF-1 is critical to fat metabolism. People who are growth hormone-deficient almost always are not producing enough IGF-1 as well. The loss of IGF-1 decreases liver function and lowers fat metabolism, increasing your risk of diabetes and obesity. HGH therapy, therefore, instead of posing any kind of risk to the liver, can improve liver function by increasing the output of IGF-1. In fact, HGH has been studied to be used for liver regeneration in cases of injuries to the liver and as a possible treatment for the degenerative effects of cirrhosis and fatty liver disease.

HGH Therapy: Benefits Vs Risks and Cancer

Because of its innate ability to influence cellular growth, there has always been a fear that HGH treatment can cause cancer. This is one of the reasons why HGH is a controlled substance and is only available with a doctor’s prescription. There is the potential for HGH therapy to influence the growth of some tumors, but this is most often in children who have already had some form of cancer. HGH, when used properly, rarely, if ever, can cause cancer. However, it is very important that you share any history of cancer with your doctor before starting growth hormone therapy.

Now that you understand much more about the pros versus the potential adverse effects of HGH therapy, why not contact us today and see if you are a candidate for the many life-changing benefits of hormone replacement therapy?