Pituitary & Growth Hormones

About the Pituitary & Growth Hormones panel

Pituitary & Growth Hormones is a single blood draw. It reads two signals from the gland setting much of your hormone tempo. One is prolactin, a hormone made by the pituitary. The other is insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), the blood marker that reflects growth hormone activity. This panel reads both in a single draw.

Prolactin sits upstream of the sex hormones, and IGF-1 reads the growth hormone axis. This test is built for an adult who wants the control signals read alongside a testosterone or estradiol result. It also suits someone whose sex-hormone numbers came back unremarkable while the symptoms carried on.

What this panel measures

Your report carries two measured hormones, each read against a lab reference range.

The panel does not include testosterone, estradiol, progesterone, DHT, or AMH.

Why this panel reads IGF-1 instead of growth hormone

Growth hormone is a difficult thing to catch in one tube of blood. Levels change through the day with diet and activity, so a standard draw for growth hormone rarely gives useful information. Related substances in the blood are measured instead, and IGF-1 is the one this panel reads.

IGF-1 carries the signal more steadily. It is a key regulator of growth hormone's actions. It also has a longer half-life. And it is less susceptible to the factors that move growth hormone hour to hour. That makes it the more specific measurement.

What that buys you has limits worth stating once. This is a blood draw, not a direct growth hormone measurement, and not a stimulation or suppression test. That is a separate multi-hour procedure involving an IV or a glucose drink. It is also not a complete pituitary workup.

What prolactin explains when sex-hormone results look normal

Prolactin is made in the pituitary gland at the base of the brain. Its main job is telling breast tissue to grow and produce milk. Outside pregnancy and breastfeeding, levels normally stay low. That is what makes a clear rise informative rather than incidental.

When prolactin runs higher than normal, it is associated with how the ovaries and testicles work. It also tracks with menstrual changes, fertility questions, lower sex drive, and erectile dysfunction. A sex-hormone result can therefore read fine while the signal above it is the thing worth looking at.

Everyday explanations are common. A higher-than-normal prolactin has several causes, including certain medicines and an underactive thyroid. One reading is a starting point rather than an answer.

Who benefits from testing

An upstream read offers something a sex-hormone panel on its own cannot. It looks at the control signals sitting above them. This panel tends to earn its place in a few situations.

• Low libido, cycle changes, or fertility questions that a testosterone or estradiol result has not explained.
• Milk production or nipple discharge outside pregnancy and breastfeeding, which a prolactin result can help a provider make sense of.
• Energy, recovery, or body composition have shifted while sex hormones look fine. In adults, growth hormone affects bone and muscle health, and deficiency can show as fatigue and reduced muscle mass.
• You are on, or considering, hormone therapy and want pituitary context beside testosterone or estrogen.
• You are building a broader hormone picture and want the upstream read in it from the start.

Your care team and your own provider decide whether a result changes anything.

What your results reveal

Your report gives two readings against a lab reference range. The first is whether prolactin sits higher than normal, the number a provider reads alongside your symptoms. The second is whether IGF-1 sits inside the expected range for your age.

Each number is a starting point rather than a conclusion. A prolactin test cannot show the cause of an elevation. It does help a provider decide which other tests are needed. A clear rise is usually confirmed and traced before reproductive hormones are acted on.

A result on its own does not establish the cause of fatigue, recovery concerns, or reproductive symptoms. What it gives your care team is a specific number to interpret instead of a general impression.

Reference ranges vary by lab and individual. Your Superpower care team and your provider will interpret your specific results in context.

How to prepare

Both markers come from a standard fasting draw, so the instructions are the ones your appointment confirmation lists.

• Fast for 10 hours, water only.
• Book the draw three to four hours after you wake. Prolactin follows a daily rhythm, so a sample is usually scheduled for three to four hours after you wake up.
• Skip caffeine.
• Hydrate well the night before and the morning of your draw.
• Avoid alcohol and heavy, fatty foods the day before.
• Avoid strenuous exercise for 48 hours beforehand.
• Pause supplements for 72 hours, including vitamins, minerals, creatine, and herbal products.
• Continue prescription medications unless the prescribing clinician advises otherwise.

Reschedule if you are unwell with a cold, flu, or fever. Raise any question about a medication or a supplement hold with your care team.

How it works

1. Order online — No doctor's visit and no referral needed. Members can add this panel at any time, independently of baseline or retest scheduling.
2. Give your blood sample — Book a draw at a local lab or an at-home phlebotomist visit.
3. Review your results — Your report appears in the Superpower dashboard roughly 10 days after the draw, once every test in the panel is complete.