Growth Hormone Injections Four Weeks In

Growth Hormone Injections Four Weeks In

In December 2015, I was started on Growth hormone injections for Human Growth Hormone Deficiency. I was sent a starter kit in that was home delivered. This included an injecting pen, needles, information booklets, a sharps bin and of course the medication Omnitrope.

I had a specialist Endocrine Nurse come out to see me at the start of December to show me how to inject myself and start me off on the medication. When starting Growth Hormone medication you start on the lowest dose and then after a month or so move up to the next dose. I was started on 0.2mg but will need to go up to 0.4 and so forth.

The nurse appeared to be a know it all. He listed off some symptoms patients with my illness usually have and told me they will disappear and I’ll be feeling better soon. I wasn’t quite so sure. After all, I have more than one condition. The Nurse said in two weeks I’d be a changed person, however everything I’ve read seems to indicate improvements in symptoms can take several months.

Here is a video about me starting my injections:

I was eager to start my injections as I’ve been growth hormone deficient for a long time, maybe many many years and I was keen to see some kind of change. The first few days was different. I had serious bone pain like nothing i’d had before. my shins hurt like when you get shin splints. My knees and my thigh bones hurt and I was in real pain. This only lasted about 4 days and then the pain went away. I assume it was my body getting used to something that has been missing for so long.

I then noticed a change in my mornings. For the past few years I’ve struggled to get up in the morning. Not only do I feel really rubbish, headachy and dizzy until my adrenal steroids have kicked in on a morning, I also feel weak fatigued and exhausted. Slowly over the first two weeks I started to feel a slight change. It was nothing big but I found myself able to get up a little easier each morning. I still had other symptoms but I did feel a little more refreshed as I awoke, something I’ve not felt in years.

After four weeks, my energy levels had improved. I am still unwell and exhausted. I still need naps and feel weak but not quite as much as I did before. I am still very brain fogged and need to sleep a lot but there is a difference. it is not as bad as before and I find I can last an extra 10 minutes or so more doing things than I used to.

My Nurse rang after one month to ask me how things are going. I told him, there is a slight change but it’s not significant enough to make me feel well or anything like that. I was then told, it may be like this until I get onto the right dose. However I cant change my dose until I see the Endocrinologist who is supervising the treatment.

I’m now used to taking my injection each day. I could inject my stomach easily but I didn’t like injecting my leg but now I’m used to it. I’m hoping that things may improve in another month and once my dose is increased. There is some difference but it is still such a small change I cant say it’s changing my life yet.

So, until my next appointment, I will keep injecting and hope for a greater improvement. I hope to see a big change in my muscle pain and weakness. I hope to strengthen my muscles and bones and to lift this fog which makes it so difficult to do simple tasks such as write.

It can take me three times as long to write something like this blog post than it would if i were not unwell and that frustrates me at times. I hope to eventually get a clear mind and be able to do things without the fog and concentration problems.

So that is my update and my experience of the first month. I hope things improve some more. I shall report again in another month.

Here is a video of me taking my injection:

To Read More about my Health Journey Visit the Adrenal Diaries.