Symptoms:

• Abdominal pain
• Cessation of menstrual periods (in women)
• Decreased appetite
• Decreased sexual interest (in men)
• Failure to release milk (in women)
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Infertility (in women)
• Lack of sex drive (in women)
• Loss of armpit or pubic hair
• Loss of body or facial hair (in men)
• Low blood pressure
• Sensitivity to cold
• Short stature (less than 5 feet) if onset is during a growth period
• Slowed growth and sexual development (in children)
• Visual disturbances
• Weakness
• Weight loss

Note: Symptoms may develop slowly and may vary greatly, depending upon:

• The number of lacking hormones and their target organs
• The severity of the disorder

Other symptoms that may occur with this disease:

• Facial swelling
• Hair loss
• Hoarseness or changing voice
• Joint stiffness
• Weight gain (unintentional)

Signs and tests:

To diagnose hypopituitarism, there must be low hormone levels due to a problem with the pituitary gland. The diagnosis must also rule out diseases of the organ that is affected by this hormone.

Tests include:

• Brain CT scan
• Pituitary MRI
• Serum ACTH
• Serum cortisol
• Serum estradiol (estrogen)
• Serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH)
• Serum insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1)
• Serum luteinizing hormone (LH)
• Serum testosterone level
• Serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH)
• Thyroid hormone (T4)

Levels of a pituitary hormone may be high in the bloodstream if you have a pituitary tumor that is producing too much of that hormone. The tumor may crush the rest of the cells of the pituitary, leading to low levels of other hormones.