Growth hormone deficiency is a condition that impacts many. Both children and adults can suffer from this particular type of deficiency, and it can lead to a host of medical concerns.
To seek proper treatment for growth hormone deficiency, it is important to first understand what this condition entails. It is different for children than for adults, and it will also be necessary to seek medical attention for an actual diagnosis. However, this doesn’t mean that research is unreasonable on your part. Learning everything possible about this condition will enable you to have a much more informed conversation with your doctor.
Understanding Growth Hormone Deficiency
GH deficiency concerns the pituitary gland. This gland produces growth and other critical hormones. When the gland fails to produce the necessary amount of growth hormones, the development of an individual can become severely compromised.
This hormone is necessary in order to maintain proper growth in children. For adults, failing to have the proper growth hormones produced through the pituitary gland can influence body fat, bone, muscle, emotional state (exhaustion and dwindling motivation for even the most common tasks are well-known symptoms), and cholesterol. Pituitary tumors can also become prevalent.
It is important to keep in mind that this deficiency can occur at any age. It can be caused by conditions that influence the gland prior to birth, but it is also possible for it to be caused by conditions that occur in a person’s life after birth. There are also extremely rare cases in which it is impossible to determine the causes for this deficiency.
For children, some of the symptoms can include:
- A shorter-than-average stature.
- A low speed of development during age and pubertal stage.
- Higher levels of fat around the waist.
- The child appearing younger than other kids in their age group.
- Compromised development of the teeth.
- A delay in the beginning of puberty.
For adults, symptoms to look for can include:
- Lowered levels of energy.
- A decrease in strength and endurance for normal exercise.
- A decrease in the mass of your muscles.
- Increased weight, particularly around the waist.
- Depression, anxiety, or sadness occurring at random, and even potentially for prolonged periods of time.
- Thinning and drying skin.
There are numerous ways to receive a diagnosis for growth hormone deficiency. Testing methods will be explored with a trusted medical professional.
Treating GH Deficiency
Once a diagnosis has been established, and as soon as the causes of a person’s GH deficiency have been made clear, the next step will be to look into various treatment methods that are currently available.
Due to this condition’s ability to damage sleep and energy levels, it’s important that those suffering strive to find a balance of proper rest, diet, and exercise.
There are numerous medications that will potentially be explored. In certain cases, depending upon the advice of your doctors, surgery may even be something that can come up in discussion. While injections are a popular method of treating the condition, there are numerous possibilities.
