height issues

[Anonymous]

Hello all,

We are a bit disappointed today as we took our 14 year old son to the endocrinologist and she confirmed that his growth plates in the wrist are closed and he wont grow. He is only 5'3. I am 5'3 and my husband is 5'8. Did anyone experience this and can there be more height growth after the wrist bone growth plates closed? We asked the pediatrician several times in the last couple of years since there was pubic hair and some arm pit hair. But she always said he will be around 5'8" at least.
Today the endocrinologist told us that he's done growing. He is feeling a bit low. We encouraged him and told him height doesn't matter. Just trying to see if anyone went through a similar situation. Is the wrist/hand xray reflective of growth plates in the rest of the body? His torso is still a kid's. He does not have chest hair. His hands and feet are big but the rest of the body is still a kids body. The endocrinologist did not want to put him on growth hormones and aromatase inhibitor just based on the wrist xray. We feel that maybe the rest of his body is still playing catch up vs his hands/feet. If there is a chance to help him grow taller, we want to explore it. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry, OP. I would definitely seek out a second consultation with a different endo. She does not sound like she answered all of your questions and her bedside manner seems like it might not have been great.

I found this on the web:

"Predicting growth can be a little tricky. While it is true that once a growth plate has fused there will be no lengthening of that bone, not all the growth plates in the body fuse at the same time.

Some bones, like the small bones of the wrist and feet, might fuse while other bones in the body still have open growth plates. Height will be determined primarily by the growth in the bones of the legs and the spine at this time.

It is quite possible that the small bones in the wrist have closed while the growth plates in the legs are still open, and that would allow for continued increases in height. You wouldn't know for sure unless you looked at an X-ray of the legs.

That said, hand and wrist X-rays are a standard use as a predictor of skeletal maturity in children, so it may be that your son has finished growing. The growth plates in the knees generally close at about the same time as the ones in the wrist.

The usual progression of fusion of growth plates is elbow first, then foot and ankle, then hand and wrist, then knee, then hip and pelvis, and last the shoulder and clavicle. It is possible that he has finished.

However, 14 would be quite early for a boy to stop growing unless he has gone through puberty early. Most boys don't stop growing until about age 17."

It's very possible your kid has open growth plates elsewhere. We grow late in my family. My sons really didn't have much of a growth spurt until after age 16. My older son left for college this Fall just as he turned 19 and has grown an inch in that time. I thought he was done. My brother grew 2 inches in college. Fwiw, my older son 'looked' like he was done growing. He was shaving, looked like a man, etc.

My 16-year old is baby faced, no facial hair and he seems to have more growing. No idea about his growth plates at this point, but he was tiny at age 14 and jus this year --16--grew some.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hello all,

We are a bit disappointed today as we took our 14 year old son to the endocrinologist and she confirmed that his growth plates in the wrist are closed and he wont grow. He is only 5'3. I am 5'3 and my husband is 5'8. Did anyone experience this and can there be more height growth after the wrist bone growth plates closed? We asked the pediatrician several times in the last couple of years since there was pubic hair and some arm pit hair. But she always said he will be around 5'8" at least.
Today the endocrinologist told us that he's done growing. He is feeling a bit low. We encouraged him and told him height doesn't matter. Just trying to see if anyone went through a similar situation. Is the wrist/hand xray reflective of growth plates in the rest of the body? His torso is still a kid's. He does not have chest hair. His hands and feet are big but the rest of the body is still a kids body. The endocrinologist did not want to put him on growth hormones and aromatase inhibitor just based on the wrist xray. We feel that maybe the rest of his body is still playing catch up vs his hands/feet. If there is a chance to help him grow taller, we want to explore it. Any advice would be appreciated.

This is like my kid who did grow more later in HS.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your detailed response. Her bedside manner was definitely not great. She was pretty blunt and was not really considering any further tests/treatment. Just the wrist/hand xray. My son was pretty upset. We will definitely be getting a second opinion. My son is definitely going through puberty (hair on legs/pubic hair)....but we really think the growth plates in his body have not fused yet just based on how the rest of his body looks....no chest hair, no arm hair...so we definitely think he will grow some more. We are just hoping to find someone who is experienced in these cases in the DC area.

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry, OP. I would definitely seek out a second consultation with a different endo. She does not sound like she answered all of your questions and her bedside manner seems like it might not have been great.

I found this on the web:

"Predicting growth can be a little tricky. While it is true that once a growth plate has fused there will be no lengthening of that bone, not all the growth plates in the body fuse at the same time.

Some bones, like the small bones of the wrist and feet, might fuse while other bones in the body still have open growth plates. Height will be determined primarily by the growth in the bones of the legs and the spine at this time.

It is quite possible that the small bones in the wrist have closed while the growth plates in the legs are still open, and that would allow for continued increases in height. You wouldn't know for sure unless you looked at an X-ray of the legs.

That said, hand and wrist X-rays are a standard use as a predictor of skeletal maturity in children, so it may be that your son has finished growing. The growth plates in the knees generally close at about the same time as the ones in the wrist.

The usual progression of fusion of growth plates is elbow first, then foot and ankle, then hand and wrist, then knee, then hip and pelvis, and last the shoulder and clavicle. It is possible that he has finished.

However, 14 would be quite early for a boy to stop growing unless he has gone through puberty early. Most boys don't stop growing until about age 17."

It's very possible your kid has open growth plates elsewhere. We grow late in my family. My sons really didn't have much of a growth spurt until after age 16. My older son left for college this Fall just as he turned 19 and has grown an inch in that time. I thought he was done. My brother grew 2 inches in college. Fwiw, my older son 'looked' like he was done growing. He was shaving, looked like a man, etc.

My 16-year old is baby faced, no facial hair and he seems to have more growing. No idea about his growth plates at this point, but he was tiny at age 14 and jus this year --16--grew some.

[Anonymous]

Thank you. That gives us hope.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hello all,

We are a bit disappointed today as we took our 14 year old son to the endocrinologist and she confirmed that his growth plates in the wrist are closed and he wont grow. He is only 5'3. I am 5'3 and my husband is 5'8. Did anyone experience this and can there be more height growth after the wrist bone growth plates closed? We asked the pediatrician several times in the last couple of years since there was pubic hair and some arm pit hair. But she always said he will be around 5'8" at least.
Today the endocrinologist told us that he's done growing. He is feeling a bit low. We encouraged him and told him height doesn't matter. Just trying to see if anyone went through a similar situation. Is the wrist/hand xray reflective of growth plates in the rest of the body? His torso is still a kid's. He does not have chest hair. His hands and feet are big but the rest of the body is still a kids body. The endocrinologist did not want to put him on growth hormones and aromatase inhibitor just based on the wrist xray. We feel that maybe the rest of his body is still playing catch up vs his hands/feet. If there is a chance to help him grow taller, we want to explore it. Any advice would be appreciated.

This is like my kid who did grow more later in HS.

[Anonymous]

You need a new endocrinologist asap. Did she get out the puberty beads to see where your son is in puberty? Blood work to see if he makes his own growth hormones. I don’t think 14 is too late for growth hormone shots (if he needs them) unless your son really is done with puberty. Doesn’t sound like it to me. Who did you see?

[Anonymous]

Sorry you are dealing with this.

I’d definitely get a second opinion from a different endo.

The torso usually grows last (at least that is my understanding- one of my sons also had growth issues).

[Anonymous]

I’m really sorry, OP.

Years ago no endo wanted to prescribe growth hormones for our son, who is now 19 and has likely stopped growing at 5’5. I am 5’4’’ and my husband is 5’6. Our 14 year old daughter is 5’ and probably won’t grow much more.

Please get a second endo opinion! I hope your son can stretch out another couple of inches!

[Anonymous]

She only felt this testes and said they are almost adult size. At his 14 year old yearly checkup at his pediatrician’s last week, they said he was a tanner 4. His pediatrician did not say he was done with puberty at that checkup. The endocrinologist did give a blood work order for thyroid, celiac disease and growth factor (when we asked for it). She said all of that is only to figure out if there are other existing conditions that might have led to this but made it clear that she is not going to treat him with growth hormones.

Anonymous wrote:You need a new endocrinologist asap. Did she get out the puberty beads to see where your son is in puberty? Blood work to see if he makes his own growth hormones. I don’t think 14 is too late for growth hormone shots (if he needs them) unless your son really is done with puberty. Doesn’t sound like it to me. Who did you see?

[Anonymous]

OP we had a very similar office visit with an endocrinologist at Children's National. I asked for labs to be run and was denied that as well, (which is ridiculous IMO) based on an almost closed hand x-ray for my 15 year old. We were also all upset and don't really feel like our son is finished growing. Based on our heights, charts show him growing to 5'10" but he is 5'5". We ended up seeing Dr. Nicolas Cuttriss who is out of network but did put him on an aromatase inhibitor and he ran lots of labs. It has only been 6 months and we need a follow up but at least he didn't completely close the door on things. My son's puberty stage sounds very similar to you sons.

[Anonymous]

Is there a reason you were at the endocrinologist other than him being 5'3"? Are other medical issues potentially at play? If so, I'm not sure advice without that information would be helpful.

[Anonymous]

My son is definitely going through puberty (hair on legs/pubic hair)....but we really think the growth plates in his body have not fused yet just based on how the rest of his body looks....no chest hair, no arm hair...so we definitely think he will grow some more.

I don't want to discourage you, but this is how my 17 year old looks, and he has been 5'6" since he was 14. He's also more of a skinny kid body shape (only 115 lbs), but he is his full adult height, per his doctor. I'm not upset about his height, though he would prefer to be 5'8", and was hoping he would reach it.

[Anonymous]

The main reason we wanted to see the endocrinologist is because we were worried about his legs becoming hairy and the fact that he had a slight mustache. He had sensory issues when he was younger (until he was 7 or 8) and was always at the bottom end of the growth charts. We have been asking to see the endocrinologist for 2 years now but his pediatrician never felt that we needed to. Even at the last appointment, she said that he was on the charts and his curve is still very consistent and only agreed since we kept asking. The pediatrician told us a month ago that while he was in the middle of puberty, he should still hit 5’8”

Anonymous wrote:Is there a reason you were at the endocrinologist other than him being 5'3"? Are other medical issues potentially at play? If so, I'm not sure advice without that information would be helpful.

[Anonymous]

To add on, our pediatrician first did a bone age test after we asked multiple times and then referred us to an endocrinologist.

[Anonymous]

my husband is 5'6 (but says 5'7, haha). I am 5'3.5. Our kids are both girls -- one has not yet had her period (4'10), other is 5'2 and probably full height. I have been thinking about whether to investigate hormone therapy for the younger one, but imagine there are serious downsides if doctors are not treating your kids. Can someone please elaborate on those?