growth hormones for 12-year old girl--thoughts? side effects?

[Anonymous]

Just came from a new doctor (we've moved). My daughter is on the small side, but nothing to really worry about, or so I thought. The doctor said, judging from her shoe size, and menstrual history, that she might have stopped growing, or will soon. I was shocked/surprised.
She gave us a referral to a pediatric endocrinologist, in case we wanted to explore growth hormones.
Thoughts?
My daughter is adopted, so there's no family history to go on. I was a bit shaken.

[Anonymous]

How tall is she? I didn't think most girls grew much past 12 or past their period. I stopped at 11 at 5'1.

[Anonymous]

Obviously saying how tall she is at the moment, is useful information

[Anonymous]

I think another consideration would be ethnicity -- you don't specify and could it play a factor in her height?

I continued to grow through my freshman year of college -- not a lot, but I got taller. I have no idea if that's normal.

How old was she at 2? I thought that was a fairly good indicator of how tall a person would be as an adult?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think another consideration would be ethnicity -- you don't specify and could it play a factor in her height?

I continued to grow through my freshman year of college -- not a lot, but I got taller. I have no idea if that's normal.

How old was she at 2? I thought that was a fairly good indicator of how tall a person would be as an adult?

This. My Asian mother is 4’10” and is the tallest person in her family. You could consult a doctor, but I would be wary of growth hormones just because your daughter is “small”.

[Anonymous]

The first thing you need to know is why your daughter is short. Is it because of growth hormone deficiency, nutrition or idiopathic. Unless it's because of growth hormone deficiency, treatment with growth hormones may not be recommended and, even if you want it, you may have difficulty getting a doctor to order it. The referral to the endocrinologist is to figure out the cause. One thing you might want to do before your appointment is gather all of the information you have on your daughter's height and weight.

[Anonymous]

Thank you. She's about 4'9, and 12 years old. She's not the shortest in her class, but smaller than the average bear. Well-proportioned. Adopted from Eastern Europe--she was always tiny, and born prematurely.
I just wanted the doc to reassure us that she's in the ballpark of normal, and, well, that didn't happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you. She's about 4'9, and 12 years old. She's not the shortest in her class, but smaller than the average bear. Well-proportioned. Adopted from Eastern Europe--she was always tiny, and born prematurely.
I just wanted the doc to reassure us that she's in the ballpark of normal, and, well, that didn't happen.

4'9" at age 12 is between the 25th and the 50th percentile.

https://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/data/set2clinical/cj41l072.pdf

[Anonymous]

There is a finite window of growth. It is wise to see a pediatric endocrinologist at this point. Your DD may have a growth hormone deficiency or some other issue. The endo can determine if she is naturally short statured or if there is a problem. Health insurance companies will not approve the use of growth hormones without a specific diagnosis. (And sometimes not even then.) More information is always good, especially since you don't know her bio parent heights or medical histories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you. She's about 4'9, and 12 years old. She's not the shortest in her class, but smaller than the average bear. Well-proportioned. Adopted from Eastern Europe--she was always tiny, and born prematurely.
I just wanted the doc to reassure us that she's in the ballpark of normal, and, well, that didn't happen.

PP here. She's much larger than my kids, also adopted from Eastern Europe, one of whom was premature - mine are the 3rd and 10th percentile for height. My kids didn't have growth hormone deficiency. The endocrinologist speculates that it was the poor early nutrition plus maybe genetics that has led to their short stature. Also, the endocrinologist has speculated a later growth spurt based on bone growth. And, the endocrinologist disagreed with our PCP regarding how far into puberty they were.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you. She's about 4'9, and 12 years old. She's not the shortest in her class, but smaller than the average bear. Well-proportioned. Adopted from Eastern Europe--she was always tiny, and born prematurely.
I just wanted the doc to reassure us that she's in the ballpark of normal, and, well, that didn't happen.

PP here. She's much larger than my kids, also adopted from Eastern Europe, one of whom was premature - mine are the 3rd and 10th percentile for height. My kids didn't have growth hormone deficiency. The endocrinologist speculates that it was the poor early nutrition plus maybe genetics that has led to their short stature. Also, the endocrinologist has speculated a later growth spurt based on bone growth. And, the endocrinologist disagreed with our PCP regarding how far into puberty they were.

Yes! Seeing a pediatric endocrinologist is a good idea to consider, if there are any concerns, since general pediatricians have a much broader knowledge base (by necessity) and don't specialize in this area.

Going to see one doesn't mean you're going to do growth hormones, the one we saw was very conservative and didn't even do any invasive testing (e.g., blood test to measure hormone levels). He/she can tell a lot from an exam, growth charts that your pediatrician has kept, family history (which I know is lacking in OP's case), bone x-ray, etc.

[Anonymous]

Has she started her menstrual cycle yet, OP?

[Anonymous]

OP: Yes, it came early (age 10).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP: Yes, it came early (age 10).

Has she grown any since then? Sounds like it’s a good idea to see an endocrinologist, at the very least to get more information. My ped said that girls usually grow only a few more inches after menstruation but that’s not true for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP: Yes, it came early (age 10).

Definitely see an endocrinologist soon.