HGH or TRT ? How do I know which one (or both) is right for me ?
Do I Need Growth Hormone? How It Differs From TRT for Men and Women
If you’re over 35 and feeling more tired, softer, foggier, or slower to recover — you may be wondering:
“Do I need growth hormone… or testosterone?” as they’re often confused, sometimes marketed together, and frequently misunderstood. Growth hormone (GH) and testosterone (TRT) do very different things in the body and they apply differently to men and women. Here’s the clear, clinical truth.
Growth hormone is not just for kids (though is commonly used to care for GH deficiency), yet in adults, GH is responsible for:
• Fat metabolism
• Skin thickness and elasticity
• Sleep quality
• Muscle recovery
• Tendon and joint health
• Brain function
• Immune resilience
• Cellular repair and longevity signaling
As we age, GH production declines 15–25% per decade after our 30s.
Low GH often looks like:
• Increased belly fat
• Thinner skin
• Poor sleep
• Low exercise recovery
• Joint pain
• Brain fog
• Slowed metabolism
• Low motivation and more.
What Testosterone (TRT) Actually Does
Testosterone is a sex steroid hormone , not a repair hormone like GH.
It primarily drives:
• Muscle mass and strength
• Libido and sexual function
• Motivation and confidence
• Bone density
• Red blood cell production
• Cognitive sharpness
• Fat distribution
Low testosterone looks like:
• Low libido
• Fatigue
• Mood changes
• Muscle loss
• Poor training response
• Increased fat
• Depression or apathy
Growth Hormone vs TRT: The Real Difference
Cellular repair hormone vs Sex steroid hormone
Improves sleep & recovery vs Improves strength & libido
Can HELP drive fat loss indirectly vs drives muscle directly
Anti-aging & longevity vs Performance & vitality
They are not interchangeable , but can support one another to treat different problems.
Do I Need Growth Hormone or TRT?
As Always! IT depends !
Things such as your symptoms, labs, body composition, training status/activity, age, sleep quality, nutrition, stress levels, Insulin sensitivity and more .
You may benefit from GH if :
• You’re lean but can’t lose fat
• You recover poorly from workouts
• You sleep lightly or wake often
• Your skin is thinning
• You feel inflamed or stiff
• You age faster than expected
You may benefit from TRT if:
• Your libido is low
• You’ve lost muscle
• You feel apathetic or unmotivated
• Your testosterone labs are low
• You’re not responding to training
• You feel “flat” emotionally
Most hormone clinics/HRT clinics get it wrong !
They only offer /prescribe : TRT, Estrogen, Progesterone and they ignore GH because:
• It’s harder to dose
• It’s more expensive
• It requires deeper physiology knowledge
Our Functional Medicine and Performance Approach:
Growth hormone is not a replacement for TRT, and TRT is not a replacement for growth hormone.
They are tools, not magic! The right choice depends on you and your physiology, not marketing and empty promises.