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Genotropin
Mar 26, 2004
I have been living with AIDS for almost 10 years and wasting has always been a problem. My face is so sunken that I got depressed and asked my doctor for help.
My doctor precsribed Genotropin (growth hormone)5mg per day. The delivery device I recieved only delivers a maximum 2mg dose. I called the manufactuteres on-call nurse and she thought maybe it's 0.5 mg not 5mg, and referred me back to my doctor. I am frustrated and wondering what is the usual dose per day for a man who weighs 151 pounds. Of course my doctor is double checking the prescription, but when I researched sesostrim (growth hormone) studies...Aids patients only recieved 0.1 mg per day. HELP
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Response from Ms. Fields-Gardner
The recommended doses for growth hormones are based on your weight. Genotropin has been recommended for adults with growth hormone deficiency at no more than 0.04 mg/kg per week to start with a maximum dose of 0.08 mg/kg per week. For you that would translate to a starting dose of 2.7 mg/week and a maximum dose of 5.5 mg/week divided into nearly daily injections. Remember that Genotropin is used for growth hormone deficiency.
Serostim has been used for wasting and this brings into play a different dosage. The recommendation is still based on weight and at 151 pounds (68.6 kg) the dose would be 6 mg daily. This shakes out for you to be 0.087 mg/kg per day or, for better comparison to the Genotropin dose used to reverse effects of growth hormone deficiency, 0.6 mg/kg per week. The dose you mentioned for Serostim of 0.1 mg per day would be recommended if you were less than 77 pounds (35 kg).
You may want to talk with your doctor about what the goal is for your growth hormone therapy. If the goal is to reverse growth hormone deficiency to limit facial muscle wasting it is different from the goal to use growth hormone as an agent to reverse wasting. Either way, you should also have some other strategies included, such as eating well, looking at the need for testosterone replacement or other hormonal changes, and some physical activity (because growth and other hormones don't just work on the face alone).
Best wishes!
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