Side effects of HGH
Human Growth Hormone is widely used among several categories of people. Some of them are sportsmen and want to increase muscle mass and bone strength, but the hormone is considered to be illegal and sportsmen are often judged for using the HGH as doping. Somebody knows about its rejuvenating qualities and ability to reduce the amount of fat deposited. Also, our organisms can just experience HGH deficiency and doctors prescribe such injections to maintain health hormone balance. For example, if children don’t have enough of this hormone, their growth stops, and adults can develop Turner syndrome, muscle weight disease, Prader-Willi syndrome, etc.
Since Growth Hormone is produced naturally in the human body, side effects of Growth Hormone use are rare. Side effects occur mainly in cases where Growth Hormone is used in doses higher than recommended and for a longer time than indicated by specialists.
In practice, there are the following side effects of Human Growth Hormone (by frequency of occurrence):
- Tunnel syndrome, manifested by pain and numbness in the extremities. This is due to the fact that the muscles that increase in volume squeeze the peripheral nerves. This side effect is not dangerous and is quickly eliminated after reducing the dose of the drug.
- Fluid accumulation- it is difficult to call a side effect, because the accumulation of fluid is in the muscles gives them a large size and elasticity. In general, the phenomenon of rollback is minimal after the end of the course.
- Increased blood pressure- is eliminated either by reducing the dose of growth hormone, or taking antihypertensive drugs.
- Local reactions - at the injection site (>1% and <10%) - rash, itching, soreness, numbness, hyperemia, swelling, lipoatrophy.
- Suppression of thyroid function- subjectively does not manifest itself in any way, because the oppression is too insignificant.
- Acromegaly- the disease occurs due to severe abuse of growth hormone drugs.
- Hypertrophy of the heart and other organs- occurs only in the case of long-term use of growth hormone in large doses.
- Increased risk of stroke when used in children - a long-term study completed in 2014 found that the administration of growth hormone in childhood leads to an increased risk of stroke in older age.
- Morning weakness - a feeling of weakness, apathy and soreness of the joints and muscles as with a cold, sometimes accompanied by a rise in temperature. This reaction may be a sign of an autoimmune response to antigens even a few days after the first injection, which in turn may indicate a low-quality drug.
- Drowsiness - sometimes daytime sleepiness occurs.
- Abdominal enlargement-it is widely believed that growth hormone can increase the abdomen due to hyperplasia of internal organs (since there are receptors for IGF-1 in the intestines and organs). At the moment, there is no reliable scientific evidence of this fact, but vivid examples of changes in the abdomen among professional bodybuilders are associated with this.
- Gynecomastia - in very rare cases.