HGH Therapy For Anti-Aging

We have written a lot here about low testosterone therapy, but what about the other hormone that is often supplemented in anti-aging regimens, human growth hormone (HGH)?

Human growth hormone therapy is extremely controversial and poorly understood. Just like testosterone, it has been thoroughly vilified through its association with bulked up professional athletes, but it can in fact be an important component of an effective anti-aging regimen.

HGH Therapy

How do I legally obtain HGH?

Generally speaking, here’s how one would legally obtain human growth hormone.  First, you would go to see a sympathetic doctor, have him test your levels of a polypetide protein hormone called IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1), have him interpret them as ‘low’, and then he could prescribe you HGH. It’s worth noting that IGF-1 is tested as it gives a more stable reading than attempting to detect HGH levels directly, and it’s a fairly accurate predictor of HGH levels.

The real controversy here is that nobody really seems to be able to agree on what ‘low’ levels of IGF-1 really are. In my opinion, ‘low’ levels are really bottom of the barrel, indicative of an acute medical condition. Many folks who are looking to start HGH therapy just want to move from ‘low normal’ to normal – it’s an ‘optimization’ approach rather than trying to treat a recognized medical condition. This also holds true with testosterone supplementation – yeah, your doctor has a little chart that tells him 300 or lower for total T is bad, but honestly I feel much better at 500-600. Is it wrong for me to use modern science to live better?

How Do You Take HGH?

Human growth hormone treatment is a serious commitment. It involves daily injections, which can be a major pain to manage. It’s generally a subcutaneous injection with a tiny insulin syringe – not exactly a huge deal, but getting used to pinning yourself every day can be tricky at first. Lots of people decide that the hassle is worth it though – HGH therapy is a huge growth area, and there are lots of people now who have been doing this for 10 years.

What Are The Benefits Of HGH?

Well, it depends who you talk to. I can tell you that during my own HGH therapy (obtained legally while living outside the US), I slept better, got leaner, noticed a marked improvement in my skin and definitely increased my overall muscle tone. The important point here is that I was only 38 at the time – the benefits seem to be much greater in older people (since HGH levels decline with age), and I fully intend to resume HGH therapy in the future – perhaps 10 years from now.

What Are The Side Effects?

I really only had one side effect, which some people get and some don’t. Basically, I experienced fluid retention (edema) that over time started to give me a few small but annoying problems – I had a weird ‘moon faced’ look (that only I noticed admittedly), but I also had problems with carpal tunnel in my wrists that were a pain in the ass for me. I spend all day typing, and the fluid retention in my extremities seemed to be creating pressure on the carpal tunnel in my wrists. This is not an entirely uncommon side effect, but honestly if I wasn’t typing all day I would never have noticed. I had all of my usual lab tests done during the six month period, and all of my values (lipids, hormones, etc.) were still excellent.

The other main side effect of HGH therapy is an empty wallet – it gets cheaper every year, but it can get very expensive. Interestingly, the Chinese are now creating generic ‘underground’ HGH that is very popular in the bodybuilding community. Of course, I would never encourage anyone to take black market drugs, but I suspect that this will force down the price of legitimate HGH over the next few years. I looked at the websites of a couple of anti-aging clinics while writing this article and I am surprised to see how affordable this treatment is becoming over the past couple of years.

So, there you have it. I took HGH – and I’m not a 300 pound monster, I didn’t kill anyone, and I am still in excellent health. This doesn’t mean that you should also take it, but you should get over any fear that the media have generated over this important anti-aging hormone.

One last thing – HGH only works in an injectable form. If anyone tries to sell you HGH pills, sprays or magical potions, they are trying to rip you off. Go and see a real anti-aging doctor, and don’t get ripped off. Just a heads up!