The resulting symptoms depend on which hormones are no longer being produced by the gland. Because the pituitary gland affects the other endocrine organs, effects of hypopituitarism may be gradual or sudden and dramatic.
Symptoms vary depending on what hormones are insufficiently produced by the pituitary gland.
In premenopausal women, this leads to absent menstrual cycles, infertility, vaginal dryness, and loss of some female characteristics. In men, this deficiency leads to impotence, shriveling of testes, decreased sperm production, infertility, and loss of some male characteristics. This usually produces no symptoms in adults. In children, this deficiency can lead to stunted growth and dwarfism. This usually leads to an underactive thyroid and may cause confusion, cold intolerance, weight gain, constipation, and dry skin.