Human Growth Hormone And Pots

[photchkiss]

I'm curious, have any of you every tried taking human growth hormone? It's very expensive, not covered by insurance, but I'm wondering if it could help strengthen our systems to deal with POTS. I have not tried this myself, but I plan on asking a doctor if it's worth a shot.

For example, HGH allows you to put on more muscle--and perhaps this additional muscle would improve overall vascular resistance which, like the often cited "muscle pump", could help with venuous return and thereby diminsh the tachycardia.

Joe

[goldicedance]

I have taken sandostatin (octreotide) which is an anti-growth hormone. I did get good relief from my POTS symptoms. Eventually I got gall bladder disease so I stopped. My insurance did cover it. There is a doctor at West Virginia University Hospital doing research on sandostatin as a treatment for POTS.

[kmpower]

The best way to know if it will help you is to get a complete hormonal test. All hormones work together and sometimes the problem is not where it appears to be. I would not want to take a hormone unless I know I needed it, and only when I could not increase it naturally -- that is, without trying to increase my natural production of it.

Good luck in your search.

OLL

[yogini]

There was a story on this last night on 60 minutes. HGH has been approved for only a few indications and they said it was actually illegal to use it for a non-approved use. The side effects haven't been tested and could include accelerated growth of cancers. After watching the story, it didn't seem like anything I wanted to try anytime soon!

If you're just starting out in the POTS world, there are tons of drugs and other treatments out there that you can try that have helped lots of POTS patients and are safe (relatively, at least). In terms of building up strength, I think the best way to do this is through exercise.

-Rita