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Here's a question I came across in the PCT section: is there a need to recover from HGH use like there is from gear? Is there pituitary suppression?
Since all the research is about replacing inadequate natural HGH I wonder if there has EVER been any kind of study on how exogenous HGH affects the levels of people with normal HGH levels longterm. Any answers out there?
Oh come one, nobody knows anything?? Isn't this an important question?
rHGH does not inhibit the HTPA.. therfore no PCT is required
Inhibition of the HPTA is probably not the question but rather natural production of GH which I dont believe is HPTA related. (and as always I could be wrong lol) I think I asked this question and I believe the response I got (and think it was einstein but not sure) was that there is no clear clinical data either way. gonna bump this up for a response from the gurus.
I have sold hundreds of thousands of dollars of HGH by Eli Lilly (Humatrope) and have attended CME conventions for doctors specializing in HRT. I have never heard any doctors say or read any articles that state that a patient should stop taking HGH for a given period of time once they start. Very few ever take the total dosage that they should in the first place due to cost. Go to Eli Lilly's site www.humatrope.com to find the formula for how much a person should take. It's based on a person's weight and tolerance level (CTS or stiff or sore muscles, joints being side effects). Due to the low dosage normally taken, its usually irrelevant. However, some of the long time users like to take a month off every year - no scientific reason given, just something they feel they should do. This is definitely an area that needs more scientific research, especially as patents expire and more and more people begin to use it and use it at full dosages on an ongoing basis as prices begin falling (which they will). However, remember, there is nothing to "recover" from with HGH. If it is indeed a 100% bioidentical, 191 amino acid sequence formula then it is the same as the HGH produced in the body by the pituitary gland and is extremely healthy for you if you are over the age of approximately 30. If you are not having side effects (that will be obvious) you should be OK. One caution given is that if you overdose consistently ignoring the side effect warnings, you can experience unwanted bone growth. There have been stories (verifiable?) of heavy users developing the "neanderthal" look due to excessive bone growth in the face. I have friends who have had outstanding results - huge, cut and hard as a rock - with only using 2 IU's (approximately 66 on an insulin syringe) per day. As with anything, do your homework, don't listen to just hearsay and dont' do anything foolish. Feel free to email me if you have any questions. I should be able to answer them.
Hey, thanks bros for the answers. You're right, HPTA is probably not what would get supressed but I'm assuming SOMETHING must be??
The problem with everything I've read so far as far as studies is that, exactly like pointed out above, medically HGH seems to be for people who'll be taking it for the rest of their lives, like thyroid medication, due to naturally subnormal levels.
What happens in the case of a person with normal levels taking it longterm is my question -will it be found to have suppressed natural levels, permanently or temporarily, once discontinued? I'm wondering if it has ever been studied. I do hear occasionally of HGH being used to help in injury recovery but I don't know if it's medically prescribed for that reason -at least there would be an impetus for research on suppression if it were.
Seems like a lot of people take it with a day or two off/week just for that reason -fear of suppression.
Einstein, you got any info? Anybody else? Thanks again for the replies!
BUMP
That is the same question im trying to figure out
GH is regulated in a pulsatile manner. It's released from the pituitary in response to GHRH from the hypothalamus....once GH is released, it carries out its actions, one of which is causing increased expression of IGF-1, primarily in the liver. it's IGF-1 that's the main negative feedback inhibitor of further GH release.....as long as there is sufficient serum IGF-1 levels, somatostatin is expressed, which prevents GHRH from causing further release of GH. Normal GH pulses occur about every 4-5 hrs, so taking exo GH (or LR3) will suppress 1-2 pulses if taking GH, 2-4 if using LR3. Once these compound are at low enough levels again, somatostatin expression is reduced and GHRH predominates and causes further GH release from the pituitary, and the normal pulse pattern resumes.........
There really is no recovery period from GH, because you're never fully suppressing the HP axis regarding GH....you're only doing so for part of the day, unless you're doing very high doses of GH or dosing E4hrs or so. Using LR3 >1x/day can also cause suppression for a full day, but even then, i don't think there would be any long term problems.
There is no recovery from GH that same as with Testosterone but with high doses, your body does have to kick in normal GH production again, especially if you are taking it twice per day. There are also other areas of concern that differ for different age groups and different sexes. The heart tends to be sensative to GH and for that reason, most people take some time off from the use of GH. Fusion of the bones is only a concern in the pediatric population. Gigantia is a concern of mainly the adult male population, etc. Most of the studies that I know of are done with renal patients and short statured people. I do know of one studie done with bodybuilders, but because they didn't follow them through the entire career or GH use, there weren't sure how much of the heart enlargement was from the GH use or just a part of being a bodybuilder (who tend to have enlarged hearts anyway). The advice that any doctor will give you is to only take it 5-6 days per week and not to go more than 3-4 months before taking a week or two off. As you get older, your body tends to produce less and less GH, if you inject synthetic GH into your system, you are giving it a reason to produce less GH on it's own and the longer you take it, the less your body may be able to synthesize GH at it's optimal level. This is why we tend to give recomendations that are way into the SAFE zone.