Me and My Growth Hormone oo
My baby sister was taller than me. Kids at school picked on me and called me names - like shorty, shrimp and pee wee. It hurt my feelings and I know my mom and dad felt bad for me. My doctor sent us to a specialist to see why I was not growing and why I was so much smaller than my friends in school. t is true that growth hormone levels drop as a person ages, but there is no evidence whatever that lack of growth hormone causes aging or that taking growth hormone slows aging, and the evidence that growth hormone grows muscle and gets rid of fat is highly controversial. The specialist said I would have to take a test to check my growth hormone. My mom didn’t know what growth hormone was. The specialist took a long time to explain it to her.
The day for the test came. I wasn’t scared but I think my mom was. They did have to put an IV in my arm. It only pinched for a few seconds. The test took quite a few hours and I fell asleep for awhile. Before I knew it the test was over. But the specialist told my mom it would be 2 to 3 weeks before we would know how the test came out. Products that are sold as “growth hormone releasers” are just amino acids, the building blocks of protein, that are the same as the protein you get in your food. Anything that you eat can be called a growth hormone releaser because all foods raise blood levels of growth hormone temporarily. When you eat protein, blood levels of growth hormone rise even higher.
The specialist called about 2 weeks later and told my mom to come back with me so they can tell us about the test results. They told us that I had human growth hormone deficiency and would need to take growth hormone shots every day for me to grow. Thousands of athletes in many sports spend millions of dollars on growth hormone and growth hormone promoters in the hope that it will help them grow larger muscles, become stronger and therefore be better athletes. Exercise can also be called a growth hormone releaser because every time that you exercise, blood levels of growth hormone rise. Exercise raises growth hormone levels more than and longer than eating does.
I don’t think she liked it when they told her that the parents give the shots. I wasn’t scared so much. They said the shots would help me grow, and I wanted to grow, but my mom looked scared. I told her not to worry, it would be okay, but she even cried!
We went back to the specialist a couple of weeks later to get my growth hormone and for them to teach my mom how to give the shots. I was a little scared even though they told me it was only a pinch. They were right - it was only a pinch! I think it hurt my mom because she thought I was scared. We went home ready to take my growth hormone shots. It took my mom awhile to get used to giving me the shots. Funny, she didn’t seem scared any more after our first visit back to the specialist to find out I had grown almost 1 full inch. I guess this growth hormone really works!
Not too long after I started growing we had to get new shoes. My mom said it was the first time my feet grew in 2 years. Then my pants were above my ankles, so off to buy new pants too! Before growth hormone there were times I was sad, but after a few years of the shots I was catching up to other kids my age. They didn’t call me names anymore and they let me play in all the games. Growth hormone is a protein that is destroyed in the stomach, so it can only be given by injection, and growth hormone injections can only be given legally by prescription, so most of the advertised products are “growth hormone releasers” which are taken by mouth, not by injection.
There were times I didn’t want to take my shots. Well, my mom wouldn’t listen. She had to make me understand that when I stopped taking the growth hormone shots I would also stop growing again. I guess she was right, so I didn’t stop the shots. The growth hormone releaser products are nothing but ordinary protein from soybeans, tuna or milk.
I’m almost grown now. I’m in the normal range on a growth chart. Growth hormone is like a miracle drug to me. Back when I was six years old the specialist told my mom I was never going to be 4 feet tall without growth hormone shots. In fact, when you reach middle age, your growth hormone levels are only a minute fraction of what it was when you were a teenager. Unfortunately, the amount of this hormone produced by the body is dependent on the genes inherited from your parents. Today I’m 19 inches taller than I would have ever been, thanks to growth hormone! Was the testing, all the doctor visits, and all the shots worth it? You bet it was!!
