Human growth hormone is a protein secreted by the pituitary gland that stimulates growth and cell reproduction. It is commonly prescribed in children suffering from growth hormone deficiency, which causes children to grow slowly and have a shorter stature. It has also been advertised as an anti-aging supplement due to the fact that it increases lean muscle mass and decreases body fat. Human growth hormone is available in the United States with a prescription from a doctor.
Instructions
1. Understand the benefits and limitations of growth hormone. Growth hormone is typically prescribed for a lack of natural production of the hormone. Children with a growth hormone deficiency tend to show a failure to grow and abnormally short stature. Deficiency in adults manifests with obesity, especially around the trunk, low lean muscle mass and low energy. In addition, growth hormone has been shown to increase and decrease body fat, leading many to claim that it can reverse the course of aging. While aging is not an FDA approved condition for the use of growth hormone, growth hormone treatment has been beneficial for patients suffering from symptoms such as muscle wasting, a common side effect of AIDS.
2. Try and get a prescription from a physician. If obtained from a pharmacy through a prescription, injectable recombinant growth hormone therapy costs around $300 a month. Although growth hormone is only approved for a very narrow range of conditions, some doctors are willing to prescribe it "off-label"---that is, for conditions other than that which it is approved for. This carries a risk for doctors, however, as it can open them up to legal action and prosecution, as the government has been trying to crack down on this practice. Still, if you are able to make a case that you have a specific condition that would be aided by using injectable growth hormone, you may be able to persuade a physician to prescribe it. A good resource for finding physicians for this is the Life Extension Foundation (see Resources below).
3. If you are unable to procure a prescription or do not want to take injectable growth hormone, another option is to ingest substances that cause the body to increase the secretion of its own naturally occurring growth hormone. Several of these, including the amino acids L-glutamine and L-arginine, are anecdotally thought to slow the progression of aging in people under 45. For these treatments to work, however, a carefully followed pattern of intake is necessary; in addition, for them to be effective, some substances must be present and others, such as alcohol, must not be.
4. Finally, if you are having a hard time obtaining a prescription and taking natural supplements isn't working, one option is to go to Mexico or another foreign country. Not only are growth hormone injections often cheaper in other nations, it can be easier to obtain a prescription. In fact, some medications that require a prescription in the United States can be obtained over-the-counter in Mexico and Canada. Keep in mind, however, that there may not be as much quality control (and sometimes flat-out product altering) in other countries, and that it may be difficult to bring your medications back to the United States.
Tags: growth hormone, lean muscle, lean muscle mass, muscle mass, United States