[Let me be the first to fill out your questionaire, and thanks
to you for the time you have taken to write it. - Ellis]

1. Please identify and describe yourself:

Name: Ellis Toussier Bigio
Year of Birth: 1945 Age: 54
Sex: Male
Height 1.80 meters, 5'11.5"
Weight 154 lbs., 70 kilos

2. Why did you want to take HGH?

In June, 1998 I looked at myself in the mirror, and felt
depressed that I was looking pretty bad... many wrinkles, crows
feet around my eyes, cheeks beginning to sag. I also felt I
was going downhill, in energy, etc. I knew about growth hormone
because I had read Durk Pearson's "Life Extension" and read an
article that appeared in 1992 or early 1993 about growth hormone
in Life Magazine and I had been taking Durk Pearson and Sandy
Shaw's "Be Your Best" which contains 6 grams of arginine per
serving, for three years, 1992 and 1993 and 1994.

3. What changes do you feel after taking HGH for a while?

I felt good immediately, since the first day. I felt optimistic, and a
bit more energetic. I stopped feeling gloomy about the economy, I felt more
like starting new things, like I had when I was younger. The first physical
changes began to be noticeable after about two weeks, slightly...
my face began to look slightly younger, the skin was tightening up...
Then I lost about 1 kilo per month, for 6 months, most noticeably
around my belly. My wrinkles began to disappear, and my crows feet were
completely gone by month 4 or 5... the skin of my hands tightened
up and the dryness in the skin disappeared.

4. What body/mind measurements have changed since you started
taking HGH (e.g. "Tricep diameter increased from 20 inches
to 30 inches")?

I didn't take measurements with a ruler, but I lost 2 or 3
inches of waistline, as measured by my pants. My chest got a
line. My biceps grew, but I haven't measured them. I am not a
body builder or an athlete, and it never occurred to me to measure
them. I am still thin, and I like it like this, but many persons
on this board, for example Marty, and John, who have come to Mexico,
have inspired me to do more exercise, which I do, but not to become
very big, just to feel better.

HDL cholesterol before/after: don't know. Total was about 220. (I will confirm)
LDL cholesterol before/after: don't know. Total is about 170. (I will confirm.)
blood pressure before/after: before, about 120/80 120/70; after, about 100/60 90/60

For how long can you hold your breath?:

I held my breath for 1 minute and 50 seconds when challenged by
my friends... Since then I have held it for 1 minute and 30
seconds many times, as a demonstration, but I don't want to hold
it for 1 minute and 50 seconds any more because I am afraid it isn't
good for my brain. I swam underwater for about 35 meters, in a
swimming pool 25 meters long. To me, the importance of this is
that it indicates my lungs are processing oxygen like a young man.

5. What product(s) did/do you use, and for how long
(e.g. "WonderHGH, for 5 months, starting May 1999")?

Humatrope, by Eli Lilly, 1 i.u. per day (the measurement has
changed... it used to be 6 i.u.'s per week, same amount is now
about 7 i.u.'s per week.) continuously since June, 1998. I
began taking 2 i.u.'s 3 times per week following the indications
of Daniel Rudman's experiment of 1990, then I read "Grow Young
on HGH" by Dr. Ronald Klatz and decided to change to 1 i.u. 6
days per week, then 1/2 i.u. twice per day 6 days per week,
then a little less than 1/2 i.u. 14 times per week, in the new
measurement now equivalent to 1 i.u. per day, every day. When
Humatrope ran out of stock for a few weeks, I bought Norditropin,
by Novo Nordisk. I found it is identical in its effect, and I
suppose it is the same potency but I have not proven this with
blood tests. It is slightly more expensive than Humatrope, but
I think it is identical in its result. Recently I took 2 i.u.'s
per day for about 1 month, then I dropped to 1.5 i.u. per day
for the past month (only because of the cost.) After this
experience, I think 2 i.u.'s per day is probably a very safe
dose without any danger of side effects.

6. Have you noticed any side effects? If so, what are they?

None bad that I have noticed.

7. Where did you hear about HGH?

I read about it in Durk Pearson and Sandy Shaw's "Life
Extension" then in an article about it in Life Magazine, in
1992, which mentioned the El Dorado clinic in Mexico. I didn't
know where it was, and never found it, or I might have started
taking rHGH in 1993.

9. Where do you buy your Human Growth Hormone?

I started to buy it in a pharmacy, and once I knew I was going
to take it for a very long time, I looked for and found a
wholesale supplier in Mexico City (an approved distributor of
Eli Lilly) that would sell to me.

10. How much does it cost you?

About $125 wholesale price, for Humatrope 15 i.u.'s or $104
wholesale price for Norditropin, 12 i.u.'s. List price of
Humatrope is about $170 dollars for 15 i.u.'s. (exact cost in
dollars depends on peso/dollar parity)

11. Are you under a doctor's supervision.

Now I am. At first I was not.

12. What do you see as the risks of HGH?

None. To me it is only good, nothing bad, and I have never read
any report by anybody that has had any bad side effects taking
1 i.u. or 2 i.u.'s per day. I have read of body builders taking
up to 20 i.u.'s per day, and getting acromegaly, but that is
crazy, in my opinion. Trooper, who corresponded with us at the
beginning of this board, was taking 15 i.u.'s every other day,
prescribed to him by his doctor, and was having terrible pains, in his
words, but very good in every other way for his immune system and
his physical appearance. As soon as he mentioned how much he was taking,
Jay Caplan and I jumped! After receiving our opinion, he cut down
the dose to about 5 i.u.'s per day, and the pains disappeared. We have
not heard from Trooper in many months, so I cannot tell you how
he has been.

13. Has HGH met your expectations or not? Explain.

It has made me feel much better, even though I was not sick to begin
with. I have more energy, I think more positive, like
when I was young... I look better, which is probably a sign of
good health and... I like to look better and younger.

14. What was your baseline IGF-1 measurement before HGH
treatment?

I never measured my baseline IGF-1, because I started without being
under the supervision of a doctor. I do not recommend what I did
as a good example to follow... but it was not dangerous, per se, not
to know my baseline figure, since there is probably no baseline figure
that would convince me not to take rHGH, at age 52,
(I knew I was standing on the edge of a cliff. I knew that what
was in store for me was a rather rapid physical decline, like my
father and my grandfather and my great-grandfather, before me.)

Dr. Klatz's book, chapter 3 (GH Therapy in 202 Adults) page 34,
Dr. Chein and Terry report the average IGF-1 baseline level of 42
adults was 238.8, and increased to 384.5 after starting rHGH
replacement therapy, but the book doesn't clarify what was the
dose they received, nor does it clarify what was the average age
of this group of persons.

15. What is your baseline IGF-1 measurement now?

My first IGF-1 result (taken at the insistence of my doctor) was
360 ng/ml about 5 weeks after I had started. After I got this
result, and after I had corresponded with Dr. James Hughes on
some board, I decided to try to get my level up to IGF-1 = 500 ng/ml
so I increased the dose to 1.5 i.u.'s per day (with my doctor's
approval). Instead of going UP, my result went DOWN to 270 ng/ml!!!
I was very disappointed with this result. I wrote to Lazarus
Long/Howard Turney who told me that IGF-1 results are not very
reliable, and that I should continue if I am feeling well and
getting results. I have not taken any more tests since then,
but I will take another one soon.

16. When and how much HGH do you take? Describe your
treatment strategy?

Currently I am taking 1.5 i.u. per day, one dose in the morning,
plus 3.4 grams of l-glutamine one dose in the morning
(separately from the rHGH, and on an empty stomach) or at
night. I also am taking EDTA Chelation therapy to reduce levels
of toxic metals from my body, according to the protocol of
Dr. Elmer Cranton, administered here in Mexico City by my
doctor. I also take a small amount of Deprenyl (selegiline) and
Piracetam to help keep my brain from losing neurons, and so that it
gets more oxygen and nutrients, which might also be the cause of loss
of neurons. My complete regimen includes excellent nutrition, a lot
of vitamins, and exercise.

Read all my program.

17. Do you replace any other hormones? Which?

I take melatonin and DHEA. I do not replace testosterone, because I tested high, and I do not replace thyroid, because I am thin, and I suppose I have a good level. I have also taken pregnenolone, and recently I started taking androstenedione with tribulus, (and saw palmetto.)

18. Any advice for a person under 40 wanting to take HGH?

If you take more than 1 i.u. per day, you should monitor your
results. Even if IGF-1 tests are not very accurate, if you are
taking a dose higher than 1 i.u. you must take a blood test to
be certain you are not in the vicinity of 1000 ng/ml. I agree
with Dr. James Hughes's recommendation that IGF-1 between 350
and 500 is a good level to aim for, and if you are very young
and also an athlete maybe you are o.k. with a result of 750
ng/ml. After this level, you risk getting the side effects, of
which the worst are carpal tunnel syndrome and the absolute worse,
acromegaly (Gigantism, or Giantism.)

19. Any advice for a person over 40 wanting to take HGH?

Run... don't walk... to the nearest anti-aging doctor, get a
prescription, and start taking rHGH as soon as you can! If you
cannot afford it, or if you are afraid of possible side effects,
of if you are afraid of the injection, or you can't get a
prescription, then start taking amino acids to help release
some growth hormone from your own pituitary. This is probably
less effective than taking rHGH by sub-cutaneous injection, but
better than doing nothing. It is easier to keep your body
repaired than to repair it after the damage has been done.
I have reversed all of the signs of aging in my body to some
degree, but the one that I have reversed the least is my
apparent age... my face... I look maybe 45 years old,
although I feel like when I was 25 or 30. The skin on my face
looks better, and tighter, not as dry, with fewer wrinkles...
but the muscles that started to droop on my cheeks will
probably never go back to their place, without plastic surgery,
which I am not going to have done anytime soon...

On the other hand, I am glad I started to take action at age 52,
and that I didn't wait until age 62, or 72. Looking like I am 45
is better than looking my age, 54, so I am pleased and very
grateful for this. - Ellis Toussier, Sept. 1999

See Signs of Aging