Does growth hormone slow aging?

Many people are rushing to buy growth hormone for a variety of reasons. However, one of the key reasons is that it is believed that growth hormone can slow aging or prevent it all together. Growth hormone is produced in a pea-sized structure located at the base of the brain. This hormone is vital for normal growth and development. Without growth hormone, many organs cannot develop and life expectancy is shortened. Growth hormone levels are highest during the early years of life and the production is less with advancing age. Today, there is synthetic growth hormone available that can only be injected. It is available with a prescription for certain approved medical disorders. in general, growth hormone deficiency is extremely rare and the majority of cases may be due to brain tumor, surgical removal or radiation therapy. When growth hormone is administered to people it can increase bone density, increases muscle mass, decreases body fat and even increases exercise capacity. However, there are no long-term studies, which show that growth hormone can prevent aging or reduce the rate of aging.


Growth hormone affects may organs in the body and is not an innocuous protein- there are definite risks when taking this hormone unnecessarily. People who take growth hormone can develop numerous nerve compression syndrome including carpal tunnel syndrome, swelling in the legs and arms, muscle and joint pains, breast growth in men and uneven growth. There is strong evidence, which shows that growth hormone can also worsen or produce new onset diabetes and stress the heart. These side effects of growth hormone are much more common in older people compared to young individuals.


Growth hormone is widely sold over the internet as a pill but it appears that these are fake products. Growth hormone is small protein molecule that would immediately be destroyed by the stomach acidity when taken by mouth, so oral preparations are useless. If you want to look young, then growth hormone is certainly not the answer. The best way to look young is to quit smoking, exercise regularly and eat healthy. You can rest assured, everyone will die and if you fool around with growth hormone, you may not age but you sure can die prematurely.

What are the chief features of perimenopause?

Most women tend to worry when the menstrual cycles suddenly start to change in length and flow. Perimenopause is a normal physiologic event experienced by most women and is not a life threatening condition. The hallmark of perimenopause is irregular periods. On most cases, the periods start to become longer and the blood flow is scant. However, this is nothing to worry about it especially if it occurs in the 40s. During the initial phase of perimenopause, periods can be heavy and one may have to frequently change the pads, but soon the flow will become scant. In some cases spotty bleeding may last anywhere from 4-8 days. Another feature of perimenopause is that the periods tend to occur less than 21 days apart.

Often these changes prompt women to visit their doctor to ensure that nothing sinister is going on. If one is worried about the symptoms, a visit to the doctor is justified. Unfortunately, there is no one test that can make a diagnosis of perimenopause. The doctor can only make a diagnosis of this disorder based on the individual's history, symptoms and physical exam. The body symptoms experienced generally are the strongest clue that perimenopause has set in. Rarely some doctors may order hormonal levels to confirm the diagnosis, sometimes thyroid hormones are also checked because deficiency of thyroid hormone can also present with similar changes.

In any case, the majority of women go through perimenopause, which may last 3-9 months and enter menopause.

What are symptoms of perimenopause?

Unlike menopause, the symptoms of perimenopause are not always clear cut. The changes may be so slight that one may not even notice them. Some of the symptoms of perimenopause include:

Irregular menstrual cycles. As one approaches menopause, the menstrual cycles become irregular and erratic. The intervals between periods may become longer or shorter and the flow rate may also be scant or there may be no period. As menopause sets in one may start to miss periods regularly.

The next set of symptoms which occur in about 70% of women are hot flashes. Facial flushing and sensation of feeling warm occur periodically. Associated with the hot flashes are difficulty in sleeping, chills and drenching sweating episodes. Sleeping difficulties are one of the most common complaints in women in the perimenopausal period.

Mood changes are also common in the perimenopausal period. Some women may feel down or depressed for no reason. These mood disorders during menopause are not strictly associated with fluctuating hormone levels but to other factors which remain unknown. The depression does tend to be mild but can be easily triggered by any number of factors.

Other common symptoms of perimenopause include vaginal dryness or loss of lubrication in the genitals. Thus, sexual intercourse is very uncomfortable or painful. Most women will not be able to conceive during perimenopause because the menstrual cycles have started to become irregular. In any case, if you do not want to get pregnant, use birth control until you have complete absence of periods for at least 6-12 months. Fortunately for most women perimenopause does not depress libido but in fact creates more desire for sex. This is a common observation in many women. Some unlucky women may start to complain of bone pain due to excessive bone thinning. In general, osteoporosis does not become evident much later after menopause has set in.

One does not always need to see a doctor when perimenopause sets in. If the symptoms of perimenopause are mild and tolerated, simple changes in life style and homes remedies will suffice. However, if the symptoms like depression are severe, then it is important to seek medical help.