Growth Hormone Excess: Causes, Symptoms, and What You Need to Know

When your body makes too much growth hormone excess, a condition where the pituitary gland produces abnormally high levels of growth hormone, often due to a benign tumor. Also known as acromegaly, it doesn’t just make you taller—it changes how your bones, organs, and tissues grow long after childhood. This isn’t about being tall; it’s about your body growing in the wrong places—hands, feet, jaw, and even internal organs.

Most cases come from a harmless pituitary tumor, a noncancerous growth on the pituitary gland that pushes out extra growth hormone. But the damage isn’t obvious at first. You might notice your rings don’t fit, your shoes feel tighter, or your voice gets deeper. Over time, joint pain, thickened skin, and high blood pressure show up. Your liver starts pumping out more IGF-1, a hormone that mediates the effects of growth hormone and is used to diagnose and monitor the condition. Doctors check IGF-1 levels because growth hormone itself spikes and falls throughout the day—IGF-1 gives the real picture.

Growth hormone excess doesn’t just affect your body—it can mess with your sleep, metabolism, and even your mood. People often go years without a diagnosis because symptoms creep in slowly. A swollen jaw might be blamed on aging. Fatigue might be chalked up to stress. But untreated, it raises your risk for diabetes, heart disease, and colon polyps. The good news? It’s treatable. Surgery, medication, or radiation can bring levels back under control—especially if caught early.

What you’ll find in the posts below isn’t just theory. These are real-world insights from people managing this condition, doctors explaining treatment trade-offs, and guides on how to track symptoms, understand lab results, and work with your care team. You won’t find fluff. Just clear, practical info on what growth hormone excess really means for your health—and what you can do about it.