After reading Dr. Teitelbaum's blurb on Growth Hormone in Fatigued to Fantastic, ordered a blood spot test through the Canary Club to see if this was a factor for me. According to Teitelbaum, those with CFS often test low for Growth Hormone, possibly due to a failure to get stage 3 and 4 sleep. A lack of Growth Hormone has been associated with many of the symptoms of CFS including decreased cognition, fatigue, low libido, etc.

My results fell well within the range of "normal," but regardless wanted to post the information and see if anyone out there had this test done, and whether results were abnormal/normal.

My results are below:

IGF-1 (blood spot) - 218 ng/ml

Range: 100-300 ng/ml

I have always been intrigued by the growth hormone factor in CFS. We know that there is central dysfunction of the endocrine system at the hypothalamus-pituitary level and growth hormone is a key player, exerting effects on other endocrine glands and hormones throughout the body. HGH is also reportedly a powerful treatment for some CFS patients, according to anecdotal reports and case studies at least.

I have often wondered if my growth hormone levels were low since my sleep patterns certainly suggest low production is likely i.e. no sleep until 2am, waking unrefeshed at 8am, then a couple of hours of REM sleep with frequent waking. What are your sleeping patterns like Stache?

Thanks for letting us know about the IGF-1 test available from the Canary Club - didn't know they offered that. Not a hugely expensive test either so worth doing!

Interesting that your results came back perfectly normal. How do you think that fits in with your age, sleep quality and other factors that affect growth hormone production?

Incidentally, thinking along these lines a few years ago I tried IGF-1 supplements (as a sublingual spray) for a month or two. Didn't notice any effects so discontinued for that reason and also due to safety worries. IGF-1 is a growth factor that stimulates cell proliferation so there's obviously the potential to trigger growth of the "big C" if one is already susceptible - clearly not a risk worth taking!

The test was less than $80US, and very easy to perform.

As far as my sleep patterns, I typically am asleep by midnight and awake by 8-9am with the help of Melatonin, L-Tryptophan, and PS. Without the supplements, I have insomnia that can keep me up most of the night. Depending on the week, I may wake up once or twice, but rarely have issues falling back asleep.

My main concern that prompted the test was the possibility of alpha-wave intrusion, as I have very vivid dreams every night/all night, and often awake very frazzled and worn out from being so "active" in my dreams. Sometimes waking up in the morning is so refreshing simply because all of the frantic dream activities can stop.

Happy to check this one off the list of possibilities!

I assume this is the test you had - IGF-1 Blood Spot Test (http://www.canaryclub.org/home-test-kits/single-hormone/human-growth-hormone.html). It says it's $75.

Sounds like the combination of those supplements is really helping a lot. That sleep pattern is not bad at all considering your illness. The same supplements help get me off to sleep very effectively too - it's the getting to the point of taking them that is difficult for me. My cortisol levels increase throughout the evening, making me more awake and therefore making it hard to get myself to bed!

I suspect alpha-wave intrusion is likely a problem for many of us. I don't dream for much of the night and then between around 6am-10am I have loads of REM sleep with constant dreams. I'll have an intense dream then wake up, then have another and wake 15 minutes later...and on and on. I would be very interested to have a sleep study but am pretty sure a lab study would not be representative of my usual sleep pattern.