Officially it's called an adenoma

You can Google Non-Functioning Pituitary Adenoma if you want detailed information but in a nutshell it’s a benign tumor in my pituitary gland.

Three times, it's grown to the point where it affected my optic nerves and pituitary function. Surgery was performed Feb. 2007 again in Feb. 2009 and yet again Nov. 11, 2010 to remove as much of it as possible.

My vision was preserved in each case however I've lost Growth Hormone production and am on thyroid medication to help those levels.

I had radiation after my last surgery. The risk is I could over time loose all pituitary function. The hope is it will slow or stop the persistent tumor's aggressive growth.

3/1/10

Glucagon GH Stimulation Test

Again normal growth hormone level is 5 ng/ml. Glucagon raised my blood glucose from 84 (normal) to 172 (HIGH) in an hour as predicted then started to drop. This drop is supposed to stimulate the growth hormone. This drop can also cause nausea in a small percentage of people. (Me) A small percentage of people suffer it off and on for the rest of the day and the next. (Me) During the 4 hour test, GH should rise to 7-17 for a time. As last time my level started at less than 0.5, it remained unchanged for 2 hours, at 2 ½ hours it rose to 1.2, at 3 hours it dropped to 1.0, then dropped back to less than 0.5 the remainder of the test.

My endocrinologist reviewed the results and confirmed I have Adult Growth Hormone Deficiency. I have an appointment at OHSU on March 5th to discuss the pros and cons of GH therapy.

If we decide the pros of hormone therapy outweigh the cons then we wade into bureaucracy. Our insurance has already informed us it'll require documentation from my doctor supporting that it's medically necessary. Once they get that paperwork they'll 'review' it then IF they approve it they'll tell us how they'll cover it and what our cost will be. While I understand, since it's expensive, the insurance's desire to confirm it's necessary, it's frustrating not to have important information (our out of pocket cost). Why they couldn't state if it's approved it'll be x amount for you is a mystery.