Panhypopituitarism

The first step in treating hypopituitarism is often medication to help your hormone levels return to normal. This is usually called hormone replacement because the dosages are set to match the amounts that your body would produce if it didn't have a pituitary problem. You may need to take the medication for the rest of your life. In some cases, treatment of the condition causing hypopituitarism may lead to a complete or partial recovery of your body's ability to produce pituitary hormones. Hormone replacement medications may include: 1-Corticosteroids. These drugs, such as hydrocortisone (Cortef) or prednisone (Rayos), replace the adrenal hormones that aren't being produced because of an adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) deficiency. You take them by mouth. 2-Levothyroxine (Levoxyl, Synthroid, others). This medication treats the low thyroid hormone levels (hypothyroidism) that a thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) deficiency can cause. 3-Sex hormones. These include testosterone in men and estrogen or a combination of estrogen and progesterone in women. Testosterone is administered either by injection or through the skin with a patch or a gel. Female hormone replacement can be administered with pills, gels or patches. 4-Growth hormone. Also called somatropin (Genotropin, Humatrope, others), growth hormone is administered through an injection beneath your skin. It promotes growth, which helps produce a more normal height in children. Adults with symptoms of growth hormone deficiency also may benefit from growth hormone replacement, but they won't grow taller. 5-Fertility hormones. If you've become infertile, gonadotropins can be administered by injection to stimulate ovulation in women and sperm production in men.