Oral and Inhalable Forms of HGH vs. HGH Injections
Human growth hormone (HGH) administered via subcutaneous injections is the only effective and FDA approved form of growth hormone. Oral and inhaled formulations are neither effective nor approved by the FDA.(See FDA Approved Growth Hormone Products)
Interest in growth hormone therapy exploded following the highly publicized New England Journal of Medicine Article entitled “Effects of human growth hormone in men over 60 years old” in 1990. With this increased interest came various companies and web sites selling oral and inhaled formulations of GH.
These oral and inhaled formulations are heavily advertised on the Internet as cheaper “substitutes” for FDA approved injectable GH, which typically costs approximately $10,000 per year of therapy. However, these alternative forms are NOT substitutes. No oral or inhaled formulations have been shown to be effective substitutes for treating growth hormone deficiency. The only effective administration method for GH therapy is injectable GH administered via subcutaneous injections. Since growth hormone is a peptide, a short chain of amino acids, any oral preparation of growth hormone would be broken down by gastric acid in the stomach into its individual amino acid components. Therefore, oral formulations are not effective.
Do not fall victim to anyone selling oral or inhaled formulations of GH. These products may be cheaper than prescription injectable GH, but they do not work and will cost you more in the long run.