The After Hours Doctor: Should I Take Human Growth Hormone?

Unless you happen to be married to one, it can be hard to ask a doctor all the burning questions that pop into your head (like, what’s the deal with that burning…?). Even when you have an appointment, there are questions that seem irrelevant to whatever it is that brought you there in the first place. That’s why we’re here, to ask our doctor the questions that you never get to.

I know some men take Human Growth Hormone as they start to age. Should I start, too? It seems like an easy way to stay young.

The thing with “easy ways” is that they’re rarely the “best ways.” Just ask Milli Vanilli. Now, there are specific symptoms and signs, and, yes, lab tests that can help you decide if you have adult HGH deficiency syndrome (AGHD), which is associated premature mortality. No one wants that.

The most common cause of AGHD is from destruction of the pituitary gland from infection, trauma, or malignancy. Recognizing and treating it can improve a variety of metabolic and performance capacities, including memory and concentration, strength, lean body muscle mass, cholesterol, and reduction in fatigue and excessive aging of the skin. That’s likely the stuff you hear that makes taking HGH sound like a good idea. But, HGH treatment is not without risk, so using it as a form cosmetic endocrinology, for which there would be little or no benefit, increases the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome, diabetes, joint pain, and certain types of cancer.

The thing is, you probably don’t need more HGH. If you do, you can increase HGH naturally by obtaining a good night’s sleep and performing threshold strength training on a regular and continuous basis.

I want to increase my libido: fitness-wise and nutrition-wise, what are things I can do?

The best way to increase libido is to decrease stress and improve sleep. Try getting at least 7 hours of sleep, and increasing your ability to withstand stress through cognitive skills, such as mindfulness, meditation or yoga. Avoid excessive use of alcohol, drugs and other toxins. Fitness-wise, focus on strength and high intensity interval training involving the legs, the pelvis and the buttocks. For example, the longest recorded female orgasm in history was observed in a 23-year-old Olympic hurdler at Kent State University in the mid-1980s—and it shouldn’t come as a shock that blood flow to the pelvic organs is an aphrodisiac.

Why am I so reliant on caffeine-and-chemical-laden energy drinks to make it through the day. I can only assume they aren’t great for my health?

Most people rely on caffeine, sugar, and energy drinks to boost their vigor and alertness because they are chronically stressed. In many cases, they also have low cortisol levels from chronic suppression of the Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, a series of endocrine glands that, together, modulate a lot of our body’s processes, including sex, digestion, mood, and how we deal with stress. Our fight or flight mechanism relies on both adrenaline and cortisol to work—adrenaline increases your pulse, blood pressure, muscle tone and alertness, while cortisol releases blood sugar to give you the energy to do something about it. Chronic stress can result in the preservation of adrenaline, but the loss of cortisol, resulting in low blood sugar and cravings for starch. Caffeine stimulates the release of sugar from the liver but not as effectively as cortisol—so most people who are wired-but-tired need to fix the underlying causes, rather than pouring in more substances. You know what might help? Working out.